Modular Vehicle Floor Assembly with Center Tunnel
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of vehicle series and variants leads to significant costs in designing, developing, and manufacturing distinct vehicle bodies, as existing solutions do not efficiently manage the variability in drive concepts and tunnel structures across different variants.
Innovation Solution
A modular underbody system featuring a multi-variant front-end and rear module connected via a floor arrangement with a center tunnel, allowing for identical design of these modules across variants while varying the floor arrangement to accommodate different construction variants, reducing production costs through shared components and adjustable dimensions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If distinct vehicle bodies are designed and manufactured for each vehicle series and variant, then each variant can have optimized performance for its specific drive concept, but the costs for designing, developing, and manufacturing increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle body is divided into modular segments: a common base body structure and variant-specific modules (such as different tunnel structures for different drive concepts). This segmentation allows the base body to be manufactured once and reused across multiple variants, while only the specific modules need to be produced in different configurations, significantly reducing overall manufacturing costs while maintaining adaptability to different drive concepts
Solution Approach 2:
The base body structure is designed with universal characteristics that can accommodate multiple drive concepts and vehicle variants. By creating a platform that serves multiple functions and can be adapted through module substitution, the same base structure supports different tunnel configurations, engine placements, and drivetrain arrangements, eliminating the need to design completely separate bodies for each variant
2Ease of manufacture
If a modular system combines different main floor modules with identical front and rear end modules, then costs are reduced through component sharing, but the complexity of coordinating module interfaces and ensuring structural integrity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The module interfaces are designed with standardized connection points and attachment mechanisms at specific locations, while the rest of the modules can vary in design. This localized standardization at critical interface points ensures consistent structural integrity and simplifies assembly coordination, while allowing flexibility in the non-critical portions of each module
Solution Approach 2:
The front and rear end modules are designed and standardized in advance as universal components that can interface with various main floor module configurations. By pre-defining the interface specifications and connection protocols for these end modules, the system reduces coordination complexity during assembly, as the standardized interfaces automatically ensure proper alignment and structural integrity across different variant combinations
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2a~2b
Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The base assemblies have a rear drive unit. A front module (10) and a rear module (12) are connected with each other by base assembly. The base assembly forms main bases (34,34') of a passenger car body. The main base is formed in single piece by a main base module (30) formed. An independent claim is also included for a method for manufacturing a base assembly for a multiple variants of design of a passenger car body.