Trapezoidal Vehicle Spring Profile Bar Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle springs made from hot-formed flat bar steel are difficult to lighten while maintaining their resilient function and mechanical load-bearing capacity, as they require significant changes in geometry to reduce weight, which can compromise their performance under varying loads.
Innovation Solution
A method for producing vehicle springs by rolling a profile bar with material recesses on both narrow sides and the underside, resulting in a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape with rounded corners, allowing for up to 30% weight reduction without impairing force absorption or springing effect, and enabling a more compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the geometry of the finished vehicle spring is changed to increase surface tension to make it more compact, then the weight is reduced, but the mechanical load-bearing capacity is impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The profile bar features material recesses at specific locations (narrow sides and underside) to create a trapezoidal cross-section, where material is selectively removed from non-critical areas while preserving material in load-bearing regions. This local modification reduces overall weight by up to 30% while maintaining the spring's mechanical load-bearing capacity and resilient function.
2Weight of moving object
If the weight of the vehicle spring is reduced by changing geometry, then the compactness is improved, but the resilient function is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The cross-sectional geometry parameters of the profile bar are changed from a conventional rectangular shape to a trapezoidal shape with material recesses. This parameter change optimizes the distribution of material, reducing weight while ensuring that the spring body maintains its inherent resilient function and springing effect under varying loads.
3Ease of manufacture
If a rectangular profile bar is used for manufacturing, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the weight reduction potential is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The profile bar is pre-formed with material recesses creating a trapezoidal cross-section before the spring manufacturing process. This preliminary action integrates weight reduction into the starting material itself, allowing the spring to achieve up to 30% weight reduction without adding complex manufacturing steps to the spring production process.
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
The method effectively reduces the weight of vehicle springs by optimizing the geometry of the starting material, ensuring the resilient function and mechanical load-bearing capacity are maintained, while allowing for a more compact design without compromising performance.
Implementation Method 1
Vehicle springs within the scope of the invention are hot-formed, in particular rolled, from flat bar steel, preferably spring steel, at temperatures of approximately 800 to 1200° C.
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~11
AI summary
An elongated spring body (20) of a vehicle spring is rolled from a profile bar (1), wherein the spring body (20) has at least one material recess (6), the cross-sectional shape of the spring body (20) changing along its length and the width (B) of the material recess (6) changing along the length of the material recess (6). The spring body (20) has a material recess (6) on both narrow sides (4, 5) and on the underside (3), so that it has a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape with rounded corners along its length.