Modular Rear-Seat Bracket Design for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rear-seat assembly brackets for motor vehicles are complex to stamp, heavy, and require customized equipment for different vehicle models, necessitating a simpler and more modular solution with reduced weight.
Innovation Solution
The brackets are composed of two separate sheet metal components with different thicknesses, where the fixing plate is customized for each vehicle model and the central bracket body is modular, allowing for simplified stamping and reduced weight by eliminating the need for edge bending and enabling use across multiple models.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the bracket uses a constant thickness with bent edge to ensure sufficient contact thickness, then the contact thickness requirement is met, but the stamping complexity increases and weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is divided into two separate components: a fixing plate with constant thickness and a central bracket body with variable thickness. This segmentation allows each component to be stamped with simpler, constant-depth dies, eliminating the need for complex bent-edge stamping while ensuring sufficient contact thickness in the central bracket body.
Solution Approach 2:
The central bracket body is designed with variable thickness, having greater thickness at the contact areas with the pin and wheelhouse, and thinner sections elsewhere. This local quality variation ensures sufficient contact thickness (≥3mm) where needed for safety while reducing overall material usage and weight.
2Device complexity
If the bracket is designed as a single-piece stamped component, then the structure is simple, but the weight is high and customization is required for each vehicle model
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is segmented into a fixing plate and a central bracket body that are stamped separately and then assembled. This allows the central bracket body to be optimized with variable thickness for weight reduction, while the fixing plate maintains constant thickness for simplified stamping. The modular design also enables better adaptability across different vehicle models.
Solution Approach 2:
The thickness parameter of the bracket is changed from constant to variable in the central bracket body. This parameter change allows the bracket to have sufficient thickness at critical contact areas while being thinner in non-critical areas, thereby reducing overall weight without compromising safety or structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the bracket uses constant thickness throughout, then the stamping process is simpler, but the contact thickness with the pin is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket is segmented into two components stamped with different thickness specifications. The fixing plate is stamped with constant thickness using simple dies, while the central bracket body is stamped with variable thickness to ensure sufficient contact thickness at critical areas. This segmentation resolves the contradiction between stamping simplicity and contact thickness requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The central bracket body exhibits local quality variation with different thicknesses in different regions. Areas requiring high contact thickness (≥3mm) have greater thickness, while other areas have reduced thickness. This local optimization ensures manufacturing precision where needed while maintaining ease of manufacture through separate stamping of the fixing plate with constant thickness.
Data Source
AI summary
A rear-seat assembly, comprising a backrest, a transverse pin for articulation of the backrest, and a pair of brackets fixed by welding to respective rear wheelhouses. Each bracket comprises a fixing plate and a central bracket body, which are constituted by two separate components of sheet metal having different thicknesses and fixed together by welding. The fixing plate has front and rear surfaces contacting an inner surface portion of the wheelhouse, and the central bracket body is substantially C-shaped with a central wall and two side walls, which are bent with respect to the central wall and have respective front edges welded to the fixing plate front surface. The central wall has an opening for insertion and blocking of one end of the transverse pin having an internal edge that is not bent, with a thickness equal to the thickness of the central bracket body.