Vehicle Rear Structure Load Dispersion via Coupling Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle rear structures are insufficient in dispersing the load imposed on damper attachment portions to the rear quarter pillars, leading to concentrated stress and potential deformation.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle rear structure design featuring a pair of side frames, a cross member, rear quarter pillars, rear wheel houses with integrated damper attachment portions, and coupling members that connect the cross member to the quarter pillars across the wheel houses, allowing efficient load dispersion through upper stiffeners and coupling members along the ridgelines of the wheel houses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If damper attachment portions are spaced apart from rear quarter pillars, then design flexibility is improved, but load transmission efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces upper stiffeners as intermediary components that connect the damper attachment portions to the rear quarter pillars. These stiffeners serve as mediators that bridge the gap between spaced-apart attachment points and the pillar structure, enabling effective load transmission without requiring the attachment portions to be positioned close to the pillars. The stiffeners distribute and transmit forces from the damper attachment portions through the rear wheel house structure to the quarter pillars, resolving the contradiction between design flexibility and load transmission efficiency.
2Reliability
If additional reinforcement members are added, then load dispersion is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the functions of load dispersion and structural reinforcement into the upper stiffeners that are already present in the rear wheel house structure. Rather than adding separate reinforcement members, the design utilizes the existing stiffener structure to simultaneously achieve load dispersion and structural strengthening. The upper stiffeners are integrated into the rear wheel house architecture, allowing them to perform multiple functions: supporting the damper attachment portions, dispersing loads, and reinforcing the overall structure, thereby avoiding increased device complexity.
3Reliability
If damper attachment portions protrude from upper surfaces, then load dispersion capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the rear wheel house structure into distinct functional components: the upper surface portion and the damper attachment portion. By separating these functions into distinct segments that can be manufactured separately and then assembled, the design simplifies the manufacturing process. The damper attachment portions can be produced as separate components with the required protruding features, then integrated into the overall rear wheel house structure through assembly operations, reducing the complexity of manufacturing the entire structure as a single piece.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle rear structure includes an annular frame, which connects a rear cross member, gussets, rear quarter pillars, upper stiffeners, and a roof arch to one another into an annular shape in a vehicle front view. Each of the upper stiffeners of the annular frame is connected to a damper attachment portion of a rear wheel house by a coupling member.