Parking Locking Unit With Central Piece for Stable Lightweight Actuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing locking units for automatic transmission parking locks face challenges in stability, manufacturing complexity, and weight reduction, particularly in the design of pistons and housings, which affect their dynamic properties and cost-effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A locking unit design featuring a piston partially mounted in a center piece surrounded by a housing, with an electromagnet and locking elements interacting through a latching unit formed in one piece, and a piston tube and pressure piece optimized for separate functions, using lightweight materials and simplified manufacturing processes like 3D printing or sintering, to achieve high stability and reduced mass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the piston and housing are designed as separate complex components, then the structural stability is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the piston, housing, and locking unit into a single integrally formed component. This merging eliminates the need for separate manufacturing and assembly of these parts, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining structural stability through the unified design. The integral structure ensures proper alignment and connection between components that would otherwise require precise assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrally formed piston-housing-locking unit serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a piston for fluid pressure actuation, a housing for containing the locking mechanism, and a locking unit for securing the parking brake. This multi-functionality reduces the overall number of components needed while maintaining all necessary structural and functional properties.
2Strength
If traditional manufacturing processes are used for the piston and housing, then the structural integrity is ensured, but the production cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs additive manufacturing (3D printing) to produce the integrally formed piston-housing-locking unit. This manufacturing parameter change allows for complex geometries to be created in a single process without the need for multiple machining operations, assembly steps, or specialized tooling, thereby improving production efficiency while maintaining structural integrity through controlled material deposition.
Solution Approach 2:
The integral design allows all structural features, bearing surfaces, locking mechanisms, and fluid passages to be formed during the single additive manufacturing process. This preliminary formation of all necessary features eliminates subsequent machining, assembly, and quality control steps that would otherwise be required, significantly improving production efficiency.
3Reliability
If the locking unit components are designed with high precision, then the reliability of piston locking is improved, but the manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the piston, housing, and locking unit into a single integrally formed component, the patent eliminates alignment and connection issues that would arise from assembling multiple precision parts. The integral structure ensures that all locking surfaces, bearing surfaces, and fluid passages are precisely positioned relative to each other by definition, as they are formed as one piece, thereby maintaining high locking reliability while reducing design complexity.
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 solution provides a stable, lightweight, and cost-effective locking unit with improved dynamic properties, enabling efficient movement locking and unlocking of the piston, while reducing production complexity and material usage.
Implementation Method 1
the locking unit has an electromagnet and at least one locking element and the locking element interacts with the armature or the armature rod of the electromagnet
Data Source
Figure 1a
Figure 1b
Figure 2a
AI summary
The invention relates to a locking unit, in particular for the parking lock of an automatic transmission, for locking the movement of a piston that can be moved by a drive, in particular one that can be subjected to pressure or hydraulic pressure, wherein the piston is at least partially mounted in a central piece that is at least partially surrounded by a housing.