Piston assembly

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a piston assembly comprising: a piston barrel; the piston is located in the piston cylinder and reciprocates in the axial direction relative to the piston cylinder, and a mounting groove is formed in the outer wall of the piston; the guide ring is arranged in an installation groove of the piston in a sleeved mode, the outer wall of the guide ring protrudes out of the outer wall of the piston in the radial direction so that the outer wall of the piston and the inner wall of the shell can be isolated in the radial direction, annular elastic supporting bodies are arranged at the two axial ends of the guide ring, and the annular elastic supporting bodies are arranged in the annular elastic supporting bodies. The elastic supporting body can be elastically supported between the inner wall of the guide ring and the outer wall of the piston in the radial direction so that the radial outer walls of the two axial ends of the guide ring can be tightly attached to the inner wall of the piston cylinder. The elastic supporting bodies are arranged at the two axial ends of the guide ring, the sealing performance between the guide ring and the piston cylinder is improved, abrasion caused by iron powder invasion is remarkably reduced, and therefore the service life of the guide ring is greatly prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of dampers, and particularly to a piston assembly. Background Art

[0002] A Magneto-Rheological Fluids Damper (MRFD) is a variable damper system (VDS) that provides resistance to motion and dissipates motion energy. It is widely used in the vehicle field and is mostly arranged between a vehicle frame (such as an axle housing) and a vehicle body to attenuate the vibration of the vehicle frame and the vehicle body and improve the stability of the vehicle during driving.

[0003] A magneto-rheological damper is a type of shock absorber that uses a magneto-rheological medium as a buffer medium. The magneto-rheological medium usually consists of hydraulic oil and iron powder, and different intensities of magnetic fields can be applied to the magneto-rheological medium to make the magneto-rheological medium have different viscosities and / or plasticity, so as to provide an adjustable damping force for the piston.

[0004] Traditional magneto-rheological dampers mainly include a housing (also called a piston cylinder), a piston rod, a solenoid valve, and a guide ring. When the piston rod moves relative to the housing, iron powder in the magneto-rheological medium is likely to accumulate between the inner wall of the housing and the outer wall of the guide ring, and the accumulated iron powder will accelerate the wear of the guide ring, thus causing failure problems. Summary of the Utility Model

[0005] To overcome the problems existing in the related art, the present disclosure provides a piston assembly.

[0006] According to the first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides a piston assembly, including: a piston cylinder; a piston located inside the piston cylinder and axially reciprocating relative to the piston cylinder, and an installation groove is provided on the outer wall of the piston; a guide ring sleeved in the installation groove of the piston, and the outer wall of the guide ring protrudes radially from the outer wall of the piston to radially isolate the outer wall of the piston and the inner wall of the piston cylinder. Wherein, annular elastic supports are provided at both axial ends of the guide ring, and the elastic supports can elastically support radially between the inner wall of the guide ring and the outer wall of the piston, so that the radially outer walls at both axial ends of the guide ring are in close fit with the inner wall of the piston cylinder.

[0007] In some embodiments, in the radial direction, the thickness of the guide ring is greater than the depth of the installation groove.

[0008] In some embodiments, an annular groove is formed by the axial end face of the guiding ring being recessed inwards along the axis, and at least a part of the elastic support body is received in the annular groove, wherein the radial thickness of the elastic support body received in the annular groove is greater than the radial depth of the annular groove.

[0009] In some embodiments, the inner end face of the elastic support body located in the annular groove is axially spaced from the axial wall of the annular groove.

[0010] In some embodiments, the elastic support body extends axially outwards from the axial end face of the guiding ring to elastically abut against the side wall of the mounting groove with an interference fit.

[0011] In some embodiments, a groove is provided on the axial end face of the elastic support body that is in interference fit with the side wall of the mounting groove (21), and the groove penetrates the elastic support body in the radial direction.

[0012] In some embodiments, the circumferential cross-section of the elastic support body is generally L-shaped, including a radial portion and an axial portion, and the groove penetrates the radial portion and a part of the axial portion of the elastic support body in the radial direction.

[0013] In some embodiments, a plurality of the grooves are provided and are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the elastic support body.

[0014] In some embodiments, the elastic support body is made of a rubber material.

[0015] In some embodiments, the guiding ring is made of one kind of plastic among PA66, PPS, and PTFE.

[0016] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure may include the following beneficial effects: The elastic support body can provide continuous elasticity, ensuring that both ends of the guiding ring can be in close contact with the inner wall of the piston cylinder in the radial direction. When the guiding ring moves axially relative to the piston cylinder along with the piston rod, it can effectively prevent iron powder in the magnetorheological fluid from invading the space between the inner wall of the piston cylinder and the outer wall of the guiding ring. In this way, the wear caused by the iron powder to the guiding ring or the piston cylinder can be greatly reduced, and the service life of the magnetorheological damper can be greatly extended. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into the specification and form a part of the specification, showing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure and, together with the specification, are used to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the mating relationship between the guiding ring, the piston rod, and the piston cylinder in a magnetorheological damper shown according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0019] Figure 2It is a partial perspective view of the combination of the guide ring and the elastic support shown according to an exemplary embodiment;

[0020] Figure 3 It is a perspective view of the combination of the guide ring and the elastic support shown according to an exemplary embodiment. Detailed implementation mode

[0021] Here, the exemplary embodiments will be described in detail, and the examples are shown in the drawings. When the following description refers to the drawings, unless otherwise indicated, the same numbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elements. The implementation manners described in the following exemplary embodiments do not represent all the implementation manners consistent with the present disclosure. On the contrary, they are merely examples of devices and methods consistent with some aspects of the present disclosure as detailed in the appended claims.

[0022] In the present utility model, unless otherwise specified, the axial direction A, the radial direction R, and the circumferential direction W respectively refer to the axial direction A, the radial direction R, and the circumferential direction W of the magnetorheological damper. The term "anti-torsion connection" means that two elements are connected in a manner that does not rotate relative to each other, which can be achieved via a press fit (i.e., an interference fit), or by integrally forming the two mentioned components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0023] To solve the above technical problems, the present disclosure provides a piston assembly 100. A piston is a key component widely used in various mechanical devices, and its main purpose is to convert mechanical energy into other forms of energy during reciprocating motion, or convert other forms of energy into mechanical energy. The application fields of pistons include, but are not limited to, the following mechanical devices, such as: internal combustion engines, compressors, ventilators, pumps, and pneumatic tools such as pneumatic drills and pneumatic hammers.

[0024] In this embodiment, as Figure 1 shown, the piston assembly 100 can be applied to a magnetorheological damper. The piston assembly 100 includes a piston cylinder 10, a piston 20, a guide ring 30, and an elastic support 40.

[0025] Among them, the internal space of the piston cylinder 10 provides a space for the piston 20 to move. The piston 20 is located inside the piston cylinder 10 and can reciprocate axially relative to the piston cylinder 10 to achieve the function of the damper.

[0026] Among them, an installation groove 21 is usually provided on the outer wall of the piston 20, and the installation groove 21 surrounds the outer wall of the piston 20 along the circumferential direction W. As Figure 3As shown, the guide ring 30 may be a C-shaped ring with a notch in the circumferential direction W, and the notch allows the guide ring 30 to be expanded in the circumferential direction and then sleeved in the mounting groove 21 on the outer wall of the piston 20. The groove walls at both axial ends of the mounting groove 21 play an axial blocking role for the guide ring 30, thereby limiting the axial position of the guide ring 30, preventing the guide ring 30 from axially separating from the piston 20, ensuring the stable position of the guide ring 30, and preventing guide failure.

[0027] Generally, when the guide ring 30 is installed in the installation groove 21, the outer wall of the guide ring 30 needs to radially protrude from the outer wall of the piston 20 to radially isolate the outer wall of the piston 20 and the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10, so as to avoid mutual wear between the outer wall of the piston 20 and the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10, thereby ensuring that the piston 20 moves smoothly in the piston cylinder 10, and the guide ring 30 can play an effective guiding role. While ensuring that the piston 20 moves smoothly in the piston cylinder 10, the guide ring 30 can also effectively guide the movement of the piston 20, thereby improving the stability and reliability of the piston assembly 100.

[0028] In this embodiment, the guide ring 30 can be made of one or more plastics such as PA66, PPS or PTFE. The guide ring 30 made of the above plastics has a certain hardness and strength, which can avoid radial compression, thereby ensuring that the guide ring 30 can effectively radially isolate the outer wall of the piston 20 and the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10, and play its guiding role. At the same time, the guide ring 30 made of plastic is light in weight and low in cost. It can be seen that the guide ring 30 made of plastic not only reduces the weight of the guide ring 30 and reduces the cost, but also ensures that the guide ring 30 can maintain its structural integrity when subjected to radial force, avoiding the loss of the guiding function.

[0029] It should be noted that the plastic material of the guide ring 30 is only exemplary and is not intended to limit the material protection scope of the guide ring 30. In other embodiments, the guide ring 30 may also be made of other materials while satisfying the characteristic that the guide ring 30 is not easily compressed, which is not specifically limited here.

[0030] In this embodiment, in the radial direction R, the radial thickness of the guide ring 30 is greater than the radial depth of the mounting groove 21. Since the guide ring 30 is not easily compressed in the radial direction, the thickness of the guide ring 30 is greater than the depth of the mounting groove 21, which ensures that the radial outer wall of the guide ring 30 can always protrude from the outer wall of the piston 20 to play its guiding role.

[0031] In this embodiment, annular elastic supports 40 are provided at both axial ends of the guide ring 30, and at least a part of the elastic supports 40 can elastically support radially between the inner wall of the guide ring 30 and the outer wall of the piston 20. When the guide ring 30 is sleeved on the outer wall of the piston 20, the elastic supports 40 provided between the guide ring 30 and the mounting groove 21 can provide continuous radial R elastic support. The elastic supports 40 can apply radially outward forces to both axial ends of the guide ring 30. Such radially outward forces can ensure that the radially outer walls at both axial ends of the guide ring 30 are always in close contact with the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10.

[0032] Due to the radial support forces generated by the elastic supports 40 on both axial ends of the guide ring 30, when the guide ring 30 axially moves relative to the piston cylinder 10 along with the piston 20, the radially outer walls at both axial ends of the guide ring 30 are in close contact with the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10, which can effectively prevent iron powder in the magnetorheological fluid from invading the space between the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10 and the radially outer wall of the guide ring 30 through both axial ends of the guide ring 30. In this way, the wear caused by the iron powder to the radially outer wall of the guide ring 30 or the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10 can be greatly reduced, thereby significantly extending the service lives of the piston cylinder 10 and the guide ring 30, and improving the reliability and durability of the entire piston assembly 100.

[0033] In this embodiment, the elastic supports 40 are made of rubber material. The rubber material ensures that the elastic supports 40 have good elasticity and wear resistance, can provide continuous support force in the radial direction R, ensure that the radially outer walls at both axial ends of the guide ring 30 are in close contact with the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10, effectively prevent iron powder in the magnetorheological fluid from invading the space between the piston cylinder 10 and the guide ring 30, thereby reducing the wear caused by the iron powder to the piston cylinder 10 and the guide ring 30, and significantly extending the service lives of the piston cylinder 10 and the guide ring 30. The use of the rubber material also ensures the stable performance and reliability of the elastic supports 40 during long-term use.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the axial end face of the guide ring 30 is axially recessed inward to form an annular groove 31, and the elastic supports 40 can be annular and at least partially received in the annular groove 31. The annular groove 31 provided on the guide ring 30 can provide an installation space for the elastic supports 40, can ensure that the elastic supports 40 can be accurately installed between the guide ring 30 and the piston 20, and the axial walls of the annular groove 31 can also play an axial limiting role on the elastic supports 40, preventing the elastic supports 40 from axially moving inward, and ensuring that the elastic supports 40 only elastically support both axial ends of the piston 20, so as to prevent iron powder from entering between the outer wall of the guide ring 30 and the inner wall of the piston 20 through both axial ends of the guide ring 30.

[0035] The elastic support body 40 is generally L-shaped and may include an axial portion 41 and a radial portion 42. The radial thickness of the axial portion 41 of the elastic support body 40 located in the annular groove 31 is greater than the radial depth of the annular groove 31, so that after the elastic support body 40 and the guide ring 30 are installed, the axial portion 41 of the elastic support body 40 can protrude from the inner wall of the guide ring 30 along the radial direction R. Therefore, when the guide ring 30 is sleeved in the mounting groove 21 of the piston 20, the axial portion 41 of the elastic support body 40 can be squeezed between the radial bottom wall of the mounting groove 21 and the radial wall of the annular groove 31, thereby ensuring that the elastic support body 40 can provide a supporting force radially outward, thereby ensuring that the axial ends of the guide ring 30 can be in close contact with the inner wall of the piston cylinder 10.

[0036] Furthermore, if Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the axial portion 41 of the elastic support body 40 located in the annular groove 31 has its inner end face spaced apart from the axial wall of the annular groove 31 in the axial direction A. The axial spacing is beneficial to provide the elastic support body 40 with axial deformation space when installing the elastic support body 40, and prevents the elastic support body 40 from being excessively squeezed and separated from the annular groove 31, thereby ensuring that the elastic support body 40 can normally play its radial support role. By maintaining an appropriate spacing between the end face of the axial portion 41 and the axial wall of the annular groove 31, not only is the installation process of the elastic support body 40 simplified, but it is also ensured that the elastic support body 40 has deformation space when subjected to radial force, maintaining the structural integrity of the elastic support body 40 and preventing it from losing its radial support function.

[0037] In some embodiments, the axial portion 41 and the radial portion 42 of the elastic support body 40 may extend axially beyond the axial end surface of the guide ring 30 to elastically abut against the side wall of the mounting groove 21 in an interference fit.

[0038] In this way, the elastic support body 40 can not only play a role in axially limiting the guide ring 30 to prevent the guide ring 30 from axially moving in the installation groove 21, but also make the axial position of the guide ring 30 in the installation groove 21 relatively stable.

[0039] The axial portion 41 and the radial portion 42 of the elastic support body 40 extend axially from the axial end surface of the guide ring 30 to elastically abut with the side wall of the mounting groove 21 in an interference fit. In this way, the elastic support body 40 can play the role of axially limiting the guide ring 30, effectively preventing the guide ring 30 from axially moving in the mounting groove 21, ensuring that the axial position of the guide ring 30 in the mounting groove 21 is relatively stable, and in addition, it can also effectively prevent the iron powder in the magnetorheological medium from invading the space between the piston cylinder 10 and the guide ring 30, thereby reducing the wear of the guide ring 30 caused by the iron powder, and significantly extending the service life of the guide ring 30.

[0040] Among them,Figure 3 As shown, the elastic support body 40 is annular and is interference-fittedly disposed in the annular grooves 31 at both axial ends of the guide ring 30 , and then installed as a whole in the installation groove 21 of the piston 20 .

[0041] Furthermore, the radial portion 42 of the elastic support body 40 increases the contact area between the elastic support body 40 and the side wall of the mounting groove 21 and the axial end face of the guide ring 30, which helps to reduce the chance of collision between the side wall of the mounting groove 21 and the axial end face of the guide ring 30, and reduces the mutual wear between the axial end face of the guide ring 30 and the side wall of the mounting groove 21, making the axial position of the guide ring 30 in the mounting groove 21 more stable. The radial portion 42 fits the axial end face of the guide ring 30, which can prevent the elastic support body 40 from moving inward in the axial direction, ensuring that the elastic support body 40 can provide continuous radial support force at both axial ends of the guide ring 30, and effectively preventing the guide ring 30 from axially moving in the mounting groove 21. The radial portion 42 increases the structural strength of the elastic support body 40, making the elastic support body 40 structure more stable and less prone to deformation, thereby improving the reliability and durability of the entire system.

[0042] In some embodiments, Figure 2 As shown, the axial end face of the elastic support body 40 that is interference fit with the side wall of the mounting groove 21 is provided with a groove 43, and the groove 43 radially penetrates the axial end face of the elastic support body 40. More specifically, the radial portion 42 and the axial portion 41 of the elastic support body 40 are provided with grooves 43, and the grooves 43 radially penetrate the radial portion 42 and part of the axial portion 41. The grooves 43 allow the elastic support body 40 to absorb deformation during the assembly process, making the assembly process easier. In some embodiments, a plurality of grooves 43 are provided, and are arranged at equal intervals along the circumference of the elastic support body 40. This arrangement helps the elastic support body 40 to evenly disperse deformation in all directions, ensuring the consistency and stability of the elastic support body 40 in the entire circumference, thereby improving the reliability and assembly efficiency of the overall piston assembly 100.

[0043] By providing a plurality of grooves 43 arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction on the radial portion 42 of the elastic support body 40, not only the assembly process is simplified, but also it is ensured that the elastic support body 40 can deform evenly when subjected to radial force, thereby avoiding local stress concentration and improving the stability and reliability of the entire magnetorheological damper 100.

[0044] Based on the same inventive concept, the present disclosure provides a vehicle, which includes the above-mentioned piston assembly 100. The specific manner of implementing the functions in the vehicle in the above-mentioned embodiment has been described in detail in the embodiment of the piston assembly 100, and will not be elaborated here.

[0045] It can be further understood that the terms "first", "second", etc. are used to describe various structures, but these structures should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish structures of the same type from each other, and do not indicate a specific order or degree of importance. In fact, the expressions "first", "second", etc. can be used interchangeably. For example, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, the first structure can also be referred to as the second structure, and similarly, the second structure can also be referred to as the first structure.

[0046] It can be further understood that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "front", "rear", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present embodiment and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0047] Those skilled in the art will readily conceive of other embodiments of the present disclosure after considering the specification and practicing the utility model disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure, which follow the general principles of the present disclosure and include known common knowledge or conventional technical means in the technical field not disclosed in the present disclosure. The specification and examples are only regarded as exemplary, and the true scope and spirit of the present disclosure are pointed out by the following claims.

[0048] It should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the exact structures already described and shown in the drawings, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from its scope. The scope of the present disclosure is only limited by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A piston assembly (100), characterized in that, Comprising: A piston cylinder (10); A piston (20), located within the piston cylinder (10) and axially reciprocating relative to the piston cylinder (10), and an installation groove (21) is provided on the outer wall of the piston (20); A guide ring (30), sleeved within the installation groove (21) of the piston (20), and the outer wall of the guide ring (30) radially protrudes from the outer wall of the piston (20) to radially isolate the outer wall of the piston (20) and the inner wall of the piston cylinder (10), wherein, annular elastic support bodies (40) are provided at both axial ends of the guide ring (30), and the elastic support bodies (40) can elastically support between the inner wall of the guide ring (30) and the outer wall of the piston (20) along the radial direction (R), so that the radially outer walls at both axial ends of the guide ring (30) are closely attached to the inner wall of the piston cylinder (10).

2. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that In the radial direction (R), the thickness of the guide ring (30) is greater than the depth of the installation groove (21).

3. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that The axial end face of the guide ring (30) is axially recessed inward to form an annular groove (31), and at least part of the elastic support body (40) is received within the annular groove (31), wherein the radial thickness of the elastic support body (40) received within the annular groove (31) is greater than the radial depth of the annular groove (31).

4. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that The inner side end face of the elastic support body (40) located within the annular groove (31) is spaced apart from the axial wall of the annular groove (31) in the axial direction (A).

5. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 3, characterized in that The elastic support body (40) axially extends outward from the axial end face of the guide ring (30) to elastically abut against the side wall of the installation groove (21) with an interference fit.

6. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that A groove (43) is provided on the axial end face of the elastic support body (40) that is in interference fit with the side wall of the installation groove (21), and the groove (43) penetrates the elastic support body (40) along the radial direction (R).

7. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that The circumferential cross-section of the elastic support body (40) is generally L-shaped, including a radial portion (42) and an axial portion (41), and the groove (43) penetrates the radial portion (42) and a part of the axial portion (41) of the elastic support body (40) along the radial direction (R).

8. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that A plurality of the grooves (43) are provided and are arranged at equal intervals along the circumferential direction (W) of the elastic support body (40).

9. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that The elastic support body (40) is made of a rubber material.

10. The piston assembly (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide ring (30) is made of one kind of plastic among PA66, PPS, and PTFE.

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