Shock Absorber Valve Support for Smoother Damping Transitions
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shock absorbers do not effectively improve ride comfort of vehicles due to transient and abrupt changes in damping force caused by differential pressure increases.
Innovation Solution
A shock absorber design featuring a bendable plate-shaped valve member with a support member that increases spring constant in subsequent movement ranges, allowing the valve member to deform and move in a controlled manner to restrict excessive bending.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the valve member is supported without being clamped from both surface sides, then the valve member can deform more freely to improve ride comfort, but the valve member may experience excessive bending and stress
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple support members distributed along the valve member, with each support member providing localized support. This segmentation allows the valve member to deform freely in unsupported regions while preventing excessive bending at critical locations, resolving the contradiction between ride comfort and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
Support members are strategically positioned at specific locations along the valve member where bending moments are highest. This local quality approach provides enhanced support exactly where needed to prevent excessive stress, while maintaining free deformation capability in other regions for optimal ride comfort.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the spring constant is increased to prevent excessive valve member movement, then the valve member stability improves, but the ride comfort deteriorates due to reduced flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The spring constant is not uniformly increased but is locally enhanced at specific support positions. This allows the valve member to maintain flexibility and ride comfort in regions without support members while achieving stability in regions where support members are positioned, resolving the contradiction between stability and comfort.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure is designed to be dynamic rather than rigid, allowing the valve member to adapt its deformation characteristics based on operating conditions. The spring constant varies along the length of the valve member, providing softer support for comfort and stiffer support for stability as needed.
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 suppresses transient changes in damping force, enhancing ride comfort by maintaining low rigidity at initial bending and preventing excessive stress on the valve member, thus improving durability.
Implementation Method 1
a bendable plate-shaped valve member provided in the passage and whose inner circumferential side is supported by a support member only on one surface side without being clamped from both surface sides
Implementation Method 2
the support member is configured such that a spring constant of a second movement range in which the valve member moves to the movement restriction member side beyond a first movement range is larger than a spring constant of the first movement range
Data Source
AI summary
This shock absorber includes a cylinder in which a working fluid is sealed, a piston fitted in the cylinder to be slidable and partitioning the inside of the cylinder into two chambers, a passage through which the working fluid flows from one chamber in the cylinder due to movement of the piston, a bendable plate-shaped valve member provided in the passage and whose inner circumferential side is supported by a support member only on one surface side without being clamped from both surface sides, and a movement restriction member restricting movement of the valve member. The support member is configured such that a spring constant of a second movement range in which the valve member moves to the movement restriction member side beyond a first movement range is larger than a spring constant of the first movement range in which the valve member moves to the movement restriction member side.