Control method for vibration suppression device for railway vehicle

Abstract

To provide a control method of a vibration suppression device for a railway vehicle capable of preventing generation of noise due to an actuator during the traveling of the railway vehicle.SOLUTION: A control method of a vibration suppression device (10) for a railway vehicle including an actuator (20), a rotation angle sensor (30), and a control device (40). The control device (40) is configured to: acquire a position of a magnetic pole of a motor (21) from the rotation angle sensor (30) during traveling of the railway vehicle (1); calculate rotation speed of the motor (21) from the acquired position of the magnetic pole of the motor (21) in a step (#5); count the number of times that the rotation speed exceeds a predetermined rotation speed threshold of the rotation speed of the motor (21) calculated within a predetermined time and determine whether or not a condition is satisfied that the counted rotation speed is smaller than the prescribed rotation speed threshold in a step (#10); and stop the actuator (20) when the above condition is not satisfied in a step (#15).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling a vibration suppression device for a railway vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] A railway vehicle comprises a bogie and a carbody supported on the bogie. Typically, two bogies are located at the front and rear of the carbody. When a railway vehicle runs on rails, the carbody vibrates relative to the bogie. The carbody vibrates in the left-right direction of the railway vehicle, causing the carbody to vibrate. If the carbody vibrates too much, the ride becomes uncomfortable.

[0003] Generally, railway vehicles are equipped with vibration suppression devices to improve ride comfort (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The vibration suppression device includes an actuator connected to the bogie and the car body. In the vibration suppression device, an acceleration sensor detects lateral vibration acceleration occurring in the car body, and the actuator applies thrust to the car body so as to cancel out the vibration acceleration. The thrust is generated by, for example, a motor. In this way, the vibration suppression device suppresses vibration of the car body relative to the bogie. Therefore, railway vehicles equipped with vibration suppression devices offer a more comfortable ride than railway vehicles not equipped with vibration suppression devices. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2012 / 026102 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] While a railway vehicle is in motion, an abnormal noise may occur near an actuator located under the vehicle body. When an abnormal noise occurs, the railway vehicle crew will determine that an abnormality has occurred and temporarily stop the railway vehicle. However, unexpected stopping of the railway vehicle can lead to delays or cancellations of railway service. For this reason, it is necessary to prevent the occurrence of abnormal noise.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a method for controlling a vibration suppression device for a railway vehicle that can prevent abnormal noise from being generated by an actuator while the railway vehicle is running. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A control method according to the present disclosure is a control method for a railway vehicle vibration suppression device including an actuator, a rotation angle sensor, and a control device. The actuator is connected to the bogie and carbody of the railway vehicle and suppresses vibration of the carbody relative to the bogie using thrust generated by the rotation of the motor. The rotation angle sensor detects the position of the magnetic poles of the motor. The control device controls the operation of the actuator based on the detection result of the rotation angle sensor. In the control method according to the present disclosure, the control device acquires the position of the magnetic poles of the motor from the rotation angle sensor while the railway vehicle is traveling. The control device calculates the motor rotation speed from the acquired position of the magnetic poles of the motor. The control device counts the number of times the calculated motor rotation speed exceeds a predetermined rotation speed threshold within a predetermined time period and determines whether a condition is met that the counted number is smaller than the predetermined number threshold. When the above condition is no longer satisfied, the control device stops the actuator. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the control method for a railway vehicle vibration suppression device according to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent abnormal noises from being generated by the actuator while the railway vehicle is running. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a railway vehicle equipped with a vibration suppression device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the control method according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a graph showing data on vibration acceleration of the vehicle body. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a graph showing data on the number of rotations of the motor of the actuator. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a graph showing the verification results of the example. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a graph showing the verification results of the example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present inventors have conducted extensive research to solve the above problems, and as a result have made the following discoveries.

[0011] An example of an actuator installed on a railway vehicle as a vibration suppression device is an electric actuator. An electric actuator suppresses vibration of the car body relative to the bogie using thrust generated by the rotation of a motor. To check the operation of an electric actuator, the position of the magnetic poles of the rotating motor is detected by a resolver. When a railway vehicle that had an abnormal noise coming from near the actuator was investigated, it was found that the line resistance of the resolver had increased, causing the resolver signal to be disrupted. The increase in line resistance of the resolver is thought to be due to foreign matter adhering to the current-carrying part of the connector that connects the control device and the actuator. The abnormal noise was resolved by unplugging and plugging the connector back in.

[0012] Furthermore, it was found that abnormal noises near the actuator have only occurred in railway vehicles that have been in use for a long time, and that abnormal noises have not occurred in new railway vehicles. Based on these findings, it is believed that the abnormal noises near the actuator are caused by foreign matter adhering to the conductive part of the connector that connects the control device and the actuator, in other words, a malfunction of the actuator. This is because in railway vehicles that have been in use for a long time, foreign matter is likely to adhere to the connector when the connector is removed to inspect the actuator.

[0013] If foreign matter is attached to the current-carrying part of the connector, the resolver signal will be disrupted, making it impossible to accurately detect the position of the motor's magnetic poles. When the position of the motor's magnetic poles is inaccurate, the motor's rotation cannot be controlled properly, and the motor will rotate in a direction that is not related to the direction that suppresses vibrations in the vehicle body. This can cause the motor to rotate at a speed that would be impossible under normal control. In this case, it is thought that the motor may collide with mechanical gaps inside the actuator, or excessive actuator thrust may cause interference with various mechanical gaps in the vehicle body, resulting in abnormal noise.

[0014] The present inventors have considered the mechanism by which abnormal noise is generated from the actuator described above and have studied methods for early detection of actuator failure in order to prevent the generation of abnormal noise from the actuator. As a result, the present inventors have completed a control method according to an embodiment.

[0015] A control method according to an embodiment is a control method for a railway vehicle vibration suppression device that includes an actuator, a rotation angle sensor, and a control device. The actuator is connected to the bogie and carbody of the railway vehicle and suppresses vibration of the carbody relative to the bogie using thrust generated by the rotation of the motor. The rotation angle sensor detects the position of the magnetic poles of the motor. The control device controls the operation of the actuator based on the detection result of the rotation angle sensor. In the control method according to an embodiment, the control device acquires the position of the magnetic poles of the motor from the rotation angle sensor while the railway vehicle is traveling. The control device calculates the number of rotations of the motor from the acquired position of the magnetic poles of the motor. The control device counts the number of times the calculated number of rotations of the motor exceeds a predetermined threshold value within a predetermined time period and determines whether a condition is met that the counted number is smaller than the predetermined threshold value. When the above condition is no longer satisfied, the control device stops the actuator.

[0016] In a control method according to an embodiment, a control device acquires the position of the magnetic pole of the motor from a rotation angle sensor every moment while the railway vehicle is traveling, and calculates the rotation speed of the motor from the information on the magnetic pole position. The control device counts the number of times the calculated rotation speed exceeds a predetermined rotation speed threshold within a predetermined time period, and determines whether a condition is met in which the counted number of times the exceeding threshold is less than the predetermined number of times. If this condition is not met, the control device stops the actuator. This is because if the above condition is not met, it is assumed that the actuator is malfunctioning. If the actuator is the cause of the abnormal noise, stopping the actuator will prevent the abnormal noise from occurring, and the railway vehicle can continue traveling with the vibration suppression device stopped. In this way, the control method according to an embodiment makes it possible to detect an actuator failure early and stop the actuator. This makes it possible to prevent the actuator from generating abnormal noise while the railway vehicle is traveling.

[0017] In the control method according to the above embodiment, preferably, the control device resumes operation of the actuator after a predetermined time has elapsed since the actuator stopped. According to this control method, it is possible to restore operation of the actuator, for example, after inspecting a location that is thought to be the cause of the actuator failure. If operation of the actuator is restored, vibration of the car body relative to the bogie can be suppressed compared to when the actuator remains stopped, again improving the ride comfort of the railway vehicle.

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or equivalent components are designated by the same reference numerals, and the same description will not be repeated.

[0019] The control method according to this embodiment is a method for controlling a vibration suppression device 10. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the configuration of a railway vehicle 1 equipped with a vibration suppression device 10. Referring to Fig. 1, the railway vehicle 1 is made up of a car body 2 and a bogie 3, and runs on rails 4. The bogies 3 are arranged on the front and rear sides of the car body 2.

[0020] The vibration suppression device 10 includes an actuator 20, a rotation angle sensor 30, a control device 40, and an acceleration sensor 50. The actuator 20 is an electric actuator connected to the bogie 3 and the carbody 2. The actuator 20 suppresses vibration of the carbody 2 relative to the bogie 3 by using thrust generated by the rotation of a motor 21. The rotational motion of the motor 21 is converted into linear motion by a nut 23 that meshes with a main shaft 22 of the motor 21. In other words, in response to the rotation of the motor 21, the nut 23 moves in the left-right direction of the railway vehicle 1, and a rod 24 integrated with the nut 23 moves in the left-right direction of the railway vehicle 1. The nut 23 is, for example, a roller screw nut or a ball screw nut.

[0021] A damper 5 is connected in parallel to the actuator 20 between the car body 2 and the bogie 3. The damper 5 is, for example, a fluid pressure damper, and damps vibration of the car body 2 relative to the bogie 3 together with the actuator 20.

[0022] The damper 5 damps vibrations of the car body 2 by stroking in the left and right direction. However, if the stroke speed of the damper 5 becomes too large, the damper 5 will break down. For this reason, an allowable limit speed of the stroke of the damper 5 is set. The allowable limit speed of the stroke of the damper 5 is typically 0.2 m / sec.

[0023] The control device 40 is connected to the actuator 20 and controls the operation of the actuator 20. The control device 40 is also connected to the damper 5. The control device 40 includes, for example, a computer. Specifically, the control device 40 includes a processor, a memory, an interface, and a hard disk. These components are connected to each other by a bus. A control program is stored on the hard disk. The control program is loaded into the memory and executed by the processor, thereby realizing control by the control device 40.

[0024] While the railway vehicle 1 is traveling, the control device 40 acquires the vibration acceleration in the left-right direction of the car body 2 detected by the acceleration sensor 50. Based on this vibration acceleration, the control device 40 generates a signal corresponding to a thrust force that damps the vibration of the car body 2, and sends it to the actuator 20 and the damper 5. The actuator 20 and the damper 5 operate in response to the signal from the control device 40.

[0025] A rotation angle sensor 30 is provided to check the operation of the actuator 20. The rotation angle sensor 30 includes a resolver. The resolver detects the position of the magnetic poles of the motor 21. The position of the magnetic poles of the motor 21 corresponds to the rotation angle of the motor 21. The rotation angle sensor 30 sends information about the position of the magnetic poles of the motor 21 detected by the resolver to the control device 40. The control device 40 then controls the operation of the actuator 20 based on the detection result of the rotation angle sensor 30.

[0026] Here, the rotation of the motor 21 of the actuator 20 can be either a positive rotation or a negative rotation. The motor 21 of the actuator 20 switches between the positive rotation and the negative rotation depending on the vibration direction of the vehicle body 2. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the rotation speed of the motor 21 refers to the absolute value of the rotation speed.

[0027] In the control method according to this embodiment, the vibration suppression device 10 is controlled using a control device 40 in a railway vehicle 1 equipped with the vibration suppression device 10 described above. While the railway vehicle 1 is traveling, the control method according to this embodiment is started in response to a preset condition or by an operation by a crew member (e.g., a driver). Figure 2 is a flow chart showing the steps of the control method according to this embodiment.

[0028] Referring to FIG. 2, in the control method according to this embodiment, the control device 40 performs steps #5, #10, #15, and #20. In step #5, the control device 40 acquires the position of the magnetic poles of the motor 21 from the rotation angle sensor 30 while the railway vehicle 1 is traveling, and calculates the rotation speed of the motor 21 from the acquired magnetic pole position of the motor 21. In step #10, the control device 40 counts the number of times that the calculated rotation speed of the motor 21 exceeds a predetermined rotation speed threshold within a predetermined time period, and determines whether a condition is satisfied in which the counted number is smaller than the predetermined number threshold. In step #15, the control device 40 stops the actuator 20 when the above condition is no longer satisfied. In step #20, the control device 40 resumes operation of the actuator 20 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the actuator 20 was stopped. Each of these steps will be described in detail below.

[0029] When the control method according to this embodiment is started while the railway vehicle 1 is traveling, in step #5, the control device 40 acquires information on the magnetic pole position of the motor 21 (rotation angle of the motor 21) detected by the resolver. The control device 40 calculates the rotation speed R [rpm] of the motor 21 for each predetermined sampling period Δt from the acquired information on the magnetic pole position of the motor 21. The sampling period Δt is typically 10.0 [msec] or less, for example 3.0 [msec].

[0030] There are no particular limitations on the method by which the control device 40 calculates the rotation speed of the motor 21 from information about the position of the magnetic poles of the motor 21 (the rotation angle of the motor 21). For example, the control device 40 may use hardware or software to calculate a time differential value of the rotation angle of the motor 21, and use the calculated value as the rotation speed of the motor 21. In this case, the rotation angle of the motor 21 may be passed through a differentiation circuit to detect the rotation speed of the motor 21. Alternatively, the rotation speed of the motor 21 may be calculated from the difference in the rotation angle of the motor 21 at a certain sampling time.

[0031] Next, in step #10, the control device 40 determines whether the rotation speed R of the motor 21 for each sampling period Δt is greater than a predetermined rotation speed threshold R0, based on the rotation speed R calculated in step #5. The control device 40 counts the number of times N that the rotation speed R exceeds the rotation speed threshold R0 within a predetermined sampling time T. The control device 40 then determines whether the number of times N that the rotation speed R exceeds the rotation speed threshold R0 within the sampling time T is smaller than the number threshold N0. In other words, the control device 40 counts the number of times N that the rotation speed R exceeds the rotation speed threshold R0 within the sampling time T, and determines whether the condition that the number of times N is smaller than the number threshold N0 is satisfied. Hereinafter, this condition will also be referred to as condition (A).

[0032] In step #10, if it is determined that the number of times N that the rotation speed R has exceeded the rotation speed threshold value R0 within the sampling time T is equal to or greater than the number of times threshold value N0, that is, if a state has been reached where condition (A) is not satisfied, it is considered that the actuator 20 has failed. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step #15, and the control device 40 sends a signal to the actuator 20 to stop the actuator 20. This stops the actuator 20.

[0033] On the other hand, if it is determined in step #10 that the number of times N that the rotation speed R exceeded the rotation speed threshold value R0 within the sampling time T is smaller than the number of times threshold value N0, that is, if condition (A) is satisfied, it is determined that no failure was detected in the actuator 20. In this case, the value of the number of times N that was counted in step #10 is cleared, and the process returns to step #5.

[0034] In step #10 described above, the shorter the sampling time T, the earlier a failure in the actuator 20 can be detected, but the greater the possibility of false detection due to momentary disturbances in the rotation speed R caused by noise, etc. Conversely, the longer the sampling time T, the lower the possibility of false detection, but the longer the sampling time T, the greater the delay in failure detection and the more likely abnormal noises will be heard. Therefore, it is preferable to set the sampling time T appropriately. The sampling time T is preferably 0.5 to 3.0 [sec]. The sampling time T is more preferably 1.0 [sec]. For example, if the sampling time T is 0.999 [sec] and the sampling period Δt is 3.0 [msec] (0.003 [sec]), the number of samplings within the sampling time T will be 333 (0.999 ÷ 0.003 = 333).

[0035] Furthermore, in step #10 described above, it is preferable that the rotational speed threshold R0 of the rotational speed R be appropriately set so that a failure of the actuator 20 can be accurately detected. Here, in the railway vehicle 1, the damper 5 is connected in parallel with the actuator 20. As described above, the allowable limit speed of the stroke of the damper 5 is typically 0.2 m / sec. When this allowable limit speed is converted into the rotational speed R of the motor 21 of the actuator 20, if the lead of the nut 23 is 20 mm, it corresponds to 600 rpm (600 rpm ÷ 60 sec × 20 mm = 200 mm / sec = 0.2 m / sec). In other words, if the rotational speed R of the motor 21 is approximately 600 rpm or higher, the motor 21 is rotating at an abnormal speed. When the actuator 20 fails, it is considered that the motor 21 rotates at such an abnormal speed.

[0036] In consideration of the above, the rotation speed threshold R0 of the rotation speed R is preferably 300 to 600 [rpm]. The rotation speed threshold R0 of the rotation speed R is more preferably 598 [rpm].

[0037] Furthermore, in the above-mentioned step #10, it is preferable that the number threshold value N0 of the number of excesses N is appropriately set in relation to the sampling time T and the rotation speed threshold value R0 of the rotation speed R. The number threshold value N0 of the number of excesses N may be, for example, 5 to 107 times, and is preferably 10 times.

[0038] In the control method according to this embodiment, the operation of the actuator 20 may be resumed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the actuator 20 was stopped in step #15. In this case, in step #20, the control device 40 sends a signal to the actuator 20 to resume the operation of the actuator 20. This restores the operation of the stopped actuator 20. In this case, too, the process returns to step #5, and the control of the actuator 20 is performed again.

[0039] In step #20, the timing for restoring the operation of actuator 20 is not particularly limited, and may be when any preset time has elapsed since actuator 20 stopped, or when the crew operates to resume operation. Furthermore, the operation of actuator 20 may be restored while railcar 1 is traveling, or while railcar 1 is stopped.

[0040] [effect] In the control method according to this embodiment, the actuator 20 is controlled by the control device 40. The control device 40 acquires the magnetic pole position of the motor 21 from the rotation angle sensor 30 every moment while the railway vehicle 1 is traveling, and calculates the rotation speed R of the motor 21 from the magnetic pole position information. If the number of times N at which the calculated rotation speed R exceeds the rotation speed threshold R0 within a sampling time T is equal to or greater than the number of times threshold N0, the control device 40 sends a signal to the actuator 20 to automatically stop the actuator 20. This is because in such a case, it is considered that the actuator 20 is malfunctioning. If the actuator 20 is the cause of the abnormal noise, stopping the actuator 20 will prevent the abnormal noise from occurring and the railway vehicle 1 can continue traveling. In this way, the control method according to this embodiment makes it possible to detect a malfunction of the actuator 20 early and stop the actuator 20. This makes it possible to prevent the actuator 20 from generating abnormal noise while the railway vehicle 1 is traveling.

[0041] In the control method according to this embodiment, the operation of the actuator 20 is resumed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the actuator 20 was stopped. For example, the operation of the actuator 20 can be restored after inspecting the location that is thought to be the cause of the failure of the actuator 20. If the operation of the actuator 20 is restored, vibration of the carbody 2 relative to the bogie 3 can be suppressed compared to when the actuator 20 remains stopped, and the ride comfort of the railway vehicle 1 is improved again. [Example]

[0042] The present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to examples, although the present disclosure is not limited to the following examples.

[0043] In this example, a control method according to the present disclosure was applied to a vibration suppression device mounted on a railway vehicle that actually generated abnormal noise, and it was verified whether early detection of actuator failure was possible. First, data on the vibration acceleration in the lateral direction of the car body and the rotation speed of the actuator motor when abnormal noise occurred on the railway vehicle was prepared. Figure 3 is a graph showing the data on the vibration acceleration of the car body. Figure 4 is a graph showing the data on the rotation speed of the actuator motor. In Figures 3 and 4, the horizontal axis represents time [sec].

[0044] If the actuator fails, the vibration of the vehicle body cannot be suppressed, and the vibration acceleration may increase. Furthermore, if the actuator fails, the motor will rotate at an abnormal speed, as described above. This situation is also shown in the graphs shown in Figures 3 and 4. Referring to Figure 3, the vibration acceleration basically vibrates at a constant amplitude over time, but there are times when the absolute value of the vibration acceleration temporarily becomes extremely large. The same can be said for the rotation speed shown in Figure 4.

[0045] The control method according to the present disclosure was applied to the data shown in Figures 3 and 4. The numerical conditions for the control method applied in this example are shown below. Sampling period Δt: 3.0 [msec] Sampling time T: 0.999 [sec] - Rotation speed threshold R0: 598 [rpm] ·Number of times threshold N0: 10 times

[0046] 5 and 6 are graphs showing the verification results of this embodiment. In Fig. 5, the vertical axis represents the number of times exceeding the threshold value R0, and the horizontal axis represents time [sec]. Fig. 5 shows the cumulative total of the number of times the rotation speed of the motor shown in Fig. 4 exceeded the threshold value R0 for each sampling time T. For example, the number of times the rotation speed of the motor exceeded the threshold value R0 between 0 seconds and 0.999 seconds (i.e., the first sampling time) was 8.

[0047] In Fig. 6, the horizontal axis represents time [sec]. In Fig. 6, the vertical axis represents whether or not an actuator failure has been detected by the control method according to the present disclosure. On the vertical axis of Fig. 6, a state in which a failure has been detected is represented as 1, and a state in which no failure has been detected is represented as 0.

[0048] Referring to FIG. 5, it is at 6.849 seconds that the number of exceedances first exceeds the threshold number N0. With the control method according to the present disclosure, a fault can be detected at this timing, as shown in FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 3 above, the absolute value of the vibration acceleration increases several times after 6.849 seconds, which would have allowed the control method according to the present disclosure to detect a fault. It is believed that abnormal noise occurs in railway vehicles when the absolute value of the vibration acceleration increases. With the control method according to the present disclosure, the actuator of the vibration suppression device is stopped at 6.849 seconds, when the fault was detected, so that no abnormal noise occurs thereafter. From the above, it can be seen that the control method according to the present disclosure can detect actuator faults early and prevent the actuator from generating abnormal noise.

[0049] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above. However, the above-described embodiments are merely examples for implementing the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented by appropriately modifying the above-described embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1: Railway vehicles 2: Body 3: Cart 5: Damper 10: Vibration suppressor 20: Actuator 21: Motor 30: Rotation angle sensor 40: Control device

Claims

1. A control method for a railway vehicle vibration suppression device comprising: an actuator connected to a bogie and a carbody of the railway vehicle, and suppressing vibration of the carbody relative to the bogie by thrust generated by rotation of a motor; a rotation angle sensor detecting a position of a magnetic pole of the motor; and a control device controlling operation of the actuator based on a detection result of the rotation angle sensor, The control device acquiring a magnetic pole position of the motor from the rotation angle sensor while the railway vehicle is running, and calculating a rotation speed of the motor from the acquired magnetic pole position of the motor; counting the number of times that the calculated rotation speed of the motor exceeds a predetermined rotation speed threshold within a predetermined time period, and determining whether or not a condition is satisfied that the counted number is smaller than the predetermined number threshold; a control method for a vibration suppression device for a railway vehicle, the method including stopping the actuator when the condition is no longer satisfied;

2. 2. A method for controlling the railway vehicle vibration suppression device according to claim 1, comprising: The control device restarts operation of the actuator after a predetermined time has elapsed since the actuator stopped.

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