Step 1: Start with the given equation.
We are given the family of curves defined by:
\[
y = ax \cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)
\]
where \( a \) and \( b \) are constants. To eliminate the parameters \( a \) and \( b \), we differentiate this equation with respect to \( x \).
Step 2: First differentiation to find \( y_1 \).
Differentiating both sides with respect to \( x \), we apply the product rule:
\[
\frac{dy}{dx} = a \cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right) - a x \sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right) \cdot \left( -\frac{1}{x^2} \right)
\]
Simplifying:
\[
y_1 = a \cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right) + a \frac{\sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x}
\]
Step 3: Second differentiation to find \( y_2 \).
Now, differentiate \( y_1 \) again with respect to \( x \) to find \( y_2 \). Using the product rule again on both terms:
\[
y_2 = -a \frac{\sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x} + a \frac{\cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^2} - a \left( \frac{\cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^2} + 2 \frac{\sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^3} \right)
\]
Simplifying:
\[
y_2 = -a \frac{\sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x} + a \frac{\cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^2} - a \frac{\cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^2} - 2a \frac{\sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^3}
\]
We can see that the terms involving \( \cos \) cancel out.
Step 4: Substituting back to form the differential equation.
Now, we return to the original equation \( y = ax \cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right) \), which gives:
\[
y = ax \cos \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)
\]
and
\[
y_2 = -2a \frac{\sin \left( \frac{1}{x} + b \right)}{x^3}
\]
From the above relationships, we can see that:
\[
x^4 y_2 + y = 0
\]
Thus, the differential equation satisfied by the family of curves is:
\[
\boxed{x^4 y_2 + y = 0}
\]