Damping Valve Segmented Valve Bodies for Wide Control Range
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing damping valves face challenges in maintaining a wide damping force control range, leading to excessive damping force in soft settings and insufficient damping force in hard settings, particularly when piston speed is low or high, respectively.
Innovation Solution
The damping valve design includes a valve seat member with a port and first valve seat, a main valve body, a subsidiary valve body, a valve-body intermediate chamber, and a restrictive passage that communicates between the port and the intermediate chamber, along with a subsidiary valve body biasing means to control fluid flow resistance, allowing for adjustable valve opening pressures through a solenoid-controlled pilot valve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the pressure boosting ratio is increased to widen the damping force control range, then the damping force control range is widened, but the damping force in full soft setting increases excessively
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the single valve body into a main valve body and a subsidiary valve body, each controlling different flow paths (first flow path through the main valve body and second flow path through the subsidiary valve body). This segmentation allows independent control of damping forces at different piston speeds, resolving the contradiction by enabling the soft setting to provide sufficient damping at low speeds while preventing excessive damping through the separate control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces dynamic control elements including a solenoid-operated pilot valve and a variable area orifice that can adjust the flow area in the second flow path. These dynamic components allow real-time adjustment of the pressure boosting ratio and damping characteristics based on operating conditions, enabling the system to maintain appropriate damping forces across the full control range without excessive soft setting damping.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the valve opening pressure of the valve body is increased, then the damping force control range is widened, but the damping force becomes excessive at low piston speeds
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the valve opening pressure control into two independent systems: the main valve body for high-speed damping and the subsidiary valve body for low-speed damping. Each valve body can have independently optimized opening pressures, allowing the system to achieve a wide overall control range while maintaining appropriate damping forces at each speed range without the excessive damping problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies different local qualities to different parts of the system by providing separate valve bodies with different opening pressure characteristics. The main valve body is designed with higher opening pressure for fast speed range operation, while the subsidiary valve body has lower opening pressure for slow speed range operation. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by ensuring each part operates optimally for its intended speed range.
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 enables the damping valve to output a soft damping force at low piston speeds while preventing excessive force and ensures sufficient damping force at high piston speeds, thereby widening the damping force control range and improving vehicle riding quality.
Implementation Method 1
a solenoid for adjusting a valve opening pressure of the pilot valve
Implementation Method 2
The secondary pressure is applied to the rear face of the valve body, so that the valve body is pressed to the valve seat side
Implementation Method 3
a restrictive passage that causes the port and the valve-body intermediate chamber to communicate with each other, the restrictive passage being configured to apply resistance to a flow of fluid passing therethrough
Implementation Method 4
A pressure upstream of the flow path is applied to the front face of the valve body by flexing the valve body to unseat it from the valve seat
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
A damping valve includes a valve seat member having a port and a first valve seat surrounding the port, a main valve body seated on or unseated from the first valve seat, the main valve body having a second valve seat oppositely to the valve seat member, a subsidiary valve body seated on or unseated from the second valve seat, a valve-body intermediate chamber provided between the main valve body and the subsidiary valve body in an inner circumferential side of the second valve seat, a restrictive passage that causes the port and the valve-body intermediate chamber to communicate with each other, the restrictive passage being configured to apply resistance to a flow of fluid passing therethrough, and a subsidiary valve body biasing means configured to bias the subsidiary valve body toward the main valve body.