Actuator Housing with Round Cross Section for Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high variability in gear mechanism designs for actuators in motor vehicles leads to costly housing and cover manufacturing due to low production numbers, as each design requires specific adaptations and different cross-sectional shapes, especially when considering environmental influences and component alignment.
Innovation Solution
A second chamber with a round cross section and a corresponding round cover allows for adaptable gear mechanism arrangements, reducing housing and cover variety, and enabling cost-effective manufacturing, with optional metal covers for harsh conditions and integrated seals for enhanced protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If gear mechanism designs are adapted to various installation conditions and environmental influences, then the actuator can be used in different fields of use, but the cross section of the second chamber and the cover must vary greatly, resulting in a considerable variety of housings and high manufacturing costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a standardized round cross-section for the second chamber and cover that can accommodate multiple gear mechanism designs. This universal design allows the same basic housing and cover structure to serve different installation conditions and environmental requirements, eliminating the need for custom-shaped housings for each application while maintaining adaptability through internal component variations rather than external shape changes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the housing and cover are manufactured by casting with customized cross sections for each gear mechanism design, then the actuator can meet specific installation conditions, but the low production numbers per housing shape make the housings expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The standardized round cross-section design enables a single housing and cover mold to produce components for multiple gear mechanism variants. This increases production efficiency by allowing high-volume manufacturing of standardized housings and covers that can be paired with different gear mechanisms, rather than producing low-volume custom-shaped components for each application.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses parameter changes by varying the diameter of the round cross-section to accommodate different installation conditions while maintaining the same basic circular shape. This allows a family of standardized housings with different diameters to serve multiple purposes, improving production efficiency through standardized manufacturing processes while still adapting to different spatial requirements.
3Reliability
If conventional seals are used to seal the second chamber, then environmental protection is provided, but the seals are substantially more expensive than with a circular shape
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies spheroidality by using a circular cross-section for the second chamber, which naturally lends itself to circular sealing arrangements. Circular seals are simpler and less expensive to manufacture than seals for irregular shapes, as they can be produced using standard sealing technologies and materials without requiring complex conformal sealing structures. The circular geometry simplifies the sealing interface while maintaining effective environmental protection.
Data Source
AI summary
An actuator includes: a housing, the housing having a first chamber and a second chamber, the second chamber having a round cross section; an electric motor arranged in the first chamber of the housing, the electric motor having a motor shaft; an actuating element; a gear mechanism arranged in the second chamber of the housing, the gear mechanism being connected, on an input side of the gear mechanism, to the motor shaft of the electric motor, and being connected, on an output side of the gear mechanism, to the actuating element; and a round cover configured to close the second chamber having the round cross section.