Modular Lock Holder Shackle Design for Manufacturing Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lock holders for motor vehicle locking systems are complicated and expensive to manufacture due to their one-piece structure, requiring different tools and molds for various designs, which limits production efficiency and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular lock holder design featuring a U-shaped shackle with a stop connecting its legs, a mounting portion with varying cross-sections, and optional stiffening struts and impact protection, allowing for production using a single tool and ensuring high stiffness and mechanical strength without component failure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a one-piece lock holder structure is used, then manufacturing precision and structural integrity are improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase due to requiring different tools and molds for various designs
Solution Approach 1:
The lock holder is divided into two separate components: a carrier plate and a shackle. The shackle is further segmented into legs and a connecting web. This segmentation allows each component to be manufactured independently using the same cutting tool, eliminating the need for different molds while maintaining structural integrity through precise assembly holes and mounting portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier plate is designed as a universal base component with standardized mounting holes that can accommodate different shackle configurations. The shackle itself is designed with universal mounting portions that can be attached to the carrier plate in various orientations, allowing a single carrier plate design to serve multiple lock holder configurations.
2Strength
If the stop has a larger cross sectional area, then strength and resistance to deformation are improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shackle is designed with varying cross-sectional areas in different regions. The stop has a larger cross-sectional area to withstand high loads and prevent deformation, while the legs and connecting web have optimized smaller cross-sections where less strength is required. This local quality variation maintains strength where needed while minimizing weight overall.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the entire shackle uniformly thick and heavy, the design applies material only where necessary - the stop has excessive cross-sectional area for strength, while other portions use minimal material sufficient for their function, achieving weight optimization without compromising critical strength areas.
3Stability of the object's composition
If stiffening struts are added, then structural stiffness is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The stiffening struts are merged with the shackle legs and connecting web to form an integrated one-piece shackle component. This is achieved by designing the struts as continuous extensions of the leg geometry, allowing the entire shackle including stiffening elements to be cut from a single metal plate in one operation, avoiding additional assembly steps while maintaining structural stiffness.
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 modular design enables the production of multiple lock holder variants with one tool, providing high stiffness and mechanical strength, preventing deformation under high loads and allowing for weight optimization and flexible geometry, while ensuring reliable vehicle door closure and impact protection.
Implementation Method 1
The shackle and the stop are cut from the metal plate using a cutting method, such as, for example, gas cutting, plasma cutting, thin cutting or laser cutting
Implementation Method 2
The shackle and the stop are cut from the metal plate using a cutting method, such as, for example, gas cutting, plasma cutting, thin cutting or laser cutting
Implementation Method 3
The shackle and the stop are cut from the metal plate using a cutting method, such as, for example, gas cutting, plasma cutting, thin cutting or laser cutting
Implementation Method 4
subsequently the circular cross section is e.g. shaped by a cold forming process, such as, for example, a pressing process
Data Source
AI summary
A lock holder for a motor vehicle lock, wherein the lock holder comprises of a carrier plate and a shackle and the shackle has a U-shaped geometry with two legs and a connecting web, wherein the shackle has different cross sections and at least a part of a leg has a circular cross section in which a part of a rotary latch can engage, wherein a stop is arranged at the open end of the shackle, the stop connecting the two legs of the shackle with each other.