Wiper Subassembly Yielding Front Connection for Crash Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current windshield wiper subassemblies for motor vehicles do not adequately optimize crash behavior during front-end collisions, leading to potential deformation and tearing of weld connections between bodywork components.
Innovation Solution
A wiper subassembly with a windshield wiper retention member connected by a front connection arrangement that gives way when a threshold force is exceeded in the longitudinal direction, allowing the first bodywork component to move backward relative to the retention member, thereby preventing deformation and damage to adjacent components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the retention member is rigidly connected to bodywork components, then structural stability is improved, but deformation and damage to bodywork components during collision increases
Solution Approach 1:
The front connection arrangement is designed to transition from a rigid connected state during normal operation to a yieldable state during collision. The connection arrangement includes elements that can plastically deform or break at controlled locations, allowing the system to dynamically adapt its stiffness based on the applied load magnitude.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection arrangement incorporates predetermined weak points or deformation zones that are designed to fail at specific force thresholds. This beforehand cushioning mechanism allows the connection to give way in a controlled manner during collision, preventing excessive force transmission to the bodywork components while maintaining structural integrity during normal use.
2Strength
If the retention member reinforces the cowl plenum, then structural strength is improved, but energy absorption capability during collision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connection arrangement is segmented into distinct functional zones: a rigid connection zone for maintaining structural strength during normal operation, and a deformable zone with predetermined failure points for energy absorption during collision. This segmentation allows the system to perform different functions in different operational states.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection arrangement utilizes materials or structural features with different mechanical properties at different locations. The rigid portions use high-strength materials while the yieldable portions use materials or geometries designed to deform at lower stresses, allowing the system to change its effective stiffness parameter based on the operational state.
3Reliability
If the connection is rigid, then normal operational stability is improved, but collision safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connection arrangement acts as an intermediary element between the retention member and the bodywork components. It includes a deformable intermediate structure that can absorb collision energy through controlled deformation, protecting the weld connections and bodywork components from damage while maintaining reliable connection during normal operation.
Data Source
AI summary
A wiper subassembly for a motor vehicle has a windshield wiper retention member connected by a front connection arrangement in the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle to a first bodywork component and by a rear connection arrangement to a second bodywork component. In order to optimize the crash behavior of a wiper subassembly, the front connection is arranged to be configured, when a threshold force which acts in the longitudinal direction between the windshield wiper retention member and the first bodywork component is exceeded, to give way so that the first bodywork component can be moved to the rear relative to the windshield wiper retention member.