Vehicle Partition Wall With Integral Swages
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing partition walls in light commercial vehicles, typically made from pressed sheet metal, lack sufficient strength to withstand impact from heavier cargo without additional reinforcement, which adds weight, cost, and reduces cargo area volume, and existing solutions with polycarbonate panels are not strong enough.
Innovation Solution
A partition wall with a sheet metal pressing that includes an integrally formed rigid window frame and swages, providing increased stiffness and strength by intersecting swages that manage load transfer without additional reinforcements, allowing the wall to deform without applying undue stress on the window.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If pressed sheet metal is used for the partition wall, then ease of manufacture is improved, but strength is insufficient to withstand cargo impact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by incorporating swages (localized deformations) at specific positions on the partition wall to create areas of increased stiffness and strength. These swages are strategically placed to reinforce the sheet metal pressing without requiring additional reinforcement components, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture while locally enhancing strength to withstand cargo impact forces.
2Strength
If strengthening brackets are added to reinforce the partition wall, then strength is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the reinforcement function directly into the partition wall structure by integrating swages during the pressing process. This eliminates the need for separate strengthening brackets, reducing device complexity and avoiding additional assembly steps while maintaining the required strength to restrain cargo during braking or collision.
3Reliability
If additional reinforcements are added to protect the window, then window protection is improved, but weight and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by positioning specific swages around the window frame to provide localized reinforcement. This protects the window glass from fracture during cargo impact without requiring additional reinforcement components, thereby maintaining reliability while avoiding increased weight and device complexity.
4Strength
If strengthening components are added to the partition wall, then strength is improved, but cargo area volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the reinforcement function into the existing partition wall structure through integrated swages, eliminating the need for separate strengthening components that would protrude into the cargo area. This maintains required strength while preserving maximum cargo area volume.
5Illumination intensity
If a polycarbonate panel is used instead of sheet metal, then transparency is improved, but strength is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by adding swages to the polycarbonate panel to create localized areas of increased stiffness and strength. This allows the panel to maintain transparency while the swages provide the necessary structural reinforcement to withstand cargo impact forces without requiring the panel to be thicker or more massive.
Data Source
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AI summary
Vehicle partition wall 20 has a load-bearing structure formed from a single sheet of material without added reinforcements, and comprises an integral window aperture for a window 28. Wall 20 has at least one area of relatively greater stiffness 40 and at least one area of relatively lesser stiffness arranged to control deformation of the wall 20 under load so as to substantially prevent deformation of the window aperture. Areas of increased stiffness and of reduced stiffness may co-operate so that window frame 27 may be displaced, but remain substantially undeformed. Swages 40 on at least three sides of the window frame may contribute to the management of deformation, and may direct impact load from the centre of wall 20 towards its outward edges 34. The advantage is a simple wall construction, with a window protected against damage even if the wall is deformed.