Vehicle Latch Device Segmented Housing for Weight Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing latch devices for vehicles are heavy, which hinders weight reduction in vehicles aimed at improving fuel efficiency, and they lack ease of visual inspection and assembly, affecting their operational reliability.
Innovation Solution
A latch device design featuring a rotatable engageable member with a shaft, a first body covering one side of the engageable notch, and a second body with an L-shaped cross-section that leaves the notch uncovered on the other side, allowing for weight reduction and enhanced visual inspection, while maintaining rigidity through strategic mounting and recessed structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the latch device uses a conventional design with full coverage of the engageable notch, then structural strength and rigidity are maintained, but the weight of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separate bodies: a first body that covers one side of the engageable notch and a second body that leaves the notch uncovered. This segmentation allows weight reduction by removing unnecessary material from the second body while maintaining structural integrity through the first body's coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the housing have different coverage characteristics - the first body provides coverage for structural strength, while the second body is deliberately left uncovered to reduce weight. This local differentiation of quality (covered vs. uncovered regions) resolves the contradiction between weight and strength.
2Weight of moving object
If the second body is made smaller to reduce weight, then the overall device weight decreases, but the rigidity and strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into two bodies with different functions - the first body maintains rigidity through coverage, while the second body is minimized for weight reduction. The shaft member connects these two bodies, creating a balanced structure that achieves both weight reduction and rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The first body and second body are combined through the shaft member to form a unified housing structure. This merging allows the lightweight second body to contribute to overall structure while the stronger first body provides the necessary rigidity, achieving a balance between weight and stability.
3Ease of operation
If the engageable notch is left uncovered by the second body, then visual inspection and assembly ease are improved, but the protective coverage is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented such that the first body provides protective coverage while the second body remains uncovered for inspection purposes. This segmentation allows the device to simultaneously achieve protection where needed and visibility where required, resolving the contradiction between coverage and inspectability.
Data Source
AI summary
A latch device for a vehicle includes an engageable member having an engageable notch engageable with a striker, a shaft member by which the engageable member is rotatably supported, a first body including a first support portion by which one end of the shaft member is supported, and a second body including a coupling portion coupled to the first body, and a second support portion by which another end of the shaft member is supported. The engageable member is rotatable about the shaft member between a first position in which engagement with the striker is achievable and a second position in which disengagement from the striker is permitted. With the first body, an entrance of the engageable notch through which the striker comes in the engageable notch in a state where the engageable member is in the first position is covered from one side in an axial direction of the shaft member. With the second body, the engageable notch in the state where the engageable member is in the first position is not covered, but left uncovered in entirety, from another side in the axial direction of the shaft member.