Slanting Connecting Bracket for Suspension Tower Vertical Displacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional front vehicle-body structures fail to adequately restrain the vertical displacement of the suspension tower, which can compromise vehicle stability and maneuverability, especially under vertical loads during travel.
Innovation Solution
A front vehicle-body structure featuring a connecting bracket that slants rearward and upward, connecting the suspension tower to the cowl panel, with a front-end flange joined to the suspension tower's slant portion and a rear-end flange rising via a bending portion and attached to the cowl panel's vertical wall, providing compressive support and increased torsional rigidity through multiple joint points and protrusions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a conventional connecting bracket is joined to the top plate of the cowl box and upper wall of the wheel apron, then the bending rigidity and torsional rigidity of the wheel apron are ensured, but the vertical displacement of the top of the suspension tower cannot be restrained sufficiently
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting bracket changes its orientation from a horizontal configuration to a slanting configuration that extends in the vertical direction. By slanting rearward and upward from the wheel apron to the cowl panel, the bracket engages the vertical load path, effectively restraining vertical displacement of the suspension tower while maintaining structural rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting bracket's geometric parameters are optimized by slanting it rearward and upward at specific angles. This parameter change allows the bracket to simultaneously provide rigidity support and vertical displacement restraint by aligning its structural orientation with the load direction.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the open cowl structure is applied to use surroundings of the cowl panel as an air box, then air guiding function is improved, but the support rigidity of the joint portion for the cowl panel becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting bracket merges the structural support function with the air box configuration by integrating the joint portion design. The bracket's flange with bending portion is directly joined to the cowl panel, combining the air guiding function with sufficient structural support at the joint portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint portion employs composite construction combining the connecting bracket, flange, and cowl panel into an integrated structure. This composite approach provides both the air box functionality and the necessary support rigidity at the joint portion.
3Device complexity
If only a joint force of the brace to the top plate of the cowl box is used, then the structure is simple, but the rigidity of both the brace and the cowl member cannot be utilized sufficiently for vertical-displacement restraint
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting bracket extends into the vertical dimension by slanting rearward and upward, transforming from a simple horizontal brace to a three-dimensional structural element. This dimensional change enables the bracket to engage vertical loads effectively while maintaining relative structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket's slanting angle and geometric parameters are optimized to maximize the utilization of both the bracket's and cowl member's rigidity. By changing the orientation parameters, the structure achieves efficient vertical displacement restraint without excessive complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
There are provided a cowl panel provided above a dash panel partitioning an engine room from a vehicle compartment and extending in a vehicle width direction, a suspension tower protruding toward an inside of the engine room and supporting a front suspension, and a connecting bracket connecting the suspension tower and the cowl panel and configured to slant rearward and upward, wherein the connecting bracket comprises a front-end flange portion and a rear-end flange portion, the front-end flange portion is joined to a slant portion formed at a rear portion of a top of the suspension tower which is configured to slant rearward and downward, and the rear-end flange portion is configured to rise upward via a bending portion and joined to a vertical wall portion of the cowl panel.