Cylinder Head Cover Segmented Bridge Design

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cylinder head covers face challenges in achieving high stability for mounting additional components while simplifying recycling and maintaining manufacturability, particularly due to the complexity of composite material mixes that complicate recycling.

Innovation Solution

A cylinder head cover design featuring a separate cover body and retaining bridge, where the cover body provides sealing and the retaining bridge is optimized for additional functions, allowing direct force transmission to the cylinder head without stressing the cover body, and both components can be made of the same material for easier separation and recycling.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If a composite construction with skeleton and enveloping structure is used, then pressure stability and load-bearing capacity are improved, but recycling difficulty increases due to material separation requirements

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressure stabilityVSAvoidrecycling difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The cylinder head cover is divided into two separate components: a cover body for sealing and a retaining bridge for mounting additional components. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function and made from the same recyclable material, eliminating the recycling difficulties associated with composite constructions while maintaining the required pressure stability through the retaining bridge's structural design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies composite materials by combining the cover body and retaining bridge into a unified structure where both parts are made from the same plastic material (such as polyamide or polypropylene), enabling them to be processed together and recycled together, thus achieving both structural integrity and recyclability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

2Stability of the object's composition

If the retaining bridge is integrated into the cover body, then structural stability is improved, but manufacturing complexity and assembly difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidassembly complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The retaining bridge is designed as a separate component from the cover body, allowing independent manufacturing and optimization of each part. The retaining bridge features its own attachment points to the cylinder head, enabling modular assembly that simplifies manufacturing while maintaining structural stability through proper mechanical connection design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The cover body and retaining bridge are merged into a functional unit where the retaining bridge overlaps the cover body to provide mounting functionality. This merging allows the two components to work together as an integrated system while remaining separable for manufacturing and recycling purposes

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Adaptability or versatility

If the cover body is used for mounting additional components, then functionality is improved, but pressure stability deteriorates due to stress on the sealing structure

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemounting functionalityVSAvoidpressure stability
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The mounting function is extracted from the cover body and assigned to a separate retaining bridge component. This extraction allows the cover body to focus exclusively on sealing and pressure containment, while the retaining bridge handles the mechanical loads from mounted components through its own attachment mechanism to the cylinder head

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The retaining bridge extends beyond the cover body in a spatial dimension, providing mounting points that are positioned to optimize both functionality and structural support. This dimensional extension allows forces from mounted components to be directed to the cylinder head rather than through the cover body

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP2994631B1Cylinder head cover
Publication Date: 2020.06.17 MAHLE INT GMBH
  • EP2994631B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2994631B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2994631B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a cylinder head cover (1) for a cylinder head (2) of a piston engine (3), having a cover body (5) for mounting on the cylinder head (2), having an outer cover seal (9) for sealing the cover body (5) with respect to the cylinder head (2), which cover seal (9) completely runs around along an outer edge (10) of the cover body (5), having a securing bridge (6) for mounting on the cylinder head (2), which securing bridge (6) engages over the cover body (5) on an outer side (13) along a cover body section (14) from a first longitudinal side edge (15) of the cover body (5) to a second longitudinal side edge (16) lying opposite.