Deformable Coupling Member for Wheel Spoiler Collision Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wheel spoilers on vehicles lack the ability to maintain functional integrity during collisions, as they are not designed to withstand impact loads beyond a certain limit, and existing solutions do not effectively restore their operational state post-collision.
Innovation Solution
A wheel spoiler arrangement featuring a reversibly deformable coupling member that transitions from a normal operational conformation to a deformed conformation under extraordinary impact loads, allowing the spoiler to move from an active to an inactive position during collisions, and returns to its original conformation through elastic forces or assistive mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wheel spoiler is designed to remain rigid in the active position to maintain aerodynamic function, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but the spoiler cannot withstand collision loads and loses functional integrity
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling member is designed to dynamically change its mechanical properties based on load conditions. Under normal operational loads, it maintains rigidity to preserve aerodynamic function. Under extraordinary collision loads exceeding the limit load, it becomes deformable to allow the wheel spoiler to move from active to inactive position, absorbing impact energy and preventing permanent damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling member's stiffness parameter is designed to change based on the applied load magnitude. It operates in a nonlinear regime where small loads result in rigid behavior, but loads exceeding the predetermined limit load trigger a transition to a more compliant state, enabling the spoiler to evacuate from the active position during collisions.
2Reliability
If the coupling member is made deformable to allow evacuation during collision, then collision resistance is improved, but the spoiler may not return to its original position without additional mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling member is designed with elastic properties that enable it to automatically return to its original conformation after deformation during collision. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for complex additional restoration systems, as the elastic forces inherent in the deformable coupling member suffice to restore the wheel spoiler to its operational active position after the collision load is removed.
3Loss of energy
If the wheel spoiler is positioned in the active position to reduce air resistance, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but the spoiler becomes vulnerable to collisions with objects on the roadway
Solution Approach 1:
The deformable coupling member is pre-configured with a predetermined limit load threshold that triggers evacuation from the active position. This preliminary anti-action mechanism is prepared in advance to counteract the harmful effect of collisions by automatically transitioning the wheel spoiler to the inactive position when collision loads exceed the limit, thereby protecting against damage while maintaining aerodynamic benefits during normal operation.
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
Enables the wheel spoiler to withstand collisions by displacing from the active to the inactive position under high impact loads, ensuring the vehicle's safety and maintaining operational functionality post-impact by utilizing a deformable coupling member that returns to its original state through elastic recovery.
Implementation Method 1
a reversibly deformable component arrangement which has a first predetermined conformation under an operational load that does not exceed a predetermined limit load and which is embodied to deform into a second conformation, different from the first conformation, under an extraordinary load that exceeds a predetermined limit load
Data Source
AI summary
A wheel spoiler arrangement, encompassing: a wheel spoiler carrier; a wheel spoiler received displaceably relative to the spoiler carrier between inactive and active positions constituting operating positions; a motion guide arranged between the spoiler carrier and the wheel spoiler and guides the displacement of the wheel spoiler between its operating positions; a displacement drive system which is coupled motion-transferringly to the wheel spoiler by a coupling member that drives the wheel spoiler relative to the spoiler carrier to perform a displacement motion between its operating positions; the coupling member is a reversibly deformable component arrangement which has a first predetermined conformation under an operational load that does not exceed a predetermined limit load and which is embodied to deform into a second conformation, different from the first conformation, under an extraordinary load that exceeds a predetermined limit load, the reversibly deformable component arrangement being deformable from the second conformation back into the first conformation.