Vehicle Front Structure With Braces for Small-Overlap Safety
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle front structures do not adequately address collision safety during small overlap collisions, where an object hits the vehicle with a partial overlap in the width direction, leading to insufficient lateral force application and potential large impacts.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle front structure incorporating a die-cast frame body with a dash portion, suspension support portions, a first brace connecting these portions, and a second brace extending in the vehicle width direction with its outer end fixed to the frame body ahead of the first brace, and an inner end connected to the first brace, designed to transmit impact loads laterally to enhance collision safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional frame structure without a second brace is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the collision safety performance against small overlap collision deteriorates due to insufficient lateral force application
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is segmented into multiple functional components: the frame body, first brace, and second brace. The second brace is specifically positioned with its outer end fixed to the outer edge portion of the frame body at a location closer to the front than the first brace, and its inner end connected to the first brace. This segmentation allows the structure to effectively transmit impact loads and generate lateral forces during small overlap collisions, thereby improving collision safety performance without excessive complexity increase.
2Reliability
If the second brace is positioned closer to the front than the first brace, then the lateral force application is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The second brace is merged with the frame body through fixed connection at its outer end to the outer edge portion of the frame body. This merging simplifies the manufacturing process by reducing the number of separate components and assembly steps, while still achieving the desired lateral force application when the outer end is positioned closer to the front than the first brace.
3Force
If the outer end of the second brace is fixed to the outer edge portion of the frame body, then the impact load transmission is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The outer end of the second brace is preliminarily fixed to the outer edge portion of the frame body at a strategically positioned location closer to the front than the first brace. This preliminary positioning ensures that during small overlap collisions, impact loads are effectively transmitted through the second brace to generate lateral forces, while the fixed connection method keeps the structural complexity manageable.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle front structure includes: a die-cast frame body including a dash portion being provided in a front part of a vehicle and separating inside of a vehicle cabin from outside of the vehicle cabin, and a pair of right and left suspension support portions being disposed closer to a front of the vehicle than the dash portion and each supporting a suspension; a first brace connecting the right and left suspension support portions in a vehicle width direction; and a second brace extending in the vehicle width direction, an outer end in the vehicle width direction of the second brace being fixed to an outer edge portion in the vehicle width direction of the frame body at a position closer to the front of the vehicle than the first brace, and an inner end in the vehicle width direction of the second brace being connected to the first brace.