Adjustable Drive Axle Shaft Assembly for Heavy-Duty Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Heavy-duty vehicles require multiple drive axle shafts of varying lengths, leading to complex inventory management, increased manufacturing costs, and delays due to the need for numerous specific shafts.
Innovation Solution
A drive axle system with a primary and secondary half-shaft design, allowing adjustable total length through sliding and fixation using fasteners, ensuring identical parts can be used across different vehicles and positions, preventing rotation while allowing sliding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple drive axle shafts of different lengths are produced to meet various vehicle requirements, then the adaptability to different vehicles and positions is improved, but the device complexity and inventory management complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing a single standardized drive axle shaft that can serve multiple functions and positions through adjustable length mechanisms. The shaft incorporates telescopic sections with locking mechanisms, allowing one universal shaft design to replace multiple specialized shafts of different fixed lengths, thereby reducing inventory complexity while maintaining adaptability to various vehicle configurations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by introducing adjustable and telescopic sections within the drive axle shaft. These sections allow the shaft length to be dynamically changed during assembly or maintenance to match different vehicle requirements, transforming a static fixed-length shaft into a dynamic adjustable-length shaft that can adapt to various positions without requiring multiple specialized designs
2Reliability
If multiple specific drive axle shafts are kept in stock for different positions and vehicles, then the reliability of having the correct part is improved, but the loss of time for inventory management and part selection increases
Solution Approach 1:
By creating a universal drive axle shaft that can be configured for different lengths and positions, the patent eliminates the need to maintain multiple specific shaft variants in inventory. The universal shaft maintains reliability by ensuring the correct fit through adjustable mechanisms, while simultaneously reducing inventory management time by standardizing the part design across all applications
3Ease of manufacture
If drive axle shafts are made with adjustable length through sliding half-shafts, then the ease of manufacture and inventory management is improved, but the device complexity of the shaft structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the drive axle shaft into multiple modular half-shaft sections that can slide relative to each other. These segmented sections are connected through locking mechanisms that engage with reference holes, allowing the shaft to be assembled from standardized modules. This segmentation enables simplified manufacturing of individual modules while achieving adjustable overall length, balancing structural complexity with manufacturing ease
Data Source
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AI summary
A drive axle system for a heavy-duty vehicle, comprising a drive axle, said drive axle comprising a drive axle housing and at least one drive axle shaft (20), the drive axle shaft (20) having a total length measured along the shaft axis. The drive axle shaft (20) comprises a primary half-shaft (41) comprising primary radial members (50) and a primary reference hole (48) and a secondary half-shaft (42) comprising secondary reference holes (56, 57, 58), offset relative to each other along the shaft axis (T20), secondary radial members (70), and a fastener (43). The fastener (43) is inserted into the primary reference hole (48) and into one of the secondary reference holes (56, 57, 58) that coincides with the primary reference hole (48) through which the fastener (44) is inserted, for fixing the total length.