Gas Spring Shock Absorber With Membrane-Based Spring Rate Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shock absorbing devices for vehicles face challenges in providing adjustable control of spring rate without increasing friction, heat, hysteresis, and maintenance needs, due to the use of additional seals and components like floating pistons and dynamic seals.
Innovation Solution
A shock absorbing device with a main spring chamber and a secondary spring chamber, utilizing an elastic membrane to adjust pressure and control spring rate, reducing the number of seals and potential failure points, and allowing for tunable responsiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an additional reservoir or floating piston with dynamic seal is used to provide adjustable spring rate control, then the spring rate control capability is improved, but the number of seals increases causing increased friction, heat buildup, hysteresis, and maintenance needs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the floating piston and dynamic seal from the system entirely. Instead, it uses a compressible gas spring that directly provides the spring force without requiring any sealing mechanisms between gas chambers. This extraction of the problematic sealing components eliminates the associated friction, heat, and hysteresis while maintaining spring rate control through the inherent compressibility of the gas spring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a compressible gas spring as the core mechanism for providing spring force and rate control. By utilizing the compressibility characteristics of gas, the system achieves adjustable spring rates without mechanical seals or pistons. The gas spring's pressure-volume relationship naturally provides the required force-displacement characteristics, eliminating the need for complex sealed chambers and dynamic sealing interfaces.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a spacer is used to reduce main chamber volume for spring rate control, then the spring rate is adjusted, but the spacer is difficult to install requiring disassembly and has a predefined volume preventing adjustability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the static, fixed-volume spacer with a dynamic gas spring system. The gas spring can be adjusted by changing gas pressure or volume, allowing continuous tuning of the spring rate without physical modification or disassembly of the device. This dynamic adjustment capability provides both ease of operation and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves spring rate adjustment by changing the parameters of the gas spring (pressure, volume, or amount of gas) rather than physically altering the chamber geometry with a spacer. This allows for easy, tool-free adjustment of the spring characteristics by simply modifying the gas state, eliminating installation complexity while maintaining full adjustability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple seals are used to form secondary chamber for adjustable spring rate control, then the spring rate control is improved, but the friction and heat buildup increase affecting damper and spring systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the secondary chamber and its associated seals by using a single compressible gas spring system. Without multiple sealed chambers and dynamic sealing interfaces, there is no friction between moving sealing surfaces, thereby preventing heat buildup that would otherwise affect the damper and spring systems.
Solution Approach 2:
By using the compressible nature of gas as the primary mechanism for spring force generation and rate control, the patent avoids mechanical contact and friction entirely. The gas molecules themselves provide the restoring force through pressure changes, eliminating the need for seals that would generate heat through friction during compression and extension cycles.
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 adjustable control of spring rate without increasing friction or maintenance needs, enhancing the responsiveness and reducing the complexity of the shock absorbing device, while maintaining a compact size.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic membrane that is sufficiently elastic to selectively deform in response to a change in pressure of the gas in the main spring chamber and the secondary spring chamber
Implementation Method 2
a gas, often air, spring to suspend the vehicle at a determined height and store and release energy created by the impact forces on the wheels
Implementation Method 3
At any temperature constant, gases (e.g., air), as shown by Boyle's Law, have a progressive compression rate, which causes the spring rate of the gas spring to be inconsistent
Data Source
AI summary
A shock absorbing device may include a housing, a piston, and membrane. The housing may define space. The piston may move within the space to adjust a pressure of a gas in a main spring chamber to form a gas spring. The piston and the housing may partially define the main spring chamber within the space. The membrane may be positioned in the space. The housing and the membrane may define a secondary spring chamber within the space. The membrane may partially define the main spring chamber and may be sufficiently elastic such that when the piston adjusts the pressure of the gas in the main spring chamber, a force applied on the membrane by the gas in the main spring chamber changes and causes the membrane to selectively deform to adjust a pressure of gas in the secondary spring chamber to control a spring rate of the gas spring.