Automatic Transmission Valve Body Cover Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing valve body cover structures for automatic transmissions require additional manufacturing steps and increased weight due to the need for welding or inserting a metal nut to mount the oil level plug, leading to higher costs and potential separation issues over time.
Innovation Solution
A valve body cover design that integrates a cover plate with a hole, a detachable cap, and rotational pressing members, along with a sealing member and locking protrusions, allowing the oil level plug to be mounted and sealed without additional nuts, using a spiral protrusion and rotation range restricting member for secure assembly and disassembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a nut is welded or inserted to mount the oil level plug in the valve body cover, then the oil level plug can be securely mounted, but the manufacturing complexity, cost, and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the mounting function directly into the valve body cover by forming a threaded hole directly in the cover. This eliminates the need for separate nuts, reducing manufacturing steps while maintaining secure mounting capability through the integrated threading structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the nut component entirely from the assembly by creating threaded holes directly in the valve body cover. This removes the unnecessary intermediate component (nut) while preserving the essential function of securing the oil level plug, thereby simplifying the overall structure.
2Reliability
If a nut is welded or inserted to mount the oil level plug, then the oil level plug can be securely mounted, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting function is merged into the valve body cover itself through integrated threading. This eliminates the need for separate nut components and their associated manufacturing, assembly, and quality control processes, thereby reducing overall manufacturing cost while maintaining secure mounting.
Solution Approach 2:
The nut component is extracted from the assembly, removing the costs associated with producing, inventorying, and assembling separate nuts. The threaded holes formed directly in the cover eliminate material costs for nuts and reduce labor costs for insertion or welding operations.
3Reliability
If a metal nut is used to mount the oil level plug, then the oil level plug can be securely mounted, but the weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heavy metal nut is extracted from the assembly and replaced with lightweight threaded holes formed directly in the valve body cover. This eliminates the additional weight of separate metal nuts while maintaining the secure mounting function through the integrated threading structure.
4Reliability
If additional manufacturing steps are taken to insert or weld a nut, then the oil level plug can be mounted, but the manufacturing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting function is merged into the valve body cover manufacturing process itself. Threaded holes are formed as part of the cover fabrication, eliminating subsequent separate operations for nut insertion or welding, thereby improving manufacturing efficiency and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The time-consuming nut insertion or welding steps are extracted from the manufacturing process by forming threaded holes directly in the cover. This eliminates additional manufacturing steps and associated time requirements, streamlining production while maintaining secure mounting capability.
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 design reduces manufacturing complexity and cost, weight, and improves durability by enabling easy assembly and disassembly of the oil level plug, while ensuring stable sealing without additional nuts, thus enhancing the overall efficiency and reliability of the automatic transmission system.
Implementation Method 1
a sealing member which may be disposed between the cap and the cover plate and compressed by the cap for sealing a gap formed between the cap and the cover plate
Implementation Method 2
a spiral protrusion spirally protruding from the cover plate toward the inside of the cover plate such that the locking protrusion passing through the receiving hole moves toward the inside of the cover plate in the longitudinal direction of the insertion while the locking protrusion of the insertion rotates along the spiral protrusion
Data Source
AI summary
A valve body cover of an automatic transmission, may include a cover plate having a hole, an oil level plug having a cap detachably mounted onto the cover plate from the outside of the cover plate and an insertion extended from the cap and selectively inserted into the hole of the cover plate, and rotational pressing members formed in the insertion of the oil level plug and the cover plate respectively to press the cap against the cover plate while the insertion of the oil level plug inserted in the hole is rotated relatively with respect to the cover plate.