Vehicle Front Brace Segmentation for Bending Tolerance

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing vehicle body front structures require high-level machining techniques to bend floor braces, which are difficult due to their high flexural strength, and suffer from narrow tolerance ranges in bending angles, leading to positional misalignment issues.

Innovation Solution

A vehicle body front structure that divides the floor brace into a long first brace component and a short second brace component, where the second brace component is bent, allowing for a wider tolerance range and eliminating the need for complex machining, with additional support from a bracket that pivots to prevent deformation during collisions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the floor brace is made as a long reinforcing component with high flexural strength, then the structural strength is improved, but the bending process becomes difficult and requires high-level machining techniques

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexural strengthVSAvoidbending process

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The floor brace is divided into two separate components: a first brace component (long, high flexural strength) and a second brace component (short, bent portion). This segmentation allows the first component to maintain high strength while the second component handles the bending requirement, eliminating the need for high-level machining techniques on the entire floor brace.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Adaptability or versatility

If the upper end of the floor brace is bent to extend in the vehicle width direction, then the adaptability for mounting in-vehicle components is improved, but the positional misalignment of the lower end increases due to narrow tolerance range

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemounting adaptabilityVSAvoidbending angle tolerance

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

By separating the floor brace into two components, the bending function is isolated to the short second brace component. This segmentation allows the bending angle of the second component to have a wider tolerance range without affecting the positional accuracy of the first component's lower end, thus improving manufacturing precision while maintaining adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Ease of manufacture

If the floor brace is divided into a long first brace component and a short second brace component, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebending processVSAvoidbrace component structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of manufactureVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The first and second brace components are connected through fastening pieces that integrate them into a unified floor brace assembly. This merging approach maintains the manufacturing advantages of divided components while presenting a compact, integrated structure that minimizes the increase in device complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS20250100625A1Vehicle body front structure

Publication Date: 2025.03.27 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

The floor brace includes a first brace component and a second brace component. The lower end of the first brace component is connected to a vehicle body floor (floor tunnel). The upper end of the first brace component is connected to the instrument panel reinforcement. The second brace component is shorter than the first brace component. The second brace component includes a fastening piece and an attachment piece. The fastening piece is fastened to the first brace component. The attachment piece is bent from the fastening piece. Further, an ECU, which is an in-vehicle component, is attached to the attachment piece.