Sliding Console Rigid Chassis Design for Mass Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sliding vehicle consoles struggle to meet the growing requirements of automobile builders for improved vibrational behavior and impact resistance without increasing the mass of the console, as they often have a significant cantilever relative to the stationary support.
Innovation Solution
The sliding console features two transversely separated moving supports and separate reinforcements, which form a rigid chassis with minimal weight, allowing for tailored material and thickness choices to meet specific requirements, and are fastened using a method that avoids heat contribution, such as clinching, to enhance rigidity and reduce mass.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the thickness of the support is increased to improve rigidity and impact resistance, then the structural strength is improved, but the mass of the support increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The support is divided into multiple separate reinforcement elements (first reinforcement, second reinforcement, third reinforcement) that are distributed along the longitudinal direction. These discrete reinforcement segments provide the necessary structural strength and rigidity without requiring a continuous thick support structure, thereby reducing the overall mass while maintaining mechanical performance.
Solution Approach 2:
Reinforcements are strategically positioned at specific locations where structural strength is most needed - particularly at the ends and intermediate positions of the support. This localized reinforcement approach provides targeted strength and impact resistance only where required, rather than uniformly increasing the thickness of the entire support structure.
2Strength
If a single thick support structure is used to meet strength requirements, then the structural integrity is improved, but the manufacturing flexibility and adaptability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple independent reinforcement elements that can be manufactured separately and then assembled. This modular approach enables flexible manufacturing processes, allows for easier adaptation to different console configurations, and simplifies production while maintaining structural integrity through the distributed reinforcement arrangement.
Data Source
AI summary
A sliding console that includes a stationary support, a moving console body, and a connecting device connecting two longitudinal guideways each having a rail and a slide. The sliding connecting device has two moving supports transversely separated from one another and at least two reinforcements separate from one another and separate from the moving supports. The reinforcements are spaced longitudinally apart from one another and fasten the moving supports to one another. The console body is fastened to the reinforcements, with each rail being fastened to one of the moving supports, and the slides being fastened to the stationary support.