Working Cylinder Cushioning With Floating Ring Body Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydraulic working cylinders face challenges in achieving high precision and easy damping adjustment, particularly under bending stresses and varying cylinder designs, while also requiring complex and costly manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A working cylinder design featuring a piston unit with a floating ring body that includes a radially elastic piston ring and a guiding pin, allowing for axial and radial play, which decouples the ring body from the piston main part, enabling precise damping and easy adjustment through a pressure medium connection and axial boundary, facilitating both inward and outward movements without delay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a damping ring with a ring gap is used to throttle hydraulic fluid outflow, then damping effect is achieved, but manufacturing precision requirements become very high due to the need for precise gap dimensioning
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the damping mechanism from relying on a fixed precision ring gap to using a controllable throttle valve with adjustable opening. The throttle valve can be adjusted to achieve the desired damping effect without requiring high manufacturing precision for gap dimensions. The valve opening size can be modified during operation or assembly to optimize damping while accommodating manufacturing tolerances.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a dynamic adjustment capability through the throttle valve, allowing the damping characteristic to be changed during operation or assembly. This replaces the static, precision-critical ring gap with a dynamic system that can adapt to different requirements and compensates for manufacturing variations.
2Reliability
If a large gap size is provided between piston and inner cylinder wall to prevent rubbing under buckling loads, then piston reliability is improved, but damping precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention separates the damping function from the piston-cylinder wall interface by introducing a dedicated throttle valve mechanism. This allows the piston gap to be optimized for reliability (larger size to prevent rubbing) while the damping function is achieved through the separately controlled throttle valve, maintaining damping precision independent of the piston gap size.
Solution Approach 2:
The throttle valve acts as an intermediary element that provides precise flow control without requiring direct contact or precise positioning between the piston and cylinder wall. This mediator enables both large piston gaps for reliability and precise damping control through the valve mechanism.
3Reliability
If a conical damping zone design is used to achieve progressive damping, then damping effectiveness is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for precise conical geometry
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces the static conical geometry with a dynamic adjustment mechanism. Instead of relying on a fixed conical shape to provide progressive damping, the throttle valve can be adjusted to change the opening size, providing progressive or variable damping characteristics without requiring complex cylindrical geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses parameter adjustment of the throttle valve opening to achieve variable damping characteristics, replacing the need for complex conical geometry. The damping effect is controlled by changing the valve opening parameter rather than relying on fixed geometric progression.
4Reliability
If a damping ring with resilient contact to inner cylinder wall is used, then damping function is achieved, but adjustment ease deteriorates due to fixed gap configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The invention introduces dynamic adjustability through the throttle valve mechanism, allowing the damping characteristic to be modified during operation or assembly. This replaces the fixed, resilient-contact-based damping ring with a controllable valve system that can be adjusted to different positions to achieve desired damping effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The throttle valve can be pre-adjusted during assembly to provide the optimal damping characteristic for specific application requirements. This preliminary adjustment capability allows the system to be customized before operation, improving ease of operation compared to fixed resilient contact designs.
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 provides high precision, robustness, and operational reliability, allowing for precise damping during inward movements and efficient outward movements without delay, while being cost-effective and simple to manufacture, suitable for various cylinder types.
Implementation Method 1
the piston unit with the piston ring passes axially over the pressure medium connection and, in the damping zone, encloses a damping pressure medium volume in a damping zone space
Implementation Method 2
the piston ring rests resiliently against the inner cylinder wall and has a piston ring gap
Data Source
AI summary
A working cylinder has a cushioned end-stroke. The piston unit has a piston main part and a ring body. The exterior of the ring body receives a piston ring with a piston ring gap, and the ring opening of the ring body receives a guiding pin of the piston main part. A ring gap is formed between the ring body and the guiding pin, and the ring body has axial and radial play relative to the piston main part. The ring body has an axial ring surface on the piston main part side, and the piston main part has an axial counter ring surface on the ring body side opposite the axial ring surface. The piston unit is constructed so that during an inward movement into the cushioning zone, the piston ring passes axially over the pressure medium connection and the piston unit encloses a damping pressure medium volume. The piston unit is in a first operating state during an inward movement and a second operating state during an outward movement. In the first operating state, the axial ring surface and the axial counter ring surface lie against each other and define a seal plane the piston ring gap is configured for a throttled outflow of the damping pressure medium volume. In the second operating state, the axial ring surface and the axial counter ring surface have an axial gap for a pressure medium inflow.