Elastic Socket Spherical Stop Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing damper bushings are sensitive to angular movements and deviations from ideal positions due to bodywork and chassis tolerances, leading to changes in stiffness and damping properties, which affect driving comfort and steering reactions.
Innovation Solution
Designing the stop and counter-stop areas with a spherical shape, oriented convexly relative to a horizontal axis, maintains a constant gap size even under tilting movements, preventing premature contact and maintaining linear range and progressive rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the stop area and counter-stop area are designed with flat surfaces, then the manufacturing is simple, but the damper bushing becomes sensitive to angular movements and tilting, causing premature contact and changing stiffness properties
Solution Approach 1:
The stop area and counter-stop area are designed with spherical surfaces instead of flat surfaces. This curvature allows the components to maintain proper spacing and prevent premature contact even when subjected to angular movements or tilting, thereby eliminating sensitivity to cardanic deflections while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
2Reliability
If the stop area and counter-stop area are designed with spherical shape, then the damper bushing becomes insensitive to tilting movements, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical design of the stop and counter-stop areas provides geometric compensation for angular movements and tilting. The curved surfaces naturally maintain the required gap spacing under various orientations, achieving reliability without requiring additional active control mechanisms or complex adjustment systems.
3Strength
If the gap between stop area and counter-stop area is small, then the progressive rigidity is achieved, but the linear range is reduced and premature contact occurs under cardanic movements
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical surfaces of the stop area and counter-stop area create a geometric relationship where the gap spacing is maintained regardless of the angle of approach. This allows for a smaller initial gap that provides progressive rigidity while the spherical geometry prevents premature contact during cardanic movements, effectively extending the linear 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
The spherical design of the stop and counter-stop areas makes the damper bushing insensitive to tilting movements, ensuring consistent spring characteristics and improved robustness against cardanic deflections, maintaining driving comfort and steering performance.
Implementation Method 1
Designing the stop and counter-stop areas with a spherical shape, oriented convexly relative to a horizontal axis, maintains a constant gap size even under tilting movements
Implementation Method 2
an elastic bushing which has an elastic element (2), which is received by a holding element (3)
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An elastic bushing (200) has a holder (204) receiving an elastic element (202). A gap (212) of uniform profile is existed between the spherical abutment region (206) of the holder and the counter-abutment region (208) of the elastic element in the neutral position (210) of the bushing. The abutment and counter-abutment regions are identically oriented and are curved outwardly with respect to a horizontal centerline (X).