Steering Column Transport Lock with Tension Reinforcement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety devices for steering columns, made from relatively soft plastic materials, often tear or break during removal due to shear stress or tilting, leading to disruptions in the production process and potential damage to the steering column surfaces.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a tension reinforcement element, such as a fibrous or metallic reinforcement, embedded within the plastic locking element to absorb tensile forces and prevent tearing, combined with a design that encases the reinforcement in plastic to avoid metal-metal contact and minimize surface damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a locking element made of soft plastic material is used, then surface damage to the steering column is prevented, but the locking element tears or breaks during removal due to shear stress or tilting
Solution Approach 1:
The locking element combines soft plastic material with a reinforcing element (metal wire, fiber, or rod) to create a composite structure. The soft plastic prevents surface damage while the reinforcing element provides tensile strength to prevent tearing during removal. This composite construction resolves the contradiction by integrating materials with complementary properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcing element is strategically positioned within the locking element at locations subject to tensile stress during removal. This localized reinforcement provides strength exactly where needed without requiring the entire locking element to be made of hard material, thus preventing both surface damage and tearing.
2Reliability
If a reinforcing element is added to prevent tearing, then the locking element integrity is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing element is integrated into the plastic material during the injection molding process, creating a unified composite component. This integration approach maintains relatively simple manufacturing while achieving the desired structural reinforcement, as the reinforcing element becomes part of the single molded piece rather than a separate assembly.
3Ease of operation
If the locking element has a small material cross-section for easy insertion, then ease of operation is improved, but the locking element is more prone to tearing under shear stress
Solution Approach 1:
The small-cross-section locking element achieves high strength-to-area ratio by incorporating a reinforcing element with much higher tensile strength than the plastic material. The reinforcing element carries the tensile loads during removal, allowing the overall cross-section to remain small for ease of operation while preventing tearing through the reinforced composite structure.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~7
Figure 8~12
AI summary
The present invention relates to a securing device (7) for a steering column (1) for a motor vehicle, which is insertable between a casing unit (3) and a steering shaft (4), which is mounted rotatably in the latter, for temporary blocking of a rotational movement of the steering shaft (4) relative to the casing unit (3), comprising an elongate locking element (71) which extends in the longitudinal direction (E) and to the one end of which a handle element (73) is attached and the other end of which is designed as a free end (72). In order to reliably prevent the locking element from being torn off or partially torn off during the extraction, the invention proposes that a tension reinforcement element (8) extends at least over a partial region of the longitudinal direction (E) of the locking element (71) and is connected to the locking element (71) in a tension-proof manner in the longitudinal direction (E).