Air-Suspension Supporting Ring With Radial Abutments for Thin-Wall Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional supporting rings for air springs require large material thicknesses, leading to high manufacturing costs, inelasticity, and manufacturing tolerances, which can result in sink marks and air-tight sealing issues.
Innovation Solution
A supporting ring with internal and external abutment geometries, such as ribs and curved portions, that can be manufactured from plastic, allowing for reduced material thickness, increased elasticity, and improved design flexibility, enabling better tolerance compensation and reliable fastening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If large material thickness is used for the supporting ring, then strength and stability are improved, but manufacturing cost increases and elasticity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting ring is divided into a wall structure with internal and external abutment geometries that project radially. These abutment geometries provide localized strength where needed (at the interfaces with damper tube and piston) while allowing the wall between them to be thinner, reducing overall material usage and manufacturing cost while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall thickness is optimized locally: thicker at the abutment geometries where strength is required for mechanical interfaces, and thinner in the regions between abutments where less strength is needed. This local differentiation maintains strength while reducing material consumption and manufacturing cost.
2Strength
If large material thickness is used for the supporting ring, then strength is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to sink marks
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting ring is segmented into a wall with radial abutment geometries, allowing the wall thickness to be reduced in non-critical areas. This reduced thickness eliminates sink marks in injection-molded plastic parts while maintaining sufficient strength at the abutment interfaces where load-bearing functions are required.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall thickness is locally optimized: thinner in regions where sink marks would occur and strength is less critical, and thicker at the abutment geometries where strength is essential. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between strength and manufacturing precision.
3Strength
If large material thickness is used for the supporting ring, then strength is improved, but device complexity increases due to follow-up machining
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting ring is designed as a segmented structure with integrated abutment geometries that provide strength through geometric design rather than material thickness. This allows the component to be manufactured as a single molded part without requiring follow-up machining operations, reducing device complexity while maintaining strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The abutment geometries are integrated directly into the wall structure of the supporting ring, combining multiple functions (structural support, mechanical interfaces, and sealing surfaces) into a single geometric feature. This integration eliminates the need for separate machining operations or additional components, reducing device complexity.
4Strength
If large material thickness is used for the supporting ring, then strength is improved, but productivity decreases due to long cooling periods
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting ring is segmented into a wall with radial abutment geometries, allowing the use of thinner wall sections that cool faster during injection molding. This reduces cooling period and increases productivity while maintaining strength through the geometric design of the abutment features.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall thickness is locally differentiated: thinner in regions where cooling time is critical for productivity, and thicker at the abutment geometries where strength is required. This local optimization resolves the contradiction between strength and productivity by allowing faster overall cooling while maintaining necessary strength at critical locations.
Data Source
AI summary
A supporting ring for an air-suspension strut. In embodiments, a support ring has a central longitudinal axis and includes a wall. In a radially inward direction, the wall has or forms an internal-abutment geometry that projects in the radial direction, and/or, in a radially outward direction, the wall has or forms an external-abutment geometry that projects in the radial direction.