Gas Spring Bushing Release for Overstroke Failure Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current gas springs face safety issues due to undetectable defects, pressure fluctuations, and potential accidents from sudden failures, which are difficult to predict and prevent, especially during cyclical loads and improper use, leading to risks of injuries and damage.
Innovation Solution
A gas spring with a safety system that includes a guide and slider with a bushing and sealing means, where the bushing decouples from the slider when the stroke exceeds limits, causing a loss of chamber tightness and allowing gas escape to indicate damage, featuring a groove and slot mechanism for the locking element to ensure safe operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the maximum load capacity of gas springs is increased through higher gas pressure, then the thrust efficiency is improved, but the safety risk increases due to potential sudden failures and undetectable defects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a safety system that performs preliminary detection of defects and damage conditions before they lead to sudden catastrophic failure. The system includes sensors that continuously monitor pressure, temperature, and structural integrity parameters, and a control unit that predicts potential failures based on accumulated data. This preliminary action allows the system to warn operators and prevent catastrophic events before they occur, directly addressing the safety risk associated with high-pressure operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a feedback mechanism where sensors continuously monitor the operational parameters of the gas spring (pressure, temperature, position) and feed this information back to a control unit. The control unit analyzes this feedback data to detect anomalies, assess damage conditions, and predict potential failures. This closed-loop feedback system enables real-time safety monitoring and allows the system to respond to changing conditions, thereby maintaining reliability even under high thrust loads.
2Ease of manufacture
If visual inspection methods are used to detect defects, then the inspection process is simple, but small defects and damage are not detectable
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual visual inspection methods with an automated sensor-based detection system. The system includes pressure sensors, temperature sensors, and position sensors that automatically monitor the gas spring's operational parameters. The control unit processes this data to detect defects and damage conditions that would be invisible to the human eye. This substitution of mechanical/visual inspection with electronic sensing and data processing dramatically improves defect detection capability while maintaining ease of operation through automated monitoring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensors and a control unit as intermediaries between the gas spring's physical state and the operator's knowledge of its condition. The sensors act as mediators that convert physical parameters (pressure, temperature, position) into electrical signals that the control unit can process and analyze. This intermediary system enables the detection of subtle defects and damage conditions that cannot be perceived through direct visual inspection, bridging the gap between the physical state of the spring and the operator's awareness.
3Stress or pressure
If the piston creates additional volume during compression, then the chamber pressure increases, but this generates negative pressure that recalls oils and damages the spring over time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pressure sensors to continuously monitor the chamber pressure and provides feedback to the control unit. When the control unit detects pressure patterns indicative of oil being drawn into the chamber (negative pressure conditions), it can alert operators or adjust operation parameters to prevent damage. This feedback mechanism enables real-time detection and prevention of the harmful effect where negative pressure causes oil recall and subsequent spring damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of conditions that lead to oil recall and spring damage. By monitoring pressure variations and detecting the formation of negative pressure zones during compression, the system can warn operators before oil is drawn into the chamber and before damage occurs. This preliminary action allows preventive measures to be taken, such as adjusting compression parameters or stopping operation, thereby preventing the durability-reducing effect.
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 provides immediate detection of potential failures by losing pressure, preventing continued use of damaged springs and reducing the risk of accidents by ensuring safe operation and easy identification of compromised components.
Implementation Method 1
one or more sealing elements; a component for introducing the gas into the cylinder, also called filling valve
Implementation Method 2
a bushing, arranged between the slider and the guide, comprising sealing means for the tightness of the chamber
Data Source
AI summary
Described is a gas spring (200), comprising a guide (2), having an outer surface (212), a slider (1), defining with said guide (2) at least one chamber (11) containing pressurised gas, said slider (1) being slidably connected to said guide (2) in such a way as to have a maximum stroke, of expansion, wherein said guide (2) is partially extracted from said slider (1), and a maximum stroke, of compression, characterised in that it comprises a bushing (3), positioned between said slider (1) and said guide (2), comprising sealing means for the tightness of the chamber (11), andremovably coupled and so as to move integrally with said slider (1) up to said maximum stroke, in such a way that, when said slider (1) slides with respect to said guide (2) beyond said maximum stroke, said bushing (3) decouples from said slider (1) so as to eliminate the seal of the chamber (11).