Vehicle Bonnet Hinge Arrangement Deployment Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bonnet designs for vehicles do not effectively mitigate injuries to vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, during collisions, as they tend to deform and increase the impact severity due to their interaction with engine parts, and existing deployable bonnet systems lack efficient control mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A hinge arrangement that allows the bonnet to transition between a normal and deployed state, featuring a deployment guiding element and a lift limiter, which controls the bonnet's movement to increase the distance between the bonnet and engine parts, thereby reducing impact severity, and includes a locking mechanism to manage the bonnet's displacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a thin metal sheet bonnet is used, then the bonnet can be lightweight and simple in structure, but it tends to bend and deform on hard engine parts during impact, increasing injury severity
Solution Approach 1:
The bonnet is designed to be deployable between a closed position and a deployed (popped-up) position. The hinge arrangement allows the bonnet to dynamically change its position relative to the engine compartment, increasing the distance between the bonnet and hard engine parts during deployment to reduce impact severity while maintaining a lightweight thin metal sheet construction
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a deployable bonnet system is implemented, then the distance between the bonnet and engine parts can be increased to reduce impact severity, but the system becomes more complex with additional control mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge arrangement is divided into distinct functional components: a hinge portion with first and second members connected by a hinge pivot axis, a bracket portion attached to the bonnet, and a deployment guiding element with first and second ends pivotally connected to the bracket and first member respectively. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, simplifying the overall control mechanism while achieving the deployable functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The deployment guiding element acts as an intermediary mechanism between the hinge portion and the bracket portion. It controls the transition between normal and deployed states by guiding the movement of the bracket portion relative to the first member, enabling controlled deployment without requiring complex active control systems
3Ease of operation
If the hinge connection remains active during deployment, then the bonnet can move freely, but controlled collapse and precise positioning become difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The deployment guiding element is extracted as a separate control mechanism from the hinge connection itself. During deployment, the deployment guiding element becomes the primary control mechanism while the hinge connection's role is temporarily reduced. The deployment guiding element includes a lift limiter that provides a displacement stop, extracting the positioning control function from the hinge and placing it in the deployment guiding element where it can be more precisely controlled
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 hinge arrangement effectively decouples normal bonnet opening movements from deployment movements, allowing controlled collapse and increased distance between the bonnet and engine parts, reducing injury risk and enabling partial access to the engine compartment without full opening, thus mitigating accident severity and reducing service costs.
Implementation Method 1
The deployment guiding element is adapted to control the transition of the hinge arrangement between the normal state and the deployed state
Implementation Method 2
a hinge pivot axis providing a hinged connection between the first member and second member
Implementation Method 3
a lift limiter adapted to provide a displacement stop for the deployment guiding element when the hinge arrangement has reached the deployed state
Implementation Method 4
The deployment guiding element comprises a first end pivotally connected to the bracket portion and a second end pivotally connected to the first member
Data Source
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AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a hinge arrangement (11) adapted to be located at an end portion (15, 17) of a bonnet (5) of a vehicle (3) and being transitable between a normal state and a deployed state. The hinge arrangement comprises a hinge portion (19), a bracket portion (21) and a deployment guiding element (23). The hinge portion comprises a first member (25), a second member (27) and a hinge pivot axis (A1) providing a hinged connection between the first member and second member. The bracket portion is arranged to be in a fixed position relative to the first member during movement in the hinged connection. Further, the bracket portion is arranged to be translationally displaced as a whole at least in a vertical direction in relation to the first member of the hinge portion during the transition of the hinge arrangement between the normal state and the deployed state, the deployment guiding element being adapted to control the transition, the hinged connection being inactive during the transition. The hinge arrangement further comprises a lift limiter (37, 51) adapted to provide a displacement stop for the deployment guiding element when the hinge arrangement has reached the deployed state.