Air spring, air spring control method, and railway vehicle

Abstract

An air spring, an air spring control method, and a railway vehicle, relating to the technical field of railway vehicles. The air spring comprises an upper cover plate, and an air bellow and an auxiliary elastic element are sequentially arranged below the upper cover plate. The air spring further comprises a lateral stiffness adjustment assembly and a vertical damping adjustment assembly. The lateral stiffness adjustment assembly comprises an adjustment plate and a driver; the driver is used for driving the adjustment plate to move relative to the upper cover plate, so as to limit deformation of the air bellow, thereby increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring. The vertical damping adjustment assembly comprises a hydraulic chamber, a hydraulic pipe and an accumulator; a damping valve is provided on the hydraulic pipe; the damping valve, when opened, is used for enabling a hydraulic working medium to flow among the hydraulic chamber, the hydraulic pipe and the accumulator, so as to increase the vertical damping of the air spring. The air spring can satisfy the requirements for lateral stiffness and vertical damping when railway vehicles pass through curves and bridges at high speed, thereby improving the safety, stability and comfort of railway vehicles.

Description

An air spring, a control method for the air spring, and a rail vehicle.

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411045390.4, filed on July 31, 2024, entitled "An air spring, a control method for an air spring and a rail vehicle", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of rail vehicle technology, and in particular to an air spring, a control method for the air spring, and a rail vehicle. Background Technology

[0003] An air spring is a non-metallic spring that uses compressed air, which is filled into a flexible, closed chamber, to achieve elasticity. Air springs possess excellent elastic properties and, when used between the car body and bogie of rail vehicles, can significantly improve the vehicle's dynamic performance, thereby substantially enhancing the comfort of vehicle operation.

[0004] Currently, air springs used in rail transit are installed between the car body and the bogie. An air spring consists of an air bladder and auxiliary elastic components. The auxiliary elastic components support the air bladder, prevent interference, accommodate operation when the air bladder is deflated, and ensure safe operation even when the vehicle is deflated. However, the lateral stiffness and vertical damping of current air springs are primarily determined by the characteristics of the air bladder and auxiliary elastic components, and cannot be actively adjusted. When the vehicle is running on a straight surface, only conventional lateral stiffness and vertical damping are required. However, when the vehicle passes through curves (turns) or bridges at high speed, greater lateral stiffness and vertical damping are needed. This contradicts the requirements for high-speed straight-line operation, easily leading to poor safety, stability, and comfort when the vehicle passes through curves and bridges at high speed. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a gas spring, a control method for an air spring, and a rail vehicle, which solves the problem that the current air springs cannot be actively adjusted, making it difficult to meet the safety, stability, and comfort requirements of rail vehicles when passing over curved bridges.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides an air spring, including an upper cover plate, with an air bladder and an auxiliary elastic element sequentially disposed below the upper cover plate, and further comprising:

[0007] The lateral stiffness adjustment assembly includes an adjustment plate and a driver. The adjustment plate is movably disposed on the upper cover plate and is used to limit the deformation of the airbag to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring. The driver is connected to the adjustment plate to drive the adjustment plate to move relative to the upper cover plate.

[0008] The vertical damping adjustment assembly includes a hydraulic chamber, a hydraulic pipe, and an accumulator. The hydraulic chamber is located on an auxiliary elastic element. The hydraulic pipe connects the hydraulic chamber and the accumulator. The accumulator stores and releases the pressure energy of the hydraulic working fluid. A damping valve is provided on the hydraulic pipe. When opened, the damping valve allows the hydraulic working fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber, the hydraulic pipe, and the accumulator due to the extension and retraction of the auxiliary elastic element, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring.

[0009] In some embodiments, the adjustment plate is a telescopic plate, which is telescopically disposed on the upper cover plate. The telescopic plate is used to limit the deformation of the airbag when it is in the extended state, so as to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring.

[0010] In some embodiments, the actuator is an electronically controlled actuator, the damping valve is an electronically controlled damping valve, and the air spring further includes an electronically controlled module. The electronically controlled module is communicatively connected to the electronically controlled actuator and the electronically controlled damping valve to control the opening and closing of the electronically controlled actuator and the electronically controlled damping valve.

[0011] In some embodiments, the air spring further includes a base plate for supporting an auxiliary elastic element. The base plate has a through hole, and the hydraulic pipe is bent, with one end of the hydraulic pipe away from the accumulator connected to the through hole.

[0012] In some embodiments, the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber is at least three times the thickness of the inner or outer wall of the hydraulic chamber, and the diameter of the hydraulic pipe is no greater than one-quarter of the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber.

[0013] In some embodiments, two sets of hydraulic pipes, accumulators, and damping valves are provided, and the two sets of hydraulic pipes, accumulators, and damping valves are arranged symmetrically about the axis of the auxiliary elastic element.

[0014] This application provides a control method for an air spring, applicable to any of the air springs described above, the control method comprising:

[0015] The unbalanced centrifugal acceleration of the car body, the lateral displacement of the car body relative to the bogie, the vertical acceleration of the car body, and the vertical displacement of the car body are obtained.

[0016] Determine whether the centrifugal acceleration and lateral displacement meet the first preset condition. If so, control the driver to drive the adjustment plate to move to a preset position that can limit the deformation of the airbag, so that the lateral stiffness of the air spring increases to the target stiffness value.

[0017] Determine whether the vertical acceleration and vertical displacement meet the second preset condition. If so, control the damping valve to open, so that the hydraulic working fluid can flow between the hydraulic chamber, hydraulic pipe and accumulator to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic element is in extension and retraction motion, so as to increase the vertical damping of the air spring to the target damping value.

[0018] In some embodiments, the step of controlling the actuator to drive the adjustment plate to a preset position capable of limiting the deformation of the airbag, so as to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring to a target stiffness value, includes:

[0019] Obtain stiffness control commands generated based on the required lateral stiffness;

[0020] The movement of the adjusting plate is controlled according to the stiffness control command to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring;

[0021] When the obtained lateral displacement no longer increases and the lateral displacement does not exceed the maximum displacement limit, the lateral stiffness of the air spring is determined to have reached the target stiffness value.

[0022] In some embodiments, the step of controlling the damping valve to open, allowing the hydraulic fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber, hydraulic pipe, and accumulator during the extension and retraction of the auxiliary elastic element to generate damping, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring to a target damping value, includes:

[0023] Obtain the damping control command generated based on the required vertical damping;

[0024] The damping valve is opened according to the damping control command, so that the hydraulic working fluid can flow between the hydraulic chamber, hydraulic pipe and accumulator to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic element is in the extension and retraction movement, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring.

[0025] When the obtained vertical acceleration and vertical displacement meet the third preset condition, the vertical damping of the air spring is determined to reach the target damping value.

[0026] This application also provides a rail vehicle, including a car body and a bogie, and further including an air spring of any of the above, the air spring being installed between the car body and the bogie.

[0027] Compared to the aforementioned background technology, the air spring provided in this application embodiment includes an upper cover plate, with an air bladder and an auxiliary elastic element sequentially disposed below the upper cover plate. The air spring also includes a lateral stiffness adjustment assembly and a vertical damping adjustment assembly. The lateral stiffness adjustment assembly includes an adjustment plate and a driver. The adjustment plate is movably disposed on the upper cover plate and is used to limit the deformation of the air bladder to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring. The driver is connected to the adjustment plate to drive the adjustment plate to move relative to the upper cover plate. The vertical damping adjustment assembly includes a hydraulic chamber, a hydraulic pipe, and an accumulator. The hydraulic chamber is disposed on the auxiliary elastic element. The hydraulic pipe connects the hydraulic chamber and the accumulator. The accumulator stores and releases the pressure energy of the hydraulic fluid. A damping valve is provided on the hydraulic pipe. When opened, the damping valve allows the hydraulic fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber, the hydraulic pipe, and the accumulator due to the extension and retraction of the auxiliary elastic element, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring.

[0028] Meanwhile, this application also provides a control method for an air spring, applied to the aforementioned air spring. The control method includes: acquiring the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration of the vehicle body, the lateral displacement of the vehicle body relative to the bogie, the vertical acceleration of the vehicle body, and the vertical displacement of the vehicle body; determining whether the centrifugal acceleration and lateral displacement meet a first preset condition; if so, controlling the driver to drive the adjustment plate to move to a preset position that can limit the deformation of the air spring, so that the lateral stiffness of the air spring increases to a target stiffness value; determining whether the vertical acceleration and vertical displacement meet a second preset condition; if so, controlling the damping valve to open, so that the hydraulic working fluid can flow between the hydraulic chamber, hydraulic pipe, and accumulator to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic element extends and retracts, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring to a target damping value.

[0029] As can be seen, compared to traditional air springs that cannot be actively adjusted, the air spring and its control method provided in this application can actively adjust the lateral stiffness and vertical damping. Specifically, when the air spring needs to provide greater lateral stiffness, the driver drives the adjustment plate to move, thereby limiting the deformation of the air spring's air bladder and increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring. When the air spring needs to provide greater vertical damping, the damping valve opens, and the auxiliary elastic element of the air spring, during its vertical compression and extension movement, drives the hydraulic fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber, hydraulic pipe, damping valve, and accumulator, generating greater damping. This air spring configuration is suitable for the lateral stiffness and vertical damping requirements of rail vehicles passing through curves and bridges at high speeds, thereby improving the safety, stability, and comfort of rail vehicles passing through curves and bridges at high speeds. Attached Figure Description

[0030] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or related technologies, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0031] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the air spring in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 2 is a flowchart of the air spring control method in an embodiment of this application.

[0033] Wherein: 10-Top cover plate; 20-Airbag; 30-Auxiliary elastic element; 40-Lateral stiffness adjustment component; 41-Adjustment plate; 42-Actuator; 50-Vertical damping adjustment component; 51-Hydraulic chamber; 52-Hydraulic pipe; 53-Accumulator; 54-Damping valve; 60-Base plate; 61-Through hole. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0035] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0036] It should be noted that the directional terms such as "upper end," "lower end," "left side," and "right side" mentioned below are defined based on the accompanying drawings in the instruction manual.

[0037] Referring to Figure 1, the air spring provided in this embodiment is a device that utilizes the compressibility of gas to provide elastic force. It is applied to the suspension system of rail vehicles to provide good ride comfort and vehicle stability. The air spring includes an upper cover plate 10, with an air chamber 20 and an auxiliary elastic element 30 sequentially arranged below the upper cover plate 10. The air spring is installed between the rail vehicle body and the bogie. The upper air intake column of the air spring is connected to the car body, and the lower air intake column is connected to the bogie. After being filled with compressed air, the air spring itself forms a sealed air chamber, thereby utilizing the compressibility of gas and the elasticity of the auxiliary elastic element 30 to buffer vibrations and improve vehicle stability.

[0038] To enable the air spring to actively adjust its lateral stiffness and vertical damping, the air spring also includes a lateral stiffness adjustment component 40 and a vertical damping adjustment component 50.

[0039] It should be noted that the above-mentioned horizontal direction refers to the horizontal direction shown in Figure 1, or the left and right direction of the rail vehicle in the horizontal plane, and the vertical direction refers to the vertical direction shown in Figure 1, or the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

[0040] The lateral stiffness adjustment assembly 40 includes an adjustment plate 41 and a driver 42. The adjustment plate 41 is movably disposed on the upper cover plate 10 and is used to limit the deformation of the airbag 20 to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring. The driver 42 is connected to the adjustment plate 41 to drive the adjustment plate 41 to move relative to the upper cover plate 10.

[0041] The vertical damping adjustment assembly 50 includes a hydraulic chamber 51, a hydraulic pipe 52, and an accumulator 53. The hydraulic chamber 51 is located within an auxiliary elastic element 30, which may be an annular rubber component containing the annular hydraulic chamber 51. The hydraulic pipe 52 connects the hydraulic chamber 51 and the accumulator 53, also known as a hydraulic accumulator 53, which is a device for storing and releasing the pressure energy of a hydraulic working fluid (specifically, oil). A damping valve 54 is installed on the hydraulic pipe 52. When opened, the damping valve 54 allows the hydraulic working fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, the hydraulic pipe 52, and the accumulator 53 due to the extension and retraction of the auxiliary elastic element 30, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring.

[0042] As can be seen, compared with traditional air springs that cannot be actively adjusted, the air spring provided in this application embodiment can actively adjust the lateral stiffness and vertical damping. Specifically, when the air spring needs to provide greater lateral stiffness, the driver 42 drives the adjustment plate 41 to move, so as to limit the deformation of the air spring bladder 20, thereby increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring. When the air spring needs to provide greater vertical damping, the damping valve 54 opens, and the auxiliary elastic element 30 of the air spring, when moving in vertical compression and tension, drives the hydraulic working fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, hydraulic pipe 52, damping valve 54, and accumulator 53, thereby generating greater damping.

[0043] This air spring design is suitable for the lateral stiffness and vertical damping requirements of rail vehicles passing through curves and bridges at high speeds, solving the problem that current air springs cannot be actively adjusted, making it difficult to meet the safety, stability, and comfort requirements of rail vehicles passing through curves and bridges.

[0044] Specifically, when a rail vehicle travels at high speed over a curved track, the lateral stiffness of the air spring needs to be increased to meet the lateral stiffness requirements of the rail vehicle traveling at high speed over a curved track; when a rail vehicle travels at high speed over a straight bridge, the vertical damping of the air spring needs to be increased to meet the vertical damping requirements of the rail vehicle traveling at high speed over a straight bridge; and when a rail vehicle travels at high speed over a curved bridge, both the lateral stiffness and vertical damping of the air spring need to be increased to meet the lateral stiffness and vertical damping requirements of the rail vehicle traveling at high speed over a curved bridge.

[0045] In summary, by increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring, rail vehicles can better control lateral movement when passing through curved tracks at high speeds, thereby improving vehicle stability, safety, and passenger comfort. By increasing the vertical damping of the air spring, rail vehicles can better control vertical movement when passing through straight bridges at high speeds, thereby improving vehicle safety, stability, and comfort.

[0046] In some embodiments, the adjusting plate 41 is a telescopic plate, which is telescopically disposed on the upper cover plate 10. The telescopic plate is used to limit the deformation of the airbag 20 when it is in the extended state, so as to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring. The driver 42 is an electronically controlled driver or actuator, which is used to control the telescopic plate to extend or retract relative to the upper cover plate 10 when a control command is received.

[0047] It should be noted that when the air spring bladder 20 contacts the stop on the bogie, it means that the air spring bladder 20 has reached its limit of travel. Therefore, to prevent the air spring bladder 20 from contacting the stop and reaching its limit of travel, based on the existing main structure of the air spring, a telescopic plate and actuator that can be actively controlled to extend and retract are provided on the upper cover plate 10 of the air spring. When the air spring needs to provide greater lateral stiffness, the actuator controls the telescopic plate to extend to limit the deformation of the air spring bladder 20, thereby increasing the lateral stiffness; when normal small lateral stiffness is required, the telescopic plate retracts, and the air spring is in normal working condition.

[0048] In this embodiment, the longer the telescopic plate extends, the greater the degree of deformation of the air spring bladder 20, and the greater the increase in lateral stiffness.

[0049] Of course, depending on actual needs, the adjusting plate 41 can also be a rotating plate. The rotating plate is rotatably connected to the upper cover plate 10. Correspondingly, the driver 42 drives the adjusting plate 41 relative to the upper cover plate 10 to limit the deformation of the air spring bladder 20, thereby increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring.

[0050] In some embodiments, the damping valve 54 is an electronically controlled damping valve that uses electronic signals to control the damping force of the air spring to adapt to different driving conditions and road conditions.

[0051] In this way, based on the existing air spring main structure, a hydraulic chamber 51 is set inside the auxiliary elastic element 30 (which can be a rubber stack), and a hydraulic pipe 52 and an accumulator 53 are also provided. A damping valve 54 is installed on the hydraulic pipe 52 to control its opening and closing. The damping valve 54 has an adjustable damping orifice. When the air spring needs to provide greater vertical damping, the electrically controlled damping valve opens. As the rubber stack of the air spring moves vertically in compression and extension, it drives the oil to flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, the damping valve 54, and the accumulator 53, generating greater damping. When normal damping is needed, the damping valve 54 closes, and conventional vertical damping is provided by the damping orifice inside the air spring.

[0052] In this embodiment, the smaller the opening of the damping valve 54, or the smaller the damping orifice of the damping valve 54, the greater the damping force generated and the greater the increase in vertical damping, and vice versa.

[0053] In addition, the air spring also includes an electronic control module, which is communicatively connected to the electronic control driver and the electronic control damping valve. The electronic control module is used to send corresponding control commands to the electronic control driver and the electronic control damping valve to control the opening and closing of the electronic control driver and the electronic control damping valve.

[0054] In some embodiments, the air spring further includes a base plate 60 for supporting the auxiliary elastic element 30. The base plate 60 is provided with a through hole 61. The hydraulic pipe 52 is bent. Specifically, the hydraulic pipe 52 has an L-shaped structure. One end of the hydraulic pipe 52 is connected to the accumulator 53, and the end of the hydraulic pipe 52 away from the accumulator 53 is connected to the through hole 61.

[0055] Furthermore, the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber 51 is at least three times the thickness of the inner or outer wall of the hydraulic chamber 51, and the diameter of the hydraulic pipe 52 is no greater than one-quarter of the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber 51.

[0056] It should be noted that in the hydraulic system, the design dimensions of the hydraulic chamber 51 and the hydraulic pipe 52 are crucial to the overall system performance. In this embodiment, the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber 51 should be set as large as possible within the limits of the rubber stack size to provide sufficient space to accommodate the hydraulic oil and ensure stable oil flow and pressure during operation. Generally, the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber 51 is at least three times the thickness of its inner or outer wall. This helps reduce internal flow resistance caused by wall thickness and provides sufficient strength and stability. Meanwhile, the diameter of the hydraulic pipe 52 needs to be determined based on the flow requirements and pressure loss of the hydraulic system. A smaller pipe diameter can reduce the system's volume and weight, but it will also increase the fluid velocity and pressure loss. Generally, the diameter of the hydraulic pipe 52 is no more than one-quarter of the radial dimension of the hydraulic chamber 51. This design helps ensure that the hydraulic pipe 52 is not too small when connected to the hydraulic chamber 51, thereby avoiding flow restriction or unnecessary pressure loss due to an excessively small pipe diameter.

[0057] In this way, using appropriate dimensions for the hydraulic chamber 51 and hydraulic pipe 52 can improve system efficiency, reduce energy loss, and facilitate the addition of vertical damping to the air spring.

[0058] In some embodiments, at least one set of hydraulic pipes 52, accumulators 53 and damping valves 54 is provided. For example, one set can be provided when considering installation structure and cost issues. Of course, two sets can also be provided. The two sets of hydraulic pipes 52, accumulators 53 and damping valves 54 are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the auxiliary elastic element 30. The two oil circuits are symmetrically arranged. When the rubber stack moves vertically in compression and extension, the oil flow will be more stable, which is conducive to steadily increasing vertical damping.

[0059] Referring to Figure 2, this application also provides a control method for an air spring, applied to the aforementioned air spring, the control method comprising:

[0060] S1: Obtain the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration of the car body, the lateral displacement of the car body relative to the bogie, the vertical acceleration of the car body, and the vertical displacement of the car body;

[0061] S2: Determine whether the centrifugal acceleration and lateral displacement meet the first preset condition. If so, control the driver 42 to drive the adjustment plate 41 to move to a preset position that can limit the deformation of the airbag 20, so that the lateral stiffness of the air spring increases to the target stiffness value.

[0062] S3: Determine whether the vertical acceleration and vertical displacement meet the second preset condition. If so, control the damping valve 54 to open, so that the hydraulic working fluid can flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, hydraulic pipe 52 and accumulator 53 to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic element 30 moves in extension and retraction, so as to increase the vertical damping of the air spring to the target damping value.

[0063] In S1, the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration a of the vehicle body y This typically refers to the extra acceleration experienced by a rail vehicle under centripetal force when turning, caused by uneven mass distribution or improper suspension design. This unbalanced centrifugal acceleration affects the vehicle's dynamic stability and ride comfort. The lateral displacement x of the car body relative to the bogie is also considered. y This typically refers to the lateral movement of a rail vehicle relative to its bogies during operation, caused by factors such as track unevenness, vehicle steering, braking, or acceleration. This lateral displacement can affect vehicle stability and passenger comfort. The vertical acceleration *a* of the car body is also considered. z This refers to the change in acceleration of a vehicle in the vertical direction caused by various factors (such as track irregularities, vehicle braking, acceleration, etc.). The vertical displacement x of the vehicle body... z This refers to the vertical movement of a rail vehicle, usually caused by the vehicle's movement on the track. This displacement is crucial for the operational safety of rail vehicles and the comfort of passengers.

[0064] In S2, the so-called first preset condition refers to the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration a of the vehicle body. y Greater than or equal to the set value a y0 And the lateral displacement x of the car body relative to the bogie y Greater than or equal to the set value x y0 Among them, the set value a y0 and setting value x y0 These values ​​are all set to determine whether the vehicle needs air springs to provide greater lateral stiffness in its current state.

[0065] When the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration a y Greater than or equal to the set value a y0 And the lateral displacement x of the car body relative to the bogie y Greater than or equal to the set value x y0 When a vehicle enters a curve at high speed, it is determined that the lateral stiffness of the air springs needs to be increased to prevent the lateral displacement from exceeding the maximum displacement limit x. y1 (x y1 >x y0 This can lead to a deterioration in lateral stability and comfort. In this case, the control driver 42 drives the telescopic plate to extend downward, thereby increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring.

[0066] In S2, the step of controlling the actuator 42 to drive the adjusting plate 41 to a preset position that can limit the deformation of the airbag 20, so as to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring to a target stiffness value, includes:

[0067] Obtain stiffness control commands generated based on the required lateral stiffness;

[0068] The movement of the adjusting plate 41 is controlled according to the stiffness control command to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring.

[0069] When the obtained lateral displacement no longer increases and the lateral displacement does not exceed the maximum displacement limit, the lateral stiffness of the air spring is determined to have reached the target stiffness value.

[0070] It should be noted that the required lateral stiffness is determined based on the target stiffness value that the air spring needs to achieve in the current state of the rail vehicle. That is, when the rail vehicle is cornering at high speed, the target stiffness value that the air spring needs to achieve is first calculated by the various sensors and controllers on the vehicle body, then a stiffness control command is generated and sent to the driver 42, causing the driver 42 to drive the telescopic plate to extend downward to a preset position, thereby increasing the lateral stiffness of the air spring to the target stiffness value.

[0071] Furthermore, it also includes determining whether the lateral stiffness of the air spring has increased to the target stiffness value. Specifically, when the obtained lateral displacement x... y No longer increasing and lateral displacement x y Not exceeding the maximum displacement limit x y1 (x y1 >x y0 When the lateral stiffness of the air spring reaches the target stiffness value, the above-mentioned lateral stiffness control of the air spring is completed.

[0072] Based on the above, continue to collect the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration a of the vehicle body in real time. y And the lateral displacement x of the car body relative to the bogie y When the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration a of the vehicle bodyy Less than the set value a y0 Or the lateral displacement x of the car body relative to the bogie y Less than the set value x y0 When the vehicle exits a curve, reaches a constant speed, or enters a straight line, a lower lateral stiffness is required. This triggers a lateral stiffness reduction mode, specifically controlled by the actuator 42, which retracts the upper cover 10, thus reducing the lateral stiffness of the air springs. When the vehicle body experiences unbalanced centrifugal acceleration a... y Less than the smaller acceleration setpoint a y1 (a y1 <a y0 And the lateral displacement x of the car body relative to the bogie y Less than the set value x y0 At this point, it is assumed that the lateral stiffness of the air spring has reached the target value, and control is complete.

[0073] In S3, the so-called second preset condition refers to the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body. z Greater than or equal to the set value a z0 And the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z Greater than or equal to the set value x z0 Among them, the set value a z0 and setting value x z0 These values ​​are set to determine whether the vehicle needs the air springs to provide greater vertical damping in its current state.

[0074] It should be emphasized that in the vertical damping adjustment assembly 50 of this application, the oil inside the rubber stack is connected to the oil accumulator 53 mounted on the frame via hydraulic pipe 52 and damping valve 54. When the air spring needs to provide greater vertical damping, the damping valve 54 opens to enter the large damping mode (smaller damping orifice). The vertical compression and tension movement of the rubber stack of the air spring drives the oil to flow between the hydraulic chamber 51 of the rubber stack, the damping valve 54, and the accumulator 53, generating greater damping. When the air spring needs to provide less vertical damping, the damping valve 54 opens to enter the small damping mode (larger damping orifice). The vertical compression and tension movement of the rubber stack of the air spring drives the oil to flow between the hydraulic chamber 51 of the rubber stack, the damping valve 54, and the accumulator 53, generating less damping. When normal damping is required, the damping valve 54 closes, and normal vertical damping is provided by the internal structure of the air spring.

[0075] Therefore, the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body collected by the monitoring system can be used as a basis. z Vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z This is used to assess indicators such as vehicle entry and exit from bridges and vertical stability to determine whether air springs are needed to provide greater vertical damping. When the vehicle's vertical acceleration a... z Greater than or equal to the set value a z0And the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z Greater than or equal to the set value x z0 When the vehicle enters the bridge, the bridge span excitation causes the vehicle to nod, resulting in a large vertical buoyancy and vertical acceleration. To prevent excessive vertical acceleration from causing a deterioration in vertical stability and comfort, the air spring needs to provide greater vertical damping. At this time, the small damping orifice mode is entered, generating greater vertical damping of the air spring. Specifically, the damping valve 54 is opened, so that the hydraulic working fluid can flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, hydraulic pipe 52 and accumulator 53 to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic element 30 moves in extension and retraction. This increases the vertical damping of the air spring to the target damping value and suppresses the vehicle nodding.

[0076] In S3, the step of controlling the damping valve 54 to open, allowing the hydraulic fluid to flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, hydraulic pipe 52, and accumulator 53 during the extension and retraction of the auxiliary elastic element 30 to generate damping, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring to the target damping value, includes:

[0077] Obtain the damping control command generated based on the required vertical damping;

[0078] According to the damping control command, the damping valve 54 is opened so that the hydraulic working fluid can flow between the hydraulic chamber 51, the hydraulic pipe 52 and the accumulator 53 to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic element 30 moves in extension and retraction, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring.

[0079] When the obtained vertical acceleration and vertical displacement meet the third preset condition, the vertical damping of the air spring is determined to reach the target damping value.

[0080] It should be noted that the required vertical damping is determined based on the target damping value that the air spring needs to achieve in the current state of the rail vehicle. That is, when the rail vehicle crosses the bridge at high speed, the target damping value that the air spring needs to achieve is first determined, then a damping control command is generated and sent to the electrically controlled damping valve 54, causing the electrically controlled damping valve 54 to open to the corresponding degree (opening the damping orifice to the corresponding size), so that the vertical damping of the air spring increases to the target damping value.

[0081] The so-called third presupposition condition refers to the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body. z Less than the set value a z1 (a z1 <a z0 And the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z Less than the set value x z1 (x z1 <x z0 ).

[0082] Furthermore, it also includes determining whether the vertical damping of the air spring has increased to the target damping value. Specifically, when the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body is collected... z Less than the set value a z1 (a z1 <a z0 And the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z Less than the set value x z1 (x z1 <x z0 The system assumes that the vertical damping of the air spring has reached the target value and completes the control.

[0083] Based on the above, continue to collect the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body in real time. z and the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z When the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body z Less than the set value a z0 And the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z Less than the set value x z0 When the vehicle enters a normal straight line, it is assumed that a small vertical damping is required. At this time, the large damping mode is entered. When the vertical acceleration a of the vehicle body is collected... z Less than the set value a z2 (a z2 <a z1 And the vertical displacement x of the vehicle body z Less than the set value x z2 (x z2 <x z1 The system assumes that the vertical damping of the air spring has reached the target value and completes the control process.

[0084] This application provides a rail vehicle comprising a car body and a bogie, and also includes the air springs described in the above specific embodiments, wherein the air springs are installed between the car body and the bogies. Other parts of the rail vehicle can be referred to in related technologies, and will not be elaborated upon herein.

[0085] It should be noted that in this specification, relational terms such as first and second are used only to distinguish one entity from several other entities, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities.

[0086] The air spring, air spring control method, and rail vehicle provided in this application have been described in detail above. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The descriptions of the embodiments above are only for the purpose of helping to understand the solution and core ideas of this application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several improvements and modifications to this application without departing from the principles of this application, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. An air spring comprising an upper cover plate, a gas bag and an auxiliary elastic member being sequentially arranged below the upper cover plate, characterized in that, Also comprising: a lateral stiffness adjusting assembly, the lateral stiffness adjusting assembly comprising an adjusting plate and a driver, the adjusting plate movably provided on the upper cover plate, the adjusting plate for limiting the deformation of the air bag to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring, the driver connected with the adjusting plate to drive the adjusting plate to move relative to the upper cover plate; a vertical damping adjusting assembly, the vertical damping adjusting assembly comprising a hydraulic cavity, a hydraulic pipe and an accumulator, the hydraulic cavity provided on the auxiliary elastic member, the hydraulic pipe for connecting the hydraulic cavity and the accumulator, the accumulator for storing and releasing the pressure energy of the hydraulic working medium, the hydraulic pipe being provided with a damping valve, the damping valve for enabling the hydraulic working medium to flow between the hydraulic cavity, the hydraulic pipe and the accumulator to increase the vertical damping of the air spring when the auxiliary elastic member is in the extension and contraction movement and the damping valve is opened.

2. The air spring of claim 1, wherein, The adjusting plate is a telescopic plate, the telescopic plate being telescopically provided on the upper cover plate, the telescopic plate for limiting the deformation of the air bag to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring when the telescopic plate is in the extended state.

3. The air spring of claim 1, wherein, The driver is an electric control driver, the damping valve is an electric control damping valve, and the air spring further comprises an electric control module, the electric control module being communicatively connected with the electric control driver and the electric control damping valve to control the opening and closing of the electric control driver and the electric control damping valve.

4. The air spring of any of claims 1-3, wherein, The air spring further comprises a bottom plate, the bottom plate for supporting the auxiliary elastic member, the bottom plate being provided with a through hole, and the hydraulic pipe being in a bent shape, one end of the hydraulic pipe away from the accumulator being connected to the through hole.

5. The air spring of any of claims 1-3, wherein, The radial dimension of the hydraulic cavity is at least three times the thickness of the inner wall or the outer wall of the hydraulic cavity, and the pipe diameter of the hydraulic pipe is not greater than one fourth of the radial dimension of the hydraulic cavity.

6. The air spring of any of claims 1-3, wherein, The hydraulic pipe, the accumulator and the damping valve are provided in two groups, and the two groups of the hydraulic pipe, the accumulator and the damping valve are symmetrically arranged about the axis of the auxiliary elastic member.

7. A control method of an air spring, applied to the air spring according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by, The control method comprises: obtaining the unbalanced centrifugal acceleration of the car body, the lateral displacement of the car body relative to the bogie, the vertical acceleration of the car body and the vertical displacement of the car body; determining whether the centrifugal acceleration and the lateral displacement satisfy a first preset condition, and if so, controlling the driver to drive the adjusting plate to move to a preset position capable of limiting the deformation of the air bag, so as to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring to a target stiffness value; determining whether the vertical acceleration and the vertical displacement satisfy a second preset condition, and if so, controlling the damping valve to open, so that the hydraulic working medium can flow between the hydraulic cavity, the hydraulic pipe and the accumulator to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic member is in the extension and contraction movement, so as to increase the vertical damping of the air spring to a target damping value.

8. The control method according to claim 7, characterized by, The step of controlling the driver to drive the adjusting plate to move to a preset position capable of limiting the deformation of the air bag, so as to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring to a target stiffness value, comprises: obtaining a stiffness control instruction generated according to the required lateral stiffness; controlling the adjusting plate to move according to the stiffness control instruction to increase the lateral stiffness of the air spring; When the acquired lateral displacement is no longer increased and the lateral displacement does not exceed a maximum displacement limit value, it is determined that the lateral stiffness of the air spring reaches a target stiffness value.

9. The control method according to claim 7, characterized by, The step of opening the control damping valve so that the hydraulic working medium can flow between the hydraulic chamber, the hydraulic pipe and the accumulator to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic member is in expansion and contraction, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring to a target damping value, comprises: acquiring a damping control instruction generated according to the required vertical damping; controlling the opening of the damping valve according to the damping control instruction, so that the hydraulic working medium can flow between the hydraulic chamber, the hydraulic pipe and the accumulator to generate damping when the auxiliary elastic member is in expansion and contraction, thereby increasing the vertical damping of the air spring; When the acquired vertical acceleration and the acquired vertical displacement satisfy a third preset condition, it is determined that the vertical damping of the air spring reaches a target damping value.

10. A railway vehicle comprising a car body and a bogie, characterized in that Further comprising the air spring according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein the air spring is installed between the vehicle body and the bogie.

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