Deployable Rollover Cover for Hatch Crew Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Protected vehicles, such as infantry fighting vehicles, pose a risk to crew members who must protrude through hatches during operation, as they are exposed to fatal dangers during rollovers, with existing safety systems failing to adequately protect them.
Innovation Solution
A rollover protection system featuring a flexible protective cover that unfolds outside the vehicle to enclose the crew member, triggered by sensors detecting imminent rollover, and a support element to relocate the crew member inside, using an actuator to deploy the cover and adjust the support element.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the crew member protrudes through the hatch for operational purposes, then the operational capability is improved, but the safety during rollover deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover is deployed in advance before the rollover occurs, creating a safety barrier that encloses the crew member's exposed body parts. The system detects imminent rollover conditions and activates the cover deployment beforehand, allowing the crew member to remain in their operational position while gaining protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover acts as an intermediary element between the crew member and the harmful rollover forces. It is positioned outside the vehicle to enclose the crew member's protruding parts, serving as a protective mediator that separates the vulnerable crew member from the direct impact of vehicle rollover.
2Reliability
If a protective cover is deployed outside the vehicle to enclose the crew member, then the protection level is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cover transitions from a folded storage state to an unfolded deployed state dynamically in response to detected rollover conditions. This dynamic deployment allows the system to provide protection only when needed, reducing the complexity of having a permanently deployed structure while maintaining high protection levels when activated.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover is designed as a flexible structure that can be folded into a compact form for storage and then unfolded to enclose the crew member. This flexible shell approach provides effective protection without requiring a complex rigid structure, simplifying the overall system design while maintaining reliability.
3Ease of operation
If the protective cover is folded during normal operation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the protection capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of rollover conditions and activates the protective cover deployment before the actual rollover occurs. This allows the cover to be folded during normal operations for unobstructed hatch access, while ensuring protection is automatically deployed at the critical moment when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cover system is equipped with sensors that automatically detect rollover conditions and trigger deployment without requiring manual intervention. This self-service capability ensures the cover transitions from folded to deployed state automatically based on detected conditions, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring protection capability is activated when needed.
Data Source
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AI summary
Rollover protection system (19A, 19B) for a protected vehicle (1), comprising a protective cover (28, 48, 49) for protecting a crew member (27) who is partially inside and partially outside the protected vehicle (1) in the event of a rollover of the protected vehicle (1), and an actuator (32) associated with the protective cover (28, 48, 49), wherein the actuator (32) is configured to move the protective cover (28, 48, 49) from a folded state (Z1) to an unfolded state (Z2) immediately before or during the rollover of the protected vehicle (1), and wherein the rollover protection system (19A, 19B) can be mounted on the protected vehicle (1) such that the protective cover (28, 48, 49) in the unfolded state (Z2) is at least partially located outside the protected vehicle (1), thus protecting areas of the crew member (27), which are arranged outside the protected vehicle (1) during the rollover,at least partially enclosed.