Variable Cross-Section Piston Rod Suspension Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current suspension devices using displacement sensitive shock absorbers face limitations in enhancing riding comfort and handling stability.
Innovation Solution
A suspension device with a shock absorber and an operating force adjustment mechanism, featuring a piston rod that adjusts damping force characteristics by altering the passage area and valve opening pressures based on piston position, achieving soft extension and hard compression damping states, and an operating force adjustment mechanism to control roll rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a displacement sensitive shock absorber with fixed damping characteristics is used, then the structure is simple, but the riding comfort and handling stability cannot be improved
Solution Approach 1:
The shock absorber employs a piston rod with variable cross-sectional area that changes position dynamically during compression and extension strokes. This dynamic geometry adjustment modifies the passage area for operating fluid, thereby changing damping force characteristics in real-time without requiring electronic control systems or complex mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical parameter of the piston rod's cross-sectional area to control damping force. By varying the piston rod area at different positions, the passage area for operating fluid changes, which directly alters the damping force generated by the damping force generating mechanism, achieving adaptive damping without complex electronics
2Stability of the object's composition
If damping force is increased for handling stability, then handling stability improves, but riding comfort deteriorates due to excessive vibration suppression
Solution Approach 1:
The shock absorber dynamically adjusts damping force based on stroke position. During compression strokes, larger piston rod area provides harder damping for handling stability. During extension strokes, smaller piston rod area provides softer damping for riding comfort. This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction between handling stability and riding comfort
Solution Approach 2:
The piston rod has non-uniform cross-sectional area along its length, creating different damping characteristics at different positions. This local variation in geometry allows the shock absorber to provide different damping forces at different stages of the stroke, simultaneously achieving handling stability and riding comfort
3Reliability
If electronic control mechanisms are used to adjust damping force, then damping characteristics can be optimized, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shock absorber is self-regulating through its variable cross-sectional area piston rod that automatically adjusts damping force based on its own position during operation. The system uses its inherent mechanical geometry to control fluid passage area, eliminating the need for external electronic sensors, actuators, or control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces potential electronic control systems with a purely mechanical solution. The variable geometry piston rod mechanically controls the passage area for operating fluid through its position, substituting electronic complexity with elegant mechanical design that achieves the same damping adjustment function
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
Improves riding comfort and handling stability by dynamically adjusting damping forces and roll rigidity, reducing vibration and enhancing durability without electronic control, while maintaining mechanical simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
a passage that connects the two chambers together such that the operating fluid is able to flow between them as a result of a movement of the piston, and a damping force generating mechanism that is provided in the passage and generates damping force by suppressing the flow of the operating fluid
Implementation Method 2
The damping force adjustment mechanism may be a spring device that is capable of adjusting the opening angle of the damping valve
Implementation Method 3
the passage area adjustment mechanism may adjust the second passage by means of a metering pin
Data Source
AI summary
This suspension device is provided with a shock absorber (5) that is capable of altering damping force using the position of a piston rod (18) such that at least any one of the following characteristics are achieved, namely, first characteristics in which, within a range where the piston rod (18) is extending out from a cylinder (11) beyond a first predetermined position, the extension-side damping force is in a soft state and the compression-side damping force is in a hard state, and second characteristics in which, within a range where the piston rod (18) is retracted inside the cylinder (11) beyond a second predetermined position, the extension-side damping force is in a hard state and the compression-side damping force is in a soft state; and an operating force adjustment mechanism that is capable of adjusting at least one of the operating force in the roll direction of a vehicle, and the operating force in a pitch direction of the vehicle.