Composite Load Floor Living Hinge With Cut-Out Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sandwich-type composite panels with living hinges require additional assembly steps and materials, leading to increased manufacturing time and cost, and are prone to hinge binding and creep under high loads, making them unsuitable for automotive applications.
Innovation Solution
A sandwich-type composite component with integrated living hinges formed by press molding, featuring elongated cut-outs that provide clearance and reduce hinge binding, allowing for pivotal movement without additional post-processing steps and using a cellular core and fiber-reinforced thermoplastic layers for enhanced strength and durability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate hinge components are added to sandwich-type composite panels, then the panels can be hinged to other panels, but the manufacturing time and cost increase due to additional assembly steps
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the hinge functionality directly into the sandwich-type composite panel by creating an integrated hinge structure during the same manufacturing process. This eliminates separate hinge components and assembly steps, resolving the contradiction between adding hinge functionality and maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge structure is prepared and formed during the initial manufacturing process of the composite panel itself, before the panel is installed or used. This preliminary integration of the hinge function eliminates subsequent assembly operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate hinge components are added to sandwich-type composite panels, then the panels can be hinged to other panels, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the hinge function with the composite panel structure, eliminating the need for separate hinge components and their associated assembly operations. This integration reduces manufacturing cost by consolidating production into a single process.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite panel structure serves multiple functions: it provides structural support and simultaneously incorporates the hinge mechanism. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional specialized hinge components.
3Ease of operation
If conventional living hinges are used in sandwich-type composite panels, then pivotal movement is enabled, but hinge binding and creep occur under high loads
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different structural characteristics to different regions of the panel: the bulk of the panel maintains its full sandwich structure for strength, while the hinge region is locally modified with a crushed core to enable flexible pivotal movement. This local differentiation allows the hinge to move freely without compromising overall structural integrity or causing binding under load.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the core material in the hinge region by crushing it, which alters the density and mechanical properties locally. This parameter change enables the hinge to flex under load without binding, while the rest of the panel maintains its original strong structure.
4Ease of operation
If the core is crushed to form a living hinge, then pivotal movement is enabled, but the structural strength is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different structural characteristics to different regions: the hinge region has a crushed core for flexibility, while the rest of the panel maintains the full-density sandwich structure for strength. This localized approach allows pivotal movement without compromising overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the panel into distinct functional zones: a hinge segment with crushed core for movement, and structural segments with intact core for strength. This segmentation allows each region to be optimized for its specific function without compromising the other.
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
The solution results in lightweight, aesthetically pleasing composite panels capable of withstanding repeated cyclic loading with reduced hinge binding, eliminating the need for separate hinge components and post-processing, thus lowering manufacturing costs and improving structural integrity.
Implementation Method 1
Elongated first and second interior portions of the component are locally crushed by the press molding to form a living hinge
Implementation Method 2
using a cellular core and fiber-reinforced thermoplastic layers for enhanced strength and durability
Data Source
AI summary
A sandwich-type, structural, composite component including at least one hingedly connected portion which pivots with reduced or eliminated hinge binding and a cargo management system and vehicle load floor utilizing the component are provided. Elongated first and second interior portions of the component are locally crushed by the press molding to form a living hinge having a pivot axis and an elongated depression, respectively. The component includes an elongated cut-out which extends completely through the component at the elongated depression to obtain a clearance between a first portion of the component hingedly connected to a second portion of the component by the living hinge. The living hinge and the clearance allow pivotal movement of the first portion between different use positions relative to the second portion with reduced or eliminated hinge binding during the pivotal movement about the pivot axis.