Inertia-Actuated Valve for Compact Gas Spring Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas spring and gas damper assemblies face challenges in balancing performance with size and space limitations, leading to reduced damping performance due to limited volume of pressurized gas, especially in applications like motorized vehicles where packaging constraints are significant.
Innovation Solution
The development of an inertia-actuated valve assembly with a valve housing, valve body, and biasing element that generates a biasing force greater than the dynamic gas pressure threshold, allowing for efficient gas transfer and damping performance enhancement through elongated damping passages between the spring and damping chambers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the volume of pressurized gas is reduced to meet packaging constraints, then the device size is reduced, but the damping performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The gas spring assembly is divided into multiple chambers (spring chamber and damping chamber) separated by a piston. This segmentation allows each chamber to serve a specific function: the spring chamber provides suspension support while the damping chamber provides vibration damping, enabling independent optimization of each chamber's volume for its respective function.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces an additional spatial dimension by creating a multi-chamber structure with a piston dividing the gas volume. This allows the system to maintain adequate damping performance in a reduced overall volume by utilizing the third dimension (radial direction) for the damping chamber while keeping the spring chamber volume optimized for suspension support.
2Device complexity
If conventional valve assemblies are used, then the device complexity is low, but the gas transfer efficiency deteriorates under high acceleration conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The valve assembly uses an inertia-actuated valve body that dynamically responds to acceleration conditions. During high acceleration events, the valve body moves relative to the valve housing to open flow channels, enabling rapid gas transfer. During normal operation, the valve remains closed to maintain damping performance. This dynamic behavior allows the simple valve structure to achieve high gas transfer efficiency when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve assembly is self-actuating through the use of an inertia-actuated valve body that automatically opens or closes based on the acceleration conditions without requiring external control. The valve body's position is determined by the balance between inertial forces during acceleration and spring forces during normal operation, enabling automatic adaptation to different operating conditions.
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
This solution enables improved damping performance by ensuring effective gas transfer and pressure regulation, enhancing the comfort and ride quality of vehicles by maintaining desired performance characteristics despite space constraints.
Implementation Method 1
The biasing element can operatively engage at least the valve body and can generate a biasing force operative to urge the valve body in a first axial direction toward the first side of the valve housing
Implementation Method 2
The biasing force can also have a magnitude that is less than or approximately equal to the valve body mass multiplied by two and one-half times the nominal acceleration due to gravity
Data Source
AI summary
An inertia-actuated valve assembly includes a valve housing, a valve body and a biasing element. The valve housing includes a groove that has an open end fluidically accessible from along one side thereof. The valve housing includes a flow channel extending therethrough in fluid communication with the groove from along an opposing side of the valve housing. The valve body is positioned within the groove of the valve housing such that the valve body and the valve housing are axially co-extensive along at least a portion thereof. The biasing element operatively engages the valve body and generates a biasing force urging the valve body in a first axial direction. The biasing force is greater than a predetermined dynamic gas pressure threshold value multiplied by a pressure area and is less than or approximately equal to a valve body mass multiplied by 2.5 times the nominal acceleration due to gravity.