Hydraulic Accumulator Threaded Body Shoulder Stops
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hydraulic accumulators face issues with high final cost and leaks due to poor assembly, necessitating improvements in design and manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic accumulator design featuring a cylindrical body with external threads and adjacent shoulder stops, allowing for efficient assembly and integration with a manifold or control valve assembly, along with a spring-biased piston and O-ring seals for enhanced sealing and manufacturing efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If multiple pieces are welded together to form the accumulator, then the structural integrity is improved, but the manufacturing cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components (cylinder, end caps, threading, sealing surfaces) into a single integrated blank that is formed and machined as one piece. This eliminates the need for welding multiple pieces together, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural integrity through the unified construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The single blank serves multiple functions simultaneously - it forms the cylindrical body, contains threaded sections for assembly, provides sealing surfaces, and creates the structural housing. This multi-functionality approach consolidates what would otherwise require multiple separate manufactured components, reducing both complexity and cost.
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple pieces are assembled together, then the accumulator can be manufactured from standard components, but leaks occur at the joints between pieces
Solution Approach 1:
By forming the accumulator from a single blank, the patent eliminates all joints and interfaces between separate pieces. This unified construction removes the primary source of leaks that occur at assembly joints, significantly improving sealing reliability while still allowing for practical assembly through the threaded sections.
3Productivity
If deep draw operation is used on sheet metal blank, then the accumulator body can be formed efficiently, but significant post-processing is required to achieve usable configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary forming of the accumulator body through deep draw operation on a blank, but goes further by integrating the threading and final configuration into the same forming process. This preliminary action approach eliminates the need for separate post-processing steps that would otherwise be required to achieve the usable configuration.
4Ease of manufacture
If tubing or pipe is used to fabricate the accumulator, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the final cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the fundamental manufacturing parameter from using pre-formed tubing or pipe to forming the entire accumulator body from a blank through deep draw and machining operations. This parameter change enables integration of multiple features into a single component, reducing the number of parts and assembly steps, which ultimately lowers the final cost despite the complexity of the forming process.
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 enables cost-effective and reliable manufacturing with reduced leaks, facilitating easy service and adjustment of components, while maintaining desired pressure and flow in hydraulic systems.
Implementation Method 1
A piston resides within the accumulator and is biased by a pair of compression springs toward the manifold, control valve body or second threaded end cap
Data Source
AI summary
A hydraulic accumulator includes a cylindrical body or housing having male or external threads on each end and shoulders proximate the ends of the threads nearer the center of the cylindrical body or housing that act as stops. An end cap having internal or female threads is disposed at one end of the accumulator. The accumulator may be threaded into a manifold or control valve assembly or it may include a second threaded end cap having an access, i.e., inlet/outlet, port. A piston resides within the accumulator and is biased by a pair of compression springs toward the manifold, control valve body or second threaded end cap.