KR100827640B1 - Air spring able to pump compression air of itself - Google Patents

Abstract

An air spring capable of self pumping of compression air is provided to control vehicle height with an air spring without a compressor by sucking external air and filling the air in a reservoir chamber through a self pumping unit. An air spring(100) comprises an air chamber(122), a reservoir chamber(140), a solenoid valve(170), and a self pumping unit(160). The air chamber is formed in a soft diaphragm(120) supported by a frame(110). The reservoir chamber is provided at one side of the frame to store compressive air. The solenoid valve, provided at a path between the reservoir chamber and the air chamber, allows the compressive air to be sent from the reservoir chamber to the air chamber. The self pumping unit sucks external air and fills the external air in the reservoir chamber. The self pumping unit includes a pumping piston(162), a pumping room(163) connected with external air and the reservoir chamber by first and second paths(164a,164b), and first and second check valves(166a,166b) installed to open and close the first and second paths sequentially.

Description

AIR SPRING ABLE TO PUMP COMPRESSION AIR OF ITSELF

1 is a view schematically showing a height adjusting apparatus including a conventional air spring.

2 is a view showing the air spring as a whole according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 (a) and (b) is a view for explaining the action of the air spring according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 conceptually illustrates one embodiment of a height adjustment device including the air spring shown in Figures 2 and 3.

<Code Description of Main Parts of Drawing>

120: diaphragm 122: air spring

140: reservoir chamber 160; Self Pumping Unit

161: cylinder chamber 163: pumping chamber

164a, 164b: first and second flow paths 166a, 166b: first and second check valves

The present invention relates to an air spring that adjusts the garage according to a pressure change in the diaphragm, and more particularly, self-generated to generate compressed air and supply the compressed air into the diaphragm to adjust the vehicle's garage. It relates to an air spring capable of pumping.

As used herein, the term "diaphragm" means a soft tube that defines an air chamber in an air spring, which includes a soft tube of air springs, commonly referred to as "bellows."

The air spring is used to improve the ride comfort of the vehicle in the suspension of the vehicle in combination with the shock absorber or independently of the shock absorber. These air springs are configured to trap air in the soft diaphragm and exploit its compressibility to achieve spring action.

In addition, conventionally, the air spring used to adjust the height of the vehicle, along with other uses, such as improving the ride comfort is known, the technology of such an air spring and the height adjustment device comprising the same is disclosed in Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2005-102225 And many publications such as Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-010225.

1 is a schematic diagram schematically illustrating a conventional height control apparatus using an air spring. As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional garage control apparatus further includes a compressor 3 and a reservoir tank 4 separately from the air spring 2. The compressor 3 produces compressed air and supplies the compressed air to the reservoir tank 4. A solenoid valve 5 is installed between the reservoir tank 4 and the air spring 2, and the solenoid valve 5 is controlled by the electronic control unit 6 to supply compressed air to the air spring 2. do. At this time, the electronic control unit 6 controls the compressor 3 and the solenoid valve 5 on the basis of the garage information obtained from the garage sensor 7 installed in the vehicle body (not shown). The height of the vehicle can be adjusted according to the expansion / contraction of the car.

However, in the conventional garage control device, since the vehicle mounting of the compressor 3 is essentially required, the structure thereof is complicated, and noise, compressed air leakage caused by the compressor 3 making compressed air, Problems such as leaks were serious. In addition, an increase in the cost of additionally installing the compressor 3 in the vehicle, and a decrease in the light weight of the vehicle are also pointed out as a conventional problem.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an air spring capable of generating compressed air by itself and supplying the compressed air into the diaphragm to adjust the vehicle height.

The present invention provides an air spring formed with an air chamber inside the soft diaphragm supported by the frame. An air spring according to the present invention is provided in a reservoir chamber provided on one side of a frame for storing compressed air, and in a flow path between the reservoir chamber and the air chamber, from the reservoir chamber to the air chamber. And a solenoid valve for selectively providing compressed air, and a self pumping unit operative to suck outside air by force transmitted during vehicle movement and to fill the sucked outside air into the reservoir chamber.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the self pumping unit includes a cylinder chamber formed in the frame, a pumping piston sliding in the cylinder chamber by the force transmitted during the vehicle movement, and a first and second flow paths, respectively. A pumping chamber connected to the outside air and the reservoir chamber and configured to increase and decrease an internal pressure according to the movement of the pump piston, and a first installed to open and close the first flow path and the second flow path in order according to the pressure increase and decrease of the pumping chamber. And a second check valve.

At this time, the cylinder chamber is opened toward the air chamber, the pumping piston is preferably installed to move in accordance with the pressure change in the air chamber in the cylinder chamber. More preferably, the pumping piston is slidably inserted into the cylinder chamber to move forward and retract by pressure increase and decrease in the air chamber, and is integrally connected to the piston and slidably inserted into the pumping chamber. It includes a pumping rod portion. In addition, it is preferable that a spring is provided to provide elastic restoring force to the pumping piston to assist the retraction of the pumping piston advanced by the pressure increase of the air chamber.

Example

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view schematically showing an air spring according to an embodiment of the present invention. Although the air spring shown in FIG. 2 is configured to be coupled with the shock absorber of the vehicle, for convenience and simplicity of the illustration, the illustration of the shock absorber will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the air spring 100 according to the present embodiment includes an upper frame 110, commonly referred to as a "retainer," and a diaphragm supported in a sealed state by the frame 110. 120 and a spring piston or air piston 130 coupled to the lower portion of the diaphragm 120. The diaphragm 120 is coupled to the frame 110 and the air piston 130 at the upper side and the lower side to form an air chamber 122 in a sealed inside thereof. The frame 110 is formed in a block shape, and one side thereof is provided with a reservoir chamber 140, a self pumping unit 160, a solenoid valve 170, and the like described in detail below.

The frame 110 is provided with an air port 124 that communicates the air chamber 122 in the diaphragm 120 with the outside of the air chamber 122. In addition, the frame 110 is formed with a compressed air flow path 142 extending from the reservoir chamber 140 to the outside thereof. The solenoid valve 170 is connected to the air chamber 122 in the diaphragm 120 through the air port 124 on one side, and to the reservoir chamber 140 through the compressed air flow path 142 on the other side. It is installed as possible.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the solenoid valve 170 has an air supply flow path that is selectively opened and closed between the air chamber 122 and the reservoir chamber 140, thereby allowing the air chamber to flow from the reservoir chamber 140. Compressed air supply to 122 is possible.

The air spring 100 according to the present embodiment makes compressed air by itself without being connected to an external compressor, and connects the compressed air by the reservoir chamber 140 and the solenoid valve 170. Can be fed into 122. To this end, the air spring 100 includes a self pumping unit 160 that operates to suck outside air by the force transmitted during vehicle movement and to fill the sucked outside air into the reservoir chamber.

According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the self pumping unit 160 includes a cylinder chamber 161 formed in the frame 110, a pumping piston 162 slidingly moved in the cylinder chamber 161, and the The pumping chamber 163 connected to the cylinder chamber 161 and the first and second check valves opened and closed according to the pressure increase and decrease of the pumping chamber 163 so that the internal pressure increases and decreases as the pumping piston 162 moves. 166a, 166b).

A first flow path 164a and a second flow path 164b are formed in the frame 110. The first flow path 164a allows the pumping chamber 163 to communicate with external air outside the frame 110. The second flow path 164b connects between the pumping chamber 163 and the reservoir chamber 140. In this case, a first check valve 166a is installed in the first flow path 164a and a second check valve 166b is installed in the second flow path. Accordingly, the first and second check valves 166a and 166b are opened in sequence and the first and second checks are made in order as the pressure in the pumping chamber 163 increases or decreases due to the movement of the pumping piston 162. By opening the valves 166a and 166b, the compressed air may be pumped into the reservoir chamber 140 through the pumping chamber 163 and supplied.

The self pumping unit 160, the force transmitted to the air spring 100 by the vehicle movement, among them, the continuous volume change of the air spring 100 according to the relative movement of the vehicle body and the wheel, and thus the air spring ( It is operated by the continuous pressure increase and decrease of the air chamber 122 in 100). To this end, the cylinder chamber 161 is open toward the air chamber 122, the pumping piston 162 is moved up and down in the cylinder chamber 161 according to the pressure increase and decrease of the air chamber 122. At this time, the regulating protrusion 112 for regulating the downward movement of the pumping piston 162 is formed near the open end of the cylinder chamber 161.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pumping piston 162 is inserted into the cylinder chamber 161 so as to be slidably moved forward and backward by the pressure increase and decrease in the air chamber 122, and And a pumping rod part 162b integrally connected to the piston part 162a and slidably inserted into the pumping chamber 163. In addition, it is preferable that a spring 162c is provided to provide elastic restoring force to the pumping piston 162 in order to assist the retraction of the pumping piston 162 advanced by the increase in the pressure of the air chamber 122.

A first flow path 164a connected to the pumping chamber 163 is provided with external air, and a first check valve 166a is installed in the first flow path 164a to allow only air flow from the outside to the pumping chamber 163. do. Therefore, when the pumping rod 162b described above retreats downward from the pumping chamber 163, a negative pressure close to a vacuum is generated in the pumping chamber 163, and thus, a pressure higher than that of the pumping chamber 163 is generated. Outside air may be introduced into the pumping chamber 166 by opening the first check valve 166a.

In addition, a second flow path 164b connects between the pumping chamber 163 and the reservoir chamber 140, and air flows from the pumping chamber 163 to the reservoir chamber 140 in the second flow path 164b. A second check valve 166b is provided which permits only. Therefore, when the pumping rod unit 162b described above is deeply advanced into the pumping chamber 163, the air introduced into the pumping chamber 163 opens into the reservoir chamber 140 while opening the second check valve 166b. Can be introduced.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are diagrams for explaining the operation of the self-pumping unit 160 described above, and FIG. 3 (a) shows the first check valve 166a open to the pumping chamber 163. 3B illustrates a state in which air introduced into the pumping chamber 163 is introduced into the reservoir chamber 140 by opening the second check valve 166b.

Referring to FIG. 3A, when there is a decrease in pressure of the air chamber 122 in the diaphragm 120, the pumping piston 162 and the pumping rod part 162b at the end thereof retreat, and before that, the pumping rod The pressure in the pumping chamber 163 occupied by the part 162b is reduced to below atmospheric pressure. At this time, the first check valve 166a opens the first flow passage 164a with the second flow passage 164b closed by the second check valve 166b, and external air opens the first flow passage 164a. It is introduced into the pumping chamber 163 through.

Referring to FIG. 3B, when there is an increase in the pressure of the air chamber 122 in the diaphragm 120, the pumping piston 162 and the pumping rod part 162b at the end thereof are advanced, and the pumping rod part ( 162b again occupies the inside of the pumping chamber 163. As a result, the first flow passage 166a is closed by the first check valve 166a and the second flow passage 166b is closed by the second check valve 166n by the pumping chamber occupying the pumping rod 162b. Is opened, air in the pumping chamber 163 flows into the reservoir chamber 140 through the second flow path 164a opened by the second check valve 166b.

By the movement of the vehicle, in particular the relative movement of the vehicle body side and the wheel side, the pressure of the air chamber 122 in the diaphragm 120 is continuously increased and decreased, whereby the self pumping unit 160 is shown in FIG. Repeating the pumping operation shown in a) and FIG. 3B, the interior of the reservoir chamber 140 is filled with compressed air.

4 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a garage control apparatus including the air spring 100 described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the height adjusting device further includes a height sensor 300, an electronic control unit 200, and the like, in addition to the air spring 100. The garage sensor 300 is installed on a vehicle body (not shown) to measure the vehicle's height and provide the measured height value to the electronic control unit 200. The electronic control unit 200 controls the solenoid valve 170 of the air spring 100 based on the measured height value. For example, when it is determined that the height of the garage is required, the electronic control unit 200 supplies the compressed air pre-filled in the reservoir chamber 140 of the air spring 100 to the air chamber 122 in the diaphragm 120. Thus, the diaphragm 120 is expanded in the height direction, and the height of the vehicle relative to the axle is raised by the height expansion of the diaphragm 120 to adjust the height of the vehicle.

In the above description of the embodiment, the self pumping unit 160 is operated by the pressure change in the air chamber 122 by the pumping piston 162 is disposed in the air chamber 122 by the relative movement of the vehicle body side and the wheel side. Although described as, the pumping piston may be directly connected to the vehicle body side or the wheel side of the relative movement, and may be directly operated by the force transmitted according to the relative movement. At this time, the cylinder chamber for slidably guiding the pumping piston will be provided in another part of the frame and not inside the air chamber.

While the invention has been described above with reference to specific embodiments, various modifications, changes or modifications may be made in the art within the spirit and scope of the appended claims, and thus, the foregoing description and drawings It should be construed as illustrating the present invention rather than limiting the technical spirit of the present invention.

 According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a compressor having a simple structure can be realized by eliminating the need for a compressor, which must be connected to an air spring in order to adjust the height of the vehicle. It has the effect of solving the noise, air leak (oil leak), etc. caused in the. In addition, since the height adjustment is implemented only by the air spring without the compressor, it is possible to contribute to the excellent economic efficiency and light weight of the vehicle.

Claims (4)

delete An air chamber formed inside the soft diaphragm supported by the frame; A reservoir chamber provided on one side of the frame for storing compressed air; A solenoid valve provided in a flow path between the reservoir chamber and the air chamber to selectively allow the provision of compressed air from the reservoir chamber to the air chamber; An air spring comprising a self pumping unit operative to suck outside air by a force transmitted during vehicle movement and to fill the sucked outside air into the reservoir chamber, wherein the self pumping unit comprises: A cylinder chamber formed in the frame, a pumping piston slidably moved in the cylinder chamber by the force transmitted during the vehicle movement; A pumping chamber connected to the outside air and the reservoir chamber by first and second flow paths, respectively, and having an internal pressure increasing and decreasing with the movement of the pump piston; First and second check valves installed to open and close the first flow path and the second flow path in order according to a pressure increase in the pumping chamber; Air spring comprising a. The air spring of claim 2, wherein the cylinder chamber is opened toward the air chamber, and the pumping piston is installed to move in accordance with the pressure change in the air chamber in the cylinder chamber. 4. The pumping piston of claim 3, wherein the pumping piston is slidably inserted into the cylinder chamber so as to move forward and backward by pressure increase and decrease in the air chamber, and is integrally connected to the piston portion and slidably coupled to the pumping chamber. An air spring comprising an inserted pumping rod portion.

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