Bell-Shaped Suspension Supports Anchored by Spacers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle structures fail to adequately stabilize bell-shaped suspension element supports during frontal impacts, leading to rotational and lateral movement, which can cause stress and potential penetration into the passenger compartment.
Innovation Solution
The motor vehicle structure incorporates spacers anchored to the internal faces of bell-shaped suspension element supports and a rigid cross member, with a skirt-shaped edge and folded edge design to prevent rotation and absorb stresses, while being connected to the side walls for additional stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If retaining spacers are installed between the bell-shaped suspension element supports and the cross member, then the supports are retained in the event of a frontal impact, but the side members still drive the supports in rotation and movement towards the passenger compartment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a single-point retention system to a multi-point anchoring system. The spacers are anchored at multiple locations on the internal face of the bell-shaped supports, distributing the retention forces across multiple attachment points rather than relying on a single connection point. This multi-dimensional anchoring prevents rotational movement and maintains stability during frontal impacts.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacers are pre-installed and anchored to the internal faces of the bell-shaped supports before impact occurs. This preliminary anchoring creates a pre-established connection system that is already in place to counteract the forces generated during frontal impact, preventing rotation and movement before they can compromise passenger safety.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the spacers are anchored to the internal faces of the supports, then rotation and lateral movement are prevented, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the retention and anchoring functions into a single integrated spacer component. The spacers serve dual purposes: they retain the bell-shaped supports during impact and simultaneously anchor to the internal faces to prevent rotation. This merging of functions reduces the need for separate retention and anchoring components, simplifying the overall system while maintaining stability.
Data Source
AI summary
A motor vehicle structure includes two left and right bell-shaped suspension element supports arranged inside a front compartment close to a bulkhead of the vehicle. The suspension element supports are respectively adjacent to side walls of the front compartment. Each of the suspension element supports includes an internal face opposite the side wall. The structure also includes left and right spacers that extend respectively between the left and right suspension element supports and the rigid cross member, in a substantially longitudinal direction. The spacers are respectively anchored to the internal faces of the two suspension element supports. The spacers each have a skirt-shaped edge that can be applied to the suspension element supports, and a folded edge extending between a free end and an opposing attachment end to be joined to the cross member. The spacers include a central portion joining the folded edge and the skirt-shaped edge together.