Compact Damper With Anisotropic Stiffness For Power Tool Vibration

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Solution Overview

Problem

Hand-held power tools experience significant vibrations due to their high inertia, leading to user discomfort and potential injury from kickbacks, which existing dampers fail to adequately address, especially in compact designs where space is limited.

Innovation Solution

A compact damper design featuring a spring body made of elastomer and a mass body connected indirectly through a carrier plate, with the spring body being stiffer in the assembly direction and having varying stiffness in three spatial directions to effectively absorb vibrations while minimizing tilting and rotating movements, utilizing a combination of plastic and closed-pore foamed polyurethane materials.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Volume of moving object

If a conventional damper design is used, then vibration damping is provided, but the damper occupies excessive space and lacks compactness

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevolume of damperVSAvoidvibration damping effectiveness
Core Design Contradiction:
Volume of moving objectVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The mass body is positioned inside the spring body, with the mass body's outer surface fitting within the inner surface of the spring body. This nested configuration allows the heavy mass required for effective vibration damping to be contained within the compact spring body structure, achieving both compactness and damping effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

The spring body is designed with different stiffness characteristics in different spatial directions - stiffer in the assembly direction (vertical) and more compliant in horizontal directions. This anisotropic stiffness design allows the damper to maintain a compact vertical profile while providing effective vibration damping in the horizontal vibration directions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Reliability

If the spring body is made uniformly stiff in all directions, then structural stability is improved, but the ability to dampen vibrations in all directions is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevibration damping effectivenessVSAvoidstructural design complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The spring body exhibits different mechanical properties in different directions - it is stiffer in the assembly direction and more compliant in horizontal directions. This directional variation in stiffness allows the same structural element to provide both stability in the assembly direction and effective vibration damping in horizontal directions, without requiring additional complex components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Strength

If the mass body is directly connected to the spring body, then connection strength is improved, but tilting and rotating movements are not suppressed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveconnection strengthVSAvoidparallel movement stability
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The carrier plate serves as an intermediary component between the mass body and the spring body. It provides a stable connection interface that maintains parallel orientation of the mass body relative to the spring body, preventing tilting and rotating movements while ensuring strong mechanical connection through material connection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

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

The solution effectively dampens vibrations, reducing user discomfort and preventing unwanted tilting and rotating movements, while maintaining a compact and efficient design that resonates with the periodic excitation of the linear drive, thus enhancing the usability and safety of hand-held power tools.

Implementation Method 1

a spring body (21) made of an elastomer (1.1), which is materially connected to the base plate (2) and/or to the carrier plate (1)

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectElasticity: Elasticity

Implementation Method 2

Due to its high inertia, the mass body (22) can be excited to move relative to the housing (17) of the power tool

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectInertia: Inertia

Implementation Method 3

Due to the movement of the mass body, the spring body undergoes shearing, which shifts the roof surface parallel to the base surface

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectShear stress: Shear Stress

Data Source

PatentEP2651606B1Hand-held power tool
Publication Date: 2018.10.24 HILTI AG
  • EP2651606B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2651606B1 patent drawingFigure 2~4
  • EP2651606B1 patent drawingFigure 5~7

AI summary

A hand-held power tool (1) has a housing, a linear drive for moving a tool along a working axis (9) and a shock absorber (20). The shock absorber (20) is made up of layers in a building-up direction (23) perpendicular to the working axis (9), comprising a base sheet (24), formed from plastic, a spring body (21), comprising an elastomer, a supporting sheet (25), formed from plastic, a spring body (21), comprising an elastomer, and a mass body (22), fastened on the supporting sheet (25). The spring body (21) is joined with a material bond to the base sheet (24) and/or to the supporting sheet (25).