Series Spring Torque Transfer for Low-Wear Torsional Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Torque transmission devices with LTD type long stroke dampers experience significant wear at the ends of springs due to friction, and devices with bearing seats at the ends of springs are either inefficient in damping or require excessive space, leading to reduced spring length and increased stiffness.
Innovation Solution
A torque transmission device design featuring steel coil springs with a metallic torque transfer element that directly contacts the springs, eliminating bearing seats between the torque transfer element and the springs, which reduces friction and dynamic hysteresis, and allows for effective damping while minimizing wear and maintaining angular movement freedom.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If bearing seats are placed at the ends of each spring, then wear at the spring end supports is reduced, but the device uses excessive circumferential space and spring length must be shortened, increasing stiffness and reducing damping effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the bearing seats from the spring end supports, extracting the harmful element that consumes space. Instead, it uses a torque transfer element that directly transfers torque between springs without requiring intermediate bearing seats, thus eliminating the space consumption issue while maintaining wear resistance through direct metal-to-metal contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a torque transfer element as an intermediary component that directly contacts the springs at their ends. This element serves as the mediator for torque transfer between springs, eliminating the need for bearing seats while ensuring proper torque transmission and reducing wear through controlled contact surfaces.
2Ease of operation
If bearing seats are placed at the ends of each spring, then torque transfer is facilitated, but spring length is reduced leading to increased stiffness and decreased damping effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the bearing seats that were forcing spring shortening. By removing this constraint, the springs can maintain their full effective length, preserving their damping characteristics while torque transfer is achieved through the direct contact mechanism of the torque transfer element.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the contact interface parameters by using a torque transfer element with optimized geometry and material properties. This allows efficient torque transfer through direct contact without requiring the space-consuming bearing seats, thereby maintaining spring length and damping effectiveness.
3Stability of the object's composition
If bearing seats are used at spring ends, then structural support is provided, but friction and dynamic hysteresis increase, reducing damping quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the potential harm of direct spring contact into a benefit by using a torque transfer element with optimized contact surfaces. The direct metal-to-metal contact, initially seeming harsh, is actually beneficial as it eliminates the friction and hysteresis associated with bearing seats while maintaining structural support through controlled elastic deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The torque transfer element acts as an intermediary that reduces friction and hysteresis losses. By providing a controlled contact interface with optimized material properties and geometry, it mediates the interaction between springs, reducing energy losses while maintaining necessary structural support.
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 achieves quality damping while limiting spring wear and maintaining the angular movement freedom by using a metallic torque transfer element, which reduces friction and dynamic hysteresis, and allows for increased spring size and improved shock absorber quality.
Implementation Method 1
a first spring (11) which is arranged between the first element (1) and the third element (3) so as to be elastically compressed during a relative rotation between the first element (1) and the third element (3), a second spring (12) which is arranged between the second element (2) and the third element (3) so as to be elastically compressed during a relative rotation between the second element (2) and the third element (3)
Implementation Method 2
The torque transfer element is in direct contact with the first spring and with the second spring. This solution thus provides both high-quality damping and reduced spring wear. On the one hand, it minimizes friction and dynamic hysteresis between the springs and the first and second elements.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
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AI summary
The invention relates to a torque transmission device comprising: - a first element (1), a second element (2), and a third element (3) which are able to rotate about an axis of rotation (X); - a first spring (11) which is arranged between the first element (1) and the third element (3), - a second spring (12) which is arranged between the second element (2) and the third element (3), - a first support seat (21) arranged at a first end of the first spring (11), - a second support seat (22) arranged at a first end of the second spring (12), the third element comprising a torque transfer element (33) directly transferring the torque between the first spring (11) and the second spring (12).