Vehicle Grounding Braid Spring Structure for Twist and Corrosion Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing grounding devices in vehicles, typically based on arbitrarily shaped braids, face issues with wear, tear, corrosion, and mechanical stress, leading to reduced lifetime and compromised electromagnetic compatibility.
Innovation Solution
A grounding device featuring a flat braided wire assembly configured as a spring element with elastic expansion and compression capabilities, combined with a protective coating and sacrificial anode, to enhance mechanical resistance and environmental protection, ensuring a stable and efficient low-impedance current path between vehicle components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If arbitrarily shaped braids are used for grounding, then the device can be manufactured easily, but the lifetime is reduced due to wear, tear, rupture and corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transforming the static braid structure into a dynamic spring element that can adapt to mechanical loads. The spring element is designed to be elastically expandable and compressible in at least two dimensions, allowing it to absorb mechanical stress without permanent deformation. This dynamic capability prevents wear, tear, and rupture while maintaining electrical conductivity, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and extended lifetime.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the grounding device by forming the conducting means as a spring element with specific elastic properties. The spring constant, dimensional ratios, and material composition are optimized to provide both mechanical durability and electrical performance. This parameter transformation enables the grounding device to resist mechanical loads while maintaining manufacturability, addressing the lifetime versus ease of manufacture contradiction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the conducting means is made flexible to accommodate movement, then the adaptability is improved, but the resistance to mechanical loads deteriorates due to twisting and looping
Solution Approach 1:
The spring element provides controlled flexibility through its elastic properties, allowing adaptation to movement while maintaining structural integrity. The dynamic design enables the conducting means to flex within defined parameters without twisting or looping, as the spring geometry distributes mechanical stresses uniformly across the structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element utilizes curved geometries and three-dimensional configurations to accommodate movement in multiple directions. The curved spring structure allows elastic expansion and compression in at least two dimensions, providing adaptability while preventing the twisting and looping that would occur in flat or linear configurations under mechanical loads.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the spring element is designed to be rigid for stability, then the stability is improved, but the elastic expansion and compression capability is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The spring element's parameters are precisely engineered to achieve an optimal balance between stability and elasticity. The wire diameter, coil density, spring constant, and dimensional ratios are selected to provide sufficient rigidity for stable electrical connection while maintaining adequate elastic expansion and compression capability in at least two dimensions to accommodate vehicle component movements.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring element is designed with dynamic characteristics that allow it to maintain stable electrical contact while adapting to mechanical movements. The elastic properties enable the structure to absorb and release mechanical energy, providing both stability during operation and adaptability during movement cycles.
4Duration of action of moving object
If the flat braid wire assembly is protected from mechanical loads, then the lifetime is prolonged, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the conducting means and the protective spring element into a single integrated structure. The flat braid wire assembly is formed as or integrated with the spring element, combining the electrical conduction function with the mechanical protection function. This integration eliminates the need for separate protective components, reducing overall device complexity while prolonging lifetime by preventing mechanical damage to the conducting means.
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 solution significantly prolongs the lifespan of the grounding device by preventing twisting and corrosion, maintaining high electromagnetic compatibility and reducing servicing costs, while allowing for efficient high and low-frequency current conduction.
Implementation Method 1
The conducting means is formed at least partly as a spring element configured to provide an elastic expansion and/or an elastic compression in at least two dimensions
Implementation Method 2
The conducting means comprises at least one flat braided wire assembly configured to conduct high frequency current, particularly surface currents
Implementation Method 3
A use of a grounding device for a vehicle is also disclosed
Data Source
AI summary
A grounding device for a vehicle can comprise a conducting means and two contact elements, wherein the conducting means comprises at least one flat braided wire assembly configured to conduct high frequency currents, wherein a first contact element of the two contact elements is arranged at a first axial end of the conducting means and a second contact element of the two contact elements is arranged at a second axial end of the conducting means, wherein the first contact element is further configured to be attached to a first component of the vehicle, and the second contact element is further configured to be attached to a second component of the vehicle, and wherein the conducting means is formed at least partly as a spring element, configured to provide an elastic expansion or an elastic compression in at least two dimensions.