Rotatable Axle Connection for Commercial Vehicles
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing axle connections for commercial vehicles are complex, inflexible, and costly due to the need for multiple variants to accommodate different air spring installation heights, leading to increased manufacturing expenses.
Innovation Solution
An axle connection design featuring a mount with a longitudinal axis parallel to the axle tube, including a connection region for the trailing arm and a support section for the tail end, where the axis of rotation intersects the longitudinal axis, allowing the connection area to be symmetrically positioned relative to the plane of rotation and the support section to be offset, enabling 180° rotation for varied positioning without requiring multiple variants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple variants of axle connections are provided to accommodate different air spring installation heights, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The axle connection is designed with a rotatable support section that can assume multiple positions, allowing a single universal design to replace multiple variant-specific designs. The support section can be rotated to different angular positions to accommodate various air spring installation heights, making one axle connection suitable for multiple applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The support section is designed to be rotatable relative to the connection area, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one. This rotation capability allows the support section to adapt its position according to different installation requirements, providing flexibility without requiring multiple fixed-configuration components.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple variants of axle connections are provided to accommodate different air spring installation heights, then adaptability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By designing a single universal axle connection with a rotatable support section, the manufacturer can produce one standard component instead of maintaining inventory of multiple variant-specific components. This reduces manufacturing complexity, tooling requirements, and production costs while maintaining the ability to accommodate different installation heights through rotation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the support section is positioned symmetrically to the plane of rotation, then manufacturing simplicity is improved, but positioning flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support section is deliberately designed with asymmetric positioning relative to the plane of rotation. This asymmetric offset allows the support section to achieve different effective positions when rotated, providing positioning flexibility that would not be possible with a symmetric design. The asymmetric configuration enables the same rotational mechanism to serve both manufacturing simplicity and positioning versatility.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4a~4b
AI summary
An axle connection (20), in particular for a utility vehicle, comprising an axle tube receptacle (40) which has a longitudinal axis (L) which is oriented parallel to an axle tube (10) arrangeable thereon, at least one connecting region (60), in particular for connection to a longitudinal link (14), and a support section (80), in particular for the arrangement of a tail end (12), wherein the axle connection (20) has an axis of rotation (D) which intersects the longitudinal axis (L), and wherein the connecting region (60) is formed symmetrically with respect to a plane of rotation (E) which is spanned by the axis of rotation (D) and the longitudinal axis (L), wherein the support section (80) is offset transversely with respect to the plane of rotation at least in regions.