Folded Joint Box Body for Vehicle Trailers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for connecting box body elements in vehicles, such as trucks and trailers, require complex welding and additional fastening elements, making them costly and difficult to produce on an industrial scale while ensuring dimensional stability.
Innovation Solution
The use of fold connections with material recesses between the side wall and roof elements, and between the side wall and floor elements, allowing for seamless integration of connecting plates without protruding beyond the box body's surface, utilizing prefabricated connecting plates that are deformed and glued to the elements, and secured with a sealant to prevent moisture ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If welding and additional fastening elements are used to connect box body elements, then connection strength and reliability are improved, but manufacturing complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the connecting plate and the side wall element into a single integrated component. The connecting plate is formed as an extension of the side wall element's outer layer, eliminating the need for separate fastening elements and welding operations. This integration maintains connection strength while significantly reducing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the welding and additional fastening elements from the connection process, relying solely on the folded joint mechanism. By removing these complex joining methods and using only the folded connecting plate integrated with the outer layer, the solution simplifies manufacturing while maintaining adequate connection reliability.
2Ease of manufacture
If fold connections are used to simplify manufacturing, then ease of manufacture is improved, but dimensional stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting plate is preformed as an integral part of the side wall element during the foam curing process, before final assembly. This preliminary formation ensures proper geometry and positioning, allowing the folded joint to achieve both ease of manufacture and dimensional stability without requiring complex post-assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the foam filling from liquid to solid during curing, which simultaneously forms the connecting plate with precise dimensions. This parameter change (phase transition) ensures the connecting plate achieves the required structural integrity and dimensional stability while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Strength
If connecting plates are made thicker for structural strength, then connection strength is improved, but the box body height increases beyond permissible limits
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting plate is nested within the side wall element structure, formed as an extension of the outer layer rather than as a separate protruding component. This nesting allows the connecting plate to achieve necessary strength while remaining within the permissible box body height envelope, as it is integrated into the existing wall thickness rather than adding to it.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent shifts the thickness parameter of the connecting plate from the vertical dimension (which would increase box body height) to the horizontal dimension (within the wall thickness). By orienting the connecting plate's thickness along the wall thickness direction rather than protruding outward, the solution maintains connection strength without exceeding height limits.
4Ease of manufacture
If material recesses are introduced to accommodate fold connections, then ease of manufacture is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The material recess and the connecting plate are merged into a single forming operation. The recess is created in the outer layer during foam curing, and the connecting plate is simultaneously formed to fit within this recess. This combined approach ensures precise fit and alignment without requiring separate high-precision machining operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the phase change of foam from liquid to solid to create the material recess with precise dimensions. As the foam cures and expands, it naturally forms the recess geometry, leveraging the chemical-physical parameter change to achieve manufacturing precision without complex tooling or multiple processing steps.
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
This method simplifies the manufacturing process, reduces material costs, and enhances dimensional stability by allowing for the maximum utilization of the box body's height while preventing thermal bridges and moisture penetration.
Implementation Method 1
the foam filling ensures thermal insulation and sufficient strength of the sandwich composite
Implementation Method 2
The connecting plates are then crimped with their associated edge sections in such a way that a firm, form-fitting connection is produced
Implementation Method 3
secured with a sealant to prevent moisture ingress
Data Source
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AI summary
The body has joint zones over which material recesses (Md1) extend so that two chambers are formed within enclosing ends (H) of the body, where the enclosing ends form a cuboid. The chambers run along a roof element (D) and a floor element, respectively, and a side wall element (L1) has cavities (12, 13) extending over the joint zones. Connection plates (6, 7) with a region covering the side wall element lie in the cavities, where depth of each cavity is equal to minimum thickness of the connection plates.