Adjustable Spherical Hinge for Vehicle Door Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle door assembly frames on vehicle assembly lines face precision issues due to significant play in hinges, leading to misalignment and frequent blockages, which increase production costs and require labor-intensive cleaning.
Innovation Solution
An adjustable assembly frame with spherical joints where the bearing and carried elements are integral with the arms or frames, allowing for quick calibration of the center of articulation in three dimensions, enabling precise positioning of the door relative to the vehicle body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If mechanical welding technique with door hinge type pivots is used to assemble frames, then manufacturing cost is controlled, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to large clearance required between knuckle and eye
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical hinge joints with spherical joints that have point contact instead of line contact. This substitution eliminates the need for large clearances between knuckle and eye, thereby improving manufacturing precision while maintaining ease of manufacture through standardized spherical joint components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the joint by using spherical joints with defined radius and point contact. This parameter change allows for precise positioning while accommodating manufacturing tolerances, resolving the contradiction between cost-effective manufacturing and precision assembly.
2Reliability
If large clearance is provided between knuckle and eye to accommodate folded door position, then reliability is improved by preventing blockage, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to gap formation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional hinge mechanism with a spherical joint system where the sphere rotates within a spherical socket. This substitution provides continuous rotational freedom without requiring large clearances, maintaining reliability while improving manufacturing precision by eliminating gap formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies spheroidality by using spherical joints instead of traditional hinge geometry. The spherical shape allows for smooth rotation and accommodation of manufacturing tolerances without creating gaps, thereby maintaining both reliability and manufacturing precision simultaneously.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional hinge joints with significant play are used, then ease of manufacture is maintained, but productivity deteriorates due to frequent cleaning and heavy intervention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional hinge joints with spherical joints that have point contact geometry. This substitution eliminates the significant play characteristic of traditional hinges, preventing product accumulation and blockage, thereby improving productivity without compromising ease of manufacture.
Solution Approach 2:
The spherical joint design inherently prevents product accumulation through its geometry, eliminating the need for frequent cleaning interventions. The system maintains itself by design, improving productivity while keeping the manufacturing process simple.
4Manufacturing precision
If great precision in geometric fixing of spherical joints is required during construction, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases and cost price increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the approach to precision by using spherical joints with defined geometric parameters that can be adjusted during assembly. This allows for achieving high manufacturing precision through parameter adjustment rather than through complex assembly procedures, thereby reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces adjustability into the spherical joint positioning, allowing for dynamic calibration during assembly. This dynamic approach enables high precision to be achieved quickly through adjustment rather than through complex pre-fixing procedures, reducing overall device complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a mounting jib for a door panel of a vehicle, including a first frame (1) with means (2) for the adjustable attachment thereof onto a vehicle body in the vicinity of the door opening, a second frame (17) with means for supporting the vehicle door on said second frame, connection arms (9, 10) between the first and second frames, hinged onto the first and second frame so as to define a deformable quadrilateral therewith, the hinges between the arms (9, 10) and the frames (1, 17) including at least one spherical hinge provided between a carrier member secured to either the frame or one of the arms and a carried member secured to either the frame or one of the arms against the action of gravity, characterised in that at least one of the carrier and carried members (3,4,5,6,11a, 12a,13a,14a) of the spherical hinge is secured to the corresponding arm (9, 10) or frame (1, 17) so that the spatial position of the centre of the spherical hinge can be adjusted in the three spatial directions.