Passenger Compartment Centre Pillar for Pillarless Side Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automobiles with four or five seats lacking side pillars between front and rear doors face issues of sequential door operation, structural weakening, and increased weight, as well as compromised seat belt restraint systems due to the absence of pillars.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a centre pillar inside the passenger compartment between the front and rear seats, which extends from the floor to the roof, creating a single continuous side door opening and providing support for seat belt anchoring without eliminating the structural benefits of pillars.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pillars are removed to create a single side door opening, then ease of operation is improved, but structural strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate structural element (the pillarless door opening design with reinforced door frames and roof rails) that mediates between the need for easy access and structural strength requirements, allowing single door operation while maintaining adequate structural integrity through alternative reinforcement methods
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes structural parameters by redistributing structural support from vertical pillars to horizontal reinforcement elements (door frame strengthening, roof rail reinforcement) and modifies the door opening configuration to a single continuous opening, thereby maintaining strength while improving operational ease
2Ease of operation
If pillars are removed to create a single side door opening, then ease of operation is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the pillar elements from the traditional door configuration and eliminates them entirely, replacing their structural function with alternative designs in the door frames and roof structure, thereby reducing overall weight while maintaining the benefit of easier single-door operation
3Ease of operation
If pillars are removed, then ease of operation is improved, but seat belt restraint system reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces alternative anchoring structures (reinforced door frames and roof rails) that serve as intermediary elements to provide reliable seat belt anchoring points in the absence of traditional pillars, maintaining restraint system reliability while preserving the pillarless design benefits
Data Source
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AI summary
Automobile (1) comprising a pair of front wheels (2), a pair of rear wheels (3) and an outer body (4) having a floor (6), a front hood (7), a roof (8), and a windscreen (9) extending between the front hood (7) and the roof (8); the automobile (1) further comprises a passenger compartment (5), which is obtained inside the outer body (4) between the front and rear wheels (2, 3), is frontally delimited by the windscreen (9) and defines at least one driving position (15) and one front passenger position (16) side by side; advantageously, the automobile (1) is provided, inside the passenger compartment (5), with a central pillar (20) extending between the floor (6) and the roof (8) and arranged in the area of an intermediate longitudinal axis (A) of the passenger compartment (5) between the driving position (15) and the front passenger position (16).