Strut Tower Brace Bar Actuator for Vehicle Roll Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle stability control systems face challenges in reducing roll angle and enhancing ride comfort due to increased weight and cost associated with strengthening the vehicle body, and they often require hydraulic control systems that complicate configuration and delay passenger feedback during vehicle stabilization.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus featuring a strut tower brace bar connected to shock absorbers with a rotary shaft actuator that uses nitrogen gas to restore the strut tower brace bar, eliminating the need for hydraulic pressure and allowing direct control of the vehicle body, thereby simplifying the system and enhancing stability sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If hydraulic control systems are used to control the vehicle body, then the vehicle stability control capability is improved, but the system complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the hydraulic control system from the vehicle stability control apparatus, replacing it with a direct mechanical control system using the stabilizer bar and actuator. This eliminates the need for complex hydraulic components while maintaining the core stability control function, thereby reducing system complexity and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the hydraulic control system with a direct mechanical control system. The actuator directly mechanically controls the stabilizer bar without requiring hydraulic fluid transmission, substituting the hydraulic mechanical system with a simpler direct mechanical linkage that achieves the same stability control objective.
2Reliability
If hydraulic control systems are used to control the vehicle body, then the vehicle stability control capability is improved, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the expensive hydraulic control system from the vehicle stability control apparatus, retaining only the essential mechanical components (stabilizer bar, actuator, and linkage). This extraction of the hydraulic subsystem significantly reduces manufacturing costs while preserving the core stability control functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs simpler, more cost-effective mechanical components in place of expensive hydraulic systems. The direct mechanical control system uses readily available, lower-cost parts that can be manufactured more economically, reducing the overall cost of the stability control apparatus.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the vehicle body strength is increased to reduce roll angle, then the ride comfort is improved, but the vehicle weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an active, dynamically adjustable stabilizer bar system that can vary its stiffness in real-time based on driving conditions. Instead of using a permanently strengthened vehicle body, the system dynamically adjusts the stabilizer bar's resistance to rolling, providing enhanced stability when needed while maintaining normal ride characteristics during regular operation, thus avoiding the need for increased body weight.
4Reliability
If the suspension position adjustment process is used to control vehicle stability, then the vehicle position control capability is improved, but the response time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the stability control function from the suspension position adjustment process. Instead of relying on the slow, multi-stage suspension adjustment to control stability, the system directly controls the stabilizer bar through a dedicated actuator. This segmentation creates a fast-response pathway for stability control that operates independently of the slower suspension adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares for stability control by maintaining the actuator and stabilizer bar in a ready state, allowing immediate response when stability control is needed. The direct mechanical linkage is pre-configured and requires no activation or adjustment sequence, enabling instant response to rolling conditions without the delay associated with suspension position adjustment processes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the overall cost and complexity of vehicle stability control, enabling rapid stabilization of the vehicle body during cornering or rough road conditions, improving ride and handling performance while reducing passenger delay in feeling stabilization.
Implementation Method 1
an actuator disposed at a predetermined position in a longitudinal direction of the strut tower brace bar, wherein when torsional deformation of the strut tower brace bar occurs by rolling of the vehicle body, the actuator may be configured to restore the strut tower brace bar by receiving gas filled in the left and right shock absorbers
Implementation Method 2
a rotary shaft member having a plurality of blade parts that extend in radial directions on an outer circumferential surface of the rotary shaft member; and a housing that surrounds or encloses the rotary shaft member to allow the shaft member to axially rotate, and defining a space where the blade parts are disposed, wherein the space may be divided into a plurality of chambers by the blade parts, and wherein when the rotary shaft member axially rotates, volumes of the chambers may be changed by the blade parts
Implementation Method 3
when torsional deformation of the strut tower brace bar occurs by rolling of the vehicle body
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for actively controlling stability of a vehicle is provided. The apparatus includes a strut tower brace bar that is disposed in a lateral direction of a vehicle body and opposite ends of the strut tower brace bar are individually connected to upper portions of left and right shock absorbers. Additionally, an actuator is disposed at a predetermined position in a longitudinal direction of the strut tower brace bar. When torsional deformation of the strut tower brace bar occurs due to rolling of the vehicle body, the actuator is configured to restore the strut tower brace bar by receiving gas from the left and right shock absorbers.