JPH0632408Y2 - Reserve tank structure - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Purpose of Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an improvement of a reserve tank structure used as a part of an air pressure system in an electronically controlled suspension device of an automobile, for example.

(Prior Art) For example, when an automobile runs on a right curve or a left curve, centrifugal force causes the vehicle body to lean in one direction, causing a so-called rolling phenomenon, which deteriorates the riding comfort. Recently, an electronically controlled suspension device has been developed and put into practical use, and the roll phenomenon is solved by this type of device. The specific structure is as shown in FIG. That is, L is, for example, an air spring mechanism connected to the left wheel (not shown), R is an air spring mechanism connected to the right wheel (not shown), and these air spring mechanisms L and R are connected via an air pipe P described later. Reserve tank T
Is communicated with. The reserve tank T is composed of a high pressure tank 1, a low pressure tank 2 and a return pump 3. Further, the air spring mechanisms L and R are communicated with each other by an air pipe P having an opening / closing control valve 4 in the middle. The midway portion of the air pipe P and the high pressure and low pressure tanks 1 and 2 are communicated with each other by the air pipe P provided with the first switching valve 5 and the second switching valve 6 in the midway portion. Air pipes P communicating with the tanks 1 and 2 different from each other are connected to the remaining connection ports of the first and second switching valves 5 and 6. The suction side of the return pump 3 is connected to the low-pressure tank 2 and the discharge side of the return pump 3 is connected to the high-pressure tank 1 through air pipes P. Furthermore, the return pump 3 of such a reserve tank T
An air supply pump 7 is provided separately from the above, the suction side communicates with the outside, and the discharge side communicates with the high-pressure tank 1 through an air pipe P. An air supply control valve 8 is provided in the middle of the air pipe P on the discharge side. Furthermore, the return pump 3, the opening / closing control valve 4, the first and second switching valves 5, 6, the air supply pump 7 and the air supply control valve 8 are electrically connected to a control unit 9 including a microcomputer. .

Then, in normal traveling which is linear traveling, the opening / closing control valve 4 is opened and the first and second switching valves 5 and 6 are closed. Therefore, the air spring mechanisms L and R communicate with each other and the air conducts to each other, whereby the vehicle body maintains the same height on the left and right. When turning left or turning a left curve, the centrifugal force causes the right side of the vehicle body to sink and lower, while the vehicle leans toward the left. When a steering wheel angular velocity sensor, a G sensor, or the like provided in the steering mechanism detects this and sends a signal to the control unit 9, this sends a signal to close the opening / closing control valve 4, and the first switching valve 5 and the first switching valve 5 A switching signal is output to the switching valve 6 of No. 2. That is, the first switching valve 5 communicates the low pressure tank 2 with the air spring mechanism L, and the second switching valve 6 communicates the high pressure tank 1 with the air spring mechanism R. Therefore, high-pressure air is supplied from the high-pressure tank 1 to the air spring mechanism R to forcibly float the right side of the vehicle body. At the same time, the air of the air spring mechanism L is exhausted to the low pressure tank 2, and the left side of the vehicle body sinks. After all, even when turning left or turning a left curve, the vehicle body does not sink to the right side, the rolling phenomenon does not occur, and the same height is maintained on the left and right sides.

When the vehicle turns right or turns a right curve, the open / close control valve 4 remains closed, but the first and second switching valves 5 and 6 are switched in the opposite manner, and high-pressure air flows into the high-pressure tank. 1 is supplied to the air spring mechanism L to force the left side of the vehicle body to float. At the same time, the air of the air spring mechanism R is exhausted to the low pressure tank 2, and the right side of the vehicle body sinks. The car body does not sink to the left, no rolling phenomenon occurs, and the same height is maintained on the left and right.

If the amount of air collected in the low-pressure tank 2 becomes large, the exhaust efficiency will deteriorate. Each of the high-pressure tank 1 and the low-pressure tank 2 is provided with a pressure sensor (not shown) so as to detect the mutual pressure and send the signal to the control unit 9. When the sensors detect the pressure set values of the tanks 1 and 2, the control unit 9 outputs a drive signal to the return pump 3. Therefore, the return pump 3 sucks the air collected in the low-pressure tank 2 to reduce the pressure, and at the same time, sends the air to the high-pressure tank 1 to increase the pressure.

The air supply pump 7 compresses fresh air from the outside and supplies it via the air supply control valve 8 when the amount of air in the circuit decreases and the internal pressure of the high-pressure tank 1 drops. Alternatively, for example, in order to reduce the vehicle height as a whole, each air spring mechanism L,
The R air is exhausted and then driven to supply a set amount of air.

In this way, with the conventional structure, the desired effect of eliminating the roll phenomenon can be obtained, but a new problem also occurs. That is, the high-pressure tank 1 and the low-pressure tank 2 having a certain amount of capacity must be separately configured and installed in a narrow engine room, and the return pump 3 is also required separately. For this reason, the space occupied by these components becomes large, and the labor of mounting and piping are troublesome. Further, when the return pump 3 is driven, this vibration noise is radiated into the engine compartment and transmitted to the vehicle compartment.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the present invention, the space occupied by the components such as the high-pressure tank, the low-pressure tank, and the return pump described above becomes large, and at the time of operation of the return pump, this vibration causes noise as a transmission sound. It is possible to prevent it from becoming a factor of increase and to reduce the space by compacting each component by combining them into one component, and to set the resonance point of the anti-vibration support low by using the mass of these components. An object of the present invention is to provide a reserve tank structure in which the transmission sound when the return pump is driven is significantly reduced.

[Constitution of device]

(Means for Solving Problems) Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides air supplied from an high-pressure tank to an air spring mechanism connected to a wheel, and air discharged from the air spring mechanism. In a low-pressure tank, and in which the internal pressures of the high-pressure tank and the low-pressure tank are kept constant by a return pump, a substantially plate-shaped partition wall is made of a thick casting material, and the above-mentioned mounting holes are provided in the partition wall. A return pump is fitted and fixed by projecting to both sides of the return pump, and a substantially cup-shaped first shell made of a thin plate material is fixed to one side of the partition wall through a fixing bolt to fix the projecting portion of the return pump. The inner space with the partition is covered with the high pressure tank, and a second cup-shaped second shell made of a thin plate material is attached and fixed to the other surface of the partition through a fixing bolt to project the return pump. The reserve tank structure is characterized in that the low-pressure tank is formed by covering an inner space with the partition wall.

(Operation) Since the present invention is configured in this way, the return pumps are housed in the first and second shells, so that noise due to this driving can be reduced from being emitted to the outside. Also,
Since the high-pressure tank, the low-pressure tank and the return pump are integrally assembled with the partition wall and the first and second shells, all of them can be used as the mass, so that the resonance point of the vibration isolation support can be set low.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the air spring mechanism L connected to the left wheel and the air spring mechanism R connected to the right wheel are the same as those used so far, and these and a reserve tank Ta which will be described later. High pressure tank 10 and low pressure tank 11
Are connected via the same air pipe P as that shown in FIG. That is, the air pipe P is provided with the opening / closing control valve 4 and the first and second switching valves 5 and 6.
Mutual air spring mechanisms L and R and high and low pressure tanks 10,
11 can be appropriately switched to communicate with each other. Further, the air supply pump 7 communicates with the high-pressure tank 10 via an air pipe P provided with an air supply control valve 8 in the middle, and the control unit 9 includes a return pump 3, an opening / closing control valve 4, first and second control units. It is also similar to the conventional case that it is electrically connected to the second three-way switching valves 5 and 6, the air supply pump 7, the air supply control valve 8 and the like.

Next, the reserve tank Ta will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, this is composed of the high pressure tank 10 and the low pressure tank 11, and a return pump 3 similar to the conventional one. That is, 12 is an extremely thick partition wall made of a cast aluminum material, for example. The partition 12 is provided with a large-diameter mounting hole 13 and a small-diameter suction hole 14, and the return pump 3 is mounted and fixed to the mounting hole 13. The return pump 3 is fitted in the mounting hole 13 as shown in FIG. 2 and is mounted on one surface of the partition wall 12 so as to project in the horizontal direction and mounted.
And a pump portion 3b provided on the other surface side of the partition wall 12 along the vertical direction. A suction port body 15 is projectingly provided on the pump portion 3b, inserted into the suction hole 14 provided in the partition wall 12, and opened to the electric motor portion 3a side which is one surface side of the partition wall 12. The discharge port body (not shown) of the pump portion 3b is directly opened to the other surface side of the partition wall 12. Therefore, by driving the return pump 3, the partition wall 1
The air can be sucked from one surface side of the No. 2, compressed and discharged to the other surface side. Further, a plurality of screw holes 16 are provided at predetermined intervals at the peripheral ends on both sides of the partition wall 12,
Fixing bolts 19 ... Attaching and fixing the first shell 17 and the second shell 18 are screwed together here. These first and second shells 17 and 18 are thin-walled aluminum plate materials, and those made of sheet metal are used. These are substantially cup-shaped with one side open, and the opening is applied to the partition wall 12 to close it, and the fixing bolts 19 ... Are inserted and attached. Inside the return pump 3
The electric motor unit 3a or the pump unit 3b constituting the above is housed. And further, the first shell 17 and the partition wall 1
The internal space formed by 2 and 2 is the above high-pressure tank 10,
An internal space formed by the second shell 18 and the partition wall 12 serves as the low pressure tank 11. In this way, the reserve tank Ta includes the partition wall 12 and the first and second shells 17 and 18.
By integrating the above, the high-pressure tank 10 and the low-pressure tank 11 are configured, and further, the return pump 3 is attached and fixed to the partition wall 12 to be integrated.

With this configuration, even if the return pump 3 is driven and there is noise accompanying it, the first and second shells 17 and 18 block the sound emitted to the outside. Actually, it decreased by about 10 db. At the same time, in the reserve tank Ta, the partition 12, the first and second shells 17 and 18, and the return pump 3 are integrally assembled, so that all of these can be used as mass to set the resonance point of the vibration-proof support low. , The sound transmitted when the return pump 3 is driven is significantly reduced. The resonance point is represented by the following equation.
Here, W is the weight, and K is the spring constant of the vibration-proof support.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a phenomenon in which the state shown by the conventional one-dot chain line shifts to the change shown by the solid line. That is, the difference between them becomes the amount of reduction of the resonance point, and the reduction of the transmission sound of the return pump 3 is obtained.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the high pressure tank 10 and the low pressure tank 11 have pressure switches 20 and 21 for detecting the internal pressure of the high pressure tank 10 and controlling the on-off valve (not shown) provided on the discharge side. Is provided. The actual mounting structure is as shown in FIG. 5, and the connection port body 20a of the pressure switch, for example 20, is screwed into the guide hole 22 provided in the partition wall 12 and communicates with the high pressure tank 10, for example. The pressure switch 21 on the low-pressure tank 11 side is also attached with the same configuration.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, joint parts 23 ... For connecting the air pipes P ... Are provided near the pressure switches 20, 21, and these air pipes P ... From the place communicating with the first and second switching valves 5 and 6, two sets are provided on the high pressure tank 10 side, and the low pressure tank 11 is provided.
Two sets will be attached to the side. The joint part 23
6 has a specific configuration as shown in FIG. 6, which is attached to the joint hole 24 provided in the partition wall 12 and is capable of connecting the air pipe P with one touch.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the reserve tank Ta is suspended on a side frame F that constitutes the vehicle body. It should be noted that a suspension plate 25 is integrally projectingly provided on the upper edge of the side frame F, and is suspended here via bushings 26. To explain this suspension structure,
This is as shown in FIG. That is, the bushing 26 is made of an elastic material such as a rubber material, and the cylindrical outer peripheral portion 26c is integrally provided via the support portion 26b whose cross section is bent along the peripheral edge of the cylindrical inner peripheral portion 26a. It is what is done. The inner peripheral portion 26a is fixed to the collar 27 made of a metal material, and the outer peripheral portion 26c is fitted to the hanging plate 25. A suspending bolt 29 is inserted through the collar 27 so that the head portion of the collar 27 is retained by a suspending plate 28 provided integrally with the reserve tank Ta. That is, the suspension plate 28 is interposed between the lower edge of the collar 27 and the head of the suspension bolt 29. Also,
A baffle plate 31 is interposed and fixed between the upper edge of the collar 27 and the nut 30 screwed to the suspension bolt 29. From this, the reserve tank Ta is elastically suspended via the bushing 26, and the vibration of the vehicle body due to traveling is efficiently absorbed by the bushing 26. Even if the vibration is extremely intense, a part of the bushing 26 is interposed between the hanging plate 25, the hanging plate 28, and the baffle plate 31, so that no impact noise is generated.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the return pump is housed in the first and second shells, noise emission to the outside due to this operation can be significantly reduced. Further, since the high-pressure tank, the low-pressure tank, and the return pump are integrally configured by the partition wall and the first and second shells, each component is integrated into one component to obtain a compact size and a space reduction. The resonance point of the anti-vibration support can be set low by using all the masses of the components, and the transmission sound when the return pump is driven is significantly reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an air pressure system diagram of an electronically controlled suspension device, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a reserve tank, and FIG. III-I
A longitudinal sectional view taken along line II, FIG. 4 is a side view of the reserve tank, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is taken along line VI-VI of FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part, FIG. 8 is a resonance characteristic diagram, and FIG. 9 is a pneumatic system diagram of an electronically controlled suspension device showing a conventional example of the present invention. L, R ... Air spring mechanism, 10 ... High pressure tank, 11 ... Low pressure tank, 3 ... Return pump, 12 ... Partition wall, 13 ... Mounting hole, 19 ... Fixing bolt, 17 ... First shell, 18 ... Second shell .

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Yasutaka Taniguchi 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Minoru Katsumoto 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Within Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (56) References: 62-139706 (JP, U), 63-64507 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A high pressure tank for supplying air to an air spring mechanism connected to a wheel, a low pressure tank for collecting air discharged from the air spring mechanism, and a constant internal pressure of these high pressure tank and low pressure tank. A substantially flat plate-shaped partition wall made of a thick cast material, a mounting hole provided in the partition wall for fitting the return pump and projecting to both sides thereof, and mounting and fixing the return pump, A first shell, which is fixedly attached to one surface side of the partition wall via a fixing bolt, covers the protruding portion of the return pump, and is formed into a substantially cup-like shape with a thin plate material whose inner space with the partition wall serves as the high-pressure tank; It is fixed to the other side of the partition through fixing bolts to cover the protruding portion of the return pump and is a thin plate member that forms an internal space with the partition into the low-pressure tank. Reserve tank structure characterized in that it consists of a second shell formed on Jo.