Gas Spring Shock Collar Impact Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional gas springs for forming equipment lack effective shock absorption and safety features to manage sudden impacts and high velocities, leading to stress and potential damage during the extension stroke.
Innovation Solution
A gas spring design incorporating a shock collar with a collapsible portion that disengages the piston rod seal at high velocities, allowing controlled discharge of compressed gas and reducing stress on the spring, featuring a radially larger neck and head profile for enhanced sealing and a vent passage for gas release.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the gas spring operates at high velocities during the extension stroke, then productivity is improved, but sudden impact stress increases causing potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The shock collar is pre-installed on the piston rod to provide cushioning before impact occurs. During normal operation, it absorbs sudden impact stresses through controlled deformation, protecting the gas spring components from damage while allowing high-velocity operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The shock collar changes its physical state during operation - remaining rigid during normal movement but deforming under high-velocity impact conditions. This parameter change allows it to absorb impact energy while maintaining structural integrity during regular operation.
2Reliability
If a shock collar with collapsible portion is added to absorb impact, then stress resistance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shock collar is divided into distinct functional segments: a collapsible portion for impact absorption and a mounting portion for attachment to the piston rod. This segmentation allows each part to perform its specific function efficiently while keeping the overall design manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The shock collar incorporates a dynamic collapsible portion that transitions from a rigid state during normal operation to a deformable state during impact. This dynamic characteristic allows the structure to adapt to different operational conditions without requiring completely separate systems for normal and impact phases.
3Reliability
If the rod seal maintains continuous sealing engagement, then gas retention is improved, but wear increases reducing useful life
Solution Approach 1:
The rod seal engagement becomes periodic rather than continuous - maintaining sealing during normal operation but disengaging during high-velocity impact events when the shock collar collapses. This periodic disengagement reduces cumulative wear while gas is vented through alternative paths during impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The design converts the potentially harmful effect of seal wear into a beneficial controlled gas discharge mechanism. When the shock collar collapses, it intentionally allows gas to escape past the seal, preventing the seal from wearing down through continuous high-velocity contact while still maintaining gas retention during normal operation.
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 design reduces sudden impact stress, extends the gas spring's useful life, and allows safe operation at higher velocities by venting gas and preventing complete ejection of the piston rod, thus minimizing wear and damage.
Implementation Method 1
a gas spring for forming equipment comprises a casing, a piston rod housing received at least in part in the casing, a piston rod received at least in part in the casing and extending through the piston rod housing for reciprocation between extended and retracted positions over a cycle of the gas spring including a retraction stroke and an extension stroke
Implementation Method 2
a rod seal carried by the piston rod housing. The piston rod has a cylindrical outer surface in sealing engagement with the rod seal
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6A
AI summary
A gas spring (10) for forming equipment, a piston rod (16) for the gas spring (10), and a shock collar (18) for the gas spring (10) carried by the piston rod (16). The shock collar (18) may be resiliently flexible, and plastically deformable so as to at least partially collapse, and the piston rod (16) may include features to disrupt a gas spring seal (14) upon at least partial collapse of the shock collar (18).