Air spring casing and air spring

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of air springs, in particular to an air spring protection cylinder and an air spring, the air spring protection cylinder comprises a base body part and a fiber part, the base body part has the axis direction, the base body part is a plastic cylinder body, and the plastic cylinder body extends in the axis direction. The fiber part is attached to the base body part, and the fiber part is arranged around the base body part. According to the air spring pile casing and the air spring provided by the invention, the air spring pile casing can still maintain the advantages of mechanical properties and long service life as those of an existing pile casing made of a traditional metal material even if plastic is used as a base body, and the advantages of light weight and low cost of the air spring pile casing are realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of air springs, and in particular, to an air spring casing and an air spring. Background Art

[0002] An air spring casing is an important component in an air spring system. It is usually a cylindrical structure, coaxially arranged with the airbag assembly of the air spring, and can be sleeved outside the airbag assembly to provide protection and support for the airbag.

[0003] Currently, air spring casings usually adopt metal materials (such as aluminum, steel, etc.). Although they have advantages such as high strength and good support, the raw material cost of the metal material casings is high and the density is large, resulting in a relatively heavy overall weight of the air spring. Especially in vehicle applications, it not only increases the unsprung mass, affects the response speed and shock absorption performance of the suspension system, and may lead to a decline in vehicle handling and increased tire wear; but also greatly affects the vehicle's energy consumption. The overweight casing will increase the fuel consumption or power consumption of the whole vehicle and reduce the cruising range. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to provide an air spring casing and an air spring, so as to solve to a certain extent the technical problems existing in the prior art that the raw material cost of the metal material casing is high and the density is large, resulting in a relatively heavy overall weight of the air spring. Especially in vehicle applications, it not only increases the unsprung mass, affects the response speed and shock absorption performance of the suspension system, and may lead to a decline in vehicle handling and increased tire wear; but also greatly affects the vehicle's energy consumption. The overweight casing will increase the fuel consumption or power consumption of the whole vehicle and reduce the cruising range.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present application, an air spring casing is provided, including a base portion and a fiber portion. The base portion has an axial direction, and the base portion is a plastic cylinder extending along the axial direction.

[0006] The fiber portion is attached to the base portion and is arranged around the base portion.

[0007] Preferably, the fiber portion is cylindrical and is coated outside the base portion.

[0008] Preferably, the fiber portion includes a plurality of fiber rings, which are arranged outside the side wall of the base portion, and the plurality of fiber rings are arranged at intervals along the axial direction.

[0009] Preferably, the plane determined by at least some of the plurality of fiber rings is perpendicular to the axial direction.

[0010] And / or, the included angle between the plane determined by at least part of the plurality of annuli fibrosi and the axial direction is an obtuse angle or an acute angle.

[0011] Preferably, the fiber part is strip-shaped, with the axis of the matrix part as the axis, and the fiber part is spirally wound around the outer side of the side wall of the matrix part.

[0012] Preferably, the matrix part has a hollow hole penetrating the matrix part along the axial direction;

[0013] The fiber part is strip-shaped, the fiber part penetrates through the hollow hole, and the fiber part is alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the matrix part.

[0014] Preferably, the fiber part is alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the matrix part along the axial direction;

[0015] And / or, the fiber part is alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the matrix part along a predetermined direction, and the predetermined direction intersects with the axial direction.

[0016] Preferably, the fiber part is glass fiber or basalt fiber.

[0017] Preferably, it includes multiple groups of the fiber parts, and the winding directions of the multiple groups of the fiber parts are arranged in a cross manner.

[0018] According to the second aspect of the present application, an air spring is provided, including the air spring cylinder described in any of the above technical solutions. Therefore, it has all the beneficial technical effects of this air spring cylinder, and will not be elaborated here.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present application are as follows:

[0020] For the air spring cylinder provided by the present application, on the one hand, by setting the matrix part as a plastic cylinder, it can not only effectively promote the lightweight of the air spring cylinder, reduce the material cost of the air spring cylinder, but also effectively improve the corrosion resistance of the air spring cylinder; on the other hand, through the fiber part arranged around the matrix part, it can effectively improve the strength and durability of the plastic cylinder, effectively improve the inherent defects such as low strength and easy aging and fragmentation existing in the plastic matrix part, so that the air spring cylinder can still maintain the mechanical properties and high-life advantages like the existing traditional metal material cylinders even when using plastic as the matrix, and achieve the advantages of lightweight and low cost of the air spring cylinder.

[0021] To make the above objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the following specific preferred embodiments are given, and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the detailed description is as follows. Description of the Drawings

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0023] Figure 1 Schematic cross-sectional structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the first embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 2 Schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the second embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 3 Another schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the second embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 4 Another schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the second embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 5 Schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the third embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 6 Schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the fourth embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 7 Another schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the fourth embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 8 Another schematic side view structure diagram of the air spring casing provided in the fourth embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 9 Schematic cross-sectional view structure diagram of the air spring provided in the embodiment of the present application;

[0032] Figure 10 Schematic cross-sectional view structure diagram of the air spring provided in the embodiment of the present application.

[0033] Reference numerals:

[0034] 1 - Casing; 11 - Matrix part; 12 - Fiber part; 2 - Airbag. Specific embodiments

[0035] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions of the present application in conjunction with the drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, rather than all embodiments.

[0036] The components of the embodiments of the present application that are typically depicted and shown in the accompanying drawings herein may be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations. Accordingly, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed present application, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present application.

[0037] Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0038] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings. It is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation of the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", "third" are only used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0039] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, the terms "mounted", "connected", "coupled" shall be construed broadly. For example, it may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it may be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application may be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0040] Next, refer to Figures 1 to 10 Describe an air spring cylinder and an air spring according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0041] See Figures 1 to 10As shown in the figure, an embodiment of the first aspect of the present application provides an air spring casing (abbreviated as casing 1), which includes a base portion 11 and a fiber portion 12. The base portion 11 has an axial direction. The base portion 11 is a plastic cylinder, and the plastic cylinder extends along the axial direction. The fiber portion 12 is attached to the base portion 11 and is arranged around the base portion 11. In this way, on the one hand, by setting the base portion 11 as a plastic cylinder, it can not only effectively promote the lightweight of the air spring casing, reduce the material cost of the air spring casing, but also effectively improve the corrosion resistance of the air spring casing; on the other hand, through the fiber portion 12 arranged around the base portion 11, it can effectively improve the strength and durability of the plastic cylinder, effectively improve the inherent defects such as low strength and easy aging and fragmentation existing in the plastic base portion 11. Even when using plastic as the base, it can still maintain the mechanical properties and high life similar to those of the existing traditional metal material casings, and realize the advantages of lightweight and low cost of the air spring casing.

[0042] It should be noted that the above-mentioned base portion 11 is a plastic cylinder, which can be understood as a cylindrical structure injection-molded from hard plastic (for example, PP, PVC, FRP, PC, PA, ABS, PET, PMMA, PU, PPO, PEEK, PTFE, etc.). As Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown, two examples of the casing 1 are shown in the figure. However, it is not limited to the shape of the casing 1 shown in the figure, and the shape of the casing 1 can be adaptively adjusted according to the actual needs of the air spring.

[0043] Preferably, the above-mentioned fiber portion 12 can be glass fiber.

[0044] Preferably, the above-mentioned fiber portion 12 can be basalt fiber.

[0045] However, it is not limited to this. As long as it can improve the mechanical properties of the plastic cylinder (i.e., the base portion 11) and extend the service life, the above-mentioned fiber portion 12 can also be other fiber materials, for example, carbon fiber.

[0046] As Figures 1 to 10 shown, the dotted line shown in the figure can be an example of the axis of the above-mentioned base portion 11. As Figures 1 to 8 shown, four different setting methods of the fiber portion 12 are respectively shown in the figure. The specific structure of the air spring casing will be introduced in detail below according to these four different embodiments.

[0047] Embodiment 1, as Figure 1As shown, the above-mentioned fiber part 12 can be cylindrical, and the fiber part 12 can be wrapped around the outside of the matrix part 11. In this way, the cylindrical structure formed by the fiber part 12 can wrap the plastic matrix part 11 in all directions, not only enabling the fibers to evenly receive the tensile / compressive loads transmitted by the airbag 2 along the axis direction of the protection cylinder 1, effectively improving the uniformity of the axial stress distribution of the protection cylinder 1 and reducing the risk of end cracking; but also effectively improving the impact resistance and wear resistance of the protection cylinder 1.

[0048] It should be noted that the above-mentioned fiber part 12 being cylindrical can be understood as prefabricating the fiber material into a fiber cylinder, and then using this fiber body as a binding body for injection molding of the matrix part 11 to achieve the connection between the fiber part 12 and the matrix part 11. This manufacturing technology is all prior art in this field and will not be elaborated here.

[0049] Embodiment 2, as Figures 2 to 4 shown, the above-mentioned fiber part 12 can include a plurality of fiber rings. The fiber rings are arranged around the outside of the side wall of the matrix part 11, and the plurality of fiber rings are arranged at intervals along the axis direction. In this way, through the interval hoop of the fiber rings in the axis direction, not only can the reinforcing layer be accurately arranged in the high-stress areas (such as the middle and ends) where the airbag 2 expands and contracts, avoiding the "over-reinforcement" of the continuous fiber layer, but also it allows the protection cylinder 1 to generate controllable deformation during axial expansion and contraction, avoiding the movement blockage of the airbag 2 caused by the continuous rigid layer, and is especially suitable for air springs with a relatively large stroke.

[0050] Preferably, as Figure 2 shown, the plane determined by the above-mentioned fiber ring can be perpendicular to the axis direction, so as to provide radial constraint stiffness through this fiber ring, effectively suppressing the circumferential bulging when the airbag 2 expands and enhancing the geometric stability of the air spring.

[0051] Preferably, as Figure 3 shown, the angle between the plane determined by the above-mentioned fiber ring and the axis direction can be an obtuse angle or an acute angle, so as to form an axial-radial composite support network. The inclination angle can convert the tensile / compressive load into the shear stress of the fiber, effectively enhancing the axial tensile strength of the protection cylinder 1 and at the same time enhancing the torsional resistance.

[0052] Preferably, the plurality of fiber rings included in the above-mentioned fiber part 12 can be divided into multiple groups. In the same group, the planes determined by the fiber rings are all parallelly arranged, and in different groups, the planes determined by the fiber rings intersect with each other. In this way, the uniformity of the improvement of the axial tensile strength and torsional resistance of the protection cylinder 1 by the fiber part 12 is improved. As Figure 4 shown, the figure shows an example of the plurality of fiber rings included in the fiber part 12 that can be divided into two groups. Among them, the angles between the planes determined by the two groups of fiber rings and the axis direction are complementary to each other to further ensure the uniformity of the improvement of the axial tensile strength and torsional resistance of the protection cylinder 1 by the fiber part 12.

[0053] Example 3. As Figure 5 shown, the fiber part 12 can also be in a strip shape. The fiber part 12 can take the axis of the base part 11 as the axis, and the fiber part 12 is helically wound around the outer side of the side wall of the base part 11. In this way, on the one hand, a continuous spiral reinforcement layer is formed by helical winding, and the load can be evenly transmitted during the reciprocating movement of the airbag 2, avoiding the "stress fault" problem of the spaced fiber rings; on the other hand, the strip-shaped fiber facilitates the winding operation of the fiber part 12 on the base part 11, and can be continuously produced by an automated winding device, effectively improving the production efficiency.

[0054] Optionally, the above-mentioned casing 1 can include multiple groups of fiber parts 12, and the winding directions of the multiple groups of fiber parts 12 are arranged crosswise. In this way, the fiber parts 12 can form an interlaced grid structure to reduce the strength difference between different directions, and can withstand tensile, compressive, and shear loads simultaneously, solving the "short board effect" of the traditional unidirectional fiber layer.

[0055] Example 4. As Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown, the base part 11 has a hollow hole that penetrates the base part 11 along the axial direction for accommodating the airbag 2 of the air spring. Preferably, as Figures 6 to 8 shown, the above-mentioned fiber part 12 can also be in a strip shape. The fiber part 12 penetrates the hollow hole, and the fiber part 12 is alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the base part 11. On the one hand, the strip-shaped structure of the fiber part 12 can effectively facilitate the winding operation of the fiber part 12; on the other hand, by penetrating the hollow hole, the fiber part 12 is alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the base part 11, so that fiber layers are formed on both the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the base part 11. The outer fiber layer can resist gravel impact, and the inner fiber layer can effectively prevent the airbag 2 from being damaged by friction.

[0056] Optionally, as Figure 6 shown, the above-mentioned fiber part 12 can be alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the base part 11 along the axial direction.

[0057] Optionally, as Figure 7 shown, the fiber part 12 is alternately wound around the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the base part 11 along a predetermined direction, and the predetermined direction intersects with the axial direction.

[0058] Preferably, as Figure 8 shown, the above-mentioned casing 1 can include multiple groups of fiber parts 12, and the winding directions of the multiple groups of fiber parts 12 are arranged crosswise. In this way, the fiber parts 12 can form an interlaced grid structure to reduce the strength difference between different directions, and can withstand tensile, compressive, and shear loads simultaneously, solving the "short board effect" of the traditional unidirectional fiber layer.

[0059] SeeFigure 9 and Figure 10 , an embodiment of the second aspect of the present application further provides an air spring, including the air spring cylinder described in any of the above embodiments. Therefore, it has all the beneficial technical effects of the air spring cylinder, and will not be elaborated here.

[0060] Specifically, as Figure 9 and Figure 10 shown, the air spring may include the above-mentioned cylinder 1 and airbag 2.

[0061] Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. An air spring casing, characterized in that, It includes a base part and a fiber part. The base part has an axial direction. The base part is a plastic cylinder, and the plastic cylinder extends along the axial direction. The fiber part is attached to the base part, and the fiber part is arranged around the base part.

2. The air spring casing according to claim 1, wherein The fiber part is cylindrical, and the fiber part covers the outside of the base part.

3. The air spring casing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fiber part includes a plurality of fiber rings. The fiber rings are arranged outside the side wall of the base part, and the plurality of fiber rings are arranged at intervals along the axial direction.

4. The air spring casing according to claim 3, wherein the plane determined by at least some of the plurality of fiber rings is perpendicular to the axial direction; and / or, the angle between the plane determined by at least some of the plurality of fiber rings and the axial direction is an obtuse angle or an acute angle.

5. The air spring casing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fiber part is in a strip shape. The fiber part takes the axis of the base part as the axis, and the fiber part is spirally wound around the outside of the side wall of the base part.

6. The air spring casing according to claim 1, characterized in that, The base part has a hollow hole that penetrates the base part along the axial direction; The fiber part is in a strip shape. The fiber part penetrates the hollow hole, and the fiber part is alternately wound around the inside and outside of the side wall of the base part.

7. The air spring casing according to claim 6, wherein the fiber part is alternately wound around the inside and outside of the side wall of the base part along the axial direction; and / or, the fiber part is alternately wound around the inside and outside of the side wall of the base part along a predetermined direction, and the predetermined direction intersects with the axial direction.

8. The air spring cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The fiber part is glass fiber or basalt fiber.

9. The air spring casing according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, It includes multiple groups of the fiber parts, and the winding directions of the multiple groups of fiber parts are arranged crosswise.

10. An air spring, characterized in that, It includes the air spring casing according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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