Automobile Hydraulic Shock Absorber External Spring Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automobile hydraulic shock absorbers face challenges in maintaining a small overall length and light weight while effectively canceling out gas reactive forces and setting optimal damping forces, often resulting in poor ride quality due to increased length and weight from compression coil springs and variable spring and gas reactive forces.
Innovation Solution
The hydraulic shock absorber incorporates a pressure-applying mechanism outside the cylinder body, which cancels out gas reactive forces and maintains a constant pushing force, allowing for a compact design with a shorter length and lighter weight, and enables easier setting of damping forces by positioning the pressure-applying mechanism between the shock absorber connecting portion and the cylinder body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a compression coil spring is provided inside the cylinder body to cancel gas reactive force, then the gas reactive force is canceled out, but the overall length and weight of the shock absorber increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves the compression coil spring from the internal space (inside the cylinder body) to an external position (outside the cylinder body). This spatial relocation allows the spring to function externally, eliminating the need for internal accommodation space and thereby reducing the overall length of the shock absorber while maintaining the gas reactive force cancellation function.
2Force
If a compression coil spring is provided inside the cylinder body to cancel gas reactive force, then the gas reactive force is canceled out, but the weight of the shock absorber increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent relocates the compression coil spring from an internal to an external position. This dimensional change in spatial arrangement allows the spring to be positioned outside the cylinder body, reducing the overall weight of the shock absorber assembly while preserving the gas reactive force cancellation capability.
3Force
If the spring force and gas reactive force vary depending on piston stroke position, then the piston can be pushed at different forces during extension and retraction, but the damping force cannot be easily set to the optimum value
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the compression coil spring from the internal volume adjustment mechanism and positions it externally. This separation allows the spring to act independently on the piston rod, decoupling the volume adjustment function from the gas reactive force cancellation function. As a result, the damping force can be optimized independently without being constrained by variable spring and gas forces, simplifying the tuning 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
This configuration results in a hydraulic shock absorber with a reduced gas reactive force, enhanced ride quality, and simplified damping force adjustment, achieving a smaller size and lower weight without the drawbacks of increased length and weight associated with conventional designs.
Implementation Method 1
a volume adjustment mechanism which pushes on the operating oil by pressure of high-pressure gas
Implementation Method 2
the pressure-applying mechanism has a compression coil spring which pushes on the piston rod
Implementation Method 3
the rubber cushion provided between the hydraulic shock absorber and the vehicle body, or between the hydraulic shock absorber and the vehicle wheel, undergoes elastic deformation and hardens
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
An automobile hydraulic shock absorber is provided with a cylinder body (5), a piston (3), an upper support (9), a piston rod (8), a volume adjustment mechanism (11), first and second communicating passages (14, 15), and a pressure-applying mechanism (21). The piston rod (8) is attached to the upper support (9) via a rubber cushion (16). The volume adjustment mechanism (11) has a free piston (12). The first and second communicating passages (14, 15) communicate the first oil chamber (6) and second oil chamber (7) with each other in the cylinder body (5) via a diaphragm (4). The pressure-applying mechanism (21) is disposed outside the cylinder body (5), movement thereof is restricted by the upper support (9), and the pressure-applying mechanism (21) pushes the piston rod (8) downward.