JPH07317028A - Buffer device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a buffer device for vehicles in which the buffering action can be reset even when the vehicle has collided once, by providing an expansible air chamber in the inside and also providing an external skin member with throttle holes connecting the air chamber and the outside air and an elastic support member retaining the shape of the external skin member. CONSTITUTION:A buffer device for vehicles is constituted of an external skin member 10 and an elastic support member 12 arranged in an air chamber 11 formed in the inside of the external skin member 10 and kept in the outside air pressure. The device is installed at the side of a road and fixed at the front face by use of anchors 16. When a vehicle collides with the device, the air pressure in the air chamber 11 increases and the air is discharged from an exhaust air hole provided in an exhaust air valve 14 into the outside air. The shock due to collision of a vehicle is absorbed owing to the moderate deformation of the external skin member 10. And when the vehicle which has collided with the device is removed. The shape of the external skin member 10 is apt to return to the original shape owing to the restoring force. In this time, air is sucked from a suction hole provided in a suction valve 15 and the device is returned to the state with the buffering action.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a bicycle, a motorcycle,
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle shock absorber for preventing damage to a vehicle such as an automobile when it collides with a guardrail, a side wall, or the like, and for mitigating a shock applied to an occupant on the vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, on a road on which a vehicle travels, especially on a highway or a circuit field, a guard rail or a side wall is provided on a side portion of the road so that the vehicle does not deviate from the traveling direction and jumps out of the road. Has been. When a guardrail is provided on the side of the road, if a vehicle traveling off the road collides with this guardrail, the guardrail may be considerably deformed but is unlikely to break. It is often repelled by the impact reaction force to the road side. Then, the vehicle repelled by the guardrail is more likely to collide with a following vehicle that is normally traveling in the traveling direction. When this happens, it can cause catastrophe, as has been repeated many times on a busy highway. Further, when a member having high rigidity such as a side wall is provided on the side of the road, if the vehicle collides with the side wall or the like, there is a high possibility that the vehicle will be seriously damaged or the occupant will be injured or injured. In order to prevent such a situation, various types of vehicle shock absorbers have been conventionally proposed.

As a conventional vehicle shock absorber, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-15297, an expandable and contractible air chamber defined inside, a throttle hole capable of communicating the air chamber with the atmosphere, and an air chamber are disclosed. When a vehicle collides with the bag-shaped member and the air pressure in the air chamber exceeds a predetermined value, the throttle hole opens. However, there is described a vehicle shock absorber configured such that the air in the air chamber moves into the atmosphere through the throttle hole to reduce the size of the air chamber. The shock absorbers are mounted side by side on the guard rails so that the shock absorbers can be replaced or repaired separately when the vehicle collides and contracts.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional vehicle shock absorber, when the vehicle once collides with the shock absorber and air is discharged from the air chamber through the throttle holes into the atmosphere, the air chamber is not released. Since it remains reduced, there is a problem in that the shock absorber in such a contracted state cannot be continuously used unless it is replaced or repaired. Especially when a number of vehicles are traveling at extremely high speed, such as on a racetrack, there is a possibility that a number of vehicles may collide with the same location, so the vehicle's shock-absorbing device should always be able to provide the cushioning effect. However, in the above conventional shock absorber, it is practically difficult to quickly restore the shock absorbing function after one vehicle collides and the air chamber is once contracted, and the succeeding vehicle is the same. If there is a collision with a location, there is a problem that the impact cannot be dealt with.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular shock absorber capable of promptly restoring the shock absorbing effect even if the vehicle collides once and does not require maintenance work such as replacement and repair. To do.

[0006]

In the vehicle shock absorber according to the invention described in claim 1 of this specification, an expandable / contractible air chamber is formed inside so that the air chamber can communicate with the atmosphere. And an elastic support member that is disposed in the air chamber and that can maintain the shape of the outer cover material and change the shape by an external force. A further feature of the vehicle shock absorber according to the present invention is that the elastic support member is a bag-shaped body, and a blower for sending air to the internal space of the bag-shaped body is connected to the bag-shaped body. To be there. A further feature of the vehicle shock absorber according to the present invention is that the outer cover is further provided with an intake valve that forms an intake hole.

In the vehicle shock absorber according to the invention described in claim 6 of this specification, an expandable and contractible air chamber is formed inside, and an exhaust hole for discharging air from the air chamber to the atmosphere is formed. An outer cover member provided with an exhaust valve having an adjustable air flow rate and an intake valve forming an intake hole for sucking air from the atmosphere in the air chamber, and maintaining the shape of the outer cover member disposed in the air chamber. An elastic support member whose shape can be changed by an external force is provided. Claim 6
A further feature of the vehicle shock absorber described in paragraph 1 is that the elastic support member is formed of a bag-shaped body, and a blower for sending air to the internal space of the bag-shaped body is connected to the bag-shaped body. .

[0008]

In the vehicle shock absorber of the present invention thus constructed, when the vehicle collides, the air pressure in the air chamber rises and the air in the air chamber is released into the atmosphere from the throttle hole or the exhaust hole. To be done. At this time, if the size of the throttle hole or the exhaust hole is adjusted so that the air is not exhausted at once, the shock caused by the collision of the vehicle is gradually released from the outer skin material by gradually releasing the air. It can be absorbed by various deformations. Furthermore, since the elastic support member is provided inside the air chamber, the impact due to the collision of the vehicle can be mitigated also by this elastic support member. Further, according to this vehicle shock absorber, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from being repelled by the impact reaction force, so that it is also possible to prevent the repelled vehicle from colliding with the following vehicle. Therefore, according to the present invention, the damage to the vehicle can be reduced and the impact on the occupant can be reduced.

When the vehicle that has collided is moved from the shock absorber for the vehicle, the shape of the outer cover material tends to return to its original shape due to the restoring force of the elastic support member. At this time, the air is sucked from the throttle hole or the suction hole until the air in the air chamber has the same atmospheric pressure as the atmosphere. In this way, this vehicle shock absorber can return to its original shock absorbing state by moving the vehicle even if the air chamber is once contracted, and there is no need to perform maintenance work. This is particularly suitable when there is a possibility that a plurality of vehicles will collide with each other at the same place, such as at a circuit hall.

Further, since the vehicle shock absorber of the present invention is constructed so that the shape of the outer cover material can be maintained by the elastic support member in the normal state, the air chamber is not formed with the perfect airtightness maintained. However, in the manufacturing process, it is not necessary to take care so as to completely maintain the airtightness of the outer cover material. Further, for example, even if the airtightness of the outer cover is impaired as the device is used repeatedly, the cushioning effect against the vehicle impact and the restoring ability of the cushioning effect can be maintained, and the conventional vehicle cushioning described above is possible. It has a longer service life than a device, that is, a device in which the buffering effect disappears when the airtightness of the air chamber is impaired.

In particular, in the case where the outer cover material of this vehicle shock absorber is provided with an intake valve which is opened only when the air pressure inside the air chamber becomes lower than the atmospheric pressure, the intake air of this intake hole is provided. If the size of the intake hole with the intake valve is set to be larger than the size of the throttle hole so that the amount becomes larger than the intake amount of the throttle hole, the cushioning function is restored by the suction of air after the vehicle moves. The speed can be increased.
In the case where such an intake valve is provided, since the intake valve does not open when the vehicle collides, the cushioning action against this impact is not reduced.

Further, an intake valve for forming an intake hole for sucking air from the atmosphere into the air chamber is provided in the outer cover material, and an exhaust valve having an adjustable ventilation amount for forming an exhaust hole for discharging air from the air chamber to the atmosphere. In the one provided with, the cushioning effect of this vehicle cushioning device is adjusted by adjusting the ventilation amount of the exhaust hole by the exhaust valve.
It can be adjusted appropriately according to the bicycle circuit area, automobile circuit area, highway, angle of the curve of the road, etc., and the cushioning function is automatically restored by the suction of air after the vehicle is moved by the action of the intake valve. Can be done on a regular basis.

Further, in the case where the elastic support member is constituted by a bag-like body and a blower for sending air to the inner space of the bag-like body is connected to the bag-like body, when the vehicle shock absorber is used. Sends air from the blower to the inside of the bag-shaped elastic support member to expand the elastic support member to the maximum extent and maintain the shape of the outer cover material, while the air inside the elastic support member is not used. Can be appropriately removed to shrink the elastic support member, and the space occupied by the vehicle shock absorber can be reduced. Even if the elastic support member is not manufactured to keep the airtightness securely, the shape of the outer cover material can be maintained by continuously feeding air from the blower to the elastic support member during the use of the device. The cushioning effect of the device can be fully exerted.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a vehicle shock absorber according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vehicle shock absorber according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which a skin material 10 of the device is partially broken, FIG. 3 is a top view of the device, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the apparatus.

This vehicle shock absorber mainly comprises an outer cover material 10 and an elastic support member 12 provided in an air chamber 11 formed inside the outer cover material 10 and kept at atmospheric pressure. . The outer cover material 10 has a laminated structure in which both surfaces of the glass fiber layer are coated with vinyl chloride resin,
The shape is such that the top surface is a balanced quadrilateral, and the shape viewed from the front is a rectangle measuring about 1 m in length and about 5 m in width, and the shape viewed from the side is a square measuring about 1 m in length and width. Further, the elastic support member 12 is used by enclosing air therein, and is made of a vinyl chloride resin material. First, an airtight flat tube is manufactured and the openings at both ends thereof are sealed beforehand, Subsequently, it is manufactured by partially thermocompression-bonding eight portions so as to be divided into nine equal bag-shaped portions in the length direction. Subsequently, the elastic supporting member 12 is folded in a wave shape at the portion which is thermocompression-bonded, and is covered with the outer covering material 10 so as to have a hump shape by injecting air later.

When this vehicle shock absorber is used, air is injected into the elastic support member 12. This air injection is performed from an air circulation valve 13 that is provided so as to penetrate the outer skin material 10. When the air flow valve 13 is closed by injecting air until the internal pressure of the elastic supporting member 12 becomes about 1.9 atmospheric pressure, the elastic supporting member 12 forms a hump shape and spreads over the entire air chamber 11, thereby. The shape of the outer cover material 10 is retained. When there is a request to discharge air from the elastic support member 12, the air circulation valve 1
3 may be opened and air may be discharged.

The outer cover member 10 communicates with each air chamber 11 defined by the elastic support member 12 and the atmosphere.
An exhaust valve 14 forming an exhaust hole and an intake valve 15 forming an intake hole are formed. FIG. 6A shows a sectional view of the exhaust valve 14, and FIG. 6B shows a sectional view for explaining the operation of the exhaust valve 14. In addition, FIG.
A sectional view of the intake valve 15 is shown in FIG.
5 is a sectional view for explaining the operation of No. 5.

As shown in FIG. 6 (a), the exhaust valve 14 has a valve holder 21 attached to the outer cover member 10 fitted with a valve body 21 forming an exhaust hole A. Toward the valve seat portion 21a which is a part of the valve poppet 2
2 is configured to be biased by the action of the spring 23. The spring 23 is used for the valve body 21.
The mesh member 24 attached to the upper end of the can be removed and replaced with a suitable elastic constant. Figure 6
As shown in (b), when the vehicle collides with the vehicle shock absorber and the pressure in the air chamber 11 becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure, the valve poppet 22 resists the biasing force of the spring 23. The air in the air chamber 11 is separated from the seat portion 21a and is discharged through the exhaust hole A.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the intake valve 15 is a conventionally known intake reed valve, and is a valve holder 3 that forms an intake hole B attached to the outer skin 10.
A lead 31 is fixed to a part of 0 by a pin 32. Then, when the vehicle collides with the vehicle shock absorber and the air chamber 11 is contracted and then the vehicle is moved from the shock absorber, as shown in FIG. Air is sucked into the air chamber 11.

The vehicle shock absorber thus formed is arranged on the side of a road or a circuit field on which the vehicle runs.
The front surface is fixed to the ground using an anchor 16 as shown in FIG. In this way, by fixing the front surface of the vehicle shock absorber, it is possible to prevent the vehicle or an occupant from being caught on the lower surface of the shock absorber when the vehicle collides. When the vehicle collides with the vehicle shock absorber thus configured, the air pressure in the air chamber 11 rises, and the air in the air chamber 11 is released into the atmosphere from the exhaust hole A formed in the exhaust valve 14. It As a result, the outer cover material 10 caused by the gradual release of air from the impact caused by the collision of the vehicle
Can be absorbed by the gradual deformation of. Further, since the elastic supporting member 12 is provided inside the air chamber 11, the elastic supporting member 12 can also reduce the impact due to the collision of the vehicle. Further, according to this vehicle shock absorber, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from being repelled by the impact reaction force, and it is possible to prevent a collision with the following vehicle due to the vehicle being repelled. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the damage to the vehicle and the impact on the occupant.

Since the exhaust valve 14 of this embodiment can adjust the ventilation amount of the exhaust hole A by changing the elastic constant of the spring 23, the situation of the place where the vehicle shock absorber is installed ( For example, it can be adjusted so as to obtain an optimum cushioning effect according to a bicycle circuit area, an automobile circuit area, a highway, an angle of a road curve, and the like.

Further, in this embodiment, when the collided vehicle is moved from the vehicle shock absorber, the restoring force of the elastic support member 12 tends to restore the shape of the outer cover material 10. At this time, the air in the air chamber 11 is quickly sucked through the intake hole B formed in the intake valve 15 until the air pressure becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure. In this way, the vehicle shock absorber according to this embodiment can return to the original cushioning state without performing maintenance work only by moving the vehicle, even if the air chamber 11 is once contracted. Therefore, it is suitable particularly when there is a possibility that a plurality of vehicles will collide with each other at the same place, such as a circuit field.

In the vehicle shock absorber thus constructed, since the shape of the outer cover material 10 can be maintained by the elastic support member 12 in the normal state, the air chamber 11 can be kept completely airtight. Need not be formed, and it is not necessary to care to completely maintain the airtightness of the outer cover material 10 in the manufacturing process. Further, for example, even if the airtightness of the outer skin material 10 is impaired with repeated use, the cushioning effect against the vehicle impact and the ability to restore the cushioning effect can be maintained. It has a longer service life than a device in which the buffering effect disappears when the airtightness of the air chamber is impaired.

In the vehicle shock absorber of the above embodiment,
Since the elastic support member 12 has nine rugged surfaces and the upper surface is a parallelogram, that is, the left and right end surfaces of the device are parallel and inclined, when a plurality of vehicle shock absorbers are installed side by side, The mating end surfaces can be arranged so as to overlap each other, and even if the vehicle collides with this portion, the vehicle or the occupant is not caught between the adjacent shock absorbers. When the vehicle is traveling on the left side and the vehicle shock absorber is installed on the left side of the road, as shown in this embodiment, the diagonal end surface of the vehicle shock absorber on the left side faces toward the right side. If it is arranged so as to cover the end surface of the vehicle shock absorber, the possibility that a vehicle or an occupant will be caught between the two vehicle shock absorbers is further reduced.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, since the elastic support member 12 is formed into a hump shape, it can be appropriately curved along the curve of the road.

By the way, when this vehicle shock absorber is installed in a circuit field or the like where the possibility of collision of the vehicle is high, as shown by the phantom lines in FIGS. 3 and 5, the skin is made of heat resistant material such as carbon fiber and the like. By covering the shock absorber with a cover 17 covered with a material having excellent fire resistance, the front surface is hung on the ground and the cover 17 is fixed to the ground, so that the skin material 10 is generated by friction heat of collision or ignition of fuel. And the like can be prevented from being altered.

In the above embodiment, the elastic support member 12 is made of vinyl chloride resin having air enclosed therein. However, if the elastic support member 12 is made of elastic resin such as rubber instead of vinyl chloride resin, it is more preferable. It is suitable. Also, the outer skin material 10
The elastic support member may be made of an elastic foam material that can maintain its shape and can be deformed in the event of a vehicle collision.

Further, in the above embodiment, the elastic support member 1
Although the air circulation valve 13 is provided in 2 and air is injected through the air circulation valve 13 and then the air circulation valve 13 is closed, a blower is connected to the air circulation valve 13 to connect the blower to the vehicle. Bag-shaped elastic support member 1 before use
2 blows air from the blower to expand the elastic support member 12 to the maximum, and thereafter blows air into the elastic support member 12 by the blower 18 while using the same device.
The cushioning effect of the apparatus may be sufficiently exerted by continuously feeding the apparatus so that the shape of 0 can be maintained. And in the case of adopting the configuration provided with such a blower 18,
Since the elastic support member 12 does not have to be manufactured so as to maintain reliable airtightness, the elastic support member 12 can be manufactured by a simple manufacturing method such as sewing and molding a vinyl chloride resin. The blowers may be provided in a plurality of vehicle shock absorbers, respectively, but one blower may be configured so that air can be simultaneously injected into the elastic support members of the plurality of vehicle shock absorbers.

Further, although the elastic support member 12 is formed in a hump shape in the above-mentioned embodiment, it may be formed on the elastic support member 40 having a comb-shaped cross section as shown in the top view of FIG. 9, or FIG. As shown in the top view of FIG. 3, the outer periphery of the side surface may be formed on the elastic support member 41 having a shape along the inner surface of the outer cover material.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the exhaust valve 14 and the intake valve 15 are attached to the outer cover material 10 so that the air in the air chamber 11 is discharged through the exhaust hole A, and the air into the air chamber 11 is discharged. Although the intake is performed through the intake hole B, only the throttle hole may be provided in the outer cover material 10 and both the exhaust and the intake may be performed through the throttle hole. Also, the outer skin material 1
If an intake valve that forms a throttle hole and an intake hole that is larger than the size of the throttle hole is provided at 0, the once compressed air chamber can be quickly restored.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle shock absorber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an outer cover material 10 of the same apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the device.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view taken along line 4-4 in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the device.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of an exhaust valve 14 of the device,
(B) is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the exhaust valve 14.

FIG. 7A is a sectional view of an intake valve 15 of the same device. (B) is a sectional view for explaining the operation of the intake valve 15.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway perspective view of an outer cover material 10 of the device for showing a usage pattern of the device.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a vehicle shock absorber according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a vehicle shock absorber according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference numeral 10 ... Skin material, 11 ... Air chamber, 12, 40, 41 ... Elastic support member, 13 ... Air flow valve, 14 ... Exhaust valve, 15 ... Intake valve, 17 ... Cover, 18 ... Blower.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vehicular shock absorber for cushioning a shock caused by a vehicle collision, comprising: an outer cover member having an expandable / contractible air chamber formed therein and a throttling hole for communicating the air chamber with the atmosphere. A shock absorber for a vehicle, comprising: an elastic support member that is disposed in the air chamber and that can maintain the shape of the outer cover material and change the shape by an external force. 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the elastic support member is a bag-shaped body, and a blower for sending air to the bag-shaped body is connected to the bag-shaped body. Shock absorber. 3. The shock absorber for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the outer cover is further provided with an intake valve forming an intake hole. 4. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the elastic support member comprises a bag-shaped body, and a blower for sending air to the bag-shaped body is connected to the bag-shaped body. Shock absorber. 5. The vehicle shock absorber according to claim 2, wherein the outer cover is further provided with an intake valve forming an intake hole. 6. A shock absorber for a vehicle, which absorbs a shock caused by a collision of a vehicle, wherein an air chamber that is expandable and contractible is formed inside, and an air flow amount that forms an exhaust hole for discharging air from the air chamber to the atmosphere is adjustable. A skin material having an exhaust valve and an intake valve forming an intake hole for sucking air from the atmosphere in the air chamber; and a skin material arranged in the air chamber to maintain the shape of the skin material and change its shape by an external force. A shock absorber for a vehicle, comprising: 7. The vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the elastic support member comprises a bag-shaped body, and a blower for sending air to the bag-shaped body is connected to the bag-shaped body. Shock absorber.