JPS6215297Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a shock absorbing device for a vehicle to prevent damage to a vehicle when the vehicle collides with a guardrail, side wall, etc. and to ensure the safety of its occupants.

Generally, on roads on which vehicles travel, particularly on expressways, guardrails, side walls, and the like are provided on the sides of the road to prevent vehicles from deviating from the direction of travel and jumping off the road. Guardrails are generally made of steel strips that have a certain width and are uneven in the width direction.
The guardrail is supported by steel columnar members and is sturdy enough to withstand considerable impact forces. For this reason, when a vehicle that has veered off the road collides with a guardrail at high speed, the guardrail may be considerably deformed, but it is unlikely to break.On the contrary, the vehicle will be affected by the impact reaction force of the guardrail. They are often thrown back onto the road. A vehicle that has been repelled by the guardrail in this way has a high possibility of colliding with a following vehicle that is normally traveling in the direction of travel. Therefore, in such a situation, the risk of causing a catastrophe is very high, as has happened time and time again on busy highways. Furthermore, if the vehicle collides with something that is highly rigid, such as a side wall, there is a very high risk that the vehicle will be seriously damaged and the occupants will be killed or injured. In order to prevent this, various vehicle shock absorbers have been devised.

As a conventional vehicle shock absorber, for example, the first
As shown in Figure 2 (Utility Application No. 47-87033)
No.). In this vehicle shock absorber, when a vehicle collides with the rubber-like elastic body 1, the hollow part 1a of the rubber-like elastic body 1 is first crushed, and at that time, the air in the hollow part 1a is released from the air vent hole 3a of the plug body 3 to the atmosphere. By releasing it into the air, the vehicle speed is attenuated and a buffering effect is performed. Next, the rubber-like elastic body 1 itself is compressed to provide a secondary cushioning effect.

However, in such a conventional vehicle shock absorber, the hollow portion 1a is always in communication with the atmosphere through the air vent hole 3a, and the hollow portion 1a
The pressure inside is only 1 atm, the same as atmospheric pressure. For this reason, when the rubber-like elastic body 1 having the hollow portion 1a is viewed as an air spring, its spring constant is very small, and its buffering effect against large impact forces is small. Therefore, the cushioning effect against a large impact force must be almost entirely achieved through compressive elastic deformation of the rubber-like elastic body 1 itself, and there is a problem in that it hardly functions as an air spring.

This idea was created by focusing on these conventional problems, and includes an air chamber defined inside that can be expanded and contracted, a throttle hole that allows communication between the air chamber and the atmosphere, and an air pressure control hole in the air chamber. and an aperture hole opening means that opens the aperture hole when the air pressure is greater than a predetermined value. It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing a shock absorber for a vehicle in which the air in the air chamber is moved into the atmosphere through a throttle hole so that the air chamber can be reduced in size.

This invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of this invention. Reference numeral 11 denotes a guardrail having a constant width and an uneven shape in the width direction. ing. A plate 13 is fixed to the opposite side of the guardrail 11 from the columnar member 12 with bolts or the like. Around the periphery of the plate 13, there is a peripheral end portion of an expansion/contraction member 14, which is expandable and contractible, is made of an elastic material (for example, hard rubber), and has a substantially U-shaped vertical and horizontal cross section when expanded. It is fixed to maintain airtightness. The plate 13 and the expansion/contraction member 14 collectively form a bag-like member 15, and the inside of the bag-like member 15 is defined with an air chamber 16 that can be filled with air and can be expanded and contracted. A throttle hole 1 is provided at the bottom of the bag-like member 15 to allow communication between the air chamber 16 and the atmosphere.
8 is formed, and a stopper 19 is fitted into this throttle hole 18 to close it. This stopper 19 constitutes a throttle hole opening means that comes off and opens the throttle hole 18 when the air pressure in the air chamber 16 exceeds a predetermined value. That is, as shown in FIG. 4a, the stopper 1 is placed on the air chamber 16 side of the stopper 19.
It has a diameter D slightly larger than the diameter D ₀ of No. 9, and a collar 20 formed of an elastic body is fixed by baking.
As shown in FIG. 4b, this collar 20 is elastically deformed when the air pressure in the air chamber 16 exceeds a predetermined value, and comes out of the throttle hole 18 together with the stopper 19 into the atmosphere (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). , so that the aperture hole 18 is opened. Further, an air injection valve 21 is provided on the side wall of the bag-like member 15, and air can be injected into the air chamber 16 through the air injection valve 21, and after the injection, the air pressure in the air chamber 16 is maintained at a predetermined level. The air in the air chamber 16 will not leak through the air injection valve 21 even if the temperature exceeds the specified value.
As shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle shock absorbers are installed side by side on the guardrail 11, and can be easily replaced or repaired if they are shrunk due to a vehicle collision.

When a vehicle collides with such a vehicle shock absorber, the air pressure in the air chamber 16 of the bag-like member 15 increases. In this case, the bag-like member 15 functions as an air spring, and due to the characteristics of the air spring, the air chamber 1
As the air pressure increases, the spring constant also increases, so it is possible to exert a buffering effect even against large impact forces. Furthermore, when the air pressure in the air chamber 16 rises to a predetermined value or higher, the stopper 19 comes off and the throttle hole 18 opens, and the air in the air chamber 16 flows into the throttle hole 18.
It is released into the atmosphere and travels through the air. In this case, as the air moves through the throttle hole 18, the bag-like member 15 as an air spring performs a damping action, and the vehicle speed can be rapidly damped to provide an effective damping action. In this way, the air chamber 16
By not opening the throttle hole 18 until the air pressure reaches a predetermined value, a large spring constant can be obtained, which makes it possible to buffer against large impact forces. Furthermore, the bag-shaped member 15 discharges the air in the air chamber 16 to perform a damping effect, thereby preventing the vehicle from being thrown back by the impact reaction force of the vehicle shock absorber.

Note that the throttle hole 18 may be provided in the upper part of the bag-like member 15, the air injection valve 21 may be provided in the upper or lower part of the bag-like member 15, and the throttle hole 18 may be formed in consideration of the damping effect. The number is not limited to one, but a plurality may be provided. Further, the stopper 19, that is, the throttle hole opening means may be any other mechanical structural means as long as it has means for opening the throttle hole 18 when the air pressure in the air chamber 16 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. means,
A means using hydraulic pressure may also be used. This vehicle shock absorber is not limited to the case where a guardrail is attached, but may be attached to, for example, a highly rigid side wall made of concrete, a guard rope using wire or the like, or any other roadside facility.

As explained above, according to this idea,
It has an air chamber defined inside that can be expanded and contracted, a throttle hole that allows communication between the air chamber and the atmosphere, and a throttle hole opening means that opens the throttle hole when the air pressure in the air chamber is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. A bag-shaped member is provided, and 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, and the air in the air chamber moves into the atmosphere through the throttle hole, causing the air chamber to open. Since we have provided a vehicle shock absorber that can be reduced in size, it is able to provide a buffering effect even against extremely large impact forces caused by the vehicle, and has the effect of being able to prevent the vehicle from being thrown back by the impact reaction force. is obtained. Therefore, according to this invention, it is possible to reduce damage to the vehicle in the event of a vehicle collision, improve the safety of the occupants, and prevent a collision with a following vehicle due to the vehicle being repelled by the guardrail.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional vehicle shock absorber;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the vehicle shock absorber shown in FIG.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the vehicle shock absorber according to this invention, Fig. 4a is an enlarged partial sectional view of the stopper shown in Fig. 3, and Fig. 4b is an enlarged partial sectional view of the stopper shown in the atmosphere. FIG. 5 is an enlarged partial sectional view showing the deformed state of the brim when it pops out, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vehicle shock absorber shown in FIG. 3. 15... Bag-like member, 16... Air chamber, 18...
Throttle hole, 19... stopper (throttle hole opening means).

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It has an air chamber defined inside that can be expanded and contracted, a throttle hole that allows communication between the air chamber and the atmosphere, and a throttle hole opening means that opens the throttle hole when the air pressure in the air chamber is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. A bag-shaped member is provided, and 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, and the air in the air chamber moves into the atmosphere through the throttle hole, causing the air chamber to open. A vehicle shock absorber characterized by being able to be reduced.