Flat Wire Protection Pipe for Vehicle Underfloor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wire protection pipes with a perfect circular cross-section are prone to contacting the ground earlier than reinforcement members under a vehicle body, leading to potential damage and inadequate protection of wires.
Innovation Solution
A wire protection pipe with a flat portion in its cross-section, featuring a recess on one side, which reduces the vertical height and includes further recessed stepped recesses for clamp attachment, allowing the pipe to be bent without collapsing and maintaining its shape, thus avoiding contact with the ground.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a wire protection pipe with a perfect circular cross-section is used, then the pipe has sufficient structural strength and ease of manufacture, but the vertical height is large causing contact with the ground earlier than reinforcement members
Solution Approach 1:
The wire protection pipe employs an asymmetric cross-sectional shape with a flat portion and a curved portion, where the flat portion has a smaller vertical height than a perfect circle. This asymmetric design allows the pipe to maintain structural integrity while reducing the vertical dimension that causes contact with the ground, directly resolving the contradiction between shape and reliability
2Reliability
If the vertical height of the wire protection pipe is reduced to avoid ground contact, then the reliability improves, but the structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The pipe design applies local quality by concentrating the load-bearing function in the curved portion of the cross-section while the flat portion provides the reduced height profile. The curved portion maintains sufficient structural strength to support the pipe against deformation, while the flat portion ensures the overall vertical height is reduced to avoid ground contact, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and strength
3Reliability
If a flat portion is provided in the wire protection pipe to reduce height, then the risk of ground contact is reduced, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process employs parameter changes by controlling the forming conditions to create the flat portion through controlled flattening of the pipe cross-section. By adjusting parameters such as flattening force, duration, and temperature, the pipe can be efficiently formed with the desired flat profile without requiring complex multi-step manufacturing processes, thus resolving the contradiction between reliability and ease of manufacture
Data Source
AI summary
A wire protection pipe through which a wire is to be passed and that is configured to be attached to a vehicle body, the wire protection pipe including: an underfloor configured to be arranged under a floor of the vehicle body; and a flat portion that is provided in the underfloor, the flat portion having a flat shape in a cross section that intersects an axial direction, as a result of a recess being provided on an upper side or a lower side in a state of the under floor being attached to the vehicle body.