Gas Spring Cylinder Weakening Zone for Controlled Overload Venting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increased demands on press tools due to higher forming forces and press rates in sheet metal forming lead to risks of gas spring overload and failure, resulting in uncontrollable piston rod acceleration, which can cause damage to the gas spring components and surrounding equipment.
Innovation Solution
A piston cylinder device with a material weakening zone in the inner wall of the cylinder, which deforms or shears upon impact, creating a leakage gap to control gas release and reduce piston rod velocity to zero, preventing component separation and material cracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If higher forming forces and press rates are used to increase productivity, then production speed and efficiency are improved, but the risk of gas spring overload and failure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a protection arrangement with a leakage gap and energy absorption mechanism that is pre-configured in the gas spring system. This arrangement is designed to activate automatically when overload occurs, cushioning the piston rod's impact energy through controlled gas leakage and deformation of a predefined structure, thereby preventing catastrophic failure while allowing high-speed operation during normal conditions
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the piston rod is stopped in a controlled manner through stepwise energy reduction, then component damage is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protection arrangement is designed to activate automatically based on the overload condition itself. The excessive impact energy of the piston rod directly causes the activation mechanism to trigger, opening the leakage gap and deforming the energy absorption structure without requiring external sensors, control systems, or additional actuation mechanisms. The system uses the harmful energy to activate its own protection
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the protection function from a complex active control system and implements it through a passive, mechanically-driven leakage gap and energy absorption structure. By removing the need for sensors, controllers, and active actuation, the solution simplifies the device while maintaining effective protection against overload
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 reduces piston rod velocity to zero during overload or failure, preventing damage to the gas spring components and ensuring controlled gas leakage, thus enhancing the robustness and safety of the gas spring system.
Implementation Method 1
the material weakening zone being arranged to be deformed or sheared against the lock ring at a predetermined level of impact of the piston against the guide
Implementation Method 2
the material weakening zone being arranged to be deformed or sheared against the lock ring
Implementation Method 3
the gas in the gas chamber in the gas cylinder is compressed and the pressure increases in the gas spring
Data Source
AI summary
A piston cylinder device (1) comprising a cylinder (2) with a first and a second end and a guide (6), such that a pressure chamber (8) is formed in the cylinder. A piston (12) is moveable in the pressure chamber (8). The guide (6) is fixedly secured to the cylinder (2) by a lock ring (7). A sealing means (9) is arranged to seal between the guide (6) and an inner wall of a tubular wall (3) of the cylinder (2) to prevent fluid leakage from the pressure chamber (8) to the surroundings. The piston cylinder device (1) is provided with a material weakening zone (13) arranged in the inner wall of the tubular wall (3) of the cylinder (2) axially between the lock ring (7) and the second end (20) of the cylinder (2), the material weakening zone (13) being arranged to be deformed or sheared against the lock ring (7) at a predetermined level of impact of the piston (12) against the guide (6). A leakage gap (14) is arranged to interrupt the sealing means (9) upon deformation or shearing of the material weakening zone (13) such that gas from the pressure chamber (8) is allowed to leave the pressure chamber (8) through said leakage gap (14) to the surroundings.