Off-Road Vehicle Suspension Frame Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Off-road vehicles face challenges in lowering their center of gravity, improving suspension mounting precision, and enhancing the strength and rigidity of their suspension support structures, particularly due to the overlap of the cushion unit with the drive shaft, which complicates the attachment and positioning of suspension components.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a U-shaped frame member that supports the upper arm, lower arm, and cushion unit, allowing for offset positioning of the drive shaft and cushion unit, with the cushion unit's attachment at a lower position to reduce the vehicle's center of gravity, and simplifies the suspension structure by integrating the upper arm, lower arm, and cushion unit attachment to a single frame member, enhancing mounting precision and structural strength.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the cushion unit is disposed upward to avoid the drive shaft, then the drive shaft and cushion unit do not overlap, but the center of gravity position of the vehicle becomes higher
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the spatial conflict by changing the arrangement dimension: instead of arranging the cushion unit and drive shaft in the vertical direction (one above the other), they are arranged in the horizontal direction (side by side) along the vehicle width direction. This dimensional shift eliminates the overlap issue while maintaining a low center of gravity, as the cushion unit can be positioned at the original lower height without vertical displacement.
2Temperature
If the cushion unit attachment position is lowered to reduce center of gravity, then the center of gravity position decreases, but the mounting precision of the suspension becomes more difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the attachment functions for the upper arm, lower arm, and cushion unit into a single integrated frame member. This consolidation provides a unified reference structure that simplifies the mounting process and improves precision, as all three components are attached to the same rigid structure with clearly defined attachment positions, eliminating cumulative alignment errors that would occur with separate attachment structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support for the suspension system, defines the attachment positions for the upper arm and lower arm, and establishes the precise mounting location for the cushion unit. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the overall mounting process while maintaining precision.
3Adaptability or versatility
If separate structures are used to support the upper arm, lower arm, and cushion unit, then each component can be independently positioned, but the structural strength and rigidity of the suspension support structure decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the support structures for the upper arm, lower arm, and cushion unit into a single integrated frame member. This merging creates a rigid, unified structure that provides superior strength and rigidity compared to separate components. The integrated design ensures that all three suspension elements are supported by a common strong structure, eliminating weak points that would exist at the junctions of multiple separate components.
Data Source
AI summary
An off-road vehicle is provided with a body frame that supports a final drive unit and a rear suspension, the rear suspension that supports rear wheels with an upper arm and an lower arm and absorbs shock with a rear cushion unit disposed between the rear wheels and the body frame, and a drive shaft that transmits a driving force from the final drive unit to the rear wheels. The body frame that configures generally rectangular parallelepiped sides enclosing the area around the final drive unit is provided with a front rear side frame. The front rear side frame vertically extends the left and right of one side of either the front side or the back side of the final drive unit and supports the upper arm, the lower arm, and the rear cushion unit.