| 摘要 |
An accordion spring 28 that replaces traditional coil springs in suspension systems. The accordion springs are made of a fiberglass composite and can be designed to have a linear or progressive spring rate upon compression. To achieve a linear spring rate, the shape of the accordion spring is symmetrical with both the top 30A and bottom 30B surfaces of each of the plurality of central regions 30 of the spring are flat, wherein contact between the upper and lower surfaces of adjacent central regions will not occur until the accordion spring has bottomed out. To achieve a progressive spring rate, a series of complementary bent regions 86 are introduced to the spoked regions 36,38,40,42 of the accordion spring that varies the spring rate of the spring as the spring is compressed. The accordion spring can be manufactured using a three-dimensional weaving process and offer improvements in weight reduction, mass reduction, packaging space reduction compared to traditional steel coil springs. The accordian spring is made by three dimensional weaving a plurality of glass fibres into a preform, placing the preform within a mould and adding curable resin. |
