JP5222965B2 - Shock absorber for railway vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shock absorber for a railway vehicle, and relates to a shock absorber that cushions an impact from another vehicle transmitted through a coupler.

  A railway vehicle is provided with a connecting device at each of a front portion and a rear portion of the vehicle, and a plurality of vehicles are connected to each other by a connecting device provided in each vehicle. As is well known in the art, the coupling device includes a coupler and a shock absorber connected to the coupler. There are various types of shock absorbers. For example, a rubber shock absorber provided with a rubber shock absorber made of a plurality of alternately stacked steel plates and rubber materials is well known. The rubber shock absorber is provided on the vehicle side, and the coupler is connected to the rubber shock absorber via a predetermined joint member. Therefore, an impact from another vehicle is transmitted to the rubber shock absorber via the coupler and the joint member, and is temporarily stored as elastic energy in the rubber shock absorber. Therefore, a shock is not directly transmitted to the vehicle, and a comfortable ride is provided.

  By the way, when the rubber cushioning member is deformed by the action of force, the reaction force increases in proportion to the amount of deformation. Accordingly, the rubber shock absorber has a characteristic that the reaction force increases in proportion to the displacement amount, and elastic energy is accumulated in proportion to the square of the displacement amount. Then, when the impact energy is large, a large amount of elastic energy is accumulated in the rubber cushioning member, but since a large reaction force also acts, the impact is transmitted to the vehicle. This does not necessarily provide a comfortable ride. On the other hand, if the shock absorber is such that the reaction force is constant regardless of the amount of displacement and the impact energy that can be absorbed is proportional to the amount of displacement, the shock is not easily transmitted to the vehicle and is stable and comfortable. A ride can be provided.

JP-A-11-20695

  As such a shock absorber, a viscous shock absorber and a plastic shock absorber are well known as described in, for example, Patent Document 1 related to the application of the present applicant. The viscous buffer device is configured to buffer the impact by the fluid friction of the viscous fluid, and the plastic buffer device is configured to buffer the shock by plastic deformation. In any of these shock absorbers, the magnitude of the reaction force is not affected by the amount of displacement, and the impact energy that can be absorbed is proportional to the amount of displacement. The viscous shock absorber includes a cylinder, a piston provided so as to be axially driven in the cylinder, and a viscous fluid filled in the cylinder. The piston is provided with a piston head, and a predetermined gap is formed between the inner diameter of the cylinder and the piston head. The viscous fluid is made of, for example, a resin-based elastomer, and the elastomer has viscosity and elasticity. When an axial impact is applied to the piston, the piston is driven and the elastomer is compressed. The elastomer flows through the gap between the cylinder and the piston head, so that pressure loss occurs due to the so-called orifice effect, and energy is consumed. Energy is also temporarily stored by elastic deformation due to compression. The shock is buffered by these. This shock absorber is suitable for absorbing a normal magnitude impact generated during travel. On the other hand, the plastic shock absorber is composed of first and second cylindrical bodies made of metal. The first cylindrical body has an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the second cylindrical body, but is expanded in the vicinity of the opening. The end portion of the second cylindrical body is inserted into the expanded diameter portion. When a very large impact is applied to the plastic shock absorber, the second cylindrical body is pushed into the first cylindrical body, and the diameter of the first cylindrical body is expanded by plastic deformation. The energy of impact is consumed by this plastic deformation, and the impact is alleviated. The plastic shock absorber can absorb a very large impact during a collision or the like.

  Viscous shock absorbers and plastic shock absorbers have excellent points as railway shock absorbers, but have problems. Specifically, there is a problem that the viscous shock absorber cannot absorb a very large impact, and the plastic shock absorber cannot rescue a normal impact during traveling. Therefore, if a viscous shock absorber and a plastic shock absorber are provided in series, impacts of various sizes can be absorbed. FIG. 3 shows such a connecting device 50. The coupling device 50 includes a coupler 51 coupled to another vehicle, and a shock absorber 52. The shock absorber 52 and the viscous shock absorber 53 connected in series via a predetermined joint member 63 are plastic. And a shock absorber 54. The viscous shock absorber 53 includes a cylinder 56, a piston 57 that can be driven in the axial direction in the cylinder 56, and an elastomer filled in the cylinder 56. The piston 57 can move in the axial direction by the stroke Ls1 'so that the shock can be buffered. The plastic shock absorber 54 includes a first cylindrical body 59 and a second cylindrical body 60, a part of which is inserted into the opening of the first cylindrical body 59. The inner diameter of the first cylindrical body 59 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the second cylindrical body 60, and when the second cylindrical body 60 is pushed in, the first cylindrical body 59 is plastically deformed and expanded in diameter. Become. That is, the plastic shock absorber 54 can deform the stroke Ls2 'and buffer the impact. A predetermined joint structure 62 is provided at the front end of the shock absorber 52, and the coupler 51 is coupled via the joint structure 62. Accordingly, the coupler 51 can swing with respect to the shock absorber 52.

  The coupling device 50 can absorb both an impact during normal traveling and a very large impact during a collision. However, there are some problems. The first problem is that the shock absorber 52 is composed of a viscous shock absorber 53 and a plastic shock absorber 54, so that the shock absorber 52 is increased in size. The viscous shock absorber 53 requires a pressure holding allowance Lp1 ′ so that the elastomer is efficiently compressed, and requires a certain length in the axial direction together with the stroke Ls1 ′. The plastic shock absorber 54 also has at least the stroke Ls2 ′. The length of is necessary. Further, since the joint member 53 is also provided, the shock absorber 52 becomes long and long in the axial direction. Generally, the shock absorber 52 is provided on the vehicle side. However, when the size is increased in this way, an installation area is required, which hinders other devices provided in the vehicle. As a second problem, there is a problem that the shock cannot be absorbed efficiently when traveling on a curved track. When traveling on a curved track, the coupler 51 swings relative to the shock absorber 52. At this time, the direction of impact transmitted from the coupler 51 does not coincide with the axial direction of the shock absorber 52. Then, the shock cannot be absorbed efficiently. If the shock absorber 52 composed of the viscous shock absorber 53 and the plastic shock absorber 54 is configured so as to be integrated in front of the joint structure 62, that is, the rear end of the coupler 51, the direction of the impact is that of the shock absorber 52. It is sure to match the axial direction. That is, the impact can be absorbed efficiently. However, the coupler 51 becomes large and is not practical. That is, such a configuration cannot be adopted.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorber that solves the above-described conventional problems or problems. Specifically, it can not only provide a comfortable ride by buffering the normal size of impact during driving, but also can absorb large impacts such as collisions to ensure safety, and it is compact. An object of the present invention is to provide a shock absorber that requires a small installation area on a vehicle. It is another object of the present invention to provide a shock absorber capable of efficiently absorbing an impact even when traveling on a curved track.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shock absorber for a railway vehicle in which a viscous shock absorber and a plastic shock absorber are combined, and this shock absorber is provided in a cylinder body and in a freely movable manner in the cylinder body. And a viscous fluid enclosed in the cylinder body, for example, an elastomer. The cylinder body is the same as the first cylinder having one end opened, and one end is similarly opened, and the opening of the first cylinder is externally fitted with a predetermined fitting allowance and sealed in a liquid-tight manner. And a second cylinder. The piston is composed of a piston rod and a piston head, and the piston rod is inserted from the closed end face of the first cylinder of the cylinder body, and the piston head is provided on the piston rod. The piston head forms a predetermined gap with the inner peripheral surface of the first cylinder, and when the piston is driven in the axial direction, the viscous fluid flows through the gap and absorbs the impact. Configure as follows. The second cylinder is formed so that its inner diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the first cylinder. When the second cylinder is driven in the axial direction, the diameter of the second cylinder is expanded by plastic deformation and the impact is absorbed. Such a shock absorber is fixed integrally with the coupler and is coupled to the vehicle in a swingable manner via a predetermined joint structure.

That is, in order to achieve the object of the present invention, the invention according to claim 1 is a cylinder body, a piston provided to be movable forward and backward in the cylinder body, and a viscous fluid sealed in the cylinder body. A shock absorber that is coupled to a coupler connected to another vehicle and absorbs an impact from the coupler, wherein the cylinder body includes a first cylinder having one end open; Similarly, one end portion is opened, and the second cylinder is configured to be liquid-tightly sealed by externally fitting the opening portion of the first cylinder with a predetermined fitting allowance, The piston rod comprises a piston rod inserted from a closed end surface of the first cylinder and a piston head provided on the piston rod, and the piston head is between the inner peripheral surface of the first cylinder. In a certain gap When the piston is driven in the axial direction, the viscous fluid flows through the gap and the impact is absorbed, and the inner diameter of the second cylinder is the first. When the first cylinder is driven in the axial direction, the diameter is expanded by plastic deformation and the impact is absorbed.
A second aspect of the present invention is the shock absorber according to the first aspect, wherein the viscous fluid is an elastomer.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the shock absorber according to the first or second aspect, the shock absorber is fixed integrally with the coupler, and is coupled to the vehicle in a swingable manner via a predetermined joint structure. Configured to be.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the cylinder body, the piston provided in the cylinder body so as to be able to advance and retract, and the viscous fluid sealed in the cylinder body are connected to another vehicle. It is configured as a shock absorber that is coupled to the container and absorbs shocks from the coupler. Then, the cylinder body is the same as the first cylinder having one end opened, and one end is similarly opened, and the opening of the first cylinder is externally fitted with a predetermined fitting allowance to be liquid-tightly sealed. The piston is composed of a piston rod inserted from the closed end face of the first cylinder and a piston head provided on the piston rod. The piston head has a predetermined gap formed between the inner peripheral surface of the first cylinder, and when the piston is driven in the axial direction, the viscous fluid flows through the gap to absorb the impact. Therefore, a so-called viscosity buffer device is formed from these. Accordingly, it is possible to efficiently buffer a normal impact generated during traveling. The second cylinder has an inner diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the first cylinder, and when the first cylinder is driven in the axial direction, the diameter is expanded by plastic deformation and the impact is absorbed. Therefore, a so-called plastic shock absorber is formed. Therefore, a very large impact such as a collision can be buffered, and safety can be ensured. In other words, the viscous shock absorber and the plastic shock absorber can absorb both a normal shock and a very large shock, providing a comfortable ride and high safety. Since the shock absorber is configured in this way, the first cylinder can be said to be a common component of the viscous shock absorber and the plastic shock absorber. Accordingly, the axial length is shortened and the installation area can be small. According to another invention, since the viscous fluid is made of an elastomer, it has elasticity as well as viscosity. Therefore, when the piston is driven in the axial direction, the elastomer is compressed, and the impact energy is temporarily converted into elastic energy. As a result, the shock can be buffered more efficiently. According to another invention, the shock absorber is fixed integrally with the coupler and is swingably coupled to the vehicle via a predetermined joint structure, so that the direction of impact from the coupler is the same as that of the shock absorber. It always matches the axial direction. If it does so, even if it is the impact which receives the curved track | orbit during driving | running | working, it can buffer efficiently.

It is a figure which shows the coupling device which concerns on this Embodiment, The (a) is a side view of a coupling device, The (a) is side sectional drawing of the buffering device which concerns on this Embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which illustrates typically the effect | action of the buffering device which concerns on this Embodiment, (a)-(d) is side sectional drawing of the buffering device in each state. It is a side view which shows the coupling device of a prior art example.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1A, a connecting device 1 for a railway vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is connected to a connector 2 connected to another vehicle and a rear end portion of the connector 2. The shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment is provided and a joint structure 4 provided at the rear end of the shock absorber 3. Hereinafter, for convenience, the description will be made assuming that the side closer to the coupler 2 is the front and the side closer to the joint structure 4 is the rear. Although various types of connectors 2 can be employed, in the present embodiment, the connector 2 is a so-called bolt fastening type connector. A shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment, which will be described below, is integrally fixed to the coupler 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment can be freely moved forward and backward in a cylinder body 8 including first and second cylinders 6 and 7. The piston 10 is provided and a viscous fluid 11 enclosed in the cylinder body 8. Each of the first and second cylinders 6 and 7 constituting the cylinder body 8 has a cylindrical shape in which one end is open and the other end is closed. The second cylinder 7 has a larger diameter than the first cylinder 6, but the inner diameter of the second cylinder 7 is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the first cylinder 6. In the vicinity of the opening of the second cylinder 7, as shown by reference numeral 13, the inner peripheral surface is formed in a tapered shape, and thereby the diameter increases toward the opening. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the opening of the first cylinder 6, the outer peripheral surface is formed in a taper shape as indicated by reference numeral 14, and the diameter is reduced toward the opening. The first and second cylinders 6 and 7 are liquid-tightly integrated to form a cylinder body 8 so that these tapered portions 13 and 14 are fitted together. In other words, although the inner diameter of the second cylinder 7 is smaller than the outer diameter of the first cylinder 6, the vicinity of the opening of each of the cylinders 6 and 7 is formed in a tapered shape. The cylinder body 8 is assembled in a state in which the opening of the cylinder 6 is externally fitted with a predetermined fitting allowance by the opening of the second cylinder 7. The first and second cylinders 6 and 7 constitute a plastic shock absorber. When the first cylinder 6 is pushed in the axial direction, the second cylinder 7 is plastically deformed and expanded in diameter. . The length by which the first cylinder 6 is pushed, that is, the buffer stroke Lsp is the length from the end of the first cylinder 6 to the bottom surface 15 of the second cylinder 7. The first and second cylinders 6 and 7 are fastened by pins 16, 16,... So that the coupling is not released. These pins 16, 16,... Are not broken by a normal shearing force, but are broken when a large shearing force is applied.

  The piston 10 is provided on the first cylinder 6 side of such a cylinder body 8. That is, the piston rod 18 of the piston 10 is inserted so as to be able to advance and retreat from the bottom 19 of the first cylinder 6, and a piston head 21 is provided at the tip of the piston rod 18. The piston head 21 has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the first cylinder 6, and a predetermined gap 22 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the piston head 21 and the first cylinder 6. Therefore, when the piston 10 is driven in the axial direction, the viscous fluid 11 flows through the gap 22, and the pressure of the viscous fluid 11 is lost by the so-called orifice effect, so that the shock is buffered. That is, the cylinder body 8, the piston 10, and the viscous fluid 11 constitute a viscous buffer device. In the present embodiment, a contact member 24 is fixed to the piston rod 18 on the opposite side of the piston head 21 so that the piston 10 can be driven until the contact member 24 contacts the bottom 19 of the first cylinder 6. It has become. That is, this length is the buffer stroke Lsv. Such a contact member 24 is fixed to the rear end portion of the coupler 2 so that an impact from the coupler 2 is transmitted to the piston 10.

  The viscous fluid 11 sealed in the cylinder body 8 can be composed of an incompressible viscous fluid such as machine oil, but in the present embodiment, it is composed of a resin-based elastomer. The elastomer has compressibility and can temporarily store a part of impact energy as elastic energy. This can also buffer the impact.

  The shock absorber 3 configured in this manner is connected to the vehicle S via a predetermined joint structure 4 at the rear end, that is, the rear end of the second cylinder 7. The joint structure 4 is composed of, for example, a conventionally known spherical bearing mechanism, a rod-shaped tail end member 26 extending rearward from the second cylinder 7, and a vehicle in which the front is bifurcated to form connection portions 27 and 27 The side fixing member 29, the spherical seat 32 provided in the vertical hole 30 opened in the tail end member 26, the spherical sliding bearing 33 supported by the spherical seat 32, and the hole opened in the spherical sliding bearing 33 34 can be slidably inserted, and can be constituted by a vertical pin 35 or the like supported by the connecting portions 27, 27. The vehicle-side fixing member 29 is fixed to the vehicle S, and the joint 2 and the shock absorber 3 are swung with respect to the vehicle S by the joint structure 4.

  The operation of the coupling device 1 including the shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment will be described. As indicated by an arrow Y1 in FIG. 1A, an impact is applied from another vehicle via the coupler 2. Then, a force Y2 acts on the piston 10 as shown in FIG. Since the shock absorber 3 is swung integrally with the coupler 2, the direction of the force Y <b> 2 applied to the shock absorber 3 coincides with the axial direction of the shock absorber 3. The elastomer 11 is compressed by the piston head 21 and flows into the front chamber from the piston head 21 through the gap 22 between the first cylinder 6 and the piston head 21, that is, the left chamber in FIG. The impact acting on the piston 10 is buffered by the pressure loss when the elastomer 11 flows through the gap 22 and the conversion to elastic energy by compression of the elastomer 11. When the impact is small, the length that the piston 10 is pushed backward, that is, the length that the piston 10 is pushed rightward in FIG. 2 is relatively short. When the impact is large, the length that the piston 10 is pushed becomes long. As shown in (a), the piston 10 is pushed to a length where the contact member 24 contacts the first cylinder 6. Thus, even when the piston 10 is pushed in at the maximum, the length behind the piston head 21 in the cylinder body 8 is ensured by the compression allowance Lp, and the elastomer 11 is appropriately compressed. If it is an impact that occurs during traveling, the length that the piston 10 is pushed into is sufficient in this range, and the impact can be appropriately buffered. After the shock is buffered, the piston 10 is pushed back forward. That is, restore.

  When an abnormality such as a vehicle collision occurs, the impact applied from the coupler 2 is very large. In this case, even if the piston 10 is pushed to the position shown in FIG. Then, the contact member 24 pushes the first cylinder 6 backward. A strong shearing force is applied to the pins 16, 16,... And the pins 16, 16,. The first cylinder 6 is pushed into the second cylinder 7, and the second cylinder 7 is plastically deformed SH by the length of the first cylinder 6 pushed into the inside. Energy is consumed by this plastic deformation SH, and the impact is buffered. Since the volume in the cylinder body 8 is reduced, the elastomer 11 is compressed, and a part of the elastomer 11 flows forward from the gap 22. The shock is also buffered by these. The length of the plastic deformation SH increases as the magnitude of impact increases. This plastic deformation SH reaches the buffer stroke Lsp at the maximum. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2D, the end of the first cylinder 6 abuts against the bottom surface 15 of the second cylinder 7. .

  The coupling device 1 including the shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment can be implemented in various forms without being limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, when the second cylinder 7 undergoes plastic deformation SH, the elastomer 11 can be deformed so as to be ejected to the outside. In the above embodiment, it has been described that the elastomer 11 is compressed internally when the first cylinder 6 is pushed in and the second cylinder 7 undergoes plastic deformation SH. That is, in this case, the cylinder body 8 needs to be plastically deformed SH in a state where the liquid tightness is maintained, but in order to maintain the liquid tightness, the cylinder body 8 must be formed more firmly and the weight increases. End up. On the other hand, when the second cylinder 7 undergoes plastic deformation SH, if the elastomer 11 is ejected to the outside, it is not necessary to maintain liquid-tightness, and the weight can be reduced. For example, when the second cylinder 7 undergoes plastic deformation SH, a gap may be formed between the first and second cylinders 6 and 7. It is also possible to provide a plug that is released by a predetermined internal pressure. When the elastomer 11 is ejected from these, flow resistance is generated, so that the shock can be buffered.

  Other modifications are possible for the shock absorber 3. For example, the abutting member 24 is fixed to the piston 10, and the abutting member 24 is fixed to the coupler 2. 24 is not necessarily required, and the piston rod 18 may be directly fixed to the rear end portion of the coupler 2. Also, the mounting direction of the shock absorber 3 can be modified, and the piston rod 18 may be coupled to the joint structure 4 and the end of the second cylinder 7 may be fixed to the coupler 2. Furthermore, although the shock absorber 3 has been described as being provided integrally with the coupler 2, it may be provided on the vehicle body S side. That is, the shock absorber 3 can be provided on the vehicle body S side, and the shock absorber 3 and the coupler 2 can be connected via the joint structure 4. Further, the shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment can be combined with a so-called rubber shock absorber. Although it will be easily understood by those skilled in the art, for example, a rubber shock absorber is provided on the vehicle body side, and the shock absorber 3 according to the present embodiment is coupled to the front of the rubber shock absorber via a joint structure. The coupler 2 can be provided in front of the shock absorber 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Connection apparatus 2 Connector 3 Buffer 4 Coupling structure 6 1st cylinder 7 2nd cylinder 8 Cylinder body 10 Piston 11 Viscous fluid 16 Pin 18 Piston rod 21 Piston head 22 Crevice

Claims (3)

Composed of a cylinder body, a piston provided in the cylinder body so as to be able to advance and retract, and a viscous fluid sealed in the cylinder body, and coupled to a coupler connected to another vehicle, the coupler A shock absorber that absorbs shocks from
The cylinder body has a first cylinder opened at one end, and similarly opened at one end. The cylinder body is externally fitted with a predetermined fitting allowance to be liquid-tight. A second cylinder that is sealed,
The piston comprises a piston rod inserted from a closed end surface of the first cylinder and a piston head provided on the piston rod,
A predetermined gap is formed between the piston head and the inner peripheral surface of the first cylinder, and when the piston is driven in the axial direction, the viscous fluid flows through the gap and absorbs an impact. Is supposed to be
The inner diameter of the second cylinder is smaller than the outer diameter of the first cylinder, and when the first cylinder is driven in the axial direction, the diameter is expanded by plastic deformation and the impact is absorbed. A shock absorber for a railway vehicle, characterized in that 2. The shock absorber for a railway vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the viscous fluid is an elastomer. 3. The railway according to claim 1, wherein the shock absorber is fixed integrally with the coupler and is swingably coupled to the vehicle via a predetermined joint structure. A shock absorber for a vehicle.

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