Motor Vehicle Towing Eye Vertical Mounting Accessibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicles with towing eyes often require removal of paneling for access, making them inconvenient and difficult to handle during assembly and disassembly.
Innovation Solution
A motor vehicle design featuring a towing eye mounted on a lower support structure with an internal thread receptacle, allowing direct accessibility and easy handling, where the towing eye's longitudinal axis is vertically or obliquely downwards, ensuring it protrudes below the front paneling to avoid contact with towing means and maintains sufficient distance from adjacent wheels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the towing eye is mounted on the upper support structure or integrated into the front paneling, then it provides structural integration, but it becomes inaccessible without removing paneling and difficult to handle during assembly and disassembly
Solution Approach 1:
The towing eye is extracted from the conventional upper support structure or front paneling integration and relocated to the lower support structure. This extraction makes the towing eye directly accessible without requiring removal of paneling, while the threaded connection provides simple assembly and disassembly handling
Solution Approach 2:
The towing eye is positioned in the vertical dimension by extending downward from the lower support structure. The longitudinal axis is arranged vertically or at an angle obliquely downwards, placing the free end below the front paneling level. This dimensional change provides direct accessibility from below while maintaining structural integration through the lower support structure
2Ease of operation
If the towing eye is positioned horizontally forward, then it aligns with the front structure end face, but it requires paneling removal for access and is not directly accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The towing eye is extracted from hidden positions within paneling or upper structures and relocated to the lower support structure where it protrudes below the front paneling. This makes it directly accessible without time-consuming paneling removal
Solution Approach 2:
The towing eye is pre-positioned on the lower support structure with its longitudinal axis oriented vertically or obliquely downwards during vehicle assembly. This preliminary positioning ensures direct accessibility is built into the design, eliminating the need for subsequent paneling removal actions
3Ease of operation
If the towing eye is mounted on the lower support structure with vertical or oblique downward orientation, then it provides direct accessibility and easy handling, but it requires sufficient clearance from adjacent wheels and vehicle structure
Solution Approach 1:
The towing eye utilizes the vertical dimension by extending downward from the lower support structure. The free end protrudes below the front paneling, creating accessibility from the lower region away from wheel arches and other horizontal obstructions. This vertical positioning resolves clearance conflicts with adjacent wheels
Solution Approach 2:
The towing eye is positioned at a specific location on the lower support structure where sufficient clearance from adjacent wheels and vehicle structure is available. The threaded connection to the lower support structure provides localized mounting with appropriate clearances, maintaining ease of operation without interfering with wheel movement or other vehicle components
Data Source
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AI summary
A motor vehicle in which a towing lug is fastened to a lower supporting structure (front axle support) and points forward in the direction of an end face of a front-end assembly of the motor vehicle in the horizontal direction is already known from DE 41 04 671 AI. The aim of the invention is to provide a motor vehicle having a towing lug at a front end of the motor vehicle, said towing lug being directly accessible. Said aim is achieved in that a longitudinal axis (30) of the towing lug (25) is arranged substantially vertical or downward at an angle, such that a free end (25a) of the towing lug (25), at which a lug section (28) of the towing lug (25) is formed, points downward in the direction of a roadway.