Damping Valve Retainer Flow Passage Area Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing damping valves for shock absorbers face challenges in increasing the damping coefficient of the port characteristic when using a piston with a large flow passage area, making it difficult to achieve desired damping force characteristics, especially when used singly without a retainer.
Innovation Solution
A damping valve design that includes a valve disk partitioning the cylinder into chambers, a retainer with a flow passage area not smaller than the valve disk through hole, and annular leaf valves to manage fluid flow and resistance, allowing for adjustable damping force characteristics by varying the flow passage areas.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a piston with a large flow passage area is used to avoid throttling working fluid, then the damping coefficient of port characteristic cannot be increased, making it difficult to achieve desired damping force characteristics
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the flow passage into multiple segments: the valve disk through hole, the retainer through hole, and the flow passage between them. By segmenting the flow path, the system can have a large overall flow passage area while maintaining localized flow restriction points that generate the desired port characteristic damping coefficient.
Solution Approach 2:
The retainer is introduced as an intermediary component between the valve disk and the leaf valve. The retainer with its through hole creates an additional flow passage stage that allows the working fluid to pass through multiple openings, enabling both large total flow area and sufficient flow resistance for port characteristic.
2Quantity of substance
If the flow passage area of the retainer through hole is made large to avoid throttling, then the damping force characteristic cannot be adjusted, but making it small throttles the working fluid excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The invention enables parameter adjustment by changing the flow passage area of the retainer through hole. By modifying this specific parameter, the damping force characteristic can be adjusted without excessively throttling the working fluid, as the overall flow passage area remains large due to the multiple passage stages.
3Device complexity
If a single piston is used without a retainer, then the number of components is reduced, but the damping coefficient of port characteristic cannot be increased
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is nested on the piston, creating a compact multi-stage flow passage structure. This nesting arrangement allows the addition of flow passage control functionality without significantly increasing the overall component count or device complexity, while achieving the desired increase in damping coefficient.
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
Enables increased damping coefficient and adjustable damping force characteristics, allowing for various damping profiles without throttling the working fluid, even when using the piston singly, and allows for a smaller number of components to achieve multiple damping force characteristics.
Implementation Method 1
generates a damping force with a port characteristic due to resistance produced during the passage of the working fluid in the inner peripheral side flow passage when the leaf valve is opened to a certain extent
Implementation Method 2
the shock absorber generates a damping force due to the resistance of the damping force generating element
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A damping valve includes a valve disk, a retainer, an inner peripheral side flow passage configured to include a valve disk through hole formed in an inner peripheral side of the valve disk and a retainer through hole formed in the retainer and allowing communication between one and other chambers, an outer peripheral side flow passage formed in an outer peripheral side of the valve disk and allowing communication between the one and the other chambers, and a leaf valve in the form of an annular plate arranged on a side of the retainer opposite to the valve disk and configured to openably close the inner peripheral side flow passage by an outer peripheral part. A flow passage area of the retainer through hole is not smaller than that of the valve disk through hole.