Commercial Vehicle Cargo Floor Tolerance Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing loading space floors in commercial vehicles, particularly those with light metal materials, face issues due to unavoidable lengthwise unevenness and internal stresses caused by bracing and welding, leading to difficulties in precise fitting and processing of the floor panels.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a tolerance compensation mechanism through overlapping legs and receiving spaces in the floor panels, allowing for automatic detection and compensation of unevenness during welding, enabling precise alignment and reduced internal stresses via friction stir welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If floor panels are joined by friction stir welding to eliminate gaps, then manufacturing precision is improved, but internal stresses and waviness are introduced due to longitudinal irregularities of the base plates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by creating an overlapping leg structure before welding, where the leg of one floor panel extends beyond the edge and overlaps with the adjacent panel. This pre-positioned overlap allows the welding process to occur on a stable, pre-aligned configuration rather than forcing alignment during welding, thereby preventing internal stresses and waviness while maintaining manufacturing precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If clamping is applied to maintain maximum permissible gap width during welding, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and processing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the gap control function from the clamping mechanism by using the overlapping leg geometry itself to define and maintain the maximum permissible gap width. The overlap structure passively controls the gap through its physical configuration, eliminating the need for complex active clamping mechanisms while maintaining manufacturing precision.
3Manufacturing precision
If individual profiles are welded sequentially, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but productivity decreases due to repeated clamping and welding operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple welding operations into a single continuous process by using the overlapping leg configuration to pre-align all profiles. This allows the welding spindle to track along the longitudinal outer edge profile continuously without stopping for repeated clamping and alignment operations, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision while significantly improving productivity.
4Manufacturing precision
If transverse clamping is applied to press profiles together, then manufacturing precision is improved, but the aluminum profiles are deformed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-positioning the profiles in their final aligned configuration through the overlapping leg structure before welding begins. This eliminates the need for transverse clamping forces during the welding process, thereby maintaining manufacturing precision without deforming the aluminum profiles.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies the handling and assembly of floor panels, ensuring precise fitting and reducing internal stresses and ripples, thereby facilitating quicker and more efficient manufacturing and assembly of the loading space floor.
Implementation Method 1
the welding spindle of an automated welding machine tracking the longitudinal outer edge profile of the end of the adjacent floor panel that has entered the receiving space
Implementation Method 2
the welding of the two floor panels, particularly via a friction stir welding process in a fillet weld configuration
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5
AI summary
The invention relates to a cargo floor 6 for commercial vehicles 1, in particular for refrigerated commercial vehicles, with upper floor plates 7, 7.1, 7.2, which receive the cargo, made of a light metal material, in particular of an aluminum material, which extend in the longitudinal direction of the cargo floor 6 and are welded together and are supported on a lower support layer 8. To improve this cargo floor, it is provided that at least one of the floor panels 7.1 is formed on a longitudinal outer edge with an end leg 7.3 and a receiving space 7.4 located below the leg, wherein the end leg 7.3 overlaps a longitudinal outer edge end 7.5 of an adjacent floor panel 7.2 and this overlapping longitudinal outer edge end 7.5 of the adjacent floor panel 7.2 engages in the receiving space 7.4 below the overlapping leg 7.3, wherein the receiving space 7.4 forms a tolerance compensation space (Fig. 3).