Electrically Controlled Friction Damping Variable Spherical Bearing

Abstract

The present invention discloses an electro - rheological friction damping variable spherical bearing, and its basic structure includes: a lower bearing plate; an upper bearing plate; wherein the components of the configured friction pair are insulated from each other, and the same friction pair includes a support disc; a ring - shaped support ring is provided with an installation positioning groove for installation and positioning on the support disc and is higher than the upper surface of the support disc; in the area within the support ring, a number of insulating support columns are provided; in the remaining area within the support ring, an electro - rheological fluid is filled; correspondingly, a monitoring device for monitoring the displacement of the friction pair, a control unit connected to the monitoring device, and a drive circuit connected to the output terminal of the control unit and capable of causing the electro - rheological fluid to change its properties are provided. The application prospect of the present invention is better.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a spherical bearing, and the friction damping of the spherical bearing can be changed by changing the applied electric field. Background Art

[0002] Bridge bearings are divided into plate rubber bearings, pot rubber bearings, and spherical bearings. The spherical bearing is a new type of rubber bearing developed on the basis of the pot rubber bearing, which plays a role in transferring loads, displacements and accommodating the rotation of the beam body between the beam body and the pier.

[0003] The displacement of the spherical bearing is realized by the relative sliding of the flat stainless steel plate and the flat polytetrafluoroethylene slide plate, and the rotation is realized by the relative sliding of the curved stainless steel plate and the spherical polytetrafluoroethylene slide plate. The structure of the conventional spherical bearing itself can meet the displacement and rotation of the bridge under general working conditions. However, under the action of various external loads, especially in the cases of skew bridges, sloping bridges and urban viaducts, the rotation angle of the bridge often exceeds the rotation capacity of the conventional spherical bearing. Especially when multiple heavy trucks continuously enter the urban viaduct at the same time, at this time the beam body transmits a huge load to the pier through the bearing. The unilateral action of multiple heavy trucks at the same time causes the bridge and the bearing to rotate greatly. If the rotation exceeds the designed value, the spherical bearing will overturn, and then the entire bridge will overturn, seriously affecting people's lives and property safety. For example, the main reason for the side collapse of the Wuxi bridge is that the rotation capacity of the bearing itself cannot meet the requirements of the large rotation angle of the bridge at that time, that is to say, when the bearing rotates to the maximum angle, it still cannot resist the unilateral pressure of the bridge, and finally leads to the overturning of the beam body; when the train brakes emergently, the huge braking force of the train is transmitted to the pier through the bridge, causing the bridge to displace in the same direction as the train's movement direction relative to the pier. When the displacement exceeds the designed maximum displacement but the bridge still has a displacement action in the same direction as the train's movement direction, the spherical bearing is sheared and damaged due to exceeding the displacement range.

[0004] Similarly, when an earthquake occurs, the seismic wave is transmitted to the spherical bearing through the pier and finally to the bridge. When the energy of the seismic wave is large enough, when the transverse and longitudinal displacements of the spherical bearing caused by the seismic wave exceed the designed horizontal displacement of the spherical bearing, it will also cause the overturning of the beam body.

[0005] Through specific designs, the load-bearing capacity of the spherical bearing can be improved. Although it cannot be avoided, it can still have good support performance within a certain range, thereby reducing the probability of bridge overturning.

[0006] Chinese Patent Document CN113089466A proposes to control the viscosity of the lubricating fluid by controlling the voltage between the polytetrafluoroethylene plate on the lower surface and the steel plate on the lower surface, which belongs to a solution based on variable electro - rheological friction damping. Currently, more consideration needs to be given to the depth (usually expressed by thickness) of the lubricating fluid based on electrorheological or voltage - variable effects. The reason is that the electrorheological or voltage - variable lubricating fluid itself is not a conductor, but its properties need to be changed by means of an electric field, such as becoming viscous or solidifying. In this case, the said lubricating fluid constitutes the inter - plate medium. Without considering coupling, breakdown or direct conduction should be avoided as much as possible. However, currently, insulation is mainly achieved by the lubricating oil film composed of the lubricating fluid or an independent insulating layer is introduced. It is relatively difficult to introduce an insulating layer in bridge bearings, which affects the setting of the thickness of the said lubricating fluid and thus affects the application prospects of this type of bridge bearing. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of this, as a further study of variable electro - rheological friction damping, from the perspective of expanding the thickness of the lubricating fluid, a spherical bearing with variable electro - rheological friction damping is proposed to relieve the constraint of the limited thickness of the lubricating fluid, thereby improving the application prospects of this type of spherical bearing.

[0008] In an embodiment of the present invention, a spherical bearing with variable electro - rheological friction damping is provided, and its basic structure includes:

[0009] Lower bearing plate;

[0010] Upper bearing plate, which is installed on the lower bearing plate through a friction support assembly;

[0011] Among them, the friction assembly includes at least one friction pair, the components forming the friction pair are insulated from each other, and the component located below forming the same friction pair includes a support disc, and an annular positioning installation groove is opened along the inner side of the peripheral edge on the upper surface of the support disc;

[0012] An annular support ring is provided to be installed and positioned in the installation positioning groove and protrude above the upper surface of the support disc, so as to space the support disc from another component and provide the first support;

[0013] In the area within the support ring, a number of insulating support columns are provided to space the support disc from another component and provide the second support;

[0014] The area remaining within the support ring is filled with electrorheological fluid;

[0015] Correspondingly, a monitoring device for monitoring the displacement of the friction pair, a control unit connected to the monitoring device, and a driving circuit connected to the output terminal of the control unit and capable of causing the electrorheological fluid to change its properties are provided.

[0016] Optionally, the support disk is a honeycomb aluminum disk, and the area where the honeycomb is located is the area enclosed by the positioning and mounting groove;

[0017] Correspondingly, the insulating support column is a columnar body that is in interference fit with the corresponding honeycomb hole groove, and the upper surface of the columnar body is a support surface or a support friction surface.

[0018] Optionally, if the columnar body only provides a support surface, it is made of engineering plastic;

[0019] If the columnar body provides a support friction surface, it is made of an insulating material with a surface friction coefficient lower than 0.05.

[0020] Optionally, the columnar body is a molded product of polytetrafluoroethylene or modified polytetrafluoroethylene doped with reinforcing fibers.

[0021] Optionally, the friction assembly includes a spherical crown lining plate with a spherical crown surface facing downward, and a spherical friction pair is formed between the spherical crown surface and the spherical socket formed on the lower support plate; a planar friction pair is formed between the upper end surface of the spherical crown lining plate and the upper support plate;

[0022] Corresponding to the spherical friction pair, a spherical crown friction surface is formed on the spherical crown surface or a spherical stainless steel sliding plate is installed, and a spherical crown surface support disk, as well as a matching lower insulating support ring and lower insulating support column, are correspondingly installed in the spherical socket;

[0023] Corresponding to the planar friction pair, a planar stainless steel sliding plate is installed on the lower surface of the upper support plate; a planar support disk, as well as a matching upper insulating support ring and upper insulating support column, are correspondingly fixed on the upper end surface;

[0024] Correspondingly, a first space determined by the planar stainless steel sliding plate, the upper insulating support ring, the upper insulating support column and the planar support disk, and a second space determined by the spherical stainless steel sliding plate, the spherical crown surface support disk, the lower insulating support ring and the lower insulating support column are used to accommodate the electrorheological fluid.

[0025] Optionally, the first space is measured by the normal direction of the planar stainless steel sliding plate, and the second space is measured by the radial direction of the spherical crown lining plate, and the corresponding thickness is 2.5 - 4 mm.

[0026] Optionally, the monitoring device includes a displacement sensor for monitoring the planar friction pair and an angular displacement sensor for monitoring the spherical friction pair.

[0027] Optionally, a lower sealing ring is provided on the lower support plate, and the lower sealing ring surrounds the spherical friction pair and is in dynamic sealing engagement with the upper end of the spherical crown lining plate;

[0028] An upper sealing ring is provided on the upper end surface, and the upper sealing ring surrounds the planar friction pair and is in dynamic sealing engagement with the upper end of the planar stainless steel sliding plate.

[0029] Optionally, a dust-proof apron is provided on the lower support plate, and the dust-proof apron extends upward to fit against the side surface of the upper support plate;

[0030] Correspondingly, the dust-proof apron is a rubber apron.

[0031] Optionally, the drive circuit is equipped with a power supply assembly;

[0032] The power supply assembly is a commercially supplied power unit or a solar cell unit containing a storage battery.

[0033] In an embodiment of the present invention, the friction pairs provided form a cofferdam with the aid of a support ring. The support ring provides a first support and a first friction surface, and an insulating support column is provided inside the support ring to provide a second support and a second friction surface. The insulating support column does not occupy all the space inside the cofferdam, and the remaining space is filled with an electrorheological fluid. Obviously, the depth of the electrorheological fluid is not affected by contact friction, but can be adjusted by adjusting the overall support height of the support ring and the insulating support column. Therefore, the design space is relatively large, and thus it can have a better application prospect. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0034] Figure 1 It is a schematic half-sectional structure view of an electro-mechanical friction damping variable spherical bearing in an embodiment.

[0035] Figure 2 It is Figure 1 an enlarged view of part A of

[0036] Figure 3 It is a schematic top view structure view of a spherical honeycomb plate in an embodiment.

[0037] In the figure: 1. Anchor bolt, 2. Lower support plate, 3. Bracket, 4. Dust-proof apron, 5. Displacement sensor, 6. Lower sealing ring, 7. Spherical crown lining plate, 8. Upper support plate, 9. Activity space, 10. Upper sealing ring, 11. Groove, 12. Flat stainless steel slide plate, 13. Electrorheological fluid, 14. Flat honeycomb plate, 15. Spherical stainless steel slide plate, 16. Spherical honeycomb plate, 17. Corner sensor, 18. Anchor bolt, 19. Power supply assembly, 20. Lower insulating support ring, 21. Upper insulating support ring, 22. Support column, 23. Support column, 24. Honeycomb aluminum frame, 25. Filling cavity, 26. Honeycomb aluminum frame. Embodiment

[0038] The spherical bearing has at least one friction pair, and these friction pairs necessarily include a spherical friction pair, which is the basis for it to be called a spherical bearing.

[0039] The spherical bearing includes a spherical crown liner 7. The spherical crown liner 7 usually has a spherical crown surface, but there are also very few spherical crown liners 7 that have two spherical crown surfaces. However, since it belongs to a very small number of applications, the spherical crown liner 7 is generally considered to have a spherical crown surface and an end face, and since the end face is located on the upper side, it is usually called the upper end face. At the same time, it should be known that the upper end face is the cutting plane of the spherical crown liner 7.

[0040] In the normal assembled state, the upper end face is parallel to the beam body of the bridge and is parallel to Figure 1 the plane stainless steel sliding plate 12 shown in

[0041] Figure 1 The shown site friction damping variable spherical bearing also belongs to a typical spherical bearing, which includes a plane friction pair and a spherical friction pair. Correspondingly, the plane friction pair is used to balance the movement amount of the beam body in the plane, and the spherical friction pair is used to balance the movement amount of the beam body in the spherical surface, such as the inclination of the beam body, etc.

[0042] The purpose of balancing is to unload. For example, if the beam body becomes longer due to thermal expansion and contraction, if the bridge bearing is a fixed bearing, the stress generated by the elongation must be borne by the bridge bearing. If the stress is too large, it may cause damage to the bridge bearing. When there is a plane friction pair, the elongation amount is balanced by the movement amount of the plane friction pair, thereby unloading. The same is true for the spherical friction pair, which will not be elaborated here.

[0043] Electrorheological Fluids, abbreviated as electrorheological fluid, also known as ER fluid, ER fluid. Electrorheological fluid is a suspension under normal conditions, and it can undergo a liquid-solid transformation under the action of an electric field. When the externally applied electric field strength is much lower than a certain critical value, the electrorheological fluid is in a liquid state; when the electric field strength is much higher than this critical value, it becomes a solid state; near the critical value of the electric field strength, the viscosity of this suspension increases with the increase of the electric field strength, and it is difficult to say whether it is in a liquid state or a solid state at this time.

[0044] Electrorheological fluid 13 appeared relatively early. It was initially proposed by Winslow in 1949, but it was not widely used until the 1980s.

[0045] ER fluid is usually composed of solid particles with a high dielectric constant uniformly dispersed in an insulating oil with a low dielectric constant. The properties of the solid particle material determine the quality of the ER performance and are the key components of ER.

[0046] Solid particulate materials can be made of a variety of materials. Commonly used are inorganic materials (such as silica gel, aluminosilicate, composite metal oxides, composite metal hydroxides), polymer materials (such as polymer semiconductor particles), and composite ER materials (which can be composites of different inorganic materials, composites of different polymer materials, or composites of inorganic materials and polymer materials). The main performance index for evaluating particulate materials is the magnitude of the dynamic shear stress that can be provided. The greater the dynamic shear stress, the higher the strength. In addition, the critical electric field (the minimum electric field strength for generating the ER effect) should be small, and the conductivity should be small. Insulating liquids usually include silicone oil, edible oil, and mineral oil. The insulating liquid should have a relatively high boiling point, good stability, and corrosion resistance.

[0047] Since the present invention is an application of the electrorheological fluid 13 rather than an improvement of the electrorheological fluid 13, it will not be elaborated here. During the development process of the product claimed in the present invention, two commercial electrorheological fluids 13 are mainly used, specifically the VersaFlo series electrorheological fluids produced by Lord Corporation in the United States and the TX-ER series electrorheological fluids 13 produced by Nippon Shokubai in Japan. These two electrorheological fluids meet the design requirements of the product.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present invention, the key is how to obtain an electrorheological fluid 13 with a relatively large depth. First is the leakage problem. Given the existence of the spherical socket on the upper support plate 2, under the condition that the electrorheological fluid 13 is full in the filling cavity 25, due to the accommodating property of the spherical socket, the leakage problem does not need to be considered. For the planar friction pair, in practical applications, the upper end surface usually has a groove 11. The original purpose of the groove is to fix and position the plate member for rubbing against the planar stainless steel slide plate 12. Now, by using the accommodating property of the groove 11, the influence of the electrorheological fluid 13 in the planar friction pair is reduced.

[0049] Since except for the difference in shape, the planar friction pair and the spherical friction pair are largely the same in constructing the filling cavity 25 of the electrorheological fluid 13, in the embodiments of the present invention, a basic unified definition is given to the names, such as the support column 23, the support column 22, the honeycomb aluminum frame 23, the honeycomb aluminum frame 26, etc., to facilitate simplifying the description content when describing the same structure.

[0050] See the attached specification Figures 1 - 3An exemplary electro-rheological friction damping variable spherical bearing, whose basic components include a lower bearing plate 2, an upper bearing plate 8, and a friction assembly located between the upper bearing plate 8 and the lower bearing plate 2. The friction assembly provides the friction pairs. The most common spherical bearing includes two friction pairs, one planar friction pair and one spherical friction pair. In some implementations, the two friction pairs included are both spherical friction pairs. In some implementations, there are three friction pairs, two of which are planar friction pairs and one is a spherical friction pair. In view of the embodiments of the present invention, it lies in how to construct a structure that can make the electro-rheological fluid 13 have a controllable depth. In other words, it is not a traditional electro-rheological fluid 13 layer based on the properties of a friction oil film, and there is no special limitation on the number of friction pairs of the bridge bearing itself.

[0051] Among them, the lower bearing plate 2 is usually fixedly installed on the bridge pier through anchor bolts 1. In other words, the lower bearing plate 2 can be understood as the seat plate of the bridge bearing. For a spherical bearing, the lower bearing plate 2 often has a convex part with a spherical socket on it for constructing a spherical friction pair.

[0052] Since the upper bearing plate 8 and the lower bearing plate 2 are usually both castings (usually cast iron, and cast steel can also be used), their own friction performance is not good. Therefore, it is often necessary to adapt other components to construct friction pairs, such as stainless steel sliding plates, polytetrafluoroethylene plates, etc.

[0053] Furthermore, the upper bearing plate 8 is often the support plate of the bridge bearing and can generally be fixedly connected to the beam body of the bridge through anchor bolts 18. It can be seen from this that the upper bearing plate 8 is fixedly connected to the beam body, and the lower bearing plate 2 is fixedly connected to the bridge pier. Under this condition, in order to balance the elongation, deflection, etc. generated by the change of the beam body state, it is necessary to set a friction support assembly between the upper bearing plate 8 and the lower bearing plate 2.

[0054] Regarding the friction assembly, as mentioned above, it usually includes at least one friction pair, but usually no more than 3. In the embodiments of the present invention, the focus is on constructing Figure 2 the filling cavity 25 exemplified in the figure. In order to clearly describe the filling cavity 25 and the electro-rheological fluid 13 in the figure, the upper filling cavity 25 is not indicated, and the lower electro-rheological fluid 13 is not indicated.

[0055] Regarding the understanding that the components forming the friction pair are insulated from each other, it should be known that the friction pair can be understood as a pair of rubbing components. Generally, one of the components is a relatively static component, and the other is a relatively movable component. The so-called "between" means between the relatively static component and the relatively movable component. Insulation can be achieved by separation or by isolation. Separation means that there is no entity between the corresponding two components, and isolation contains an isolator.

[0056] Furthermore, the component located below forming the same friction pair includes a support disk, as aboveFigure 2 the so-called honeycomb aluminum frames 26 and 24. An annular positioning and installation groove is formed along the inner side of the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the support disc. This structure is Figure 3 shown more clearly in, that is, the annular groove formed on the honeycomb aluminum frame 26 corresponding to the lower insulating support ring 20 in the figure. The central axis of this annular groove is collinear with the central axis of the spherical socket.

[0057] And based on the previous description about "statically determinate", it can be known that the honeycomb aluminum frame 26 is fixedly installed in the spherical socket and provides a secondary spherical socket for cooperating with the spherical stainless steel slide plate 15 to form the filling cavity 25.

[0058] Correspondingly, an annular support ring is provided which is installed and positioned in the installation positioning groove and protrudes above the upper surface of the support disc, so as to space the support disc from another component and provide the first support; this another component is the movable component, and the honeycomb aluminum frame 26 is a component of the statically determinate component. For the convenience of description, the statically determinate component and the movable component will be uniformly used for representative description hereinafter.

[0059] As mentioned above, the support ring provides the following functions:

[0060] 1. Cofferdam function, acting as a cofferdam for the electrorheological fluid 13 to determine the maximum depth of the electrorheological fluid 13.

[0061] 2. Support function, realizing the indirect support of the statically determinate component to the movable component.

[0062] 3. Isolation function, realizing the electrical isolation between the statically determinate component and the movable component. Here, the electrical isolation meets the electrical isolation under the electrorheological conditions. It should be known that the isolation in the traditional case by means of an oil film can be achieved, and then it is easier to achieve with the help of the support ring.

[0063] 4. Providing a friction surface for the movable component to slide.

[0064] In addition, since the said filling cavity 25 needs to be filled, and the spherical stainless steel slide plate 15 will also adhere to the electrorheological fluid 13, therefore, in some embodiments, an oil level gauge and an oil injection hole can be provided for the filling cavity 25 for daily maintenance.

[0065] Since the individual of the bridge bearing is relatively large, the support of a single support ring is likely to cause excessive local load. In view of this, in the area inside the support ring, a number of insulating support columns are provided to space the support disc from the movable component and provide the second support, so as to disperse the load.

[0066] The statically determinate component, the movable component, the support ring acting as a cofferdam, and the insulating support columns providing auxiliary support can determine the filling cavity 25. The filling cavity 25 is filled with the electrorheological fluid 13, and then relevant monitoring and driving circuits can be provided.

[0067] Obviously, the present invention focuses on how to make the depth setting of the electrorheological fluid 13 more flexible rather than monitoring and control. In other words, monitoring and control are already relatively mature in the variable friction damping spherical bearing for store sites, and those skilled in the art can borrow known monitoring devices and control devices.

[0068] The monitoring device is used to monitor the activity amount (absolute value and relative value) of the movable member in real time, while the control device is used to compare the monitored activity amount with a preset activity amount limit value to determine the corresponding control amount of the electrorheological fluid 13 required, that is, to control the power of the drive circuit, which can be manifested as a current change or a voltage change.

[0069] The adapted control unit can control multiple bridge bearings simultaneously, and the same applies to the drive circuit.

[0070] Regarding the power supply, commercial power supply can be used, or a self-sustaining power supply, such as a solar battery pack, can be adopted.

[0071] Regarding the support disk, it is selected as a honeycomb aluminum disk. The area where the honeycomb is located is the area circled by the positioning installation groove. The honeycomb unit is used to position and install, for example, the support column 23. The honeycomb unit belongs to a relatively regular array, and the corresponding array of support columns 23 of the regular array is conducive to the reasonable distribution of loads.

[0072] Correspondingly, the insulating support column is a columnar body that is in interference fit with the corresponding honeycomb hole groove. The upper surface of the columnar body is a support surface or a support friction surface. Interference fit is also called interference connection, or in other words, the binding force generated by the interference fit meets the requirements of the connection, avoiding the insulating support column from vibrating due to the existence of a fitting gap during the movement of the corresponding friction pair, resulting in flutter of the bridge bearing. Therefore, better friction conditions can be provided.

[0073] With the development of technology, more and more materials with excellent insulation properties, such as ceramics and engineering plastics, are applied in the field of engineering technology. For example, ceramics have a hardness much higher than that of steel, but they have insufficient toughness and are prone to cracking; while engineering plastics have better mechanical properties and are widely used in engineering.

[0074] In view of this, in a preferred embodiment, if the columnar body only provides a support surface, it is made of engineering plastic.

[0075] If the columnar body provides a support friction surface, it is made of an insulating material with a surface friction coefficient lower than 0.05.

[0076] Regarding materials with a low coefficient of friction, such as ceramics and certain engineering plastics, they can all be used as materials that can provide a supporting friction surface. The most typical one is polytetrafluoroethylene, which is commonly known as Teflon, also known as the "king of plastics". What people commonly see is the coating of non-stick pans. Polytetrafluoroethylene has an extremely low coefficient of friction, so it is commonly used as a skateboard in the engineering field.

[0077] Polytetrafluoroethylene has less strength compared to other engineering plastics, but it is sufficient to meet the application scenarios of bridge bearings. In order to improve the strength of the prepared columnar body, reinforcing fibers are added to the powder material with polytetrafluoroethylene or modified polytetrafluoroethylene powder as the raw material powder, and then molded by pressing. The fibers can use carbon fibers with a certain electrical conductivity. Since the carbon fibers are scattered in the columnar body and have fewer branches, it is not enough to have a greater impact on the insulation of the columnar body.

[0078] In traditional bridge bearings, the mutual abrasion between the steel plate and the polytetrafluoroethylene skateboard is often the main choice for relevant friction pairs. In the embodiments of the present invention, it can also be understood as a replacement for the polytetrafluoroethylene skateboard. For example, the spherical honeycomb plate 16 can be understood as a replacement for the traditional spherical polytetrafluoroethylene skateboard. As Figure 3 shown, Figure 3 In it, the honeycomb aluminum frame 26 serves as the basic framework, the lower insulating support ring 20 made of polytetrafluoroethylene provides the first support; the support columns 23 arranged in an array provide the second support. The main material or all materials of the support columns 23 are made of polytetrafluoroethylene, and the overall coefficient of friction is relatively low.

[0079] As mentioned above, the filling cavity 25 is filled with the electrorheological fluid 13. By controlling the electric field intensity applied to the electrorheological fluid 13, the aggregation state of the electrorheological fluid can be changed. For example, the liquid phase becomes a solid phase, so that the coefficient of friction of the spherical friction pair can be changed to adapt to different working environments.

[0080] As mentioned above, corresponding to the spherical friction pair, the ball socket has a receiving function. However, because it is usually a casting, its own precision is low, and even after precision machining, the surface coefficient of friction will be relatively high. Therefore, a spherical crown surface support disk, as well as a matching lower insulating support ring 20 and lower insulating support columns, are arranged in the ball socket.

[0081] Another point Figure 2 It can be seen from this that the main body of the filling cavity 25 is also located in the ball socket. Even if a relatively large amount of the electrorheological fluid 13 is injected to ensure that the filling cavity 25 is full, there will not be much leakage due to the existence of the lower sealing ring 6.

[0082] The lower sealing ring 6 provides the second level of sealing. Since the space sealed by the lower sealing ring 6 is not pressurized, the sealing level requirement is not high. Although it is a dynamic seal, the ball crown liner 7 does not move violently. Therefore, the sealing of the lower sealing ring 6 is a quasi-static seal, which can achieve a relatively good sealing effect.

[0083] Likewise, Figure 2 The figure also shows a structure of a plane friction pair. In the figure, a groove 11 is opened on the upper surface of the spherical crown liner 7. The relatively statically determinate component in the plane friction pair is located in the groove 11 and protrudes upward from the upper end surface of the spherical crown liner 7. The structure is the same as that of the spherical friction pair, the only difference is that one friction surface is a spherical surface and the other is a plane. And the same applies to the sealing method. Figure 2 It can be seen that the upper sealing ring 10 provides the second level of sealing. Also, because the motion of the plane friction pair is not violent, or even creeping, the dynamic sealing provided by the upper sealing ring 10 is almost a perfect sealing.

[0084] Similarly, in the plane friction pair, a plane stainless steel slide plate 12 is installed on the lower surface of the upper support plate 8 to constitute a movable component; correspondingly, the static component fixedly installed in the groove 11 includes a plane support plate, such as Figure 2 The honeycomb aluminum frame 24 shown in the figure, and the matching upper insulating support ring 21 and upper insulating support column.

[0085] Correspondingly, the first space defined by the planar stainless steel slide 12, the upper insulating support ring 21, the upper insulating support column and the planar support plate, and the second space defined by the spherical stainless steel slide 15, the spherical crown support plate, the lower insulating support ring 20 and the lower insulating support column, the first space and the second space are Figure 2 The examples of the filling cavity are all used to accommodate the electrorheological fluid 13.

[0086] As mentioned above, the depth of the electrorheological fluid 13 is provided by relatively rigid components, namely, the support ring and the support column 23, etc. Therefore, its depth can be designed, rather than being limited by the oil film formed by friction. However, it should be known that under the condition of achieving the function, the depth should not be too large, otherwise it will lead to insufficient rigidity of the support column 23, for example. Therefore, the thickness of the first space is measured in the normal direction of the flat stainless steel slide plate 12, and the thickness of the second space is measured in the radial direction of the spherical cap lining plate 7. The corresponding thickness is 2.5-4 mm, which determines the depth of the electrorheological fluid 13. And it should be known that, as mentioned above, the electrorheological fluid 13 should be filled in the filling cavity 25.

[0087] Regarding monitoring devices, such as Figure 2 As shown, it includes two types: one for monitoring linear displacement, which is commonly known as a displacement sensor. In order to distinguish it from ordinary displacement sensors, the one for monitoring angle changes is called an angular displacement sensor.

[0088] Conventional displacement sensors can use, for example, grating scales, which can be mounted on the lower support plate 2 through brackets mounted on the lower support plate 2 as shown in Figure 1 to monitor the position of the upper support plate 8 relative to the lower support plate 2.

[0089] Similarly, the angular displacement sensor can adopt a potentiometer, which is mounted on the convex part of the lower support plate 2 to monitor the angular displacement of the spherical crown liner 7 relative to the convex part.

[0090] Figure 1 In, a dust-proof apron 4 is provided on the lower support plate 2 to provide a third-level seal, which is the first-level seal for dust prevention. The dust-proof apron 4 extends upward and fits against the side of the upper support plate 8. Correspondingly, the dust-proof apron 4 is a rubber apron, so that it can adapt to the position change of the upper support plate 8 relative to the lower support plate 2.

Claims

1. A spherical bearing with variable electro-frictional damping, characterized in that, Comprising: Lower support plate; Upper support plate, mounted on the lower support plate through a friction support assembly; Wherein, the friction support assembly includes at least one friction pair, the components forming the friction pair are insulated from each other, and the component located below forming the same friction pair includes a support disc, and a circular positioning and installation groove is formed along the inner side of the peripheral edge on the upper surface of the support disc; A circular support ring is provided to be installed and positioned in the positioning and installation groove and protrude above the upper surface of the support disc, so as to space the support disc from another component and provide the first support; In the area within the support ring, a plurality of insulating support columns are provided to space the support disc from another component and provide the second support; The remaining area within the support ring is filled with electrorheological fluid; Correspondingly, a monitoring device for monitoring the displacement of the friction pair, a control unit connected to the monitoring device, and a drive circuit connected to the output terminal of the control unit and capable of causing the electrorheological fluid to change its properties are provided; The support disc is a honeycomb aluminum disc, and the area where the honeycomb is located is the area circled by the positioning and installation groove; Correspondingly, the insulating support column is a columnar body in interference fit with the corresponding honeycomb hole groove, and the upper surface of the columnar body is a support surface or a support friction surface; If the columnar body only provides a support surface, it is made of engineering plastic; If the columnar body provides a support friction surface, it is made of an insulating material with a surface friction coefficient lower than 0.05; The friction assembly includes a spherical crown liner with a spherical crown surface located below, and a spherical friction pair is formed between the spherical crown surface and a spherical socket formed on the lower support plate; a planar friction pair is formed between the upper end surface of the spherical crown liner and the upper support plate; Corresponding to the spherical friction pair, a spherical crown friction surface is formed on the spherical crown surface or a spherical stainless steel slide plate is installed, and a spherical crown surface support disc, as well as a matching lower insulating support ring and lower insulating support column, are correspondingly installed in the spherical socket; Corresponding to the planar friction pair, a planar stainless steel slide plate is installed on the lower surface of the upper support plate; and a planar support disc, as well as a matching upper insulating support ring and upper insulating support column, are correspondingly fixed on the upper end surface; Correspondingly, a first space determined by the planar stainless steel slide plate, the upper insulating support ring, the upper insulating support column and the planar support disc, and a second space determined by the spherical stainless steel slide plate, the spherical crown surface support disc, the lower insulating support ring and the lower insulating support column are used to accommodate the electrorheological fluid.

2. The electro-frictional damping variable spherical bearing according to claim 1, wherein The columnar body is a molded product of polytetrafluoroethylene or modified polytetrafluoroethylene doped with reinforcing fibers.

3. The electro-frictional damping variable spherical bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first space is measured in the normal direction of the planar stainless steel slide plate, and the second space is measured in the radial direction of the spherical crown liner, and the corresponding thickness is 2.5 - 4 mm.

4. The electro-frictional damping variable spherical bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that The monitoring device includes a displacement sensor for monitoring the planar friction pair and an angular displacement sensor for monitoring the spherical friction pair.

5. The electro-frictional damping variable spherical bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that, A lower sealing ring is provided on the lower support plate, the lower sealing ring surrounds the spherical friction pair, and the upper end is in dynamic sealing engagement with the spherical crown liner; An upper sealing ring is provided on the upper end surface, the upper sealing ring surrounds the planar friction pair, and the upper end is in dynamic sealing engagement with the planar stainless steel slide plate.

6. The electro-frictional damping variable spherical bearing according to claim 5, characterized in that A dust-proof enclosure is provided on the lower support plate, and the dust-proof enclosure extends upward and fits against the side surface of the upper support plate; Correspondingly, the dust-proof enclosure is a rubber enclosure.

7. The electro-frictional damping variable spherical bearing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive circuit is equipped with a power supply assembly; The power supply assembly is a city-supplied power unit or a solar cell unit containing a storage battery.

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