Motor Vehicle Door Handle Assembly with Pivot Decoupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing motor vehicle door handle arrangements risk undesired door opening during accidents due to acceleration forces, requiring additional components like locks and balancing weights, increasing complexity and cost.
Innovation Solution
A handle arrangement with a support element, drive element, and pivotally mounted drive lever, where the door handle's first longitudinal end is rotatable and connected to a movement lever via a coupling linkage, allowing manual operation in both normal and emergency conditions without additional components, and featuring a control disk and locking hook to secure the handle in a retracted position during accidents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If locks and counterweights are provided in conventional handle assemblies to prevent undesired door opening during accidents, then safety is improved, but the number of components and installation space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the locking mechanism and counterweight components from the handle assembly. Instead of preventing door handle movement through additional components, the invention allows the door handle to move freely while relying on the natural decoupling of the lever system to prevent inadvertent door opening during accidents.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever system is designed to automatically decouple during accidental door opening attempts. The mechanical advantage and geometry of the lever system cause it to naturally disengage when subjected to abnormal forces, providing safety without requiring active locking mechanisms or counterweights.
2Reliability
If locks and counterweights are provided in conventional handle assemblies to prevent undesired door opening during accidents, then safety is improved, but installation space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the locking mechanism and counterweight components from the handle assembly. Instead of preventing door handle movement through additional components, the invention allows the door handle to move freely while relying on the natural decoupling of the lever system to prevent inadvertent door opening during accidents.
Solution Approach 2:
The safety function is integrated into the existing lever system geometry and mechanical advantage rather than being added as a separate subsystem. The same lever components that enable normal door operation also provide accidental prevention through their inherent mechanical properties.
3Ease of operation
If a multi-part lever system is used to ensure the second longitudinal end follows the movement of the first longitudinal end, then functionality is improved, but the risk of inadvertent door opening during accidents increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lever system is designed with dynamic characteristics that allow it to function normally during regular operation but automatically decouple when subjected to abnormal forces. The mechanical advantage and geometry create a system that is stable under normal conditions but becomes unstable and decouples under accidental loading conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the potential harm of the lever system into a safety feature. The same mechanical advantage that enables easy door operation normally becomes the mechanism for automatic decoupling during accidents. The force applied during an accident is converted into the decoupling action that prevents door opening.
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 solution ensures the door handle remains securely in a retracted position during accidents and allows for manual operation in both normal and emergency scenarios with minimal components, reducing installation space and costs while maintaining safety.
Implementation Method 1
the drive element moves a drive lever mounted on the support element and connected to the first longitudinal end of the door handle in order to extend the door handle into its standby position
Implementation Method 2
the door handle is mounted at its first longitudinal end via a pivot axis so that it can rotate on the drive lever and/or pivot relative to the drive lever
Implementation Method 3
a movement lever pivotally mounted on the support element, to which the second longitudinal end of the door handle is connected and which is coupled in motion to the drive lever
Data Source
Figure 1~5
Figure 6~8
Figure 9~11
AI summary
The invention relates to a handle arrangement (3) of a motor vehicle (1), comprising a support element (6), a drive element (7) mounted between a home position and an open position, a door handle (4) which can assume a retracted position and a ready position in normal operation and which has a first longitudinal end (8) and a second longitudinal end (8), a drive lever (10) and a movement lever (11) with which the second longitudinal end (9) of the door handle (4) is connected and which is coupled to the drive lever (10) for movement, wherein the door handle (4) is rotatably mounted on the drive lever (10) and pivotably relative to the drive lever (10) at its first longitudinal end (8) via a pivot axis (19) for manual operation, such that the second longitudinal end (9) of the door handle (4) can be pivotably arranged in the open direction (14).