A twin-tube shock absorber and a vehicle

Abstract

This application relates to the field of vehicle technology, specifically disclosing a twin-tube shock absorber and a vehicle, including a working cylinder, a piston rod, and an oil reservoir. The oil reservoir is coaxially sleeved on the outer surface of the working cylinder, forming a sealed oil reservoir chamber between the oil reservoir and the working cylinder. The oil reservoir includes a connecting portion at the end and a bulge integrally formed with the connecting portion. The distance between the radial wall of the bulge and the outer wall of the working cylinder is greater than the distance between the radial wall of the connecting portion and the outer wall of the working cylinder. The working cylinder has a working chamber, with one end of the piston rod disposed in the working chamber and the other end extending out of the working cylinder. When the shock absorber is working, the pressure in the oil reservoir changes slightly but remains relatively stable, thereby making the shock absorber damping stable and sensitive, and optimizing the overall vehicle comfort and stability. At the same time, the stable air pressure in the oil reservoir also makes the working environment of the shock absorber oil seal more friendly, allowing for the design of a higher initial air pressure to improve overall vehicle performance and extend service life.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of vehicle technology, and in particular to a twin-tube shock absorber and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] The existing twin-cylinder shock absorber has a cavity between its working cylinder and oil reservoir, which is called the oil reservoir (or air reservoir). The lower part of the cavity is filled with damping oil, and the upper part of the cavity is filled with gas, forming the air reservoir.

[0003] When the shock absorber is working, the reciprocating motion of the piston rod causes the oil level in the reservoir to rise and fall, which in turn causes the volume of the air reservoir to change. Because the volume of the air reservoir is small, the pressure in the air reservoir changes drastically when the shock absorber works rapidly, which leads to unsatisfactory phenomena such as unstable damping force, damping lag, and oil foaming, reducing the comfort and stability of the entire vehicle. At the same time, the drastic pressure change in the air reservoir also deteriorates the working environment of the oil seal, resulting in a shortened life of the oil seal or the need to set a lower initial air pressure. Utility Model Content

[0004] This utility model proposes a twin-tube shock absorber and vehicle, aiming to at least solve the problems in related technologies where the shock absorber causes drastic changes in the pressure of the air storage chamber when it works rapidly, resulting in unstable damping force, damping force lag, oil foaming, and other adverse phenomena, which reduce the comfort and stability of the vehicle, as well as shorten the life of the oil seal or require setting a lower initial air pressure.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a twin-tube shock absorber, comprising:

[0006] Working cylinder block;

[0007] An oil reservoir is coaxially sleeved on the outer surface of the working cylinder body, forming a sealed oil storage cavity between the oil reservoir and the working cylinder body. The oil reservoir includes a connecting part at the end and a bulge part integrally formed with the connecting part, wherein the distance between the wall of the bulge part and the outer wall of the working cylinder body along the radial direction is greater than the distance between the connecting part and the outer wall of the working cylinder body along the radial direction.

[0008] In some embodiments, the cross-sectional area of ​​the bulge portion along the axis perpendicular to the working cylinder is greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the connecting portion along the axis perpendicular to the working cylinder.

[0009] In some embodiments, the connecting portion and the bulge portion are coaxial cylindrical tubes, and the projected profile of the cylindrical wall corresponding to the bulge portion along the axis at least partially protrudes beyond the projected profile of the connecting portion along the axis.

[0010] In some embodiments, the connecting portions are integrally formed at both ends of the bulge portion.

[0011] In some embodiments, a piston rod is further included. The working cylinder has a working chamber disposed along a first direction A. One end of the piston rod is disposed in the working chamber and the other end extends out of the working cylinder along the first direction, wherein the first direction is the direction of the central axis of the working cylinder.

[0012] In some embodiments, the piston rod includes a rod body and a piston valve disposed at one end of the rod body located within the working chamber, wherein the outer surface of the piston valve fits against the inner wall of the working chamber.

[0013] In some embodiments, a bottom valve body is provided at the bottom of the working cylinder, and the working chamber is connected to the oil storage chamber through the bottom valve body.

[0014] In some embodiments, a guide seal is provided at one end of the working cylinder body away from the bottom valve body, and one end of the piston rod extends through the guide seal to the outside of the working cylinder body.

[0015] In some embodiments, a lifting ring is provided at the end of the bottom valve body opposite to the working cylinder body, and the lifting ring is configured for mounting the shock absorber.

[0016] Secondly, this application also provides a vehicle that includes the twin-tube shock absorber as described in the first aspect embodiment above.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, one or more technical solutions described above in the embodiments of this application have at least the following beneficial effects or advantages:

[0018] This application utilizes a twin-tube shock absorber, which, by configuring the oil reservoir as a connecting part and a bulge part, forms a large-capacity oil reservoir between the oil reservoir and the working cylinder. During the operation of the shock absorber, the pressure in the reservoir changes slightly but remains relatively stable, thereby making the shock absorber damping stable and sensitive, and optimizing the overall vehicle comfort and stability. At the same time, the stable air pressure in the reservoir also makes the working environment of the shock absorber oil seal more favorable, allowing for the design of a higher initial air pressure to improve overall vehicle performance and extend service life.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a twin-tube vibration damper according to an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the oil storage tank according to an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the piston rod according to an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a plan view of a vibration damper according to an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 5 It is based on Figure 4 A cross-sectional view along the BB direction;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the working principle of a twin-tube vibration damper according to an embodiment of this application.

[0027] Figure label:

[0028] 100. Twin-tube shock absorber; 110. Working cylinder body; 111. Working chamber; 1111. Upper working chamber; 1112. Lower working chamber; 120. Oil reservoir; 121. Oil reservoir; 122. Connecting part; 123. Bulging part; 130. Piston rod; 131. Rod body; 132. Piston valve component; 140. Guide seal; 150. Bottom valve body; 160. Lifting ring; A. First direction. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. The embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0030] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "connected," "linked," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances. "Multiple" means at least two, that is, two or more; "multiple" means at least two, that is, two or more.

[0031] In this application, "and / or" is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, and B existing alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0032] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein in the specification of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0033] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0034] For a twin-cylinder shock absorber, it is mainly divided into two spaces by two cylinders (working cylinder and oil reservoir): the inner cavity of the working cylinder filled with oil and the lower oil reservoir filled with oil and the upper oil reservoir filled with gas; at the same time, the inner cavity of the working cylinder is further divided into the upper chamber and the lower chamber of the working cylinder by a piston valve, and the lower chamber of the working cylinder and the oil reservoir are connected by a bottom valve to maintain the flow of oil. When the twin-cylinder shock absorber is working, the piston rod drives the piston to move up and down reciprocally. During the movement, the oil flows back and forth between the upper and lower chambers of the working cylinder, and between the lower chamber of the working cylinder and the oil reservoir. When the oil flows, it generates a damping force when passing through the valve system, and converts mechanical energy into heat, thereby reducing the motion of the object.

[0035] The inventors discovered that existing twin-tube shock absorbers use a constant-diameter design for their oil reservoirs. Some twin-tube shock absorbers slightly reduce the diameter at both ends of the reservoir, resulting in minimal overall diameter change. Because the reservoir ends need to accommodate guides, oil seals, and bottom covers, the difference between the inner diameter of the reservoir and the outer diameter of the working cylinder is small, leading to a limited space in the oil reservoir chamber (which also serves as the air reservoir). When the twin-tube shock absorber operates, the changes in air reservoir volume and pressure are more drastic due to the limited space. Calculations show that the air pressure change in the air reservoir chamber of existing twin-tube shock absorbers during full stroke is between 20% and 40%, varying slightly depending on the structure and stroke.

[0036] When the air pressure in the air reservoir drops significantly, the oil flows back to the working cylinder more slowly, which is not conducive to the establishment of oil pressure in the lower chamber of the working cylinder during the extension stroke of the twin-tube shock absorber. This results in underpressure during the subsequent compression stroke of the twin-tube shock absorber, causing the twin-tube shock absorber to produce impact and a sense of free play, reducing the overall vehicle's comfort and grip. At the same time, drastic changes in air pressure can also easily cause the oil to foam during movement. Oil mixed with a large amount of foam cannot generate sufficient damping force when passing through the valve system, and will produce abnormal noise when the foam bursts.

[0037] Meanwhile, significant changes in air pressure also increase the upper limit of air pressure within the air reservoir, affecting the service life of the oil seal. Therefore, it's necessary to lower the initial air pressure setting, thus preventing the back pressure effect of the air reservoir from being fully utilized. The twin-tube shock absorbers in a MacPherson strut suspension need to withstand lateral forces, requiring thicker piston rods. The piston rod's movement in and out of the working cylinder causes greater pressure changes in the air reservoir during operation, necessitating a lower initial air pressure setting compared to twin-tube shock absorbers in other suspension structures.

[0038] Based on this, the inventors proposed a new type of twin-tube shock absorber. During operation, the pressure in the air reservoir changes slightly but remains relatively stable, thus making the damping of the twin-tube shock absorber stable and sensitive, and optimizing the overall vehicle comfort and stability. At the same time, the stable air pressure in the air reservoir also makes the working environment of the twin-tube shock absorber oil seal more friendly, allowing for the design of higher initial air pressure to improve overall vehicle performance and extend service life.

[0039] The specific structure and functional principle of the above-mentioned twin-tube vibration damper will be further described below with reference to several embodiments;

[0040] Please see Figures 1 to 2This embodiment provides a twin-tube vibration damper 100, which includes at least a working cylinder 110, an oil reservoir 120, and a piston rod 130. The oil reservoir 120 is coaxially sleeved on the outer surface of the working cylinder 110, forming a sealed oil reservoir 121 between the oil reservoir 120 and the working cylinder 110. The piston rod 130 is coaxially disposed in the inner cavity of the working cylinder 110. For ease of description, the direction along the central axis of the working cylinder 110 or the piston rod 130 is defined as the first direction A. Specifically, the working cylinder 110 has a working cavity 111 disposed along the first direction A. One end of the piston rod 130 is disposed in the working cavity 111 and the other end extends out of the working cylinder 110 along the first direction A. The working cylinder 110, the oil reservoir 120, and the piston rod 130 are coaxially disposed.

[0041] In some embodiments, a bottom valve body 150 is provided at the bottom of the working cylinder 110, and the working chamber 111 is connected to the oil reservoir 121 through the bottom valve body 150. A guide seal 140 is provided at one end of the working cylinder 110 away from the bottom valve body 150, and one end of the piston rod 130 extends through the guide seal 140 to the outside of the working cylinder 110. A lifting ring 160 is provided at one end of the bottom valve body 150 away from the working cylinder 110, and the lifting ring 160 is configured for the installation of the twin-tube shock absorber.

[0042] It should be noted that, for example, the bottom valve body 150 may include a bottom valve seat, a throttle valve plate, an oil inlet channel and an oil outlet channel. The bottom valve body 150 can be obtained from the prior art, and its specific structure and functional implementation principle will not be described in detail here.

[0043] Similarly, the guide seal 140 may include structures such as a guide sleeve, a spacer sleeve, and a retaining ring. The guide seal 140 can be obtained from the prior art, and its specific structure and functional implementation principle will not be elaborated here.

[0044] In some embodiments, combined with Figure 3 As shown, the piston rod 130 includes a rod body 131 and a piston valve 132 disposed at one end of the rod body 131 located in the working chamber 111. The outer surface of the piston valve 132 is in contact with the inner wall of the working chamber 111. The piston valve 132 may include a flow valve plate, a washer, a support plate, and a stud. The piston valve 132 can be obtained from the prior art, and its specific structure and functional implementation principle will not be described in detail here.

[0045] It should be noted that when the twin-tube shock absorber 100 is working, the up-and-down movement of the piston rod 130 causes changes in the effective volume of the working cylinder that can hold oil: when the piston rod moves upward, the volume occupied by the piston rod 130 in the working cylinder decreases, and the effective volume increases, requiring oil to be replenished to the working cylinder through the bottom valve in the oil reservoir 121; when the piston rod 130 moves downward, the volume occupied by the piston rod 130 in the working cylinder increases, and the effective volume decreases, requiring excess oil to be discharged from the working cylinder through the bottom valve to the oil reservoir 121. The replenishment or discharge of oil must be rapid; otherwise, it will affect the establishment of hydraulic pressure, leading to problems such as insufficient damping force and idling. Therefore, a certain pressure needs to be established in the oil reservoir 121 so that the oil can be replenished or discharged in a timely manner under the action of air pressure. The amount of oil in the oil reservoir 121 changes accordingly when the twin-tube shock absorber is working, synchronously affecting the volume of gas in the oil reservoir 121; and the change in the volume of gas in the oil reservoir 121 inevitably leads to fluctuations in air pressure.

[0046] In some embodiments, combined with Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the oil reservoir 120 includes a connecting portion 122 at the end and a bulge portion 123 integrally formed with the connecting portion 122. The distance between the wall of the bulge portion 123 and the outer wall of the working cylinder 110 along the radial direction is greater than the distance between the connecting portion 122 and the outer wall of the working cylinder 110 along the radial direction. The connecting portions 122 are integrally formed at both ends of the bulge portion 123.

[0047] It should be noted that by providing a bulge 123 in the oil reservoir 120, a large-capacity oil reservoir is formed between the oil reservoir 120 and the working cylinder 110. When the twin-tube shock absorber is working, the pressure in the reservoir changes slightly but remains relatively stable, thereby making the damping of the twin-tube shock absorber stable and sensitive, and optimizing the overall vehicle comfort and stability.

[0048] Optionally, connecting portions 122 are provided on both sides of the bulge portion 123. The cross-sectional area of ​​the bulge portion 123 along the axis perpendicular to the center of the working cylinder 110 is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the connecting portion 122 along the axis perpendicular to the center of the working cylinder 110. This arrangement makes the volume of the middle area of ​​the oil reservoir 120 larger, which can hold more hydraulic oil and gas.

[0049] Optionally, connecting portions 122 are provided on both sides of the bulge portion 123. The connecting portions 122 and the bulge portion 123 are coaxial cylindrical tubes. The projection contour of the cylindrical wall corresponding to the bulge portion 123 along the axis at least partially protrudes from the projection contour of the connecting portion 122 along the axis.

[0050] With this configuration, connecting portions 122 are provided on both sides of the bulge portion 123. The diameter of the connecting portions 122 is smaller, which facilitates the flow of oil. On the other hand, the structure of the connecting portions 122 is similar to the structure at both ends of the oil reservoir of the twin-tube shock absorber in the related technology, which facilitates the connection and installation of the internal structure, thereby reducing the production and development cost of the twin-tube shock absorber 100.

[0051] Please see Figure 6 After the twin-tube shock absorber 100 is filled with hydraulic oil, Inside the working cylinder 110, the piston valve 132 divides the working chamber 111 into an upper working chamber 1111 and a lower working chamber 1112. The upper working chamber 1111 is filled with hydraulic oil, and the lower working chamber 1112 is partially connected to the oil storage chamber 121 corresponding to the connecting part 122 through the bottom valve body 150. The lower working chamber 1112 is filled with hydraulic oil, and the oil storage chamber 121 is filled with a portion of hydraulic oil. When the twin-cylinder shock absorber is working, the piston rod 130 drives the piston to move up and down reciprocally. The upper working chamber 1111 and the lower working chamber 1112 are filled with hydraulic oil, and the two are separated by the piston valve. The oil can flow between the two through the valve body. During the movement, the oil flows back and forth between the upper working chamber 1111 and the lower working chamber 1112, and between the lower working chamber 1112 and the oil storage chamber 121. When the oil flows, it generates damping force when passing through the valve system and converts mechanical energy into heat, thereby reducing the motion of the object.

[0052] In the above embodiment, the twin-tube shock absorber 100, through the setting of the oil reservoir 120, which includes a connecting part 122 at the end and a bulge part 123 integrally formed with the connecting part 122, can improve the stability of the air pressure in the air storage chamber of the twin-tube shock absorber 100, establish a stable back pressure for the oil in the twin-tube shock absorber 100, so that the oil can flow back in time when the twin-tube shock absorber 100 is working violently, and reduce the phenomenon of oil foaming, avoid adverse phenomena such as undervoltage, idle stroke and abnormal noise in the twin-tube shock absorber 100, and provide more stable and more sensitive damping force feedback.

[0053] Meanwhile, because the air pressure change is smaller when the twin-tube shock absorber 100 is working, a higher initial air pressure can be set, thereby obtaining a higher oil back pressure to provide more stable and sensitive damping force feedback. When the piston rod 130 is thicker (MacPherson strut suspension requires the twin-tube shock absorber 100 to bear lateral forces), the volume change caused by the piston rod 130 entering and exiting the working cylinder is more significant, resulting in more prominent air pressure stability in the large-capacity air chamber, and a more obvious advantage.

[0054] Furthermore, the bulge design of the oil reservoir 120 allows for a large-capacity air storage chamber. The difference between the inner diameter of the oil reservoir 120 (the non-bulged portion) and the outer diameter of the working cylinder 110 has a negligible impact on the volume of the air storage chamber, thus reducing the difference. Under the same arrangement space, a larger inner diameter of the working cylinder can be obtained, which means a larger piston can be used. The larger the piston area, the wider the adjustable range of the damping force, and the more advantageous it is to select a suitable damping force. The bulge design of the oil reservoir 120 also provides a larger surface area, allowing the twin-tube shock absorber 100 to dissipate heat faster, making the oil temperature of the twin-tube shock absorber 100 more stable, which is more conducive to maintaining the stability of the damping force of the twin-tube shock absorber.

[0055] In some embodiments, a vehicle is also provided, the vehicle including the twin-tube shock absorber 100 as described in the above embodiments.

[0056] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on the utility model.

[0057] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0058] Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. The reference to "embodiment" herein means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily indicate the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0059] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A twin-tube vibration damper, characterized in that, include: Working cylinder block; An oil reservoir is coaxially sleeved on the outer surface of the working cylinder body, forming a sealed oil storage cavity between the oil reservoir and the working cylinder body. The oil reservoir includes a connecting part at the end and a bulge part integrally formed with the connecting part, wherein the distance between the wall of the bulge part and the outer wall of the working cylinder body along the radial direction is greater than the distance between the connecting part and the outer wall of the working cylinder body along the radial direction.

2. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cross-sectional area of ​​the bulge portion along the axis perpendicular to the working cylinder is greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the connecting portion along the axis perpendicular to the working cylinder.

3. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 2, characterized in that, The connecting portion and the bulge portion are coaxial cylindrical tubes, and the projection contour of the cylindrical wall corresponding to the bulge portion along the axis is at least partially protruding from the projection contour of the connecting portion along the axis.

4. The twin-tube vibration damper according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The connecting portion is integrally formed at both ends of the bulge.

5. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a piston rod, the working cylinder has a working chamber arranged along a first direction, one end of the piston rod is disposed in the working chamber and the other end extends out of the working cylinder along the first direction, wherein the first direction is the direction of the central axis of the working cylinder.

6. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 5, characterized in that, The piston rod includes a rod body and a piston valve component disposed at one end of the rod body located inside the working chamber, wherein the outer surface of the piston valve component is in contact with the inner wall of the working chamber.

7. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 5, characterized in that, The bottom of the working cylinder is provided with a bottom valve body, and the working chamber is connected to the oil storage chamber through the bottom valve body.

8. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 7, characterized in that, The working cylinder body is provided with a guide seal at one end away from the bottom valve body, and one end of the piston rod extends through the guide seal to the working cylinder body.

9. The twin-tube vibration damper according to claim 7, characterized in that, The bottom valve body is provided with a lifting ring at the end opposite to the working cylinder body, and the lifting ring is configured for the installation of the shock absorber.

10. A vehicle, characterized in that, The vehicle includes a twin-tube shock absorber as described in any one of claims 1-9.

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