Driveline Housing Segmented Web Structure Torque Load
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle driveline housings are heavy and cumbersome, requiring large cast metal structures to withstand torque loads, which complicates mounting and support of driveline components while also impacting fuel efficiency and packaging constraints.
Innovation Solution
A housing design featuring a central portion with radially extending support walls and a mounting body with circumferentially spaced openings, allowing for lighter construction and improved mounting of driveline components, including a torque tube, while maintaining structural integrity through strategically placed thicker sections and retention features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If large cast metal structures are used to withstand torque loads, then structural strength is improved, but weight increases and fuel efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into multiple web members (first web member, second web member, third web member, fourth web member) that are spaced apart to form a lattice-like structure. This segmentation allows the housing to maintain structural strength while reducing material usage and weight compared to a solid cast metal structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The web members include thicker portions at specific locations (such as at the openings for receiving driveline shafts and at connection points) to provide localized strength where torque loads are applied, while other portions of the web members can be thinner to reduce overall weight.
2Strength
If large cast metal structures are used to withstand torque loads, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into multiple web members that can be manufactured separately and then assembled together. This segmentation simplifies the manufacturing process compared to producing a single large cast metal structure, and the modular design facilitates easier assembly and maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple web members are combined to form the complete housing structure. The web members work together as a unified structure to withstand torque loads, distributing the mechanical stresses across multiple components rather than requiring a single complex piece.
3Strength
If larger housing structures are used to support driveline components, then structural integrity is improved, but packaging constraints worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The use of spaced-apart web members creates a lattice structure that provides structural integrity with less material than a solid housing. This segmentation allows the housing to maintain strength while occupying less volume and leaving more space for other driveline components.
Solution Approach 2:
The web members can be designed as thin-walled structures that provide sufficient structural integrity for withstanding torque loads while minimizing the volume of material used. The thin-walled design reduces the overall housing volume compared to traditional thick-walled cast metal structures.
Data Source
AI summary
A driveline unit housing includes a body defining an interior, a central portion, and a plurality of openings each adapted to receive a shaft. A mounting body has a mounting surface defining one of the openings, the mounting surface includes a plurality of mounting holes and has a peripheral length greater than that of the central portion. Support walls extend between the central portion and mounting body, and extend axially relative to an axis of rotation of a shaft received through the opening defined by the mounting surface, and at least a majority of the support walls extend radially and a plane through and parallel to each such support wall intersects an axis of the mounting holes and the axis of rotation. Spaces defined between the support walls span a majority of a circumference of an imaginary circle that intersects each support wall.