Tailgate Wire Rope Damping With Air-Regulated Plunger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing support devices for tailgates of vehicles, particularly pick-up trucks, are inadequate in managing opening and closing movements due to high forces and varying sizes and weights, necessitating a more reliable and cost-effective solution.
Innovation Solution
A wire rope system comprising a guide cylinder, compression spring, plunger element, and wire rope, with an air flow regulating mechanism using a slide membrane element to control air flow and damping, ensuring smooth opening and closing movements of tailgates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a compression spring is used to support tailgate movement, then the support force is improved, but the opening speed cannot be controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a pneumatic damping system using a guide cylinder with a plunger element that moves within it. Air pressure differential created by the plunger element blocking air flow during opening movement provides damping force to control the opening speed, while the compression spring provides the necessary support force. This combines pneumatic damping with mechanical spring support to resolve the contradiction between force support and speed control.
2Speed
If damping is added to control opening speed, then the opening speed control is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the damping function with the existing guide cylinder structure by introducing a plunger element that utilizes the air pressure differential within the cylinder. The compression spring, guide cylinder, and plunger element work together as an integrated system where the spring provides support force and the plunger element provides damping control, eliminating the need for separate damping components and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The plunger element utilizes the air pressure differential created during tailgate opening movement to generate damping force automatically. The system self-regulates the opening speed by blocking air flow through the guide cylinder, eliminating the need for external control mechanisms or additional energy input, thus simplifying the device while achieving speed control.
3Volume of moving object
If a compact design is pursued, then the space requirement is reduced, but the adaptability to different tailgate sizes and weights is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables adaptability to different tailgate sizes and weights by allowing adjustment of the compression spring parameters (such as spring constant and pre-compression) and plunger element dimensions. The guide cylinder volume and air flow characteristics can also be modified to match different damping requirements. This parameter adjustment capability maintains a compact design while achieving versatility across different applications.
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 system provides reliable support for tailgate movements, reducing opening speed and ensuring smooth operation across varying weights and sizes without requiring high sealing efforts, while being cost-effective and adaptable to different applications.
Implementation Method 1
a compression spring arranged within the guide cylinder, and having a front end and a back end; the compression spring being attached with its front end to the front end portion of the guide cylinder and being attached with its back end to the plunger element
Implementation Method 2
the slide membrane element is configured such that during movement towards the front end portion of the guide cylinder air flow from the front air chamber between its circumferential edge and the inner wall of the guide cylinder to the back air chamber is blocked or reduced, thus exerting a damping function to the movement of the wire rope and reducing the opening speed of the tailgate
Data Source
AI summary
A wire-rope-system includes a guide-cylinder, compression-spring, plunger and wire-rope for reducing a tailgate's opening-speed in a vehicle/trailer having a side-board-wall-or-tailgate. The guide-cylinder arranged within the sideboard-wall-or-tailgate has front-end-and-back-end-portions. The compression-spring arranged within the guide-cylinder has front-and-back-ends. The compression-spring's front-end attaches to the guide-cylinder's front-end-portion and its back-end attaches to the plunger that moves axially within the guide-cylinder. The wire-rope extends through the front-end-portion's opening, and has backend-and-front-ends attached to the plunger and the side-board-wall-or-tailgate. The plunger's slide-membrane's circumferential-edge abuts the guide-cylinder's inner-wall, separating the guide-cylinder's inner-space into a back-air-chamber between the slide-membrane's rear-side and guide-cylinder's back-end-portion, and into a front-air-chamber between the slide-membrane's front-side and guidecylinder's front-end-portion. The back-air-chamber's air-flow-regulating-opening connects to the guide-cylinder's exterior-side. The slid-membrane's configuration blocks/reduces movement towards the front-end-portion and air-flow between the front-air-chamber's circumferential-edge and the guide-cylinder's inner-wall to the back-air-chamber, damping the wire-rope's movement and reducing the tailgate's opening-speed.