Deployable Rollover Protection for Exposed Vehicle Crew
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Solution Overview
Problem
Protected vehicles, such as armored personnel carriers, often have confusing geometry, requiring crew members to exit via hatches, leaving them exposed and at risk of fatal injury during rollovers, as their upper body protrudes outside the vehicle, making them vulnerable to being crushed by the overturning vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A rollover protection system comprising a protective element and an actuator that deploys immediately before a rollover, extending over the crew member's exposed areas, providing a barrier between the crew member and the ground, allowing them time to retreat inside the vehicle, and is designed to be modular for retrofitting on existing vehicles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the protective element is extended to protect the crew member during rollover, then the safety of the crew member is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective element is positioned in advance along the contour of the protected vehicle, ready to be activated before a rollover occurs. This preliminary positioning allows the system to provide protection without requiring complex real-time deployment mechanisms during the actual rollover event.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective element is divided into multiple segments or sections that can be independently positioned along the vehicle contour. This segmentation allows the complex protective structure to be managed as separate, simpler components that can be individually controlled and positioned.
2Ease of operation
If the protective element is retracted to avoid obstructing crew member movement, then the ease of operation is improved, but the safety protection is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The protective element is designed to be dynamic, automatically adjusting its position between retracted and extended states based on operational conditions. During normal operations, it remains retracted to avoid obstruction, and extends automatically when rollover is detected or anticipated, providing both ease of operation and safety protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors and control mechanisms that monitor vehicle orientation, acceleration, and operational state to determine when the protective element should be extended or retracted. This feedback mechanism ensures the protective element is only deployed when necessary, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring safety protection when needed.
3Reliability
If the protective element extends beyond the crew member's exposed areas, then the safety protection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective element is configured to extend specifically to match the contour of the protected vehicle and cover only the areas where crew members are exposed during rollover. This localized protection approach ensures comprehensive safety coverage without requiring the entire system to be overly complex, as each section is tailored to its specific protective function.
Data Source
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AI summary
Rollover protection system (19A, 19B) for a protected vehicle (1), comprising a protective element (30, 50) for protecting a crew member (29) who is partly inside and partly outside the protected vehicle (1) in the event of a rollover of the protected vehicle (1), and an actuator (41, 53) associated with the protective element (30, 50), wherein the actuator (41, 53) is configured to move the protective element (30, 50) from a retracted state (Z1) to an extended state (Z2) immediately before or during the rollover of the protected vehicle (1), and wherein the protective element (30, 50) in the extended state (Z2) extends beyond areas of the crew member (29) that are located outside the protected vehicle (1) during the rollover.