Rollover Protection Receiving Unit with Localized Reinforcement

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Solution Overview

Problem

Rollover protection systems for motor vehicles face a challenge in balancing weight reduction and cost-effectiveness while maintaining sufficient stability to transmit forces during a rollover event, as existing designs often require a stable receiving unit that increases weight and cost.

Innovation Solution

The introduction of a reinforcement element arranged at the end sections of the receiving unit, which can be freely selected in design and configuration, provides localized stability enhancements, allowing for a weight-saving design that only reinforces areas subjected to higher loads, and can be easily connected or inserted into the receiving unit, ensuring reliable load transmission to the vehicle body.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the receiving unit is designed to be stable and robust to transmit forces during rollover, then the stability and reliability are improved, but the weight and manufacturing cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovestabilityVSAvoidweight
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The receiving unit is designed with non-uniform wall thickness, where the wall thickness varies along the longitudinal axis to provide localized reinforcement at the end sections that experience higher loads during rollover, while maintaining thinner walls in less critical areas to reduce overall weight

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The receiving unit combines different material properties through its variable wall thickness design, creating a composite structure that optimizes the balance between strength/stability and weight by having thicker reinforced sections at critical locations and thinner sections elsewhere

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

2Reliability

If the receiving unit is designed to be stable and robust to transmit forces during rollover, then the reliability is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovestabilityVSAvoidmanufacturing cost
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The receiving unit is designed with non-uniform wall thickness, where the wall thickness varies along the longitudinal axis to provide localized reinforcement at the end sections that experience higher loads during rollover, while maintaining thinner walls in less critical areas to reduce overall weight

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If the receiving unit is designed with uniform reinforcement throughout, then the stability is improved, but the weight increases significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
ImprovestabilityVSAvoidweight
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The receiving unit is designed with non-uniform wall thickness, where the wall thickness varies along the longitudinal axis to provide localized reinforcement at the end sections that experience higher loads during rollover, while maintaining thinner walls in less critical areas to reduce overall weight

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentEP2660106B1Rollover protection for motor vehicles
Publication Date: 2018.05.16 METALSA AUTOMOTIVE GMBH
  • EP2660106B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2660106B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2660106B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The system (1) has a receiver unit (2) that is arranged on a motor car, and a roller (3) that is moved between a storage position and an estimate portion. The roller overlaps with the receiver unit. A reinforcement element is arranged in outer side (8) and/or inner side (7) of end sections of the receiver unit. The reinforcement elements are extended over the circumference of the receiver unit, and comprise a recording unit that is connected to the receiver unit. The reinforcement element is fitted in the receiver unit.