Helical Compression Spring Guide System for Vehicle Closure Drive
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Solution Overview
Problem
Spindle drives with a paradoxical design, which use helical compression springs, tend to generate noise and wear due to increased friction, especially with higher spring forces, and conventional optimization methods fail to eliminate these issues.
Innovation Solution
A drive device with a helical compression spring where the external and internal guide elements guide the spring ends separately, reducing relative speed and friction, and incorporating design features like elastic compensating elements and low-friction materials to minimize noise and wear.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If higher spring forces are used in the paradoxical spindle drive, then the driving force for the closure element is improved, but noise generation in the guide system is amplified
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is segmented into multiple guide elements distributed along the spring path. Instead of a single guide bush, multiple guide elements guide different sections of the spring independently, distributing the friction and reducing noise amplification from any single contact point.
Solution Approach 2:
Different guide elements are positioned at specific locations along the spring path where local guidance is most effective. The guide elements have optimized local geometries and material properties tailored to their specific positioning requirements, allowing high spring forces to be managed with reduced noise at critical contact zones.
2Force
If higher spring forces are used in the paradoxical spindle drive, then the driving force for the closure element is improved, but wear in the guide system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide system is divided into multiple guide elements that distribute the mechanical load and wear across several contact points rather than concentrating it in a single guide bush. This segmentation extends the overall service life of the guide system under high spring force conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The material properties and geometric parameters of the guide elements are optimized to reduce friction and wear coefficients. Surface treatments or material selections with lower friction characteristics are applied to the guide elements, allowing high spring forces to be transmitted with reduced wear.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional optimization methods such as different lubricating greases or surface structures are used, then some noise reduction is achieved, but the fundamental noise and wear problems cannot be eliminated
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than relying on lubrication or surface treatments of a single guide component, the system segments the guidance function across multiple elements. This structural solution fundamentally reduces the friction power and contact stresses that generate noise and wear, making the system less dependent on lubrication quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide elements act as intermediaries between the spring and the housing, providing optimized contact surfaces that reduce friction and wear. These intermediary components are specifically designed to manage the interaction forces, reducing the harmful effects at the spring-guide interface.
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 significantly reduces noise and wear by minimizing friction power and allowing for independent optimization of guide elements, making it suitable for high-force applications without the need for extensive lubrication, thus enhancing the reliability and longevity of the drive device.
Implementation Method 1
a helical compression spring (130) arranged radially to the longitudinal axis L between the inner element (120) and the outer tube (110)
Implementation Method 2
an internal guide element (122) arranged radially to the longitudinal axis L between the inner element (120) and the helical compression spring (130) for the internal guidance of an internal guide end section (132) of the helical compression spring (130) along the longitudinal axis L
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a drive device for the movement of a closure element of a motor vehicle relative to a body of the motor vehicle including an outer tube with a longitudinal axis for coupling to the body, an inner element arranged in the outer tube for coupling to the closure element, a helical compression spring arranged between the inner element and the outer tube, and an internal guide element arranged between the inner element and the helical compression spring and axially fixed to the inner element for the internal guidance of an internal guide end section of the helical compression spring. The inner element is extendable along the longitudinal axis from the outer tube. The helical compression spring is compressed against a spring tension of the helical compression spring when the inner element is pulled out of the outer tube.