Piston Platform Suspension Maintaining Air Spring Orientation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing suspension systems for vehicles lack an efficient mechanism to maintain the angular orientation of air springs while allowing independent wheel movement, which affects ride quality and vibration damping.
Innovation Solution
A suspension system design featuring a subframe, upper control arm, pivotally mounted piston platform, air spring, kingpin, and support linkage, where the piston platform pivots about a third axis relative to the upper control arm, maintaining a constant angular orientation and supporting the air spring, while allowing independent wheel movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a conventional suspension system is used, then wheel movement is allowed, but the air spring's angular orientation cannot be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The suspension system divides the control functions into separate components: the control arm handles wheel movement, the piston platform maintains air spring orientation, and the support linkage connects them. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in one function, resolving the contradiction between maintaining orientation and allowing movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The piston platform acts as an intermediary component between the control arm and the air spring. It receives motion from the control arm while maintaining a constant angular orientation relative to the air spring, thereby mediating between the conflicting requirements of wheel movement and orientation stability.
2Reliability
If wheel movement is restricted to maintain air spring orientation, then orientation stability is improved, but wheel independence is lost
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the suspension system into distinct functional components (control arm for movement, piston platform for orientation, support linkage for connection), the system achieves both reliable ride quality through maintained orientation and independent wheel movement through separate control functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The piston platform is designed to pivot about a third axis relative to the control arm, allowing dynamic adjustment of the air spring orientation while the control arm moves the wheel independently. This dynamic capability maintains reliability while preserving adaptability.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A suspension system having a piston platform that supports an air spring. The piston platform may be pivotally mounted to an upper control arm. The upper control arm may be pivotally mounted to a subframe. The piston platform may rotate with respect to the upper control arm when the upper control arm rotates with respect to the subframe.