Vehicle Crash Box With Integrated Flange Pipe Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing crash box structures for vehicles increase cost and weight due to a high number of parts and have limited crash energy absorption efficiency, leading to excessive deformation of the vehicle body during crashes.
Innovation Solution
A crash box design featuring a first and second plate with cylindrical flanges and a pipe, where the flanges are matched and welded to form an impact absorbing device that deforms upon collision, reducing the number of parts and enhancing energy absorption through controlled welding and embossing, allowing for efficient shear deformation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple parts (foam members, squared axis pipes) are used to increase crash energy absorption, then absorption efficiency is improved, but cost and weight are increased due to increased number of parts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components (flanges and pipes) into an integrated molding structure where the flange is formed as an integral part of the pipe through a single molding process. This eliminates the need for separate foam members and multiple squared axis pipes, reducing the number of parts while maintaining crash energy absorption efficiency through the controlled deformation of the integrated structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, absorbs crash energy through controlled deformation, and eliminates the need for separate foam members. The flange-integrated pipe design performs both connection and energy absorption functions in a single component, reducing overall system complexity.
2Reliability
If multiple squared axis pipes are coupled to absorb crash energy, then absorption efficiency is improved, but weight is increased
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple squared axis pipes are merged into a single circular pipe structure with an integrated flange. This unification reduces the total weight by eliminating redundant materials and connections while maintaining equivalent or superior crash energy absorption through the optimized circular geometry and controlled deformation characteristics.
3Reliability
If foam members are used to fill the crash box, then crash energy absorption is improved, but cost and weight are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The foam member is extracted and removed from the crash box design entirely. Instead of using foam filling, the patent achieves crash energy absorption through the controlled deformation of the flange-integrated pipe structure itself, eliminating the need for separate foam components and simplifying the overall design.
Solution Approach 2:
The pipe structure serves its own energy absorption function through controlled deformation during crash, eliminating the need for separate foam members. The flange-integrated pipe design absorbs crash energy through its own structural deformation, making the system self-sufficient without additional components.
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 design effectively absorbs crash energy by minimizing the number of parts, reducing weight and cost, while significantly improving energy absorption performance through controlled deformation of the flanges and pipe, thereby enhancing vehicle safety.
Implementation Method 1
the first flange and the pipe matched with each other through the impact absorbing device are shear-deformed at a time of crash by pressing an overlapping portion of the first flange and one end of the pipe to deform shapes of a pressed portion of the first flange and the pipe into shapes matched with each other
Implementation Method 2
The first flange, the second flange, and the pipe each may have a section in a circular shape or an oval shape
Data Source
AI summary
A crash box for a vehicle may include a first plate having a middle end formed with a cylindrical first flange protruding in one direction, a second plate having a middle end formed with a cylindrical second flange protruding in another direction, a pipe having each of both ends coupled to the corresponding first and second flanges respectively, and an impact absorbing device configured to absorb an impact while the first flange and the pipe matched with each other through the impact absorbing device may be shear-deformed at a time of crash by pressing an overlapping portion of the first flange and one end of the pipe to deform shapes of a pressed portion of the first flange and the pipe into shapes matched with each other.