Suspended Underfloor Power Converter Chassis Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional power converters for railway vehicles face challenges in maintaining mechanical strength while reducing weight, particularly when assembling connected chassis, which requires numerous hanging lugs and complicates assembly.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates support frames that protrude from one component-housing chassis and insert into adjacent ones, providing mechanical strength and simplifying assembly by using blind rivets to secure these frames, thereby reducing weight and improving connectivity between chassis components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the chassis length is increased to accommodate more components, then the power converter can house more electrical components and wiring, but the mechanical strength of the bottom wall, sidewalls, and top wall must be increased which results in increased weight
Solution Approach 1:
The chassis is divided into multiple sub-units (bottom wall sub-unit, sidewall sub-units, partition wall sub-units, top wall sub-unit) that can be assembled together. This segmentation allows the chassis to achieve the required volume without increasing the wall thickness of each individual sub-unit, thereby maintaining mechanical strength while controlling weight.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the chassis is divided into multiple component-housing chassis connected together, then the assembly flexibility and component layout are improved, but the mechanical strength between connected chassis decreases requiring more hanging lugs
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple component-housing chassis are merged into a connected chassis structure through the integration of hanging lugs and support frames. This combining approach maintains mechanical strength at the connection points while preserving the assembly flexibility benefits of having separate component-housing units.
Solution Approach 2:
Hanging lugs are pre-formed as integral parts of the chassis sub-units during manufacturing, rather than being added separately during assembly. This preliminary action ensures that the mechanical strength requirements are built into the structure from the beginning, reducing the need for additional reinforcement at connection points.
3Strength
If more hanging lugs are installed to maintain mechanical strength between connected chassis, then the structural integrity is improved, but the assembly complexity and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Hanging lugs are pre-formed as integral parts of the chassis sub-units during manufacturing, rather than being added separately during assembly. This preliminary action ensures that the mechanical strength requirements are built into the structure from the beginning, reducing the need for additional reinforcement at connection points.
Data Source
AI summary
A power converter to be mounted to a mounting portion of a host in a suspended manner includes a plurality of component-housing chassis configured to be connected together parallel to the mounting portion, the plurality of component-housing chassis each containing parts for a power converter so that the plurality of component-housing chassis collectively constitute the power converter for the host, wherein at least one of the plurality of component-housing chassis has a support frame, the support frame protruding out so as to extend into at least an adjacent one of the component-housing chassis, wherein the at least adjacent one of the component-housing chassis has an insertion hole for inserting the support frame, and wherein the support frame is configured to be inserted into the insertion hole in the adjacent component-housing chassis and fixed to the adjacent component-housing chassis.