Ball Pin Sleeve Fixing Arrangement for Motor Vehicle Components
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for fixing motor vehicle components, such as screw couplings, are time-consuming and costly, and existing alternatives without screw couplings often lack efficient securing mechanisms, particularly in applications requiring dynamic stress resistance.
Innovation Solution
A fixing arrangement using a ball pin and sleeve with a cap securing device that moves axially to lock the sleeve onto the pin, providing a positive locking engagement and eliminating the need for screw couplings, thus enabling efficient and cost-effective attachment of motor vehicle components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If screw couplings are used to fix motor vehicle components, then the connection is secure and reliable, but the fixing process becomes time-consuming and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The fixing arrangement is divided into separate components: a ball pin (fixing element) and a sleeve with cap (securing device). This segmentation allows for rapid assembly by simply inserting the ball pin through the sleeve, eliminating the time-consuming threading process of screw couplings while maintaining connection reliability through the positive locking mechanism of the spherical geometry and cap securing device.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a threaded engagement where the male thread engages with the female thread in a complex interlocking manner, the invention inverts the approach by using a spherical pin that passes through a sleeve and is secured by a cap. This inversion simplifies the engagement process from multi-step threading to single-step insertion and capping, dramatically improving fixing speed while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If screw couplings are used to fix motor vehicle components, then the connection is secure, but the production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential function of secure connection from the complex screw coupling mechanism and implements it through simpler components: a ball pin with spherical head and a sleeve with cap. This extraction eliminates unnecessary complexity such as threading, torque requirements, and precision machining of screw threads, thereby reducing production costs while maintaining the core function of reliable connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The ball pin and sleeve assembly uses simpler, less expensive materials and manufacturing processes compared to screw couplings. The spherical pin can be produced through simpler forming processes, and the sleeve and cap can be made from cost-effective materials. This approach prioritizes functional reliability over using expensive, highly durable materials, achieving a cost-effective solution that meets the reliability requirements.
3Productivity
If conventional fixing arrangements without screw couplings are used, then the fixing process is faster, but the securing mechanism is insufficient for dynamic stress resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The ball pin features a spherical head that engages with the sleeve through curved surface contact. This spheroidality provides superior stress distribution compared to flat or threaded surfaces, enabling the connection to withstand dynamic stresses effectively. The spherical geometry allows for uniform load distribution during insertion and securing, enhancing the strength and durability of the connection under dynamic conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The cap is designed to be pressed onto the ball pin in advance, creating a pre-loaded securing mechanism. This preliminary action of pressing the cap onto the spherical pin establishes a strong, pre-conditioned connection that is ready to withstand dynamic stresses from the moment of assembly, eliminating the need for additional securing steps while maintaining high strength under dynamic loading.
Data Source
AI summary
A fixing arrangement for fixing a first motor vehicle component to a second motor vehicle component includes first second fixing elements. The first and second fixing elements are connectable to each other in a positive locking manner. The second fixing element has a pin configured as a ball; and the first fixing element has a sleeve that fits over the spherical pin to produce a positive locking engagement. The first fixing element has a securing device designed as a cap, which is mounted on an outer shell sleeve surface such that the cap is movable in the axial direction. The sleeve is locked on the spherical pin by axial relative movement of the cap from a defined first position into a defined second position.