Lockable Gas Spring Structure for Quiet Top-End Cushioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gas springs in pneumatic lift tables produce high decibel sounds and require high locking forces due to collisions when they reach the top, leading to wear and potential air or oil leakage.
Innovation Solution
A lockable gas spring design featuring an outer and inner steel tube, a piston rod with a spring for cushioning, and multiple seals to minimize friction and collisions, along with a floating piston riveted to the inner tube to enhance sealing and reduce noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the gas spring uses a traditional structure without cushioning, then the locking force is strong, but the piston rod collides with the spacer at the top position producing high decibel sound
Solution Approach 1:
A cushioning spring is installed between the piston rod and the spacer at the top end of the gas spring. When the piston rod extends to the top position, the cushioning spring compresses to absorb the collision energy between the piston rod and spacer, thereby reducing the impact force and noise while maintaining the locking force capability of the gas spring
2Reliability
If the floating piston slides with high friction, then the sealing performance is good, but the floating piston wears quickly reducing service life
Solution Approach 1:
A guide sleeve is introduced as an intermediary component between the floating piston and the outer tube. The guide sleeve provides a low-friction sliding surface for the floating piston, reducing wear and extending service life while maintaining adequate sealing performance through the interaction between the floating piston and guide sleeve
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 decibel levels from collisions, improves sealing performance, and extends the service life by minimizing friction and air/oil leakage, while providing stable locking forces.
Implementation Method 1
When the gas spring is extended to the top, the spring is compressed between the spacer and the valve body piston, thus giving a cushioning force to the valve body piston, slowing down the extension of the piston rod and avoiding a high decibel sound from the spacer and the valve body piston due to forceful collision.
Implementation Method 2
The disclosed structure makes the floating piston suffer less friction when sliding, so that the floating piston is not easy to wear, thus improving the service life of the floating piston, and the sealing performance is better, reducing air or oil leakage phenomenon.
Data Source
AI summary
A gas spring includes an outer tube, an inner tube disposed within the outer tube and attached to a floating piston radially sealed between the outer tube and the inner tube and axially slidable within the outer tube, a chamber defined between the inner tube and the outer tube, a valve piston sealingly slidable within the inner tube, a piston rod fixed to the valve piston, a spacer fixed to the outer tube and axially disposed between a first end of the outer tube and the floating piston, and a spring compressible between the spacer and the floating piston.