A precision-guided air spring piston

Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of precision guiding type air spring piston, it is related to vehicle engineering technical field, including outer tube;Coaxial sleeve is located in the piston rod of outer tube, its section that extends into outer tube is equipped with limiting portion.The utility model sets up buffer piece triggered by limiting portion in the annular gap formed by outer tube and piston rod, the buffer piece can convert axial impact force into drive the radial closure of the holding force of holding plate, thereby constructing a kind of axial buffering and radial constraint synergistic effect composite damping mechanism, not only realizes the multistage, smooth transition's staged buffering, effectively inhibits the impact vibration and noise of piston rod in limit position, more through the radial clearance between holding plate and piston rod in impact instant dynamic elimination, actively maintained the radial positioning accuracy of piston rod, synchronously solved the problem that buffering smoothness and guiding accuracy are mutually contradictory under large impact working condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of vehicle engineering technology, and in particular to a precision-guided air spring piston. Background Technology

[0002] Precision-guided air spring pistons are core components of vehicle suspension systems, primarily functioning to support the vehicle's weight and isolate road vibrations. Their core structure typically includes an outer cylinder and a piston rod that moves internally. In automotive engineering, the performance of the air spring piston directly determines the comfort and stability of the suspension system.

[0003] Traditional air spring pistons have inherent defects in their guiding structure. To ensure smooth piston rod movement, a certain clearance must exist between the piston rod and the inner wall of the outer cylinder. However, when a vehicle experiences a severe impact, the piston moves to its limit position, and the enormous axial impact force is released instantaneously through the limiting structure. This can easily cause radial "bouncing" or slight wobbling of the piston rod, severely impairing guiding accuracy. Furthermore, existing damping mechanisms are mostly based on single axial damping, which struggles to simultaneously achieve smooth absorption of impact energy and effective suppression of radial wobbling, often leading to hard impacts, abnormal noises, and premature component wear. Although the industry has attempted to improve performance by using higher precision machining or superior damping materials, none of these methods have fundamentally resolved the contradiction between axial damping and radial guidance under extreme operating conditions. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a precision-guided air spring piston, which solves the technical problems mentioned in the background section.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this utility model provides the following technical solution: a precision-guided air spring piston, comprising:

[0006] outer cylinder;

[0007] A piston rod is coaxially sleeved inside the outer cylinder, and a limiting part is provided in the section of the piston rod that extends into the outer cylinder. An annular gap is formed between the piston rod and the inner wall of the outer cylinder to allow the limiting part to slide axially.

[0008] At least one pair of symmetrical and radially slidable retaining plates are arranged on the top of the annular gap. The retaining plates together enclose a guide space concentric with the axis of the annular gap, and a radial gap is left with the corresponding section of the piston rod in the non-working state.

[0009] The buffer members, located at the extreme positions of the two ends of the annular gap, convert the axial force into a radial force that drives the retaining plate to close the radial gap along the guide space when the limiting part slides axially to abut against the buffer member on either side, thus forming a multi-stage graded buffering mechanism relative to the piston rod.

[0010] Preferably, the buffer includes an axially sliding force-bearing slider and a linkage rod, with both ends of the linkage rod hinged to the force-bearing slider and the retaining plate, respectively.

[0011] Preferably, a damping element is provided in the accommodating space formed between the force-receiving slider and the top wall of the annular gap. When the limiting part impacts the force-receiving slider, the damping element is compressed to form a buffer force relative to the axial impact.

[0012] Preferably, the contact surface of the force-bearing slider facing the limiting part has a plurality of protrusions arranged in an array, and a V-shaped stress relief groove is formed between adjacent protrusions.

[0013] Preferably, when the limiting part collides with each of the protrusions, the V-shaped opening of each stress relief groove expands radially, and the support angle of the groove wall increases accordingly.

[0014] By employing the above technical solution, this utility model provides a precision-guided air spring piston, which has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0015] This invention incorporates a buffer element triggered by a limiting part within the annular gap formed by the outer cylinder and the piston rod. This buffer element intelligently converts the axial impact force into a clamping force that drives the clamping plate to close radially, thus constructing a composite damping mechanism that combines axial buffering and radial constraint. This not only achieves multi-stage, smoothly transitioning graded buffering, effectively suppressing impact vibration and noise of the piston rod at its extreme position, but also actively maintains the radial positioning accuracy of the piston rod by dynamically eliminating the radial gap between the clamping plate and the piston rod at the moment of impact. Simultaneously, it solves the problem of the contradiction between buffering smoothness and guiding accuracy under large impact conditions. Attached Figure Description

[0016] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of this application and form part of this application, illustrate exemplary embodiments and are used to explain this application, but do not constitute an undue limitation of this application. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of this utility model;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a partial cross-sectional view of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a partial three-dimensional structural diagram of the present invention.

[0020] In the diagram: 1. Outer cylinder; 2. Piston rod; 21. Limiting part; 3. Holding plate; 4. Buffer; 41. Force-bearing slider; 411. Protrusion; 42. Linkage rod; 5. Damping component. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.

[0022] Please refer to Figures 1-3 This embodiment proposes a precision-guided air spring piston, comprising:

[0023] outer cylinder 1;

[0024] The piston rod 2 is coaxially sleeved inside the outer cylinder 1, and the section of the piston rod 2 that extends into the outer cylinder 1 is provided with a limiting part 21. An annular gap is formed between the piston rod 2 and the inner wall of the outer cylinder 1 to allow the limiting part 21 to slide axially.

[0025] At least one pair of symmetrical and radially slidable retaining plates 3 are arranged on the top of the annular gap. Each retaining plate 3 together encloses a guide space concentric with the axis of the annular gap. In the non-working state, a radial gap is left with the corresponding section of the piston rod 2.

[0026] The buffer members 4, which are located at the extreme positions of the two ends of the annular gap, convert the axial force into a radial force that drives the clamping plate 3 to close the radial gap along the guide space when the limiting part 21 slides axially to abut against the buffer member 4 on either side, thus forming a multi-stage graded buffering mechanism relative to the piston rod 2.

[0027] When not subjected to significant axial impact, the air spring piston is in its normal operating mode. At this time, the piston rod 2 and the outer cylinder 1 can move freely relative to each other axially, and their radial positioning is ensured by the annular gap. Crucially, at least one pair of retaining plates 3 maintain a defined radial gap with the corresponding section of the piston rod 2 when not in operation. This design ensures that the piston rod 2 has no contact or friction with the retaining plates 3 during the normal stroke, achieving free guidance with low wear and low energy consumption, and fundamentally avoiding the continuous wear and heat generation problems caused by traditional constant contact guiding structures.

[0028] In traditional designs, when the piston rod 2 moves to its limit position, its limiting part 21 will directly and rigidly impact the outer cylinder 1. This impact will bring a huge instantaneous reverse impact force and radial bounce or slight deformation of the piston rod 2. In order to solve the above problems, the following settings are made:

[0029] Under normal operating conditions, the piston rod 2 and the outer cylinder 1 maintain relative axial motion freedom. At this time, the retaining plate 3 maintains a predetermined radial clearance with the piston rod 2, forming a non-contact state. This design ensures that the piston rod 2 is guided only by the annular clearance during its normal stroke, achieving frictionless and low-wear free movement, laying a low-interference foundation for high-precision guidance.

[0030] When the piston rod 2 approaches its axial stroke limit, its limiting part 21 contacts the corresponding buffer 4. This contact triggers a two-stage cooperative working mechanism. The first stage is buffering, where the buffer 4, in conjunction with the damping part 5, absorbs and dissipates part of the impact kinetic energy, thus initially suppressing the axial impact peak. The second stage is core conversion, where the buffer 4 converts the remaining axial impact force into a radially inward force. The converted radial force drives the clamping plate 3 to generate a centripetal displacement along the guide, causing its friction surface to form an interference fit with the outer surface of the piston rod 2. This process achieves active radial constraint. The closed force ring formed by the clamping plate 3 applies uniform radial pressure to the piston rod 2, significantly enhancing its instantaneous bending stiffness and effectively suppressing radial drift or vibration caused by axial impact. This process achieves secondary buffering, where the Coulomb friction force generated between the clamping plate 3 and the piston rod 2 constitutes nonlinear damping, converting mechanical energy into heat energy to achieve secondary energy dissipation.

[0031] Once the impact energy is completely dissipated, the elastic restoring force of the buffer 4 and damping 5 pushes the limiting part 21 away from its extreme position, the retaining plate 3 releases its radial constraint, and all components automatically return to their initial clearance fit state, completing the entire impact response cycle. Through the temporal coupling established between the impact event and the constraint, a comprehensive precision defense mechanism, from axial protection to radial safeguards, is constructed under extreme conditions where the system faces the greatest risk to its guiding accuracy. This mechanical feedback-based response achieves adaptive and precise guidance without external control, effectively solving the technical problem of deteriorated guiding accuracy of traditional structures under extreme impacts.

[0032] like Figures 2-3 As shown, the buffer 4 includes an axially sliding force-bearing slider 41 and a linkage rod 42, with the two ends of the linkage rod 42 hinged to the force-bearing slider 41 and the retaining plate 3, respectively.

[0033] Specifically, when the piston rod 2 moves to its limit position, its limiting part 21 impacts the end face of the force-receiving slider 41, applying an axial impact force to the force-receiving slider 41. This impact force drives the force-receiving slider 41 to slide axially along the annular gap, and this axial sliding constitutes the input of the entire force conversion process. As the force-receiving slider 41 displaces, its hinge point with the linkage rod 42 moves accordingly. This movement forces the linkage rod 42, which is hinged at both ends to the force-receiving slider 41 and the clamping plate 3 respectively, to produce planar motion. According to the kinematic principle of the linkage mechanism, the linkage rod 42 pivots around its hinge point with the clamping plate 3, thereby accurately converting the axial linear motion of the force-receiving slider 41 into a radial driving force on the clamping plate 3, causing the clamping plate 3 to form a centripetal closing motion relative to the piston rod 2.

[0034] like Figures 2-3 As shown, a damping element 5 is provided in the accommodating space formed between the force-bearing slider 41 and the top wall of the annular gap. When the limiting part 21 impacts the force-bearing slider 41, the damping element 5 is compressed to form a buffer force relative to the axial impact.

[0035] Specifically, the damping element 5 is composed of a spring and a damper. Under normal conditions without external impact, the damping element 5, which is housed between the force-bearing slider 41 and the top wall of the annular gap, maintains a specific pre-compression state. This pre-compression force ensures that the transmission mechanism formed by the force-bearing slider 41 and the linkage rod 42 is in a determined initial position, providing a stable mechanical reference for accurate response. At this time, the clamping plate 3 and the piston rod 2 maintain a predetermined working gap and are in a standby state.

[0036] When the limiting part 21 impacts the force-receiving slider 41, the impact force is transmitted to the damping element 5 through the force-receiving slider 41. The damping element 5, acting as a primary buffer medium, actively absorbs and stores a large amount of impact kinetic energy through its linear or nonlinear compression deformation. This process achieves active suppression of the impact peak; the deformation of the damping element 5 significantly reduces the initial impact acceleration peak, transforming the violent pulse impact into a relatively gentle force. This process also achieves energy level identification and delay; the stiffness characteristics of the damping element 5 allow its deformation to directly correspond to the impact energy level, providing a gradual rather than instantaneous trigger signal for the subsequent radial clamping of the clamping plate 3, thus achieving a reasonable allocation of the buffer phase.

[0037] While the damping element 5 is compressed, its reaction force continues to act on the force-bearing slider 41. This force, together with the remaining impact force, constitutes the driving source, which is efficiently converted into a force driving the gripping plate 3 to radially close through the aforementioned linkage rod 42. The presence of the damping element 5 allows this conversion process to occur within an extended and controllable time domain, avoiding rigid triggering of the mechanism and ensuring that the gripping action of the gripping plate 3 on the piston rod 2 is more stable and smooth.

[0038] like Figure 2As shown, multiple protrusions 411 are arranged in an array on the contact surface of the force-bearing slider 41 facing the limiting part 21, and a V-shaped stress relief groove is formed between adjacent protrusions 411. When the limiting part 21 collides with each protrusion 411, the V-shaped opening of each stress relief groove expands radially, and the support angle of the groove wall increases accordingly.

[0039] Furthermore, in the initial contact state, multiple protrusions 411 arranged in an array on the contact surface of the force-bearing slider 41 together form the contact interface with the limiting part 21. This design transforms the traditional concentrated contact of a single plane into a discrete multi-contact parallel load-bearing structure. When the limiting part 21 collides with the contact surface, the impact load is rapidly dispersed to the top of each protrusion 411, forming preliminary stress distribution optimization and effectively reducing the peak pressure per unit area.

[0040] Under continuous impact load, each protrusion 411 exhibits the expected plastic deformation tendency due to stress concentration. At this time, the V-shaped stress relief grooves pre-installed between the protrusions 411 play a crucial role. Firstly, they guide stress; the V-shaped groove structure, with its unique geometric shape, serves as a pre-set stress guiding path, precisely guiding the concentrated stress accumulated in the root region of each protrusion 411 to a wider area of ​​the base material, achieving structural stress dissipation. Secondly, they enable controllable deformation and energy dissipation; driven by impact energy, the opening of the V-shaped groove expands radially in a directional manner, and the two side walls of the groove rotate outward around the sharp part of the groove bottom, resulting in a systematic increase in the support angle of the groove walls. This dynamic deformation process actively absorbs a large amount of impact energy and converts it into the internal energy of the material's plastic deformation, achieving efficient passive energy dissipation and significantly improving the durability and structural integrity of the stressed slider 41 under repeated impact loads.

[0041] In the above technical solutions, the deformation of the protrusion 411 and the expansion of the V-groove together constitute another precise energy adjustment link after the damping component 5 buffers and the linkage rod 42 transmits force, ensuring that the transmission process of impact force to the clamping plate 3 is smoother and more controllable, and finally achieving precise, smooth and highly reliable dynamic clamping of the piston rod 2.

[0042] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A precision-guided air spring piston, characterized in that, include: outer cylinder; A piston rod is coaxially sleeved inside the outer cylinder, and a limiting part is provided in the section of the piston rod that extends into the outer cylinder. An annular gap is formed between the piston rod and the inner wall of the outer cylinder to allow the limiting part to slide axially. At least one pair of symmetrical and radially slidable retaining plates are arranged on the top of the annular gap. The retaining plates together enclose a guide space concentric with the axis of the annular gap, and a radial gap is left with the corresponding section of the piston rod in the non-working state. The buffer members, located at the extreme positions of the two ends of the annular gap, convert the axial force into a radial force that drives the retaining plate to close the radial gap along the guide space when the limiting part slides axially to abut against the buffer member on either side, thus forming a multi-stage graded buffering mechanism relative to the piston rod.

2. The precision-guided air spring piston according to claim 1, characterized in that, The buffer component includes an axially sliding force-bearing slider and a linkage rod, with both ends of the linkage rod hinged to the force-bearing slider and the retaining plate, respectively.

3. The precision-guided air spring piston according to claim 2, characterized in that, A damping element is provided in the accommodating space formed between the force-bearing slider and the top wall of the annular gap. When the limiting part impacts the force-bearing slider, the damping element is compressed to form a buffer force relative to the axial impact.

4. The precision-guided air spring piston according to claim 3, characterized in that, The contact surface of the force-bearing slider facing the limiting part has multiple protrusions arranged in an array, and a V-shaped stress relief groove is formed between adjacent protrusions.

5. A precision-guided air spring piston according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the limiting part collides with each of the protrusions, the V-shaped opening of each stress relief groove expands radially, and the support angle of the groove wall increases accordingly.

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