Vehicle Wheel Carrier Spur Deflection for Crash Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The kinematics of front wheels in vehicles during a small-overlap crash are unpredictable, leading to unstable wheel behavior and unforeseen deformations, making it difficult to design effective crash protection systems, resulting in oversized and costly front wheel structures.
Innovation Solution
A wheel carrier with strategically positioned spurs that deflect the wheel in a predefined direction during a crash, ensuring predictable deformation and improved stability by orienting the wheel obliquely relative to the vehicle's main direction of travel, with spurs above and below the wheel bearing to manage forces from various angles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the front wheel structure is oversized to ensure stability during small-overlap crashes, then crash protection reliability is improved, but vehicle weight and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spur is pre-positioned on the wheel carrier to define a predetermined deflection direction before the crash occurs. During a small-overlap crash, the wheel is guided along this pre-established path, ensuring stable and predictable behavior without requiring excessive structural reinforcement.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of strengthening the entire wheel assembly, the invention applies a localized geometric feature (the spur) at a specific location on the wheel carrier. This local modification provides the necessary guidance function without increasing the overall weight of the wheel assembly.
2Reliability
If the front wheel structure is oversized to account for unpredictable deformations, then crash protection is improved, but manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the wheel carrier by adding a spur with specific orientation and position. This geometric parameter change creates a predetermined deflection path that makes deformation predictable, allowing for optimized and cost-effective manufacturing without excessive material usage.
Solution Approach 2:
The predetermined deflection direction is built into the wheel carrier design during manufacturing. This preliminary configuration ensures that during actual crashes, the wheel follows a known path, eliminating the need for costly trial-and-error testing and validation of multiple design variants.
3Device complexity
If traditional wheel carrier design is used without spurs, then device complexity is low, but wheel deflection behavior is unpredictable during crashes
Solution Approach 1:
The wheel carrier is segmented into functional zones: the main carrier structure and the protruding spur as a separate guiding element. This segmentation allows the spur to independently define the deflection path without complicating the overall carrier structure, maintaining simplicity while improving predictability.
Solution Approach 2:
The spur acts as an intermediary element between the wheel carrier and the wheel. It mediates the interaction by providing a geometric constraint that guides the wheel's deflection path during crashes, transforming unpredictable motion into a controlled, predetermined trajectory without requiring complex active control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel carrier of a vehicle is provided with at least one spur to selectively deflect a wheel mounted on the wheel carrier in a predefined deflection direction in the event of an accident-generated application of force on the wheel.