Vehicle Door Handle Flap with Proximity Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional door handles on vehicles protrude, increasing air resistance and disrupting the vehicle's aerodynamic surface, while also compromising its aesthetic appearance.
Innovation Solution
A door handle system featuring a flap that reversibly covers a grip recess, equipped with a distance sensor and a control unit to automatically open the flap when a user approaches and detect grip, allowing for smooth integration with keyless entry functions and enhanced user comfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional protruding door handle is used, then the door can be easily opened by hand, but the vehicle surface is disrupted and air resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door handle system employs a dynamic flap that can pivot between a closed position (flush with vehicle surface) and an opened position (revealing the grip recess). The flap is actuated by an adjusting device that responds to sensor detection, allowing the system to adapt its configuration based on operational needs versus aerodynamic requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The flap serves as an intermediary element between the vehicle surface and the door handle mechanism. It mediates between the conflicting requirements of aerodynamic smoothness and accessible door opening, providing a transition state that protects the grip recess while maintaining surface integrity.
2Ease of operation
If a grip recess is added to accommodate the door handle, then the handle can be gripped comfortably, but the vehicle surface is disrupted and aesthetic appearance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The flap dynamically transitions between covering and revealing the grip recess. When closed, it maintains the continuous vehicle surface shape; when opened, it exposes the recess for comfortable gripping, thus resolving the static contradiction between surface continuity and grip accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The door handle system is segmented into distinct functional components: the flap (aesthetic/surface protection function), the grip recess (ergonomic function), and the door handle mechanism (operational function). This segmentation allows each component to optimize its specific function without compromising the others.
3Ease of operation
If a sensor and control system are added to automatically open the flap, then user convenience is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs sensors that automatically detect the presence of a user's hand near the door handle and trigger the flap opening sequence without requiring manual intervention. The control unit autonomously processes sensor signals and actuates the adjusting device, enabling the system to serve itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit receives feedback signals from the distance sensor and adjusts the flap position accordingly. The system continuously monitors the sensor output and modifies its operation to achieve the desired state (flap opened when hand is detected), creating a closed-loop control system that enhances convenience.
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
The system reduces air resistance, improves the vehicle's aerodynamics, and increases user convenience by eliminating the need for a conventional unlocking mechanism, while providing a seamless grip experience.
Implementation Method 1
a distance sensor at least in part disposed on said at least one flap or on one of a plurality of said flaps; and a control and evaluating unit configured: with reference to a first measuring signal output by said distance sensor in the closed position, to conclude that a vehicle user is approaching said at least one flap
Data Source
AI summary
A door handle system for a vehicle door has a door handle and at least one flap for reversibly closing a grip recess set back to the rear of the door handle. An actuating device pivots the one or more flaps between a closed position that covers the handle recess and an open position that exposes the handle recess. A distance sensor is disposed on the flap. A control and evaluation unit uses a first measurement signal that is output by the distance sensor in the closed position, to deduce that a vehicle user is approaching so as to activate the actuation device to move the one or each flap into the open position. A second measurement signal that is output by the distance sensor in the open position indicates that the door handle is grasped by the vehicle user.