JPH0737232B2 - Failure detection method for air spring electronic control mechanism for railway vehicles - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a failure detection method for promptly detecting a failure of sensors of an air spring electronic control mechanism for railway vehicles.

2. Description of the Related Art A railway vehicle with an air spring automatically adjusts the amount of compressed air according to the load at each time, and automatically adjusts the height of the vehicle by combining a link and a leveling valve to maintain a constant height. Equipped with an adjustment mechanism. Further, a differential pressure adjusting valve for keeping the pressure difference between the left and right air springs within an appropriate range is provided between the left and right air springs.

However, when the railway vehicle stops on a gentle curve of the curved road, that is, in the gradually decreasing section, the function of the automatic height adjusting mechanism tries to keep the air spring height constant. As a result, opposite moments are generated in the front and rear bogies of the vehicle body, but since the torsional rigidity of the vehicle body is large, the vehicle body stops at a position where the moments generated in the front and rear bogies are balanced.

In this state, the air supply and exhaust of the height adjustment valve of the automatic height adjustment mechanism continues, the pressure of the air springs located diagonally of the vehicle becomes uneven, and the wheel load fluctuates greatly and There is a risk of so-called wheel loss and derailment when the vehicle is restarted.

For the purpose of preventing wheel load fluctuations in the cant diminishing section and preventing derailment at the time of restarting the vehicle, the applicant previously described an electronic control method for an air spring for a railway vehicle using a flow control valve (Japanese Patent Application No. -308582), an electronic control method for an air spring for a railway vehicle using an ON-OFF control solenoid valve (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-308583).
No.) and a vehicle body control method for a railway vehicle (Japanese Patent Application No. 1-308184) that allows the vehicle body to be untilted when the vehicle is stopped on a curved road so that the passenger can get on and off smoothly.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention All of the above-described electronic control methods for railroad vehicle air springs use sensors such as a height detector, a pressure gauge, and a vehicle body tilt angle meter, and digitally detect values from these sensors. It is input to a controller and arithmetically processed, and the result is output to the supply / exhaust valve to control opening / closing of the valve.

Therefore, if the electronic control unit is used for a long period of time, for example, if any sensor fails due to the end of its life, the controller recognizes the failure as soon as possible and switches from normal control during normal operation to backup control during failure. Is important for ensuring safety.

Since this sensor failure may occur even during business operation, it is necessary to constantly monitor the behavior of the detected value of the sensor and automatically switch to backup control when it is determined to be abnormal.

As described above, a quick safety measure is required when a failure occurs in the long-term use of the electronic control device for the air spring for a railway vehicle, but the conventional device has not taken the safety measure.

In view of the present situation, the present invention provides a failure detection method for quickly detecting a failure of sensors at all times by setting a criterion for judging an abnormality of an electronic control mechanism of a railcar air spring. is there.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a failure detection method for an air spring electronic control mechanism for a railroad vehicle of the present invention is a railroad vehicle having an air spring bogie, wherein each air spring of the front and rear bogies is continuous. Sensors such as height gauges, pressure gauges, and inclinometers, which are used for measurement, are used to input the detection signals from each sensor to the controller for arithmetic processing, and electronic control of each air spring by the control signal from the controller. When the mechanism recognizes at least one of the following conditions, it causes the related sensor or controller to fail.

[Abnormality of height gauge] When the height of the air spring becomes a constant value outside the dead zone of the height control for a certain period of time during traveling, the air spring height within a certain period during one traveling When the air spring height exceeds a permissible range when a large number of changes are repeated, [Abnormality of pressure gauge] When the air spring pressure is a constant value for a certain time or more during traveling, 1 When a large number of large pressure fluctuations of the air spring are repeated during one stop, when a differential pressure exceeding the set differential pressure of the differential pressure valve between the left and right air springs in one vehicle is generated for a long time, [inclination angle abnormality] When the vehicle body tilt angle remains constant for more than a certain period of time during driving, when a large number of large vehicle body tilt angle fluctuations are repeated during one stop, the allowable range is exceeded for more than a certain period of time. When showing an excessive tilt angle value, the working height gauge, pressure gauge and tilt The control operation of the air spring electronic control mechanism for a railway vehicle having a sensor such as an inclinometer is monitored at regular intervals, for example, every 0.5 seconds, and a failure of each sensor is detected in the following manner.

(Height gauge failure) While traveling at a certain speed, for example, 5 km / h or more, the air spring height becomes a constant value outside the dead zone of height control for a certain time ta, for example, 30 seconds or more. This is a condition that cannot be expected from the disturbance of the contact condition between the rail and the wheel or the measured data of the air spring height in the current vehicle test. Therefore, when the spring height shows a constant value, it can be determined that the height gauge is broken or the amplifier is broken.

During one run between adjacent stations, the number of sudden and large changes in height is extremely small within a certain period of time, for example, within 0.5 seconds as the sensor data collection period. For example, there is actual measurement data that a 50 mm change instantaneously (within 0.5 seconds) is one disturbance that occurs when passing a branch line during one-way running on a certain route (for example, distance 30 km, number of stations 20). . Therefore, the number of times the spring height changes greatly is set to 100, for example. If the number of counts exceeds the set number of times, it is recognized that the height gauge has failed.

The air spring of the railway bogie is restrained from fluctuation by the upper and lower stoppers, and the fluctuation is configured to fall within the range of -30 mm to +80 mm. Therefore, if a spring height outside this range is detected, it is recognized as a failure. In this case, noise may occur and there is a possibility of erroneous recognition, so for a certain period of time, for example,
Should be for 30 seconds or more.

[Failure of pressure gauge] When the pressure gauge also shows a constant value in the height gauge for the same reason as described above, it is determined that the pressure gauge is faulty.

When passengers get on and off the train when the train stops at the station,
The internal pressure of the air spring fluctuates. However, it is only about once to experience the fluctuation of 2 atm in the empty state and 6 atm in the full state.
Further, even when rolling the vehicle, a fluctuation of 1 atmospheric pressure does not occur, so that a large fluctuation of, for example, 2 atmospheric pressure is not repeated for a certain number of times ne, for example, 100 times during one stop.
Therefore, if such a large pressure fluctuation (> Pe) repeatedly occurs, it is recognized as a failure of the pressure gauge.

When the railroad car is in the cant section and is full, the left and right air spring internal pressure may momentarily exceed the set pressure (1.2 to 1.5 atmospheric pressure) of the differential pressure valve, but a differential pressure higher than that (for example, 2
Barometric pressure) does not occur for a long time (30 seconds).

Further, the air spring internal pressure in the empty state in the flat portion is about 2
Since the atmospheric pressure is 6 atm when the vehicle is full and the air source pressure is a maximum of 8 atm, exceeding the upper and lower limits for a long time (30
Seconds) will not last.

Therefore, if the differential pressure exceeding the set differential pressure is generated for a long time, it is considered that the pressure gauge is out of order.

[Behavior of tilt angle meter] Since there is vibration while the vehicle is running, the tilt angle of the vehicle is in units of degrees and is at the first decimal place for a certain time (for example
(30 seconds) The tilt angle never becomes constant.

Therefore, if the tilt angle is constant for a certain period of time or longer, it is considered that the tilt angle meter is out of order.

When passengers get on and off the train when the train stops at the station,
Rolling of about ± 0.5 ° occurs. However, a large inclination at an angle of 2 ° or more is not changed, for example, 100 times during one stop. Therefore, if a large number of such large tilts are repeated, it is considered that the tilt angle meter is abnormal.

When a railway vehicle passes through a branch point, the inclinometer may mistakenly recognize the lateral acceleration that occurs as a vehicle body inclination, and may momentarily show a large inclination angle value Ou, for example, ± 10 °. However, it is not normal for such a large slope to last for a certain time tj, for example, 30 seconds. Therefore, in such a case, it is recognized as a failure of the inclinometer.

Although the present invention aims to detect a failure of each sensor of the electronic control device for the air spring, a failure of the supply / exhaust valve of the device can be detected as follows.

That is, if the input values to the height, pressure, and slope controllers show values that are different from the actual values, or if they continue to fluctuate and do not settle, the controller tries to perform control according to the input, but within the dead zone. The output to the valve is frequent because it is difficult to fit. Also, if the sensor is normal but the valve does not operate normally, for example, if the exhaust valve fails to open even if an exhaust signal is output, the exhaust signal does not actually occur and the exhaust signal continues to output. It will not turn off. In such cases,
In particular, when the operation of the valve continues for a long time of, for example, 300 seconds without a rest time of 5 seconds while the vehicle is stopped, the valve is detected as a failure.

Practical Example A case in which the failure detection method for an electronic control unit for an air spring for a railway vehicle according to the present invention is applied to a vehicle body control apparatus for a railway vehicle shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, height detection is performed on each of the air springs (1) (2) and (3) (4) provided on the left and right sides of the front bogie (9) and the rear bogie (10) of the railway vehicle. A rotary encoder (5) is installed as a container.

In addition, the air supply valves (11) (12) (13) (14) for the air springs are provided in the middle of the pipe (7) connecting the source air reservoir (6) and the air springs (1) to (4). ) Is provided, and exhaust valves (21), (22), (23) and (24) are provided in the other provided exhaust pipes, and a pressure gauge (16) is further provided.

The rotary encoder (5) and the pressure gauge (16) detection signals as well as the vehicle body tilt angle detection signal of the tilt angle sensor (15) are provided to be input to the controller (8). Wiring is provided for transmitting the output from the controller (8) that opens and closes the exhaust valve.

In the internal pressure control of the air spring according to the present invention, the controller (8) controls each valve only when the absolute value of the difference in the sum of the internal pressures of the air springs on the diagonal lines of the front bogie and the rear bogie is larger than the set differential pressure. A signal is flown, the air supply valve and the exhaust valve are opened and closed, and the internal pressure of each air spring is controlled so as to fall within the set target value.

If the differential pressure is within the target value, the internal pressure is not adjusted and the control proceeds to the next tilt angle control and height control.

If the differential pressure is out of the target value, the difference in the sum of the internal pressures of the air springs on the diagonal lines of the front bogie and the rear bogie is judged, and the air springs (1) and (4) are supplied with air. ) (3) is exhausted, or conversely, the air springs (2) and (3) are supplied and the air springs (1) and (4) are exhausted so that the internal pressure is controlled to fall within the target value.

In the tilt angle control that is continuously performed, it is determined whether or not the tilt angle of the vehicle body is larger than the set value, and if it is within the set value, the process proceeds to the next step without supplying / exhausting the air spring. When the value is out of the set value, a control signal for air supply / exhaust of the air spring is output.

Further, the detection signal of the average height of the left and right air springs is calculated and compared with the set average height, and when they are out of order, the air supply / exhaust control of the air springs is performed so as to be within the set average height.

By the practice of this invention, the height gauge failure, pressure gauge failure,
A failure detection system for detecting failure of the inclinometer and failure of each valve is configured, and the air spring electronic control unit is set to 0.
It was provided so that it could be monitored with a control cycle of 5 seconds.

The relationship between the air spring electronic control system (17) and the failure detection system (18) is shown in FIG.

Then, the backup control system (19) is provided so that it can automatically operate based on the failure of the sensors detected by the failure detection system (18). Further, as shown in FIG. 3, each sensor failure is provided with an error code, and by storing this error code, the failure sensor and the failure position are provided so that the failure sensor can be grasped so that the failure can be quickly dealt with. did.

FIG. 3 shows a part of the flow chart of the failure detection system. The control cycle Δt is, for example, 0.5 seconds, and the control is continuously repeated.

In the control, first, the pressure of the air spring, the height, the inclination angle of the vehicle body, and the vehicle speed are read by the detection signals from the respective sensors. And the height gauge failure detection code = 1 for each code,
Pressure gauge failure detection code = 2 and inclinometer failure detection code =
The fault detection is performed in the same manner as described above by dividing into three.

That is, code = 0 is controlled during normal operation and code ≠ when abnormal.
It is controlled by 0. And the code at abnormal time is code = 1
Is a height gauge, code = 2 is a pressure gauge, and code = 3 is a tilt angle gauge. When the height gauge failure detection code is 0, the pressure gauge failure detection code is 0 when the speed V is 5 km / h or lower.
In the case of, when the speed V exceeds 5 km / h, when the tilt angle meter failure detection code = 0, the tilt angle is the target value ΔQe (for example ± 0.
Within 3 °), air spring control is performed by the air spring control during normal operation.

In the height meter failure detection, if the speed V exceeds 5 km / h, whether or not the height control (hi) is a constant value for a certain time or longer outside the dead zone (Δh) causes many large variations. Check whether or not the height changes beyond the allowable range, and if it is out of the allowable range, recognize that it is a malfunction of the height gauge, and operate the backup control system (19) to perform only pressure control and operate the valve. The opening / closing operation of is performed.

Also, in the pressure gauge failure detection, whether the pressure of the air spring has a constant value for a certain time or more, whether a large number of large fluctuations of the pressure are repeated during one stop, and the left and right differential pressure is set for a certain time or more. It is checked whether or not the pressure difference is exceeded, and if it is determined that the pressure gauge is out of order, the backup control system (19) operates to perform only the height control to open / close the valve.

Furthermore, in the detection of inclination angle failure, whether a constant value is maintained for a certain period of time during traveling, whether a large number of large inclines are repeated during one stop, and whether an excessive inclination angle is obtained for a certain period of time or more. When it is checked repeatedly, it is recognized as a failure of the tilt angle meter, and the tilt angle control is not performed by the operation of the backup control system (19),
The height control and the pressure control are performed to open and close the valve.

Although the detection of a valve failure is omitted in FIG. 3,
Also in this case, the detection is performed by providing a separate course as in the above.

Effects of the Invention By monitoring the function of the air spring electronic control mechanism for railway vehicles by the fault detection method of the present invention, the electronic control system is duplicated in software, and strong reliability is obtained for safety and operation of the vehicle. Therefore, the electronic control mechanism is extremely useful in practice.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an air spring electronic control device for a railroad vehicle in which a failure detection method of the present invention is implemented, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a failure detection system of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a sensor failure detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1, 2, 3, 4 ... Air spring 5 ... Rotary encoder 6 ... Original air reservoir, 7 ... Piping 8 ... Controller 9 ... Front bogie, 10 ... Rear bogie 11, 12, 13, 14 …… Air supply valve 15 …… Tilt angle sensor, 16 …… Pressure gauge 17 …… Air spring electronic control system 18 …… Failure detection system 19 …… Backup control system 21, 22, 23, 24 …… Exhaust valve

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A railway vehicle having an air spring trolley,
Sensors such as height gauges, pressure gauges and inclinometers that continuously measure are used for each air spring of the front and rear bogies, and the detection signals from each sensor are input to the controller for arithmetic processing When at least one of the following conditions is recognized in the electronic control mechanism of the railcar air spring that opens and closes the air supply / exhaust valve of each air spring by the control signal of the above, the related sensor or controller is considered as a failure. Failure detection method for air spring electronic control mechanism for railway vehicles. [Abnormality of height gauge] When the height of the air spring becomes a constant value outside the dead zone of the height control for a certain period of time during traveling, the air spring height within a certain period during one traveling When the air spring height exceeds a permissible range when a large number of changes are repeated, [Abnormality of pressure gauge] When the air spring pressure is a constant value for a certain time or more during traveling, 1 When a large number of large pressure fluctuations of the air spring are repeated during one stop, when a differential pressure exceeding the set differential pressure of the differential pressure valve between the left and right air springs in one vehicle occurs for a long time, ] When the inclination angle of the vehicle body is constant for a certain period of time while traveling, when a large number of large changes in the inclination angle of the vehicle body are repeated during one stop, the allowable range is exceeded for a certain period of time or more. When showing an excessive tilt angle value,