Claims:We claim:

1. A fender reinforcement system for reducing stress, wherein a profiled notch is provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom of fender reinforcement to reduce stress at the fender reinforcement bottom joint.

2. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 1, wherein system comprises:

- a profiled base plate,
- another sheet joined substantially vertical to the base plate,
- a reinforcement structure joined between the base plate and vertical plate by means of spot welds;

wherein the reinforcement structure is substantially configured as a box-shaped hollow body when joined to the vertical plate at the rear side of the reinforcement structure and a notch is configured at a predetermined distance above the base plate and extending horizontally parallel to the vertical plate.

3. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 1 and 2, wherein the notch is configured as a ‘V’ notch with its base disposed on the front-side of the box-shaped body and its peak on the sides thereof.

4. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the ‘V’ notch starts at a distance ‘A’ from the base plate, with a base width ‘B’ and notch height ‘C’ wherein the ratio of A:B:C is in a range of 1:2:4.

5. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 1 and 2, wherein the notch is configured as a semi-circular notch with its diameter disposed on the front-side of the box-shaped body and its peak on the sides thereof.

6. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the semi-circular notch starts at a distance ‘A’ from the base plate, with a diameter ‘B’ and notch height ‘C’ wherein the ratio of A:B:C is in a range of 1:2:1.

7. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 1 and 2, wherein the notch is configured as a decagonal notch with its base disposed on the front-side of the box-shaped body and its peak on the sides thereof.

8. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the decagonal notch is starts at a distance ‘A’ from the base plate, with a base width ‘B’ and notch height ‘C’ wherein the ratio of A:B:C is in a range of 1:2:4.

9. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in anyone of the claims 1 to 8, wherein the base plate, vertical plates and box-shaped reinforcement structure are made of carbon steel sheets/plates, preferably having thickness of 1 to 5 mm.

10. Fender reinforcement system as claimed in anyone of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the base plate, vertical plates and box-shaped reinforcement structure are joined by means of welded joints.

Dated: this day of 26th November, 2015. SANJAY KESHARWANI
APPLICANT’S PATENT AGENT , Description:FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to automotive fenders or mudguards. In particular, the present invention relates to fender mounting assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to the reinforcement of the fender to reduce stresses developed and thereby to avoid crack initiation therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The fender is a part of an automobile or other vehicle body e.g. tractor which partially surrounds the wheel well (the fender underside). The main purpose of the fender is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tyres. Normally, fenders are made rigid and if there is a possibility of their being damaged by coming contact with the road surfaces, they are made as flexible mud flaps used close to the ground wherever contact is possible. Particularly, in big vehicles such as tractors, earth-moving machinery etc., thick materials like mud could stick on the smooth outer tyre surfaces, whereas smooth loose objects such as stones could get temporarily attached into the wide tread grooves of the tyres while rolling over the ground. These materials can be ejected from the surface of the tyres with high speed imparted due to the kinetic energy of the vehicle movement. When a vehicle moves forward, the top of the tyres rotates upward and forward, and such objects sticking into the tyres treads could be thrown into the air at other vehicles or pedestrians possibly present before the vehicle. Therefore, primarily the intended function of any fender is to protect the operator from dirt, dust and other debris which may be thrown while operating the vehicles, such as a tractor. It is necessary to design the fender such that these can be mounted / dismounted on the tractors with ease by the operators. A fender mount consists of carbon steel plates. The vertical sheet of the fender is normally welded to the base plate. The reinforcement support plates configured as edges flanged for imparting rigidity thereto, are welded to the bottom end of the base plate to accommodate the base plate made of high carbon steel. Two symmetrically located bolt holes are provided on the tractor frame.

DISADVANTAGES WITH THE PRIOR ART

In most of the Fenders, it was observed that in the fender assemblies which failed during field operation, cracks were initiated from the tack welds between the base plate and large front stiffeners. As present, the only method to avoid this fender assembly failure is to increase the sheet metal thickness as the possible solution for this problem. This in turn increases the weight of the components and thus the manufacturing cost. Alternatively, a high-strength material is used for fender reinforcement, which also leads to a higher manufacturing cost thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In order to avoid any such fender failure, it is approached to provide a notch at a specified distance from the bottom of fender reinforcement to reduce stress at the fender reinforcement bottom joint. This construction substantially reduces the stresses, e.g. by approximately 45%. This is also indicated in details in Figures. This notch can be configured in different shapes, e.g. ‘V’ notch, semi-circular notch decagon notch etc.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Some of the objects of the present invention - satisfied by at least one embodiment of the present invention - are as follows:

An object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement for reducing stress in a fender, e.g. of a tractor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved fender to avoid their failure during field operation.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved fender to mitigate any crack development therein during field operation thereof.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved fender to reduce the stresses developed therein on loading thereof in field operations.

A further object of the present invention is to reduce the fender reinforcement and thereby to reduce manufacturing costs thereof.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description when read with the accompanying figures of drawing, which are, however, not intended to limit the scope of the present invention in any way.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fender reinforcement system for reducing stress, wherein a profiled notch is provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom of fender reinforcement to reduce stress at the fender reinforcement bottom joint.

Typically, the fender reinforcement system comprises:

- a profiled base plate,
- another sheet joined substantially vertical to the base plate,
- a reinforcement structure joined between the base plate and vertical plate by means of spot welds;

wherein the reinforcement structure is substantially configured as a box-shaped hollow body when joined to the vertical plate at the rear side of the reinforcement structure and a notch is configured at a predetermined distance above the base plate and extending horizontally parallel to the vertical plate.

Typically, the notch is configured as a ‘V’ notch with its base disposed on the front-side of the box-shaped body and its peak on the sides thereof.

Typically, the ‘V’ notch starts at a distance ‘A’ from the base plate, with a base width ‘B’ and notch height ‘C’ wherein the ratio of A:B:C is in a range of 1:2:4.

Typically, the notch is configured as a semi-circular notch with its diameter disposed on the front-side of the box-shaped body and its peak on the sides thereof.

Typically, the semi-circular notch starts at a distance ‘A’ from the base plate, with a diameter ‘B’ and notch height ‘C’ wherein the ratio of A:B:C is in a range of 1:2:1.

Typically, the notch is configured as a decagonal notch with its base disposed on the front-side of the box-shaped body and its peak on the sides thereof.

Typically, the decagonal notch is starts at a distance ‘A’ from the base plate, with a base width ‘B’ and notch height ‘C’ wherein the ratio of A:B:C is in a range of 1:2:4.

Typically, the base plate, vertical plates and box-shaped reinforcement structure are made of carbon steel sheets/plates, preferably having thickness of 1 to 5 mm.

Typically, the base plate, vertical plates and box-shaped reinforcement structure are joined by means of welded joints.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The present invention will be briefly described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which include:

Figure 1 shows an exemplary conventional fender assembly for tractor rear wheels.

Figure 2 shows another view of the fender assembly of Figure 1 showing the encircled fender reinforcement plate area, to be explained in detail in Figure 3.

Figure 3 shows a detailed enlarged view of the fender assembly of Figure 2.

Figure 4 shows finite element model of fender assembly of Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 5 shows details of the loading and boundary condition with force applied over the surface and the points constraining the degree of freedom of the fender assembly of Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows typical stress contour plot obtained for the conventional fender assembly without any notch of Figures 1 to 6.

Figure 7a shows a typical stress contour plot obtained for the first embodiment of the fender mount with a ‘V’ notch.

Figure 7b shows the side view of the fender showing the details of ‘V’ notch configured therein in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 7c shows the details of the ‘V’ notch in the first embodiment of the fender mount configured in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 8a shows the typical stress contour plot obtained for the second embodiment of the fender mount configured with a semi-circular notch.

Figure 8b shows the side view of the fender mount of Figure 8a with the details of the semi-circular notch configured.

Figure 8c shows the details of the semi-circular notch in the second embodiment of the fender mount of Figure 8a.

Figure 9a shows a typical stress contour plot obtained for the third embodiment of the fender mount with a partial decagonal notch.

Figure 9b shows the side view of the fender mount showing the details of the decagonal notch encircled of Figure 9a.

Figure 9c shows the details of the partial decagonal notch in the third embodiment of Figure 9a.

Figure 10 shows graphical representation of the notch ‘V’ shape height A v/s percentage stress reduction the fender assembly configured in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

In the following, different embodiments of the present invention will be described in more details with reference to the accompanying drawings without limiting the scope and ambit of the present invention in any way.

Figure 1 shows an exemplary conventional fender assembly 10 for tractor rear wheels. The fender mount consists of carbon steel plates and includes a fender top sheet 12, base plate 14, fender seat 16, fender top sheet 18. The back rest of the fender seat 16 is welded on the fender top sheet 12 in order to be accommodated on the fender sheet 18, which in turn is welded on the fender vertical support plate 15.

Figure 2 shows another view of the fender assembly of Figure 1 showing the fender reinforcement plate area 50 (encircled), a foot step assembly 20 and foot step mounting bracket 22. The foot step assembly 20 includes a horizontal foot plate on which a person can climb on or alight from the tractor. So, it is suitably designed to take the weight of the person. Mounting bracket 22 is mounted on the clutch housing.

Figure 3 shows a detailed enlarged view of the fender assembly of Figure 2. The fender mount consists of carbon steel plates including a vertical plate 52 welded to a base plate 54 and a fender reinforcement plate 56 welded on the vertical plate 52 by means of a plurality of spot welds 58, e.g. of 6 mm size.

Figure 4 shows the details of a finite element model of the fender assembly of Figures 2 and 3. FE modelling was developed by using pre-processing software, e.g. Hyper Mesh. Vertical reinforcement plate was also modelled by using, e.g. Shell CQVAD Elements. Spot welds are further modelled by using, e.g. CBEAM Elements, The tack CO2 welds between base plate and vertical reinforcement plates are modelled with shell elements. The vertical sheet 52 of the fender mount (made of a 1 mm thick carbon steel sheet) is normally welded to the base plate 54 usually made of 5 mm thick high carbon steel sheet. The reinforcement plate 56 (also made of a 1 mm thick carbon steel sheet) is configured as a support plate provided with flanged edges 55 for imparting rigidity to it. The reinforcement plate 56 is welded on the base plate 54 at the bottom end 53 thereof in order to accommodate the base plate 54. Two symmetrically located bolt holes 62 are provided on the tractor frame.

Figure 5 shows details of the loading and boundary condition with force F applied over the surface of the reinforcement plate 56 and the points 70 constraining all degrees of freedom of the fender assembly of Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows typical stress contour plot obtained for the conventional fender assembly without any notch, as shown in Figures 1 to 6. The vertical plate 52 is welded on the base plate 54 which can be fixed on the tractor frame by tightening bolts (not shown) passed through two holes 62. A reinforcement plate 56 is welded to act as a support plate for imparting rigidity and thus strengthening the fender mount. By carrying out the stress analysis on a conventional fender mount, a typical contour plot was obtained and von Mises maximum stress (Smax), which has a maximum stress of approximately 500 MPa at the edge marked in the encircled region 80 that connects the base plate 54 to the reinforcement plate 56.

Figure 7a shows a typical stress contour plot obtained for the first embodiment 100 of the fender mount with a ‘V’ notch shown in the encircled region 180. The vertical plate 152 is welded on the base plate 154 which can be fixed on the tractor frame by tightening bolts (not shown) passed through two holes 162. A reinforcement plate 156 is welded for strengthening the fender mount 100. The stress analysis conducted on a this fender mount 100 resulted in the contour plot shown here and von Mises maximum stress (Smax), shows a substantially reduced maximum stress, i.e. approximately 275 MPa at the ‘V’ notch edge marked within the encircled region 180 connecting the base plate 154 to the reinforcement plate 156.

Figure 7b shows the side view of the fender showing the details of ‘V’ notch configured therein in accordance with the present invention. The vertical plate 152 is welded on the base plate 154 and a substantially rectangular 3-sided bracket 156 is welded vertically standing on this base plate 154 for reinforcing the fender. The ‘V’ notch is provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom of fender reinforcement bracket 156 to reduced stress at the fender reinforcement bottom joints. This ‘V’ notch construction shown encircled 180 has demonstrated to reduces the stresses by approximately 45%, i.e. about 275 MPa as against about 500 MPa for the conventional fender mount shown in Figure 1 to 6.

Figure 7c shows the details of the ‘V’ notch in the first embodiment of the fender mount 100 configured in accordance with the present invention. The dimensions A, B and C shown in this figure are in a ratio (A:B:C) of 1:2:4, e.g. 3.5 mm : 7.0 mm : 14.0 mm.

Figure 8a shows the typical stress contour plot obtained for the second embodiment 200 of the fender mount configured with a semi-circular notch shown encircled at 280. Here also, the assembly consists of a vertical plate 252 welded on base plate 254 that can be fixed on tractor frame by tightening bolts (not shown) passing through holes 262 and a reinforcement plate 256 welded for strengthening the fender mount 200. The stress analysis conducted on a this fender mount 200 resulted in the contour plot shown here and von Mises maximum stress (Smax) shows a marginally reduced maximum stress by about 9-10% with respect to the conventional fender mount of Figures 1 to 6, at the semi-circular notch marked within the encircled region 280 connecting the base plate 254 to the reinforcement plate 256. This semi-circular notch is also provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom of fender reinforcement bracket 256 to reduce stress at the fender reinforcement bottom joint.

Figure 8b shows the side view of the fender mount 200 of Figure 8a with the details of the semi-circular notch configured therein in accordance with this second embodiment of the present invention. The vertical plate 252 is welded on the base plate 254 and a substantially rectangular 3-sided bracket 256 is welded vertically standing on this base plate 254 for reinforcing the fender mount 200. This semi-circular notch construction shown encircled 280 has demonstrated a reduction in the stresses by approximately 9-10%, i.e. here the stress is about 450 MPa as against about 500 MPa for the conventional fender mount shown in Figure 1 to 6, when a force of 1000 n is applied at point 260. The force is applied over the surface at a predetermined distance 350 mm from the bottom of fender reinforcement bracket 256.

Figure 8c shows the details of the semi-circular in the second embodiment of the fender mount 200 configured in accordance with the present invention. The dimensions A, B and C shown in this figure are in a ratio (A:B:C) of 1:2:1, e.g. 3.5 mm : 7.0 mm : 3.5 mm.

Figure 9a shows a typical stress contour plot obtained for the third embodiment 300 of the fender mount with a partial decagonal notch shown in the encircled region 380. Again, the vertical plate 352 is welded on the base plate 354 which can be fixed on the tractor frame by tightening bolts (not shown) passed through two holes 362 and a reinforcement plate 356 is similarly welded for strengthening the fender mount 300. The stress analysis conducted on this fender mount 300 resulted in the contour plot shown and von Mises maximum stress (Smax) again shows a marginally reduced maximum stress, i.e. approximately 460 MPa at the partial decagonal notch marked within the encircled region 380 connecting the base plate 354 to the reinforcement plate 356. Here, this partial decagonal notch is provided at a predetermined distance from the bottom of fender reinforcement bracket 356 to reduce stress at the fender reinforcement bottom joint.

Figure 9b shows the side view of the fender mount 300 showing the details of the decagonal notch encircled 380 configured therein in accordance with the present invention. The vertical plate 352 is welded on the base plate 354 and a substantially rectangular 3-sided bracket 356 is welded vertically standing on this base plate 354 for reinforcing the fender mount 300. This partial decagonal notch construction shown encircled 180 has demonstrated to reduces the stresses by approximately 7-8%, i.e. about 465 MPa as against about 500 MPa for the conventional fender mount shown in Figure 1 to 6.

Figure 9c shows the details of the partial decagonal notch in the third embodiment 300 of the fender mount configured in accordance with the present invention. For example, in the embodiment 300 shown here, the sides of the decagonal notch 380 are about 2 mm. Further, the dimensions A, B and C shown in this figure are also in a ratio (A:B:C) of 1:2:4, e.g. 3.5 mm : 7.0 mm : 14.0 mm.

Figure 10 shows graphical representation of the notch height A (in mm) or distance from the base with the values for dimensions B and C at 7 mm each. The notch height v/s percentage stress reduction the fender assembly configured with such a notch provided in accordance with the present invention follows a profile as indicated by the solid line in this figure. The graph demonstrates that the notch height up to 7 to 9 mm plays the most effective role in reducing the stresses and beyond this value, it has only marginal effect. Accordingly, for every design of the fender mount for different tractor models, an optimum configuration of the fender mount can be arrived at by analyzing von Misers stress values. A=3.5 mm, B= 7.0 mm and C= 14 mm.

WORKING OF THE INVENTION:

A fender assembly consists of carbon steel plates. The vertical sheet of fender is normally welded to the base plate. The reinforcement support plate edges are flanged for imparting rigidity to the base plate made of carbon steel. When static force is applied over the rectangular surface area of the fender reinforcement vertical plate at a predetermined distance from the base plate, two symmetrically bolted holes are provided on the tractor frame. By carrying out the stress analysis in a conventional fender mount and notch provided at a specific distance from base plate on fender mount, there is a stress reduction obtained approximately 45% notch provided in fender over conventional fender mount model. To reduce the stress at vertical fender reinforcement predetermined distance from base plate provided flexible ‘V’ notch and also avoids failure during operation at welded joint between vertical plate and base plate.

TECHNICAL ADVANTAGES AND ECONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE

The fender mount configured with a notch in accordance with the present invention has the following advantages:

• Provides an arrangement which reduces the stress in a tractor fender.

• Avoids the failure of the fender mount during its field operation.
• Mitigates crack development in fender mount during its field operation.

Throughout this specification the word “comprise”, or variations such as “comprises” or “comprising”, shall be understood to implies including a described element, integer or method step, or group of elements, integers or method steps, however, does not imply excluding any other element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or method steps.

The use of the expression “a”, “at least” or “at least one” shall imply using one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as used in the embodiment of the disclosure in order to achieve one or more of the intended objects or results of the present invention.

The exemplary embodiments described in this specification are intended merely to provide an understanding of various manners in which this embodiment may be used and to further enable the skilled person in the relevant art to practice this invention.

Although, only the preferred embodiments have been described herein, the skilled person in the art would readily recognize to apply these embodiments with any modification possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention as described in this specification.

Therefore, innumerable changes, variations, modifications, alterations may be made and/or integrations in terms of materials and method used may be devised to configure, manufacture and assemble various constituents, components, subassemblies and assemblies according to their size, shapes, orientations and interrelationships.

The description provided herein is purely by way of example and illustration. The various features and advantageous details are explained with reference to this non-limiting embodiment in the above description in accordance with the present invention. The descriptions of well-known components and manufacturing and processing techniques are consciously omitted in this specification, so as not to unnecessarily obscure the specification.

While considerable emphasis has been placed on the specific features of the preferred embodiment described here, it will be appreciated that many additional features can be added and that many changes can be made in the preferred embodiments without departing from the principles of the invention. These and other changes in the preferred embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation.