Turnbuckle Support Strut With Tunable Belleville Washer Stiffness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing support struts, such as coil spring, machined spring, and leaf spring systems, face challenges in achieving desired stiffness and travel while maintaining a positive margin of safety on stress, and often require shorter lengths that make desired connections infeasible.
Innovation Solution
A turnbuckle-style support strut with tunable stiffness using opposing stacks of Belleville spring washers, which provide axial travel range and stiffness, allowing for adjustable spring constant and deflection by varying the number, orientation, and thickness of the washers, and incorporating threaded interfaces for turnbuckle-style motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If coil spring struts are used, then load transfer limitation is achieved, but desired stiffness and travel are difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the spring constant adjustable through a turnbuckle mechanism. The spring constant can be varied by changing the pre-compression force on the Belleville washer stack, allowing the strut to adapt its stiffness characteristics to match specific application requirements while maintaining reliable load transfer limitation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes physical parameters by allowing adjustment of the spring constant and travel distance through the turnbuckle mechanism. By varying the pre-compression force and washer stack configuration, the system can achieve desired stiffness and travel parameters that are difficult to obtain with conventional coil spring struts.
2Adaptability or versatility
If machined spring struts are used, then desired stiffness and travel are achieved, but positive margin of safety on stress is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by using Belleville spring washers that are pre-compressed by the turnbuckle mechanism. This pre-compression creates a controlled stress state that ensures the margin of safety is maintained before actual loading occurs. The progressive spring rate of the washer stack provides increasing resistance as deflection increases, ensuring safety throughout the travel range.
3Reliability
If leaf springs are used, then support function is provided, but strut length becomes too short for feasible connections
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nested doll by placing multiple Belleville spring washers in a stacked configuration within a compact housing. This nesting allows the spring elements to be contained within a short overall length while still providing the necessary support function and travel range through the stacked washer arrangement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from the traditional planar leaf spring configuration to a three-dimensional stacked washer arrangement. This dimensional change allows the support function to be achieved in a more compact axial direction, providing the necessary support while maintaining a shorter overall strut length that is feasible for connection.
4Adaptability or versatility
If turnbuckle-style motion with Belleville spring washers is used, then customizable stiffness and travel are achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by using the turnbuckle mechanism to perform multiple functions: adjusting the spring constant, setting the pre-compression force, and controlling the travel distance. This single mechanism provides versatile adjustment capabilities that can be tuned to match specific application requirements, making the system adaptable to various stiffness and travel needs.
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 support strut effectively limits load transfer and structural shock while maintaining a compact design, allowing for customizable stiffness and travel, and ensuring reliability with a significant margin of safety and failure tolerance.
Implementation Method 1
the turnbuckle-style support strut uses opposing stacks comprised of one or more Belleville spring washers to provide an axial travel range and stiffness
Data Source
AI summary
A turnbuckle-style support strut with tunable stiffness, wherein the turnbuckle-style support strut uses opposing stacks comprised of one or more Belleville spring washers to provide the tunable stiffness to support a given application.