Vehicle Load Distribution Assembly with Nested Fastening Sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing load distribution arrangements in vehicles fail to maintain cohesion between a longitudinal member designed as a hollow profile and a cross member during a crash, leading to potential failure of conventional joining technologies due to increased tensile loads.
Innovation Solution
A fastening sleeve is inserted into the longitudinal member, forming positive connections with both inner and outer walls, and connected to a cross member via a fastening flange, distributing tensile loads across multiple components for enhanced stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional joining technology is used to connect the longitudinal member and cross member, then the connection is simple and easy to manufacture, but the cohesion fails under increased tensile loads during a crash
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening sleeve is inserted into the longitudinal member, creating a nested structure where the sleeve is contained within the hollow profile of the longitudinal member. This nested configuration allows the fastening sleeve to engage with internal features of the longitudinal member while maintaining a compact overall structure, thereby improving connection reliability without significantly increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening sleeve acts as an intermediary component between the cross member and the longitudinal member. It transfers and distributes the tensile loads from the cross member through the flange to the longitudinal member, preventing direct stress concentration at the connection points and thereby improving cohesion under crash conditions.
2Strength
If the longitudinal member remains connected to impacted components during a crash, then the load can be distributed across more components, but the tensile load on the connection between the undeformed longitudinal member and impacted components increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection system is segmented into multiple load path components: the cross member, the fastening flange, the fastening sleeve, and the longitudinal member. This segmentation allows the tensile load to be distributed across multiple interfaces and components rather than concentrated at a single connection point, reducing the force on any individual connection while maintaining overall strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening sleeve serves as a mediator that distributes the tensile load from the cross member to the longitudinal member through friction and mechanical engagement. This intermediary component prevents direct transmission of peak tensile forces to the connection points on the longitudinal member, thereby reducing the force on these connections while maintaining load distribution capability.
3Reliability
If a fastening sleeve is inserted into the longitudinal member to improve connection cohesion, then the reliability under tensile load improves, but the manufacturing complexity and assembly steps increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening sleeve is pre-formed with external threading and engagement features before assembly. This preliminary preparation allows the sleeve to be directly threaded into the longitudinal member during assembly without requiring additional forming operations, thereby improving connection reliability while minimizing the increase in manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastening sleeve is designed to be inserted into the hollow profile of the longitudinal member, utilizing the existing internal space. This nested approach eliminates the need for separate mounting brackets or external reinforcement structures, maintaining ease of manufacture while improving connection stability through the integrated sleeve design.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to an assembly (1) for load distribution in a vehicle (2), comprising: - a longitudinal member (3) in the form of a hollow profiled element; - a fastening sleeve (10); and - a cross-member (5), which has at least one fastening flange (18). The invention also relates to a vehicle (2) having an assembly (1) of this type. At least portions of the at least one fastening flange (18) of the cross-member (5) run parallel to the longitudinal member (3), and the at least one fastening flange of the cross-member is connected to the fastening sleeve (10). The fastening sleeve (10) is inserted into the longitudinal member (3) in such a way and form-lockingly connected to the longitudinal member (3) in such a way that the fastening sleeve (10) runs parallel to the cross-member (5) and introduces acting tensile loads into the longitudinal member (3).