Air spring and railcar

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9545933-B2
Application number	US-201414908717-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2014
Priority date	Jul 31, 2013
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

An air spring ( 2 ) includes: an upper surface plate ( 21 ); a lower surface plate ( 22 ); an elastic film ( 23 ) airtightly coupling a peripheral portion of the upper surface plate ( 21 ) and a peripheral portion of the lower surface plate ( 22 ) to each other to form an air chamber ( 24 ) inside the elastic film ( 23 ); an elastic stopper ( 25 ) connected to the lower surface plate ( 22 ); and at least one of an internal pipe ( 45 ) or internal wire ( 55 ) extending from an upper surface of the upper surface plate ( 21 ) to a side surface of the elastic stopper ( 25 ). A part of a pipe and/or wire extending between a carbody ( 11 ) and a bogie ( 1 ) of a railcar ( 100 ) is constituted by the internal pipe ( 45 ) and/or internal wire ( 55 ) of the air spring ( 2 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An air spring comprising:
an upper surface plate;
a lower surface plate provided so as to oppose the upper surface plate;
an elastic film airtightly coupling a peripheral portion of the upper surface plate and a peripheral portion of the lower surface plate to each other to form an air chamber inside the elastic film;
an elastic stopper connected to the lower surface plate; and
at least one of an internal pipe or an internal wire, the internal pipe extending from an upper surface of the upper surface plate to a side surface of the elastic stopper, the internal wire extending from the upper surface of the upper surface plate to the side surface of the elastic stopper.

2. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the internal pipe or the internal wire extends through the upper surface plate, the air chamber, the lower surface plate, and the elastic stopper.

3. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein a part of at least one of the internal pipe or the internal wire is constituted by a flexible pipe or a flexible wire, the flexible pipe extending in the air chamber in a circular-arc shape, the flexible wire extending in the air chamber in the circular-arc shape.

4. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein:
the air spring is a bolster spring of a railcar; and
the internal pipe is a part of a brake pipe, compressed air being supplied from an air source at a carbody of the railcar through the brake pipe to brake equipment at a bogie of the railcar.

5. The air spring according to claim 1 , wherein:
the air spring is a bolster spring of a railcar; and
the internal wire is a part of at least one of
a conducting wire connecting an electric motor driving device at a carbody of the railcar and an electric motor at a bogie of the railcar to each other,
a conducting wire connecting a control device at the carbody of the railcar and a sensor at the bogie of the railcar to each other, or
a conducting wire, the carbody of the railcar being grounded through the conducting wire.

6. A railcar comprising:
a carbody;
a bogie;
an interface plate provided at the carbody; and
the air spring according to claim 1 , the air spring being provided between the interface plate and a bogie frame of the bogie.

7. The railcar according to claim 6 , further comprising at least one of a pipe or a wire, the pipe extending between the carbody and the bogie, the wire extending between the carbody and the bogie, wherein:
the pipe extending between the carbody and the bogie includes a carbody pipe, the interface plate, the internal pipe of the air spring, and a bogie pipe; and
the wire extending between the carbody and the bogie includes a carbody wire, the interface plate, the internal wire of the air spring, and a bogie wire.

8. The railcar according to claim 7 , wherein:
the air spring includes a first connection portion,
an end portion of at least one of the internal pipe or the internal wire is provided at the first connection portion;
the first connection portion is located at an upper surface of the air spring; and
the interface plate includes a second connection portion fittingly connected to the first connection portion, the second connection portion being located at a lower surface of the interface plate and connected to the carbody pipe or the carbody wire.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Nishimura Takehiro
• Okumura Yasufumi
• Onishi Kazuhiro
• Okayama Chihiro

Classifications

• B61F5/10 Primary

  incorporating fluid springs · CPC title

• F16F9/05

  the flexible wall being of the rolling diaphragm type · CPC title

• F16F13/002

  comprising at least one fluid spring (F16F13/005, F16F13/02, F16F13/04 take precedence) · CPC title