Steering Column Light Metal Alloy Iron-Based Joint
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing steering column designs face challenges in maintaining strength while keeping the thickness thin, which can lead to deformation under excessive force and increased weight when using iron alloys for enhanced strength.
Innovation Solution
A steering column design that combines a light metal alloy main portion with an iron-based alloy cylindrical member, featuring convex and concave sections for enhanced axial and circumferential engagement, along with a metal ring for improved connecting strength, allowing for a thin thickness without compromising strength or increasing weight excessively.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the thickness of the steering column is reduced to facilitate steering lock apparatus assembly, then the ease of operation is improved, but the strength and deformation resistance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The steering column is divided into a main portion made of light metal alloy and a cylindrical member made of iron-based alloy. This segmentation allows different parts to have different material properties - the main portion can be thinner for ease of assembly while the iron-based cylindrical member provides strength and deformation resistance where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The steering column combines light metal alloy and iron-based alloy in a composite structure. The light metal alloy main portion reduces overall weight and allows thinner sections for easier assembly, while the iron-based alloy cylindrical member provides enhanced strength and deformation resistance, resolving the contradiction between thinness and strength.
2Strength
If iron alloy is used to enhance strength, then the strength is improved, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the entire steering column from heavy iron alloy, the iron-based alloy is applied locally only to the cylindrical member where strength is most needed. The main portion uses lighter metal alloy, reducing overall weight while maintaining necessary strength at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure combines heavy iron-based alloy only where strength is critical (cylindrical member) with lighter metal alloy for the main portion. This localized use of heavy material provides enhanced strength without unnecessarily increasing the entire steering column's weight.
3Device complexity
If the thickness is made thin for steering lock apparatus, then the device complexity is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the steering column into a main portion and a cylindrical member, each component can be manufactured with standard thickness specifications. The iron-based alloy cylindrical member provides structural integrity without requiring the entire column to be made thin, thereby reducing manufacturing precision requirements while still allowing thin sections where needed for steering lock apparatus.
Data Source
AI summary
Construction is achieved that is capable of maintaining overall strength of a cylindrical-shaped steering column, while at the same time making it possible to make the thickness part of the steering column thin. An outer column 10b, which is a column member of a steering column is formed by connecting in the axial direction a main portion 18 made using a light metal alloy with a cylindrical member 19 made of an iron-based alloy by a concave groove 20 that is formed around the outer circumferential surface of the front end section of the cylindrical member 19 engaging with a protrusion 21 that is formed around the inner circumferential surface of the rear end section of the main portion 18. A ring 22 made using a metallic material is fitted and fastened inside the inner diameter side of the cylindrical member 19 in the connecting section between the main portion 18 and the cylindrical member 19.