Fingered Wave Spring Structure for Consistent Hub Hysteresis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wave springs in hub assemblies fail to provide consistent hysteresis across the entire tolerance range and are not durable enough to withstand installation conditions, often experiencing unacceptable deflection or misalignment.
Innovation Solution
A wave spring with an annular body and axially extending fingers, designed to fit between two hub components, providing a specified range of hysteresis through a wave-shaped profile and uniform thickness, formed by blanking and stamping, ensuring minimal deflection and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing wave spring designs are used, then the structure is simple, but the hysteresis is inconsistent across the tolerance range and durability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The wave spring is segmented into multiple axially extending fingers (typically three) that are equally angularly spaced around the annular body. Each finger acts as an independent load-bearing element, ensuring that the hysteresis function is distributed and consistent across the entire structure, resolving the issue of inconsistent hysteresis while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extends the traditional two-dimensional wave spring into three dimensions by adding axially extending fingers that protrude from the annular body. This dimensional enhancement allows the spring to engage with hub components at multiple points simultaneously, ensuring consistent hysteresis across the tolerance range while distributing mechanical stresses for improved durability.
2Manufacturing precision
If the wave spring is compressed axially without a pivot point, then finger deflection is minimized, but the spring must withstand high installation forces
Solution Approach 1:
The spring body is divided into multiple axially extending fingers that are equally spaced around the annular body. This segmentation distributes the installation forces across multiple contact points, reducing the deflection of each individual finger while maintaining overall structural integrity during compression.
Solution Approach 2:
The wave spring is formed from a composite structure combining the annular body with axially extending fingers, creating a unified component that resists deformation during installation. The uniform thickness and wave-shaped profile work together to distribute stresses evenly, preventing localized failure under high installation forces.
3Reliability
If the axial extent of fingers is increased to improve hysteresis, then the spring load variance is controlled, but the spring height increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the parameters of the axially extending fingers, specifically setting the axial extent to be at least three times (preferably at least five times) the first axial height of the annular body. This parameter relationship ensures consistent spring load and hysteresis while controlling the overall spring height within acceptable limits for hub assembly applications.
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 wave spring achieves consistent hysteresis and load variance within allowable limits, maintaining alignment and durability by compressing axially without requiring a pivot point, resulting in negligible finger deflection during installation.
Implementation Method 1
a spring for providing an axial bias between two members in the hub assembly
Data Source
AI summary
A wave spring is disclosed herein that creates hysteresis between two components. The wave spring includes an annular body having a wave-shaped profile, and a plurality of axially extending fingers extending from the annular body. The wave spring is dimensioned to be received in a space between at least two axially opposed hub components.