Spring-Pretensioned Damper for Idle Stroke Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing dampers for furniture and household appliances suffer from idle strokes and reduced service life due to displaceable piston rings or bendable plates, which affect the effective damping performance and longevity.
Innovation Solution
A damper design featuring a movable throttle element pretensioned by a spring element, which reduces idle stroke by adjusting the flow channel cross-section, ensuring high damping forces are generated with minimal stroke and maintaining long service life through minimal wear and robust construction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a displaceable piston ring is used to reduce flow channel cross-section, then high damping forces are generated, but an idle stroke occurs at the beginning of damping movement
Solution Approach 1:
The throttle element is pre-positioned in the damping position by a spring element before piston movement begins. This preliminary action ensures that the flow channel cross-section is already reduced, eliminating the idle stroke that occurs with displaceable piston rings while maintaining high damping forces from the start of the damping movement
2Device complexity
If a bendable plate is used to increase flow channel cross-section, then the structure is simple, but the plate wears out quickly and restoring forces are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The throttle element is made of rigid material with high surface hardness instead of bendable plate material. This parameter change in material properties eliminates wear and restoring force degradation while maintaining structural simplicity, thereby extending service life and ensuring consistent damping performance
3Reliability
If the throttle element is made of rigid material with high surface hardness, then wear is minimized and service life is extended, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The throttle element is made of rigid material with high surface hardness, such as metal or hard plastic, which provides wear resistance and long service life. The spring element is made of elastic material that provides the pretensioning force. This composite material approach balances manufacturing ease with extended service life by using materials that are both manufacturable and durable
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 damper effectively reduces idle stroke and extends service life by ensuring consistent damping performance across movements, with the throttle element's spring-pretensioned design maintaining high damping forces and minimizing wear, resulting in a compact and efficient damping solution.
Implementation Method 1
at least one spring element (72), in particular made of an elastic plastic, by which the throttle element (6) is pretensioned into the damping position
Implementation Method 2
a piston (5) connected to a piston rod (3) is guided in a linearly displaceable manner... at least one flow channel (9) is formed on or in the piston (5), which flow channel (9) connects the two chambers (20) to one another
Data Source
AI summary
A damper for fittings for furniture or household appliances has a housing in which a piston connected to a piston rod is guided in a linearly displaceable manner, the piston dividing an interior space in the housing into two chambers, wherein at least one flow channel is formed on or in the piston, which flow channel connects the two chambers to one another, wherein a throttle element is provided, which, in a damping position, keeps the cross-section of the at least one flow channel small when the piston moves in a first direction in order to generate high damping forces, and when the piston moves in the second direction opposite to the first direction, increases the cross-section of the at least one flow channel for reducing the damping forces by a movement of the throttle element.