Air Spring Assembly with Self-Aligning Fastening Geometry
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing method for assembling air springs using an assembling jig is prone to positional deviations between the top surface plate and the lower member, making it difficult to ensure proper assembly and distinguish poorly assembled products from correctly assembled ones, leading to potential defects and increased inspection time.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an allowable section in the air spring that allows proper fastening of the fitting ring and top surface plate only when they are in a specific positional relationship with the center axis, eliminating the need for a second positioning member and ensuring correct alignment through unique fastening section configurations, such as varying diameters and positions of screw holes, through-holes, and screws.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a second positioning member is used to ensure proper alignment, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the second positioning member from the assembly process by integrating the alignment function directly into the fastening sections. The fastening sections are designed with specific geometric features that inherently guide and constrain the relative positioning of the top surface plate and lower member during fastening, eliminating the need for separate positioning components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the positioning function and fastening function into a single integrated fastening section structure. The fastening sections include guiding surfaces and constraint features that simultaneously perform alignment and fastening operations, merging two previously separate functions into one unified component.
2Reliability
If traditional assembly methods are used, then ease of manufacture is maintained, but reliability of assembly decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening sections are designed to automatically perform the positioning and alignment functions during the fastening operation itself. The geometric features of the fastening sections guide the components into correct relative positions without requiring external positioning devices or complex assembly procedures, making the assembly process self-aligning and inherently reliable.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple positioning members are used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment and positioning functions are built into the fastening section geometry itself, so that the correct relative positioning of components is established during the fastening operation. This eliminates the need for separate preliminary positioning steps and multiple positioning members, reducing assembly time while maintaining precision.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is an air spring capable of suppressing occurrence of a deviation of a relative positional relationship between a top surface plate and a lower member, and suppressing a possibility of a poorly assembled product mixing into air springs after assembly, and a method for assembling the air spring. An air spring includes a top surface plate 2, a lower member 3, a cylindrical flexible member 4 that is interposed between the top surface plate 2 and the lower member 3, a fitting ring 18 that fixes an upper end portion of the flexible member 4 to the top surface plate 2, and a plurality of fastening sections 19 that fasten the fitting ring 18 and the top surface plate 2, and has a configuration including an allowable section 29 that allows proper fastening of the fitting ring 18 and the top surface plate 2 only when the fitting ring 18 and the top surface plate 2 are relatively in a specific positional relationship with a center axis P of the air spring 1 as a center.