Sliding Collar Assembly for Lateral Adjustment Without Welding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing assembly components require sheet metal cages and welding processes, which are not feasible for components made of composite sheets, and alignment of holes in sheet metal parts is challenging, limiting the use of sliding elements.
Innovation Solution
A sliding assembly component with a collar that has an obliquely tapering cross-sectional shape, allowing lateral displacement without axial separation, and a non-circular hole in the component that complements the collar's shape, ensuring secure attachment without the need for a sheet metal cage or welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a sheet metal cage is used to house the element, then the element can be secured to the sheet metal part, but the assembly process becomes complex and welding is required, which is not feasible for composite sheets
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the sheet metal cage from the assembly, replacing it with a simplified collar inserted directly into a pre-formed hole in the sheet metal part. This removes the need for welding and complex assembly processes while maintaining secure attachment functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar is designed as a simple, inexpensive component that can be easily inserted and secured without requiring permanent attachment methods like welding. The collar serves its function securely and can be manufactured cost-effectively, replacing the more complex and expensive sheet metal cage structure.
2Reliability
If holes in sheet metal parts are precisely aligned with press-fit elements, then secure attachment is achieved, but alignment difficulty increases and manufacturing complexity rises
Solution Approach 1:
The invention uses a pre-formed hole in the sheet metal part that is larger than the collar, allowing the collar to be inserted before final positioning. This preliminary insertion action enables alignment adjustments without requiring precise pre-alignment of holes and press-fit elements, simplifying the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar is designed with lateral displacement capability within the pre-formed hole, allowing it to move dynamically during assembly to achieve proper alignment. This dynamic adjustment capability eliminates the need for precise static alignment, reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining attachment security.
3Reliability
If the collar is tightly fitted in the hole, then axial separation is prevented, but lateral displacement capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The collar-hole interface is designed with differentiated local qualities: the collar has an oblique taper that provides clearance for lateral displacement in radial directions, while the bottom of the collar features a conical shape that engages with the hole to prevent axial separation. This local differentiation of fit characteristics simultaneously achieves both lateral mobility and axial stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The collar geometry is asymmetric with respect to the hole: the outer surfaces have an oblique taper providing clearance angles for lateral movement, while the inner surfaces at the bottom have a conical shape for axial engagement. This asymmetric design enables different degrees of freedom - lateral displacement is permitted while axial separation is prevented.
4Ease of manufacture
If the collar has a circular cross-section, then manufacturing is simplified, but lateral displacement in specific directions is constrained
Solution Approach 1:
The collar is designed with a non-circular cross-section (such as square, rectangular, or polygonal) instead of a circular section. This asymmetric shape provides complementary clearance angles in multiple lateral directions, enabling greater lateral displacement freedom while still being manufacturable using standard forming processes for non-circular sections.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A component assembly is described, consisting of a component and a sliding element attached to the component. This sliding element comprises a head, a component contact surface on one end face of the head, and a collar located within and projecting from the component contact surface. The collar has a non-circular cross-sectional shape. It is inserted with clearance into a hole in the component whose cross-sectional shape is complementary to the collar's shape. The collar has outer surfaces that taper obliquely towards the aforementioned end face of the head and with respect to the element's central longitudinal axis, forming an acute angle with the axis.The edge region of the hole in the component, adjacent to the component mounting surface, extends into notches formed between the collar and the end face of the head, but does not reach the bottom of the notches, thus creating a gap that allows lateral displacement of the element relative to the component. Axial separation of the element from the component is prevented due to the material overlap between the component material and the collar within the notches. Elements and methods for manufacturing the assembled component are also claimed.