Automobile Elastic Hinge Conical Fitting Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of motor vehicle shock absorber joints is lengthy and prone to errors due to blind screwing and potential sliding or movement of sleeves, making it difficult and unsafe.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a fixing portion with a sleeve having one end secured and a free end with a longitudinal passage, where the inner sleeve features conical fittings or reentrant truncated cones, facilitating secure and directional assembly by preventing translation and indicating the assembly direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a screw and nut are used to fix the inner sleeve to the fixing portion, then the joint can be securely fastened, but the assembly operation becomes blind, lengthy, and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the traditional screw-nut mechanical fastening system with a conical fitting mechanism. The inner sleeve's conical end fits into a corresponding conical recess in the fixing portion, creating a self-aligning, tool-free connection that eliminates blind screwing operations while maintaining secure fastening through friction and geometric interlocking.
Solution Approach 2:
The conical fitting design enables the joint to self-align and self-secure during assembly. The converging conical surfaces automatically guide the inner sleeve into the correct position and orientation, allowing the assembly to service itself without requiring external tools or complex fastening operations, thereby simplifying the assembly process while ensuring reliable connection.
2Reliability
If a traditional screw fixation is used, then the joint can be secured, but the sleeve risks sliding along the screw or moving in directions perpendicular to the screw axis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs asymmetric conical surfaces where the inner sleeve's conical end matches the conical recess in the fixing portion. This asymmetric geometry provides directional stability by allowing insertion in one direction while preventing movement in perpendicular directions through the wedge-shaped contact surfaces, eliminating the sliding and shear movement risks associated with cylindrical screw fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The conical surfaces provide curved, tapered contact areas that distribute loads more evenly and prevent linear sliding. The converging geometry of the cones creates a self-centering effect that maintains stable positioning, preventing the sleeve from moving perpendicular to the axis while securing the joint reliably through the curved contact interface.
3Productivity
If the assembly process is simplified, then assembly time is reduced, but assembly safety and precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The conical fitting geometry is pre-configured during manufacturing with precise angles and dimensions. This preliminary action ensures that during assembly, the components self-align and engage correctly without requiring complex alignment procedures or multiple adjustment steps, thereby maintaining assembly safety and precision while significantly reducing assembly time.
Solution Approach 2:
By replacing the complex screw-nut fastening system with a simple conical insertion mechanism, the patent achieves both simplified assembly (higher productivity) and maintained reliability. The conical geometry inherently provides alignment guidance and secure engagement, ensuring assembly safety is not compromised despite the simplification of the fastening mechanism.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The invention relates to an elastic suspension hinge for an automobile, to be fastened to a fastening portion of the structure of an automobile via a clamping means comprising a fastening element (5), said hinge being of the type that comprises an inner sleeve (21). According to the invention, at least one of the ends (26, 27) of said inner sleeve (21) is capable of engaging by conical fitting with the free end (15) of a bushing (1) rigidly connected to said fastening portion of said structure and having a longitudinal passage (11).