A torque-transmitting air spring

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of shock absorbers, and in particular to an air spring capable of transmitting torque. Existing shock absorbers cannot achieve torque transmission. An air spring capable of transmitting torque comprises an air spring body, wherein the air spring body comprises a connecting seat, an upper ball bowl, a lower ball bowl, a lower ball bowl seat, a ball pin, a secondary cylinder assembly, a floating piston assembly, a primary cylinder assembly, a piston rod assembly, a first air chamber and a second air chamber. The piston rod assembly comprises a piston rod, a spline sleeve and a nut. The spline sleeve and the piston rod are positioned circumferentially by a key and axially by a nut. A drilled hole is provided on the nut and a pin is inserted therein for locking. A spline groove matching the spline sleeve is machined inside the primary cylinder to achieve torque transmission. After the spring is assembled on a vehicle suspension, the steering of the frame driven by the rotation of the spring can be achieved. The present invention has good development prospects in the field of shock absorbers.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of shock absorbers, and in particular to an air spring capable of transmitting torque. Background Art

[0002] Shock absorbers are used to suppress the oscillation when the spring rebounds after absorbing vibration and the impact from the road. For a long time, the mainstream shock absorbers used in special vehicle suspension systems have been hydraulic shock absorbers and oil-gas springs. The corresponding structures are relatively mature, but there are always problems such as the damping coefficient is greatly affected by the viscosity of the liquid, the temperature decay is obvious, and the low-temperature performance of the shock absorber is poor.

[0003] An air spring usually refers to a spring that is filled with compressed air in a retractable closed container and uses the elastic effect of air. Existing air springs have the following characteristics: 1. The load is small, usually within 1000N; 2. The rigidity is insufficient, and it is usually used for moving parts, support after the door is opened, and used as an elastic unit of the suspension system; 3. After the existing air spring is produced, its pressure cannot be adjusted, and the characteristic curve formed by its displacement and output force value is fixed.

[0004] In the vehicle posture adjustment system, the vehicle posture is adjusted by the change of the volume of hydraulic oil in the oil-gas spring, but there are the following defects: the space layout inside the vehicle is limited, which limits the loading oil amount of the oil-gas spring and limits the stroke of the oil-gas spring to a certain extent; and the working medium of the hydraulic system is hydraulic oil. Under the layout restrictions on the vehicle, it is difficult to apply a fast-response vehicle posture adjustment system, resulting in a slow adjustment speed of the oil-gas spring, which cannot meet the adjustment time requirements of the vehicle posture adjustment system. At the same time, the hydraulic shock absorber and the oil-gas spring cannot realize the transmission of torque. Therefore, an air spring that can transmit torque is designed. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the above situation, in order to overcome the defects of the prior art, the present invention provides an air spring capable of transmitting torque, so as to solve the problem that the prior shock absorber cannot realize torque transmission.

[0006] The technical solution is an air spring capable of transmitting torque, comprising an air spring body, wherein the air spring body comprises a connecting seat, an upper ball bowl, a lower ball bowl, a lower ball bowl seat, a ball pin, a secondary cylinder assembly, a floating piston assembly, a primary cylinder assembly, a piston rod assembly, a first air chamber and a second air chamber, wherein the piston rod assembly comprises a piston rod, a spline sleeve and a nut, wherein the spline sleeve and the piston rod are circumferentially positioned by a key and axially positioned by a nut, a hole is drilled and reamed at any position on the nut and a pin is inserted for locking, a spline groove cooperating with the spline sleeve is machined inside the primary cylinder, and the spline structure can realize the transmission of torque, and can directly realize the steering of the wheel with the frame.

[0007] Furthermore, the secondary cylinder assembly includes an upper end cover and a secondary cylinder, an inflation valve is installed on the upper end cover, the primary cylinder assembly includes a guide sleeve assembly, a spacer ring, a primary cylinder, an air-controlled one-way valve, a lower cover and a cylinder base, the first air chamber is a closed space formed by the upper end cover, the secondary cylinder, the floating piston assembly and the piston rod assembly, the inflation valve is connected to the first air chamber, the second air chamber is a closed space formed by the spacer ring, the primary cylinder, the lower cover, the cylinder base and the piston rod assembly, the air-controlled one-way valve is connected to the second air chamber, and is used to control the inflation and deflation of the second air chamber, a vent is provided on the spline sleeve, the secondary cylinder assembly is connected to a dustproof sleeve, and an exhaust hole is processed on one end of the dustproof sleeve away from the secondary cylinder assembly, which is used to connect the space between the floating piston assembly and the guide sleeve assembly to the atmosphere during the retraction of the primary cylinder assembly, thereby ensuring the smooth retraction of the primary cylinder assembly.

[0008] Furthermore, one end of the guide sleeve assembly is processed with a thread connected to the first-stage cylinder, and the other end surface is processed with an annular groove, and a buffer pad is installed in the annular groove to prevent collision between the guide sleeve assembly and the floating piston assembly during the retraction of the first-stage cylinder assembly.

[0009] Furthermore, a first step and an internal thread are processed at one end of the first-stage cylinder, a spacer ring is installed at the first step on the first-stage cylinder and connected to the guide sleeve assembly through the internal thread, and a threaded hole and a second step are processed on the upper part of the other end of the first-stage cylinder for the installation and positioning of the air-controlled one-way valve.

[0010] Furthermore, one end of the lower cover is processed with a third step and an internal thread and is connected to the cylinder base, and the other end of the lower cover is provided with a fourth external step for installation with the first-stage cylinder, and the step structure plays a positioning role.

[0011] Furthermore, the air-controlled one-way valve is fixedly mounted on the primary cylinder by means of screws.

[0012] Furthermore, sealing rings are installed between the inflation valve and the upper end cover, between the upper end cover and the piston rod assembly, between the floating piston assembly and the piston rod assembly, between the floating piston assembly and the secondary cylinder assembly, between the spacer ring and the piston rod assembly, between the spacer ring and the primary cylinder, and between the cylinder base and the lower cover to prevent air leakage.

[0013] Furthermore, the dustproof sleeve is connected to the secondary cylinder assembly through threads and is locked by a set screw.

[0014] Furthermore, the upper end cover is fixed to the secondary cylinder by welding.

[0015] Furthermore, the floating piston assembly and the primary cylinder assembly are both assembled on the piston rod assembly, and the secondary cylinder assembly is arranged outside the floating piston assembly and the primary cylinder assembly.

[0016] Furthermore, one end of the ball pin is processed with a thread, the end of the piston rod assembly is processed with a thread and is connected to the ball pin through the thread, and the other end of the ball pin is processed with a spline groove and connected to the frame to achieve steering of the wheel with the frame.

[0017] Working principle: A certain pressure of gas is pre-charged into the first air chamber from the charging valve. Under the action of the gas pressure, the floating piston assembly is pushed out along the piston rod assembly, thereby pushing the first-stage cylinder assembly out along the piston rod assembly. When the floating piston assembly moves to the position of contacting the end face of the dust sleeve, the floating piston assembly stops moving and cannot continue to push the first-stage cylinder to extend outward. At this time, the second air chamber is charged through the air-controlled one-way valve. Under the action of the gas pressure, the first-stage cylinder assembly continues to extend outward along the piston rod assembly. When the spacer ring in the first-stage cylinder assembly contacts the end face of the spline sleeve in the piston rod assembly, the first-stage cylinder assembly stops. Movement, at this time, the first-stage cylinder assembly moves to the extreme position, and the product is at the maximum stroke position; when the first-stage cylinder assembly retracts, the gas in the second air chamber is exhausted to the atmosphere through the air-controlled one-way valve, and the air between the floating piston assembly and the guide sleeve assembly is exhausted to the atmosphere through the exhaust hole on the dust-proof sleeve. At this time, the first-stage cylinder assembly retracts smoothly. When the first-stage cylinder assembly contacts the floating piston assembly, the first-stage cylinder assembly pushes the floating piston assembly to move, thereby compressing the gas in the first air chamber. At the same time, the second-stage cylinder assembly, the floating piston assembly, the first-stage cylinder assembly, the piston rod assembly, and the dust-proof sleeve can all rotate under the drive of the ball pin.

[0018] The technical effect of the present invention is that the air spring has a double air chamber series structure and a spline structure to realize torque transmission, directly realize the steering of the wheel with the frame, and use compressed air as the elastic medium to realize energy transmission, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of the existing shock absorber that the damping coefficient is greatly affected by the viscosity of the liquid, the temperature decay is obvious, and the low-temperature performance is poor. It has the advantages of simple structure, light weight and no pollution, and has a good buffering effect. At the same time, it can realize the transmission of torque (1KN˙m~6KN˙m), thereby improving the comfort, stability and safety of the vehicle. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the shortest stroke state of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the intermediate stroke state of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the maximum stroke state of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the guide sleeve structure of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 It is the front view of the first-level cylinder of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 It is a top view of the first-stage cylinder of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the spline sleeve of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the dustproof sleeve of the present invention.

[0027] Fig. 9 It is the static characteristic curve diagram of the air guide device of the present invention.

[0028] In the figure: 1. ball pin; 2. connecting seat; 3. upper ball bowl; 4. lower ball bowl; 5. lower ball bowl seat; 6. charging valve; 7. secondary cylinder assembly; 71. upper end cover; 72. secondary cylinder; 8. floating piston assembly; 9. primary cylinder assembly; 91. guide sleeve assembly; 911. buffer pad; 92. spacer ring; 93. primary cylinder; 94. air-controlled one-way valve; 95. lower cover; 96. cylinder base; 10. piston rod assembly; 101. piston rod; 102. spline sleeve; 1021. vent; 103. nut; 104. key; 105. pin; 11. set screw; 12. dust sleeve; 121. exhaust hole; 13. first air chamber; 14. second air chamber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer" and the like indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" and "fourth" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0031] In addition, it should be noted that in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0032] Embodiment 1: Figures 1 to 9Provided is an air spring capable of transmitting torque, comprising an air spring body, the air spring body comprising a connecting seat 2, an upper ball bowl 3, a lower ball bowl 4, a lower ball bowl seat 5, a ball stud 1, a secondary cylinder assembly 7, a floating piston assembly 8, a primary cylinder assembly 9, a piston rod assembly 10, a first air chamber 13 and a second air chamber 14, the piston rod assembly 10 comprising a piston rod 101, a spline sleeve 102 and a nut 103, the spline sleeve 102 and the piston rod 101 are circumferentially positioned by a key 104, and axially positioned by a nut 103, and a hole is drilled and reamed at any position on the nut 103 and inserted The pin 105 is locked, and the first-stage cylinder 93 is internally processed with a spline groove that cooperates with the spline sleeve 102 to achieve the transmission of torque (1KN˙m~6KN˙m). The spline structure can realize the transmission of torque and can directly realize the steering of the wheel with the frame. The second-stage cylinder assembly 7 includes a welded upper end cover 71 and a second-stage cylinder 72. The upper end cover 71 is equipped with an air-charging valve 6. The first-stage cylinder assembly 9 includes a guide sleeve assembly 91, a spacer ring 92, a first-stage cylinder 93, an air-controlled one-way valve 94, a lower cover 95 and a cylinder base 96. The first air chamber 13 is the upper end cover 71, the second The cylinder 72, the piston rod assembly 10, the floating piston assembly 8 and the piston rod assembly 10 form a closed space, the inflation valve 6 is connected to the first air chamber 13, the second air chamber 14 is a closed space formed by the spacer ring 92, the first-level cylinder 93, the lower cover 95, the cylinder base 96 and the piston rod assembly 10, the air-controlled one-way valve 94 is connected to the second air chamber 14, and is used to control the filling and exhaust of the second air chamber 14, so that the pressure is controllable and adjustable, and the spline sleeve 102 is provided with a vent hole 1021, the second-level cylinder assembly 7 is connected to the dust sleeve 12, and the dust sleeve 12 is processed at one end away from the second-level cylinder assembly 7 There is an exhaust hole 121, which is used to connect the space between the floating piston assembly 8 and the guide sleeve assembly 91 to the atmosphere during the retraction of the first-stage cylinder assembly 9, thereby ensuring the smooth retraction of the first-stage cylinder assembly 9. The floating piston assembly 8 and the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 are both assembled on the piston rod assembly 10, and the second-stage cylinder assembly 7 is arranged outside the floating piston assembly 8 and the first-stage cylinder assembly 9. One end of the piston rod assembly 10 is processed with a thread, and one end of the ball pin 1 is processed with a thread for connecting the piston rod assembly 10. The other end of the ball pin 1 is processed with a spline groove for connecting to the frame to achieve steering of the wheel with the frame.

[0033] Embodiment 2: On the basis of embodiment 1, one end of the guide sleeve assembly 91 is processed with a thread connected to the primary cylinder 93, and the other end surface is processed with an annular groove, and a buffer pad 911 is installed at the annular groove to prevent the collision between the guide sleeve assembly 91 and the floating piston assembly 8 during the retraction of the primary cylinder assembly 9. One end of the primary cylinder 93 is processed with a first step and an internal thread, and a spacer ring 92 is installed at the first step on the primary cylinder 93 and connected to the guide sleeve assembly 91 through the internal thread. The upper part of the other end of the primary cylinder 93 is processed with a threaded hole and a second step for the installation and positioning of the air-controlled one-way valve 94. One end of the lower cover 95 is processed with a third step and an internal thread and is connected to the cylinder base 96 Next, a fourth outer step is provided at the other end of the lower cover 95 for welding and fixing with the primary cylinder 93. The step structure plays a positioning role. The pneumatic one-way valve 94 is fixedly installed on the primary cylinder 93 by screws. Sealing rings are installed between the inflation valve 6 and the upper end cover 71, between the upper end cover 71 and the piston rod assembly 10, between the floating piston assembly 8 and the piston rod assembly 10, between the floating piston assembly 8 and the secondary cylinder assembly 7, between the spacer ring 92 and the piston rod assembly 10, between the spacer ring 92 and the primary cylinder 93, and between the cylinder base 96 and the lower cover 95 to prevent air leakage. The dustproof sleeve 12 is connected to the secondary cylinder assembly 7 by threads and is locked by a set screw 11.

[0034] Embodiment three: By measuring the corresponding bearing capacity through the cylinder retraction distance and drawing the static characteristic curve of the air guide device, it can be concluded that the existence of the secondary air chamber makes the static characteristic curve of the air guide device to obtain a step-by-step increase when it reaches the position near 1130L / mm-1110L / mm. The curve forms a stronger support as the installation distance decreases, thereby making the air guide device more rigid.

[0035] Working principle: A certain pressure of gas is pre-charged from the charging valve 6 to the first air chamber 13. Under the action of the gas pressure, the floating piston assembly 8 is pushed to extend along the piston rod assembly 10, thereby pushing the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 to extend along the piston rod assembly 10. When the floating piston assembly 8 moves to the position of contacting the end face of the dust sleeve 12, the floating piston assembly 8 stops moving and cannot continue to push the first-stage cylinder 93 to extend outward. At this time, the second air chamber 14 is charged with gas through the gas-controlled one-way valve 94. Under the action of the gas pressure, the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 continues to extend outward along the piston rod assembly 10. When the spacer ring 92 in the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 contacts the end face of the spline sleeve 102 in the piston rod assembly 10, the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 stops. Stop movement, at this time, the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 moves to the extreme position, and the product is at the maximum stroke position; when the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 retracts, the gas in the second air chamber 14 is exhausted to the atmosphere through the air-controlled one-way valve 94, and the air between the floating piston assembly 8 and the guide sleeve assembly 91 is exhausted to the atmosphere through the exhaust hole 121 on the dust-proof sleeve 12. At this time, the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 retracts smoothly. When the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 contacts the floating piston assembly 8, the first-stage cylinder assembly 9 pushes the floating piston assembly 8 to move, thereby compressing the gas in the first air chamber 13. At the same time, the second-stage cylinder assembly 7, the floating piston assembly 8, the first-stage cylinder assembly 9, the piston rod assembly 10, and the dust-proof sleeve 12 all rotate under the drive of the ball pin 1.

[0036] The technical effect of the present invention is that the air spring has a double air chamber series structure and a spline structure to realize torque transmission, directly realize the steering of the wheel with the frame, and use compressed air as the elastic medium to realize energy transmission, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of the existing shock absorber that the damping coefficient is greatly affected by the viscosity of the liquid, the temperature decay is obvious, and the low-temperature performance is poor. It has the advantages of simple structure, light weight and no pollution, and has a good buffering effect. At the same time, it can realize the transmission of torque (1KN·m~6KN·m), thereby improving the functionality of the air spring as an elastic unit of the suspension system, and indirectly improving the comfort, stability and safety of the vehicle.

[0037] The present invention has been described in detail above through specific implementation modes and embodiments, but these do not constitute limitations of the present invention. Without departing from the principles of the present invention, those skilled in the art may also make many variations and improvements, which should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An air spring capable of transmitting torque, comprising an air spring body, characterized in that: The air spring body comprises a connecting seat (2), an upper ball bowl (3), a lower ball bowl (4), a lower ball bowl seat (5), a ball pin (1), a secondary cylinder assembly (7), a floating piston assembly (8), a primary cylinder assembly (9), a piston rod assembly (10), a first air chamber (13) and a second air chamber (14); the piston rod assembly (10) comprises a piston rod (101), a spline sleeve (102) and a nut (103); the spline sleeve (102) and the piston rod (101) are circumferentially positioned by a key (104) and axially positioned by a nut (103); a reaming hole is provided on the nut (103) and a pin (105) is inserted therein for locking; a spline groove matching the spline sleeve (102) is machined inside the primary cylinder (93); The secondary cylinder assembly (7) comprises an upper end cover (71) and a secondary cylinder (72); an air charging valve (6) is mounted on the upper end cover (71); the primary cylinder assembly (9) comprises a guide sleeve assembly (91), a spacer ring (92), a primary cylinder (93), an air-controlled one-way valve (94), a lower cover (95) and a cylinder base (96); the first air chamber (13) is a closed space formed by the upper end cover (71), the secondary cylinder (72), the floating piston assembly (8) and the piston rod assembly (10); the air charging valve (6) is mounted on the upper end cover (71); the primary cylinder assembly (9) comprises a guide sleeve assembly (91), a spacer ring (92), a primary cylinder (93), an air-controlled one-way valve (94), a lower cover (95) and a cylinder base (96); the first air chamber (13) is a closed space formed by the upper end cover (71), the secondary cylinder (72), the floating piston assembly (8) and the piston rod assembly (10); (6) connected to the first air chamber (13), the second air chamber (14) is a closed space formed by the spacer ring (92), the first cylinder barrel (93), the lower cover (95), the cylinder barrel base (96) and the piston rod assembly (10), the air-controlled one-way valve (94) is connected to the second air chamber (14), the spline sleeve (102) is provided with a vent hole (1021), the second cylinder barrel assembly (7) is connected to the dustproof sleeve (12), and the dustproof sleeve (12) is processed with an exhaust hole (121) at one end away from the second cylinder barrel assembly (7); One end of the ball pin (1) is processed with a thread, the end of the piston rod assembly (10) is processed with a thread and is connected to the ball pin (1) via the thread, and the other end of the ball pin (1) is processed with a spline groove and is connected to the vehicle frame.

2. The air spring capable of transmitting torque according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the guide sleeve assembly (91) is processed with a thread connected to the primary cylinder (93), and the other end surface is processed with an annular groove, and a buffer pad (911) is installed in the annular groove.

3. The air spring capable of transmitting torque according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the primary cylinder (93) is processed with a first step and an internal thread; a spacer ring (92) is installed at the first step on the primary cylinder (93) and is connected to a guide sleeve assembly (91) via an internal thread; a threaded hole and a second step are processed on the upper portion of the other end of the primary cylinder (93) and is connected to a pneumatically controlled one-way valve (94).

4. The air spring capable of transmitting torque according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the lower cover (95) is processed with a third step and an internal thread and is connected to the cylinder base (96); the other end of the lower cover (95) is provided with a fourth external step and is mounted on the primary cylinder (93).

5. The air spring capable of transmitting torque according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air-controlled one-way valve (94) is fixedly mounted on the primary cylinder (93) by means of screws.

6. The air spring capable of transmitting torque according to claim 1, characterized in that: Sealing rings are installed between the inflation valve (6) and the upper end cover (71), between the upper end cover (71) and the piston rod assembly (10), between the floating piston assembly (8) and the piston rod assembly (10), between the floating piston assembly (8) and the secondary cylinder assembly (7), between the spacer ring (92) and the piston rod assembly (10), between the spacer ring (92) and the primary cylinder (93), and between the cylinder base (96) and the lower cover (95).

7. The air spring capable of transmitting torque according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dustproof sleeve (12) is connected to the secondary cylinder assembly (7) by means of threads and is locked by means of a set screw (11), and the upper end cover (71) is fixed to the secondary cylinder (72) by welding.

8. An air spring capable of transmitting torque according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: The floating piston assembly (8) and the primary cylinder assembly (9) are both assembled on the piston rod assembly (10), and the secondary cylinder assembly (7) is arranged outside the floating piston assembly (8) and the primary cylinder assembly (9).

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