Spring Element With Diverging Arms For Tipping Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spring elements lack sufficient tipping stability and uniform deflection, leading to radial outward displacement of cover plate parts during compression.
Innovation Solution
A two-part design for spring arms with diverging partial arms from a central section, connected to spaced-apart base and cover plate areas, ensuring equal deflection and increased stability through harmonious compression.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If spring arms are designed as undivided straight arms, then the structure is simple, but the tipping stability is insufficient and radial outward displacement occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The spring arm is divided into multiple partial spring arms (first, second, third, fourth partial spring arms) that diverge from a common central spring arm section. This segmentation increases the effective length of the spring arm and distributes the load more evenly, thereby improving tipping stability and reducing radial outward displacement of the cover plate parts while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the shared central section.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring arms transition from a straight one-dimensional configuration to a diverging multi-dimensional arrangement. The partial spring arms extend in different directions from the central section, creating a spatial configuration that increases the moment of inertia and enhances stability against tipping while the arc-shaped paths provide gradual, harmonious deflection.
2Stability of the object's composition
If spring arms are made longer to increase stability, then tipping stability improves, but radial outward displacement increases
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the spring arm into multiple segments that diverge from a common central section, the effective length is increased for stability purposes, but the radial displacement is controlled because the divergence distributes the movement across multiple directions rather than allowing a single long arm to displace radially outward as a whole.
Solution Approach 2:
The partial spring arms are designed to diverge along arc-shaped paths with constant radius. This curvature allows the spring arms to achieve the necessary length for stability while the arc geometry controls the radial displacement component, directing the deflection more vertically and reducing outward movement of the cover plate parts.
3Ease of manufacture
If cover plate connection areas are positioned closer to the spring axis, then manufacturing is easier, but stabilization against tilting is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The connection areas are positioned in the radially outer region of the cover plate parts, away from the spring axis. This positioning in the radial dimension creates a larger moment arm that enhances stabilization against tilting and improves the mechanical leverage of the spring arms while remaining compatible with standard manufacturing processes.
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
Enhances tipping stability and reduces radial outward displacement of cover plate parts, allowing for uniform and harmonious deflection, while being cost-effective to manufacture and easy to demold.
Implementation Method 1
a spring element (1) for elastically supporting a seat or reclining element
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
Spring element with a lower base, an upper cover plate forming a support surface with several separately springable cover plate parts and a spring body arranged between the base and cover plate with several spring arms extending from the base to the cover plate, characterized in that each cover plate part is connected to the base via one, in particular exactly one, spring arm and that each of these spring arms adjacent to the associated cover plate part is designed in two parts, namely with two upper partial spring arms that diverge from a common, central spring arm section and are connected at their upper end to one of two cover plate connection areas of the associated cover plate part, which connection areas are spaced apart from each other in the plane of the support surface.