Flexible Wheel Carrier for Lateral Stiffness and Brake Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wheel carrier designs, such as twist beam rear suspensions, face issues with low lateral stiffness, lateral force oversteer, brake force oversteer, and unfavorable geometry, leading to increased costs and weight due to expensive components like ball joints and bushings, which affect handling and ride comfort.
Innovation Solution
A wheel carrier design featuring a supporting plate and a bearing plate with a flexible section around the virtual king-pin axis, where the supporting plate can bend during cornering and braking, and the bearing plate sections have varying stiffness and apertures to achieve desired understeer and improved brake stability, manufactured from sheet metal or forged metal to reduce costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If expensive components like ball joints and bushings are used to hold knuckle in preferred geometry, then steering properties and handling are improved, but manufacturing costs and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates expensive components like ball joints and bushings from the wheel carrier design. Instead of using these traditional mechanical elements to hold the knuckle in preferred geometry, the invention uses an integrated flexible supporting plate with elastic articulations that inherently maintain the steering angle through their structural design, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while preserving steering properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple functions into the flexible supporting plate structure. The supporting plate simultaneously provides structural support, enables elastic articulation for steering angle control, and maintains the knuckle geometry without requiring separate ball joints and bushings. This integration reduces component count and manufacturing complexity while achieving the desired steering properties
2Reliability
If ball joints and bushings are used to hold knuckle in preferred geometry, then steering properties are improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes heavy components like ball joints and bushings from the wheel carrier assembly. The steering function is achieved through the flexible supporting plate's elastic articulations, which are significantly lighter than traditional joint mechanisms, thereby reducing overall weight while maintaining steering properties
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the functions of support and steering control into the flexible supporting plate structure. By integrating the knuckle holding function into the plate's elastic deformation characteristics rather than using separate heavy joint components, the design achieves weight reduction while preserving steering properties
3Strength
If rigid structure is used for wheel carrier, then lateral stiffness is improved, but lateral force oversteer and brake force oversteer occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a rigid wheel carrier structure to a dynamic flexible supporting plate that can elastically deform. The plate's flexibility allows it to adapt to lateral forces and braking forces through controlled deformation, eliminating oversteer issues while maintaining sufficient lateral stiffness for vehicle stability. The elastic articulations provide the necessary compliance to handle dynamic loading conditions
4Reliability
If flexible supporting plate is used to enable bending around virtual king-pin axis, then lateral force understeer and brake force understeer are achieved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of lateral force management and brake force management into the single flexible supporting plate structure. The plate's elastic articulations inherently provide both understeer characteristics through its geometric design and material properties, eliminating the need for separate mechanisms and reducing overall structural complexity despite the enhanced handling properties
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 enhances lateral stiffness, handling, and brake stability while reducing manufacturing costs and weight, providing improved ride comfort and steering properties compared to prior art.
Implementation Method 1
a flexible supporting section is provided in an area where the supporting plate coincide with a 'virtual king-pin axis' of the wheel carrier. The properties of the supporting plate are such that the supporting plate may bend around the virtual 'king-pin axis' in the area of the flexible supporting section when a lateral cornering force and a brake force in a contact patch with ground is applied to the wheel carrier
Implementation Method 2
The bearing plate comprises a first bearing plate section and a second bearing plate section with such properties that the second bearing plate section is allowed to deflect in a lateral direction of the vehicle, when a lateral cornering force or a brake force is applied to a tyre at contact patch with ground
Data Source
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AI summary
A wheel carrier mounted on a rear axle body of a vehicle, which wheel carrier comprises a supporting plate and a bearing plate. The supporting plate coincide with a "virtual king-pin axis" and the properties of the supporting plate are such that the supporting plate may bend around the "virtual king-pin axis" in the area of a flexible supporting section. The bearing plate comprises a section with such properties that the section is allowed to deflect in a lateral direction of the vehicle. When a lateral force Flateral and a brake force Fbrake is applied to the wheel carrier, e.g. during cornering and braking, such that the properties of the supporting plate and the bearing plate create lateral force under steer and brake force under steer