Dual-Spring Shock Absorber Valve for Compact Fail-Safe Pressure Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shock absorbers face challenges in providing a fail-safe operation without increasing weight or size, which affects damping characteristics and is not compatible with all vehicles due to the need for additional components.
Innovation Solution
A valve arrangement with a first and second spring member that restricts hydraulic fluid flow during active and fail-safe operations respectively, allowing for a compact design that eliminates the need for geometrically defined ports or channels in the valve device, enabling a smaller form factor and reduced material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If means for enabling fail-safe operation are added to handle electrical or mechanical malfunction, then reliability is improved, but weight increases and size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fail-safe mechanism with the existing valve components by making the valve member itself perform dual functions: controlling fluid flow during normal operation and providing fail-safe restriction when deactuated. The valve member integrates both the active control function and the passive safety function into a single component, eliminating the need for separate fail-safe components that would add weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve member is designed to automatically provide fail-safe operation through its own deactuated state. When the solenoid fails or loses power, the valve member naturally returns to a position that restricts fluid flow through its inherent geometry, without requiring additional active components or external intervention. The valve member serves itself as both the control element and the safety mechanism.
2Reliability
If means for enabling fail-safe operation are added to handle electrical or mechanical malfunction, then reliability is improved, but the size of the shock absorber increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fail-safe functionality is merged into the existing valve chamber and valve member geometry. The valve member's deactuated position naturally creates a restricted flow path within the existing valve chamber volume, eliminating the need for separate fail-safe chambers or additional geometric features that would increase the overall shock absorber size.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve member is designed as a multi-functional component that serves both active control purposes during normal operation and passive safety purposes during failure conditions. This universal design allows a single component to fulfill multiple functions, reducing the overall number of parts and the total volume required for the valve device.
3Productivity
If geometrically defined ports or channels are used in the valve device, then fluid flow control is achieved, but the valve device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fluid flow control function from traditional geometric ports and channels and relocates it to the valve member's position-dependent geometry. Instead of relying on fixed ports in the valve housing, the flow control is achieved by the valve member's movement relative to the valve seat, creating a variable restriction that eliminates the need for separate geometric flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using fixed geometric ports to define flow paths, the invention inverts the approach by using the moving valve member itself to define the flow restriction. The control mechanism is inverted from static geometry to dynamic positioning, where the valve member's axial position directly controls the fluid flow area without requiring predefined channels in the housing.
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 allows for a compact and lightweight valve device that maintains desirable damping characteristics while ensuring fail-safe operation without the need for additional components, making it suitable for vehicles with limited space constraints.
Implementation Method 1
a first spring member (2) adapted to be arranged in a valve chamber (50) of the valve device to be at least partly moveable within the valve chamber (50) in an axial direction to interact with a valve seat (42) to provide a first restriction (R1) by which the hydraulic fluid flow is restricted
Implementation Method 2
a second spring member (3) adapted to be arranged in the valve chamber (50) to provide a second restriction (R2) by which the hydraulic fluid flow is restricted during fail-safe operation
Implementation Method 3
pilot valves electrically actuated by, for example, a solenoid. The pilot valve is used to control a main valve, which in turn adjusts a flow of hydraulic fluid in a shock absorber
Data Source
AI summary
A valve arrangement regulates a pressure in a hydraulic fluid flow in a valve device in response to an actuating force during an active control operation and mechanically regulates the pressure during a fail-safe operation when no actuating force is present. The valve arrangement comprises a first spring member adapted to be arranged in a valve chamber of the valve device to interact with a valve seat to provide a first restriction by which the hydraulic fluid flow is restricted during active control operation, and a second spring member adapted to be arranged in the valve chamber to provide a second restriction by which the hydraulic fluid flow is restricted during fail-safe operation. During active control operation, an active control flow channel is open. During fail-safe operation, the active control flow channel is substantially closed by means of the first spring member.