Vehicle Body Frame Member Strength Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle body structures face challenges in achieving a balance between maintaining high rigidity and reducing weight, often resulting in heavier vehicles due to increased thickness and reinforcement.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle body structure featuring a front frame member, rear frame member, and paired left and right middle frame members that extend between the front and rear frame members, with the second middle frame member having greater strength than the first, allowing for efficient load transmission and absorption in collisions while minimizing reinforcement, thus reducing overall weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the thickness of frame members is increased to maintain high rigidity, then the rigidity of the vehicle body is improved, but the weight of the vehicle body increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different thickness specifications to different frame members based on their specific functional requirements. The first middle frame member has a first thickness specification while the second middle frame member has a second thickness specification that is different from the first. This localized differentiation allows each component to have optimal thickness for its specific load-bearing requirements, avoiding unnecessary weight addition throughout the entire structure while maintaining necessary rigidity in critical areas.
2Strength
If reinforcement is added to maintain high rigidity during collisions, then the strength in collision resistance is improved, but the weight of the vehicle body increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the middle frame members into two distinct components: a first middle frame member and a second middle frame member. Each segment is assigned specific thickness characteristics and positioning requirements. The first middle frame member extends along the vehicle width direction with a first thickness, while the second middle frame member has a second thickness and is positioned to extend farther outward. This segmentation allows collision forces to be distributed across multiple specialized components rather than requiring uniform reinforcement throughout, reducing overall weight while maintaining collision resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the frame structure are given different thickness qualities according to their specific collision resistance requirements. The first and second middle frame members have different thickness specifications localized to their respective positions and functions. This localized quality differentiation ensures that reinforcement is applied only where structurally necessary for collision resistance, rather than adding weight uniformly across the entire vehicle body structure.
3Ease of manufacture
If uniform thickness is used for all middle frame members, then manufacturing is simplified, but the rigidity and collision resistance are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by specifying that the first middle frame member has a first thickness and the second middle frame member has a second thickness, with each thickness optimized for its specific structural role. This approach maintains manufacturing simplicity through clear, differentiated specifications for each component type while achieving superior rigidity compared to uniform thickness designs. The localized thickness differentiation allows each frame member to be manufactured with optimal properties for its position and load requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a vehicle body structure including: a front frame member (51) disposed in a front part of a vehicle body; a rear frame member (53) disposed in a rear part of the vehicle body; and paired left and right middle frame members (55) disposed on outer sides, in a vehicle width direction, of the vehicle body, respectively, and extending in a vehicle front-rear direction between the front and rear frame members. Each middle frame member includes: a side sill (29) disposed on an outer side in the vehicle width direction; and a center side member (32) disposed inward, in the vehicle width direction, of the side sill and coupling the front and rear frame members. The center side member extends to shift farther outward in the vehicle width direction as it gets closer to rear of the vehicle. The center side member is set larger in strength than the side sill.