Method of producing electrode-equipped plate spring of railcar bogie

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10703394-B2
Application number	US-201615759428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2016
Priority date	Sep 10, 2015
Publication date	Jul 7, 2020
Grant date	Jul 7, 2020

Abstract

A method of producing an electrode-equipped plate spring of a railcar bogie includes: a resin removing step of partially irradiating a surface of fiber-reinforced resin, prepared by including electrically conductive fibers in resin, of a plate spring with a laser beam to partially remove the resin and partially expose the electrically conductive fibers; and an electrode forming step of attaching an electrode to an exposed region formed by partially exposing the electrically conductive fibers of the fiber-reinforced resin.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of producing an electrode-equipped plate spring of a railcar bogie,
the method comprising:
a resin removing step of partially irradiating a surface of fiber-reinforced resin, prepared by including electrically conductive fibers in resin, of a plate spring with a laser beam to partially remove the resin and partially expose the electrically conductive fibers; and
an electrode forming step of attaching an electrode to an exposed region formed by partially exposing the electrically conductive fibers of the fiber-reinforced resin.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the resin has a light transmission property, and the electrically conductive fibers have a light absorption property.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the resin has a light absorption property.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein in the resin removing step, the laser beam scans in an extending direction of the electrically conductive fibers when viewed from an irradiation direction of the laser beam.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the electrode forming step, the electrode is formed in such a manner that:
a thermosetting electrically conductive material is applied to the exposed region; and the electrically conductive material is irradiated with the laser beam to be cured.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the common laser device for irradiation of the laser beam is used in the resin removing step and the electrode forming step.

7. The method according to claim 5 , wherein energy per unit area of the laser beam with which the electrically conductive material is irradiated in the electrode forming step is smaller than energy per unit area of the laser beam with which the fiber-reinforced resin is irradiated in the resin removing step.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in the electrode forming step, one middle electrode pair and two side electrode element pairs are formed at one of longitudinal direction sides of the plate spring and at the exposed region formed on both side surfaces of the plate spring, the two side electrode element pairs being arranged at both respective sides of the middle electrode pair in a longitudinal direction of the plate spring so as to be spaced apart from the middle electrode pair.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Nishimura Takehiro
• Tsumura Yousuke
• Mitsue Masayuki
• Nakaoka Teruhisa
• Inamura Fumihide
• Kawashima Katsuyuki
• Todoroki Akira
• Nishio Yusuke

Classifications

• F16F1/368 Primary

  Leaf springs · CPC title

• Y02T30/00

  Transportation of goods or passengers via railways, e.g. energy recovery or reducing air resistance · CPC title

• B61F5/302 Primary

  Leaf springs · CPC title

• G01N27/20

  Investigating the presence of flaws · CPC title

• B23K2103/172

  wherein at least one of the layers is non-metallic · CPC title