ATV Door Top Edge Slope for Mud Protection and Egress

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Solution Overview

Problem

All-terrain vehicles face challenges in providing easy egress and ingress for occupants while preventing mud ingress, with existing designs hindering entry and exit due to side panel arrangements and mud guards.

Innovation Solution

The design features a door with a top edge that slopes upwards from the front to the rear, allowing the occupant's face to be visible and overlapping the occupant for easier entry and exit, combined with a side net that extends inwardly to prevent foreign objects from entering, enhancing both ease of use and mud protection.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If a side panel is integrated with the center pillar to prevent mud ingress, then mud protection is improved, but ease of egress and ingress deteriorates due to hindrance during entry and exit

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemud ingress preventionVSAvoidease of egress and ingress

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The door is divided into two functional regions: a first region that overlaps the occupant's body and a second region that forms the side panel integrated with the center pillar. This segmentation allows the door to simultaneously provide mud protection through the integrated side panel while maintaining ease of entry and exit through the overlapping region design

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Shape

If the top edge of the door is made higher to improve appearance and mud protection, then appearance and mud protection are improved, but weight and effort to open and close the door increase

Engineering Contradiction:

ImproveappearanceVSAvoiddoor weight

Core Design Contradiction:

ShapeVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The top edge of the door is designed with varying heights at different locations: higher at the first region overlapping the occupant and lower at the second region. This local quality variation provides both aesthetic appeal and adequate mud protection while minimizing the overall door weight and making it easier to operate

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Ease of operation

If the door top edge is level or lower to reduce weight, then ease of operation is improved, but appearance and mud protection deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of door operationVSAvoidappearance

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSShape

Solution Approach 1:

Rather than making the entire door top edge low, the design implements local quality by having the top edge higher at the first region (overlapping the occupant) for appearance and mud protection, while being lower at the second region to reduce overall weight and improve operability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS9016760B2All-terrain vehicle

Publication Date: 2015.04.28 HONDA MOTOR CO LTD

AI summary

An all-terrain vehicle includes a seat extending in a vehicle width direction and capable of accommodating a driver and at least one passenger, and a door provided on a lateral side of a vehicle body and openable and closable for allowing the driver and the passenger to enter and exit the vehicle. The door is open at an upper part thereof so that in a side view of the vehicle, a face of the driver or passenger is visible from the outside. A top edge of the door has a first region overlapping the driver or the passenger and a second region other than the first region. The top edge is higher at the first region than at the second region.