Frequency Selective Damper Valve Curved Flexible Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing damper valves and shock absorbers face challenges in achieving a desired, linear relationship between closing force and time due to non-linear dependencies on pressure and manufacturing tolerances, leading to suboptimal damping behavior and high discard rates.
Innovation Solution
A damper valve design featuring a controlled flow channel with a movable valve body and a control chamber, utilizing a flexible wall with a curved surface and a bias spring to provide a linear increase in closing force with pressure, and allowing for precise tuning and assembly to minimize manufacturing tolerance effects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a pressure control chamber is used to increase closing force on the controlled valve, then the damping behavior can be tuned, but the closing force shows strong non-linear dependence on pressure and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a curved surface (spherical or cylindrical) on the movable valve body that interacts with the flexible wall of the control chamber. As pressure increases in the control chamber, the flexible wall expands and contacts the curved surface at progressively smaller effective areas, creating a linear relationship between pressure and closing force. This geometric curvature transforms the non-linear pressure-closing force relationship into a linear one, resolving the technical contradiction.
2Reliability
If the control chamber pressure is increased to provide frequency selective damping, then damping performance improves, but the pressure does not return to neutral level for the next stroke
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the pressure accumulation function from the main control chamber by introducing a separate accumulator chamber. The control chamber can vent to this accumulator chamber, allowing the control chamber pressure to return to neutral level after damping action, while the accumulator chamber maintains the stored pressure for subsequent damping events. This separation resolves the contradiction between maintaining damping performance and enabling pressure reset.
3Productivity
If manufacturing tolerances are relaxed to reduce production costs, then production efficiency increases, but the damping behavior becomes inconsistent across valves
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the critical parameter from absolute dimensions to geometric curvature. The linearizing curved surface and flexible wall interaction depend on the shape geometry rather than precise dimensional tolerances. This allows manufacturing with relaxed tolerances while maintaining consistent damping behavior across production batches, resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
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 achieves a linear and proportional relationship between closing force and pressure, reducing dependence on manufacturing tolerances and ensuring consistent damping behavior, thereby improving the performance and reliability of damper valves.
Implementation Method 1
a first flexible wall allowing a change in volume of the control chamber and allowing movement of the movable valve body upon a change in volume of the control chamber
Implementation Method 2
utilizing a flexible wall with a curved surface and a bias spring to provide a linear increase in closing force with pressure
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3a
AI summary
A damper valve (100) comprises a controlled flow channel (115) between a valve inlet side (100.1) and a valve outlet side (100.2); a controlled valve (130) provided in the controlled flow channel; a movable valve body (120) acting on the controlled valve so as to change a closing force of the controlled valve; and a control chamber (126). The control chamber comprises a control chamber inlet (125) in fluid connection with the valve inlet side (100.1) upstream of the controlled valve (130); a configuration providing a variable volume of the control chamber, a change in volume of the control chamber acting to cause a movement of the movable valve body (120); and a first flexible wall (140) allowing movement of the movable valve body (120). The first flexible wall provides an effective surface area against which the fluid pressure in the control chamber (126) acts, the effective surface area decreasing upon movement of the movable valve body (120) in a direction outward of the control chamber, the first flexible wall comprising a flex plate (141) bearing against a curved surface (111.1).