Vehicle Door Axis Transverse Shift for Coupling Clearance

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Solution Overview

Problem

Emergency exit systems in vehicles, particularly rail vehicles, face challenges with automatic couplings protruding forward, causing collisions with door flaps and requiring complex multi-step operations for untrained users to navigate height and length differences, which are not easily accessible due to wind exposure and collision risks.

Innovation Solution

A door device with a rotating door flap mounted on a first axis, featuring kinematics that enable transverse movement via a linkage mechanism, including articulated arms and pendulum supports, allowing the axis to shift and the door to open without colliding with the front coupling, providing a single continuous operation and effective sealing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the door flap rotates about a fixed horizontal axis close to the outer skin of the vehicle, then the door can be opened and closed, but the door flap collides with the automatic coupling projecting in front of the vehicle front

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedoor opening operationVSAvoidcollision with automatic coupling
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the rotation axis of the door flap movable rather than fixed. The axis is displaced transversely during door opening through a linkage mechanism, allowing the door to clear the automatic coupling obstacle. This dynamic adjustment of the rotation axis position resolves the collision problem while maintaining ease of operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If the door flap is positioned at the front of the driver's cab, then emergency exit is provided, but the system is exposed to high driving wind requiring tight sealing

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveemergency exit functionVSAvoiddriving wind exposure
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs sealing elements that create flexible seals between the door flap and door frame. These sealing elements accommodate the movement of the door flap while maintaining effective sealing against driving wind, thus protecting the emergency exit function from wind exposure effects.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

3Object-affected harmful factors

If a linkage mechanism with articulated arms is used to move the rotation axis transversely, then collision with front coupling is prevented, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision preventionVSAvoidlinkage mechanism complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the door flap structure with the linkage mechanism by integrating the articulated arms and pendulum supports directly into the door assembly. This combination allows the rotation axis displacement function to be achieved without adding separate complex mechanisms, thus reducing overall device complexity while maintaining collision prevention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

4Object-affected harmful factors

If the door flap is lowered in the open state to clear the coupling, then collision is avoided, but the operation requires multi-step process not easily accessible to untrained users

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecollision avoidanceVSAvoidoperation simplicity for untrained users
Core Design Contradiction:
Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements continuous useful action by coupling the transverse movement of the rotation axis with the rotational opening movement of the door flap through the linkage mechanism. As the door opens, the axis automatically displaces transversely in a continuous motion, eliminating the need for separate manual steps to lower or reposition the door, thus making the operation simple and intuitive for untrained users.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #20Continuity of useful action

Data Source

PatentEP3380382B1Front emergency exit
Publication Date: 2020.03.25 SIEMENS MOBILITY GMBH
  • EP3380382B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3380382B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3380382B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The invention relates to a door device for a vehicle as well as to a vehicle featuring a door device that comprises a door leaf (1) which is mounted so as to be rotatable about a first pin (8); the door leaf further comprises a cinematic mechanism designed to transversely move the first pin (8) during a rotational movement of the door leaf (1).