Swingable Armrest Locking with Centrifugal Pendulum Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing adjustment apparatuses for motor vehicle armrests fail to provide a compact, user-invisible solution that meets safety standards for height-adjustable and length-adjustable armrests while offering haptic feedback and secure locking during accidents.
Innovation Solution
A compact adjustment apparatus featuring a centrifugal force pendulum, spring element, and a locking pin that provides haptic feedback and secure locking, using a dome-shaped locking pin end face and cam surface for comfortable operation, and two centrifugal force pendulums to prevent swinging during impacts, ensuring compliance with safety standards.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a locking device is added to meet safety standards, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking device is integrated into the armrest structure itself, combining the armrest function with the locking mechanism. The armrest serves dual purposes: as a comfort element and as part of the locking system, eliminating the need for a separate, complex locking device.
Solution Approach 2:
The centrifugal force pendulum automatically locks the armrest in the event of an accident without requiring external intervention or complex control systems. The mechanism uses the accident forces themselves to trigger the locking action, making the system self-regulating and simplifying the overall device architecture.
2Reliability
If a locking mechanism is implemented, then safety during accidents is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The spring element provides haptic feedback to the user through tactile resistance, clearly indicating when the armrest is locked or unlocked. This feedback mechanism ensures the user understands the locking state without requiring visual confirmation or complex indicators, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring reliable locking.
Solution Approach 2:
The dome-shaped end face of the locking pin creates a cam surface that provides smooth, comfortable operation. The curved geometry allows for ergonomic interaction, making the locking and unlocking actions intuitive and pleasant while maintaining secure locking engagement.
3Ease of operation
If the armrest is made swingable for storage access, then ease of operation is improved, but safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The armrest is designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing it to swing freely during normal operation for easy access to the storage compartment. The centrifugal force pendulum mechanism automatically transitions the armrest from a swingable state during normal use to a locked state during accidents, optimizing both ease of operation and safety depending on the operational context.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus is compact, user-invisible, and provides haptic feedback, ensuring secure locking during accidents, thus meeting safety standards and allowing for comfortable operation while preventing uncontrolled armrest movement.
Implementation Method 1
a locking pin movable in opposition to a spring force of the spring element
Implementation Method 2
a locking device having a centrifugal force pendulum
Data Source
AI summary
An adjustment apparatus for swinging a comfort element in relation to a load-bearing structure about a pivot axis from a normal position to a pivoted position includes a locking device having a centrifugal force pendulum, a spring element, and a locking pin movable in opposition to a spring force of the spring element in parallel relationship to the pivot axis from a locked position in which the centrifugal force pendulum acts on the locking pin to seek engagement to a released position. The locking pin interacts with the comfort element in such a way that a pivoting of the comfort element from the normal position causes the locking pin to disengage from the locked position.