Shock Absorber Bypass Valve Layout for Gradual Damping Shift
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shock absorbers face challenges in adjusting damping force effectively across different piston speed ranges, leading to discomfort and reduced riding comfort, especially when shifting from low to middle and high speed ranges due to abrupt changes in damping force characteristics.
Innovation Solution
A shock absorber configuration incorporating a hard-side damping element with an orifice and leaf valve, a solenoid valve to adjust the bypass passage, and a soft-side damping element with a large-diameter orifice, allowing for adjustable damping coefficients across speed ranges, ensuring a gradual change in damping force characteristics.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the valve opening pressure of the pilot valve is reduced to reduce the back pressure of the leaf valve, then the damping force generated is reduced (soft mode), but the inclination of the characteristic line changes abruptly when shifting from low speed range to middle and high speed range, leading to deterioration of riding comfort
Solution Approach 1:
The damping element is divided into a hard-side damping element (with orifice and leaf valve) and a soft-side damping element (with large-diameter orifice and solenoid valve). This segmentation allows independent control of damping characteristics in different speed ranges, enabling gradual transition of damping force characteristics while maintaining adjustable damping force in middle and high speed ranges.
2Force
If the opening area of the bypass passage is adjusted by the needle valve, then the magnitude of the damping force when piston speed is in low speed range is adjusted, but the adjustment width of damping force when piston speed is in middle and high speed range is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The soft-side damping element with large-diameter orifice acts as an intermediary pathway that becomes active in middle and high speed ranges. By controlling the opening area of the bypass passage through the solenoid valve, liquid can be directed through this intermediary path, significantly increasing the adjustment width of damping force in middle and high speed ranges while the hard-side damping element maintains control in low speed range.
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 increases the adjustment width of damping force, particularly in the middle and high speed range, enhancing riding comfort by smoothing the transition of damping force characteristics, thereby improving vehicle stability and passenger experience.
Implementation Method 1
a hard-side damping element for applying resistance to the flow of liquid from a compression side chamber to an extension side chamber
Implementation Method 2
When the piston speed is in the low speed range and the differential pressure between the upstream side and the downstream side of the damping element is less than the valve opening pressure of the leaf valve
Implementation Method 3
a solenoid valve capable of changing the opening area of a bypass passage for communicating the compression side chamber and the extension side chamber
Implementation Method 4
The soft-side damping element has a large-diameter orifice
Data Source
AI summary
A shock absorber includes a hard-side damping element for applying resistance to a flow of liquid from a compression side chamber to an extension side chamber, a solenoid valve capable of changing an opening area of a compression side bypass passage for communicating the compression side chamber and the extension side chamber by bypassing the hard-side damping element, and a soft-side damping element provided in the compression side bypass passage in series with the solenoid valve. The hard-side damping element has an orifice and a leaf valve provided in parallel with the orifice. The soft-side damping element has an orifice having an opening area larger than that of the orifice.