Short Cardanic Fold Air Spring Unit Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing air spring units face challenges in efficiently decoupling cardanic and torsion movements, which can reduce their service life, and require additional structural space for effective decoupling, leading to increased material usage and weight.
Innovation Solution
The air spring unit employs a short cardanic fold design where the bellows extends around the external guide, loops back, and is clamped by a bracing ring, allowing the cardanic fold to start below the external guide's end at the air spring cover side, optimizing structural space and material usage while enhancing decoupling capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional cardanic fold design is used with the bellows emerging directly from the external guide, then the decoupling of cardanic movements is achieved, but the axial structural space is increased and material usage is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows is guided through the external guide in a nested configuration where the bellows passes through the external guide structure and loops back. This nesting allows the cardanic fold to start below the external guide end, effectively utilizing the existing external guide height for decoupling purposes without requiring additional axial space beyond the external guide.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of extending the cardanic fold axially upward from the external guide end, the invention redirects the bellows path in a different spatial dimension by looping the bellows back through the external guide structure. This dimensional redirection achieves the required decoupling elasticity without increasing the axial height of the assembly.
2Reliability
If a traditional cardanic fold design is used with direct bellows guidance, then the decoupling function is provided, but the weight of the structure is increased due to additional material usage
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows is guided through the external guide in a nested configuration where the bellows passes through the external guide structure and loops back. This nesting allows the cardanic fold to start below the external guide end, effectively utilizing the existing external guide height for decoupling purposes without requiring additional axial space beyond the external guide.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the decoupling function with the existing external guide structure by using the external guide's height as the effective cardanic fold height. This integration eliminates the need for separate additional structural elements that would increase material usage and weight, as the external guide itself serves the dual purpose of guidance and decoupling.
3Device complexity
If the bellows is guided directly to the air spring cover clamping, then the structural path is simplified, but the cardanic fold elasticity is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The bellows is guided through the external guide in a nested configuration where the bellows passes through the external guide structure and loops back. This nesting allows the cardanic fold to start below the external guide end, effectively utilizing the existing external guide height for decoupling purposes without requiring additional axial space beyond the external guide.
Solution Approach 2:
The external guide serves as an intermediary structure that the bellows passes through and loops around. This intermediary configuration creates the necessary cardanic fold geometry and elasticity while maintaining a relatively simple overall structural path, as the external guide itself facilitates the bellows routing.
Data Source
AI summary
An air spring unit for a vehicle is described. The air spring unit forms a rolling fold and a cardanic fold. A type of bellows guidance of the air spring, the cardanic fold begins, at the rolling fold side, below that end of the external guide of the air spring unit which is at the air spring cover side. A cardanic fold of axially short construction is realized which, despite a small axial structural space, has the elasticity of a cardanic fold of tall construction.