Steering Gear Box Front Mounting Leg Failure Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicles with rear-mounted engines lack a suitable mounting technique for the steering gear box to protect occupants and the front drive unit from damage during frontal impacts, as the subframe detachment prevents controlled deceleration.
Innovation Solution
A steering gear box design with a housing and integral front and rear mounting legs, where the front leg is configured to fail at a predetermined load, while the rear leg remains attached to the vehicle frame, ensuring the front drive unit's protection during impacts by maintaining deceleration control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the steering gear box is mounted to the front subframe that detaches during crash, then the deceleration control is improved, but the mounting technique is not applicable to vehicles with rear mounted engines
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into two separate mounting legs (front and rear) instead of a single subframe attachment. This segmentation allows the front mounting leg to fail at predetermined load while the rear mounting leg remains intact, enabling controlled deceleration. The segmented design also allows adaptation to vehicles without front subframes by directly mounting to the body casting.
Solution Approach 2:
Different mounting legs have different structural properties - the front mounting leg is designed with lower strength to fail at predetermined load, while the rear mounting leg has higher strength to withstand the load. This local differentiation of mechanical properties enables the system to achieve both deceleration control and adaptability to various vehicle configurations.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the front mounting leg is designed to fail at predetermined load, then the front drive unit protection is improved, but the steering gear box mounting reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into two separate mounting legs (front and rear) instead of a single subframe attachment. This segmentation allows the front mounting leg to fail at predetermined load while the rear mounting leg remains intact, enabling controlled deceleration. The segmented design also allows adaptation to vehicles without front subframes by directly mounting to the body casting.
Solution Approach 2:
The failure of the front mounting leg under excessive load, which initially appears harmful, is actually converted into a beneficial safety feature. By designing the front mounting leg to fail at a predetermined load threshold, the system protects the front drive unit and occupants from greater damage during severe crashes. The controlled failure transforms a potential weakness into a protective mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A steering gear box for a vehicle includes a housing having a first end portion and an opposing second end portion. A first flange is coupled to the first end portion to mount a steering shaft to the housing. A front mounting leg at the first end portion outboard from the first flange defines a first aperture for receiving a fastener to couple the steering gear box to a body casting of the vehicle. The front mounting leg is configured to fail when a predetermined load is applied to the front mounting leg. A rear mounting leg at the first end portion outboard from the first flange defines a second aperture for receiving a fastener to couple the steering gear box to the body casting of the vehicle. The rear mounting leg is configured to withstand the predetermined load applied to the front mounting leg.