Bellows With Smooth-Cylindrical Area For Braided Jacket Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible line elements with bellows and braided or knitted jackets lack reliable dynamic damping and stability due to limited contact surface area between the jacket and the bellows, leading to suboptimal performance and increased wear.
Innovation Solution
A flexible line element design featuring a metallic bellows with a smooth-cylindrical area surrounded by a braided or knitted jacket, where the jacket is held by an outer element, providing a larger contact surface and reduced material usage, ensuring full-surface contact and improved damping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the braided or knitted jacket is supported only on bellows corrugations (wave crests), then the device complexity is reduced, but the dynamic damping is not reliably guaranteed and wear increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from point-contact support (at wave crests) to surface-contact support (on smooth-cylindrical areas). The braided or knitted jacket is extended to rest against the bellows over the entire cylindrical surface area of smooth sections, fundamentally changing the dimension of contact from discrete points to continuous surfaces, thereby reliably guaranteeing dynamic damping under all operating conditions.
2Reliability
If the braided or knitted jacket is supported on corrugated areas, then material usage is increased, but the wear risk increases and damping is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows structure is divided into regions with different functions: corrugated areas for flexibility and smooth-cylindrical areas for support. The braided or knitted jacket is specifically positioned to rest against the smooth-cylindrical areas where wear is minimized, while the corrugated areas maintain their damping function. This local differentiation of quality optimizes both wear resistance and damping performance.
3Area of stationary object
If the smooth-cylindrical area has the same diameter as corrugation troughs, then manufacturing is simplified, but full-surface contact of the jacket cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The outer diameter of the smooth-cylindrical area is increased beyond the diameter of corrugation troughs to create adequate radial clearance. This parameter change allows the braided or knitted jacket to expand and rest fully against the smooth-cylindrical surface area, achieving complete surface contact for optimal damping while maintaining manufacturing feasibility through controlled geometric variation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances dynamic damping and stability by increasing the contact surface area between the jacket and bellows, reducing wear, and optimizing material usage, resulting in improved performance and economic efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the braided or knitted jacket is held in the smooth cylindrical area by means of an outer holding element on the bellows, in particular non-positively or frictionally
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
The flexible line element (1) comprises a bellows (2) made of metallic material, and a netting or knitted fabric casing (3) surrounding the bellows. The bellows comprises a smooth-cylindrical area (2C). The netting or knitted fabric casing is held in the smooth-cylindrical area at the bellows by an outer retaining element (4). The netting or knitted fabric casing is made of metallic material, particularly steel or a non-metallic material, particularly a textile material, plastic, or carbon.