Metal Mounting for Vehicle Drawbar Eye
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing towing eye support systems for motor vehicles are either structurally inefficient, heavy, and expensive or complex and difficult to implement, particularly when attached to small-sized shock absorbers, and can degrade the absorber's functionality during impacts.
Innovation Solution
A metal support system comprising a socket with a flat plate and three fixing lugs that can be easily secured within a longitudinal structural element, limiting the impact on the absorber's functionality and allowing for secure attachment without requiring extensive flat surfaces, and featuring a sleeve that can be inserted into a complementary orifice for enhanced connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the towing eye is fixed by welding a socket to a side member of the vehicle, then the structure has high strength and resistance, but the towing ring becomes long, heavy and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The towing eye system is divided into separate components: a socket welded to the vehicle frame, a separate towing ring that can be removed, and a mounting bracket. This segmentation allows the towing ring to be shorter and lighter while maintaining structural strength through the welded socket connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The towing ring is extracted as a separate removable component from the permanent mounting structure. The socket and mounting bracket remain fixed to the vehicle frame, while the towing ring can be removed when not in use, reducing the weight of the moving vehicle while maintaining attachment capability when needed.
2Weight of moving object
If the towing eye is fixed to a longitudinal shock absorber, then the towing ring can be shorter and lighter, but the fixing creates an incompressible zone that degrades absorber behavior during impact
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting bracket is designed with specific local properties: it has a mounting surface that contacts only a localized area of the shock absorber, minimizing the restricted zone. The bracket's geometry is optimized to concentrate the attachment points in a way that preserves the shock absorber's compression capability while providing secure mounting.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting bracket acts as an intermediary between the towing eye and the shock absorber. Instead of directly fixing the towing eye to the shock absorber, the bracket mediates the connection, allowing the towing eye to be securely mounted while minimizing the impact on the shock absorber's compression behavior.
3Strength
If fixing lugs are welded inside the shock absorber against internal walls, then the towing eye can be secured, but the structure becomes complex and difficult to implement on small-sized shock absorbers
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of welding fixing lugs inside the shock absorber against internal walls (inward mounting), the mounting bracket is designed to be mounted on the external surface of the shock absorber. The bracket extends outward from the shock absorber, providing a secure mounting surface for the towing eye while simplifying the overall structure and making it easier to implement on various shock absorber sizes.
4Strength
If fixing lugs are welded inside the shock absorber, then the towing eye can be secured, but the legs are likely to be torn off during towing
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting approach is inverted from internal welding of fixing lugs to external mounting of a bracket. This external mounting configuration provides better mechanical strength and resistance to tearing during towing, while also being easier to manufacture and implement on various shock absorber sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting bracket appears to be constructed from a composite structure combining different materials or manufacturing processes, providing both strength to resist tearing during towing and ease of manufacture. The bracket's design allows for secure attachment while being manufacturable on small-sized shock absorbers.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
AI summary
The invention relates to a motor vehicle structure (1), in particular an underframe structure, said structure including two longitudinal structural elements (5, 6) connected by a crossmember (4), each longitudinal structural element (5, 6) comprising four longitudinal walls (5a-5d) defining a cavity with a closed section. The structure includes a metal mounting (10) for a drawbar eye, said metal mounting including: a bushing (11) having a longitudinal axis (12) and intended for receiving a motor vehicle drawbar eye (9) along said longitudinal axis (12); a planar plate (13), rigidly connected to the bushing (11) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (12) thereof, two opposing edges (13a, 13b) of said planar plate (13) each having an attachment lug (14a, 14b) projecting and forming an extension of said planar plate (13). The mounting (10) is arranged inside one (5) of said longitudinal structural elements and attached to the latter by the attachment lugs (14a, 14b, 14c) thereof.