Motorcycle Swing Arm Notch Reinforcement Stiffness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing swing arm designs for saddle riding vehicles face challenges in increasing support stiffness for the rear wheel axle while minimizing weight and vehicle width occupation.
Innovation Solution
A swing arm design featuring a pipe member with a notch in the circumferential wall to reduce width and integrate a reinforcement member, which enhances stiffness and reduces weight, with the reinforcement member's axle support section hidden within the arm's height range, eliminating the need for additional parts and improving appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the wall thickness of the pipe member is increased to increase support stiffness with respect to the axle, then the support stiffness is improved, but the weight and occupation width in the vehicle width direction are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by forming a notch at a specific location on the pipe member and joining a reinforcement member only at that localized area. This provides enhanced stiffness precisely where needed for axle support while maintaining the original thin-walled construction elsewhere, thus avoiding the weight penalty of a uniformly thickened pipe member.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a composite structure by joining a reinforcement member (with different material properties and higher stiffness) to the pipe member. This composite construction achieves the required support stiffness through the combination of two materials rather than requiring the entire pipe member to be made of heavy, thick-walled material.
2Strength
If the wall thickness of the pipe member is increased to increase support stiffness with respect to the axle, then the support stiffness is improved, but the occupation width in the vehicle width direction is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The notch is formed at a specific location on the pipe member's circumferential wall, and the reinforcement member is joined only at this localized area. This provides the necessary structural reinforcement without increasing the overall width of the pipe member, thus maintaining a compact vehicle width occupation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of increasing stiffness by adding width (thickness in the vehicle width direction), the patent uses the dimensionality change approach by creating a notch (removing material in one dimension) and joining a reinforcement member that extends in different spatial directions, achieving stiffness enhancement without increasing the occupation width.
3Strength
If a reinforcement member is joined to the arm main body without forming a notch, then the support stiffness is improved, but the occupation width and weight are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The notch creates a localized joining area on the pipe member's surface. By concentrating the reinforcement member attachment at this specific location rather than wrapping around the entire pipe, the design achieves the necessary stiffness while minimizing the occupation width and weight compared to a full-surface reinforcement approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The notch represents the extraction or removal of a portion of the pipe member's material to create a joining surface. This extracted area allows the reinforcement member to be attached in a compact manner, providing stiffness enhancement without the need for a broad, wide reinforcement structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A swing arm includes an arm main body formed of a pipe member, and a reinforcement member configured to reinforce an axle support region of the arm main body. The arm main body has a notch formed by cutting out a portion of a region of a circumferential wall facing in a vehicle width direction. The reinforcement member is joined to the notch of the circumferential wall.