Convertible Top Abutment Arrangement for Headroom Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing convertible vehicle tops can impair passengers' headroom and safety due to swaying or teetering during displacement, especially in driving or accident situations, as they lack effective mechanisms to manage tolerances and elasticities.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a displaceable abutment element that can pivot from a rest to an active position, allowing the main link to deviate from its normal position, thereby increasing passenger headroom and reducing the risk of the top encroaching on the passenger space, and optionally activating during detected dangerous situations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the top is displaced while driving using a conventional abutment arrangement, then the top can be moved between closed and storage positions, but the top may sway or teeter into passengers' headspace due to tolerances and elasticities
Solution Approach 1:
The abutment element is made displaceable between a rest position (for normal operation) and an active position (for preventing headroom impairment). This dynamic adjustment allows the system to adapt to different operational conditions - during normal top displacement the abutment element remains retracted, but during detected dangerous situations it extends to pivot the main link and raise front components, thereby preventing them from entering passenger headspace
Solution Approach 2:
The displaceable abutment element acts as an intermediary mechanism between the main link arrangement and the front components (bow, wind cowl). By pivoting the main link when moved to the active position, it indirectly raises the front components to a safe position, preventing direct contact with passenger headspace while maintaining the top's displacement functionality
2Reliability
If a displaceable abutment element is added to prevent top swaying into headspace, then passenger safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The abutment element's position parameter is changed between two discrete states (retracted/active) based on detected conditions. This binary parameter change simplifies the control logic compared to continuous adjustment mechanisms, while still achieving the safety function by pivoting the main link approximately 2° to 10° to raise front components clear of headspace
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the displaceable abutment element is activated during dangerous situations, then passenger protection is enhanced, but the response time and detection system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The displaceable abutment element is positioned in advance (in the rest position) ready to be activated, and the abnormal situation detection device continuously monitors for dangerous conditions. When an accident or abnormal situation is detected, the abutment element is rapidly moved to the active position to prevent headroom impairment, ensuring protection before the top completes its displacement cycle
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a convertible vehicle having a top linkage which can be displaced between a closed position and a storage position, and a linkage arrangement on both of its two sides relative to a vertical longitudinal center plane of the top. The linkage arrangement includes a main multi-joint arrangement pivotally mounted on a corresponding main bearing permanently mounted to the vehicle. The main multi-joint arrangement includes two main links, at least one of which rests against an abutment arrangement of the corresponding main bearing when in the closed position of the top so that the main bearing is in its a normal position. The abutment arrangement includes a displaceable abutment element which can be displaced between a rest position and an active position, in which the main link resting against the abutment arrangement is pivoted from the normal position to a deviated position.