Vehicle Door Handle Push Button with Segmented Stud Activation Pattern

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Solution Overview

Problem

Electronic push buttons for motor vehicle door handles face challenges in withstanding a high number of activations while maintaining low actuation forces and ensuring impermeability and tactile feedback.

Innovation Solution

The electronic push button features an activation pattern composed of spaced-apart studs, including actuating and auxiliary studs, which allows for easier flexion of the membrane under lower forces, enabling the use of a more rigid material to withstand over 100,000 activations while maintaining low actuation forces and ensuring impermeability and tactile feedback.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Force

If a membrane with low hardness is used to enable easy flexion and low actuation force, then the actuation force is reduced, but the membrane cannot withstand a high number of activations

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveactuation forceVSAvoidwithstand number of activations

Core Design Contradiction:

ForceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The activation pattern is segmented into multiple discrete studs rather than a continuous rigid structure. This segmentation allows the membrane to flex more easily under each individual stud while distributing the stress across multiple contact points, enabling the use of a more rigid membrane material that can withstand repeated activations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The membrane is designed with locally varied properties through the stud configuration. The studs create localized flexing zones while the rest of the membrane maintains higher rigidity. This local quality differentiation allows the membrane to be sufficiently rigid for durability while still providing the necessary flexibility for actuation at the stud contact points.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If a rigid activation pattern is used to withstand many activations, then the durability is improved, but the actuation force becomes too high

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewithstand number of activationsVSAvoidactuation force

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSForce

Solution Approach 1:

The rigid activation pattern is divided into multiple discrete studs with spacing between them. This segmentation reduces the overall stiffness of the activation pattern while maintaining the rigidity of individual studs, thereby reducing the actuation force required while still providing sufficient structural integrity for durability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The studs are designed to engage only partially with the operator's finger during actuation. The spaced-apart configuration means that not the entire activation pattern needs to flex simultaneously, reducing the total force required while still achieving the necessary activation of the electric switch.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Ease of operation

If the membrane is made more flexible to reduce actuation force, then the ease of operation is improved, but the membrane becomes insufficiently robust for production specifications

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveease of actuationVSAvoidrobustness

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The membrane exhibits local quality variations through the stud configuration. At the stud contact points, the membrane is designed to flex easily for actuation, while in the spaces between studs and in the overall membrane structure, the material maintains higher strength and rigidity. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between ease of operation and robustness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The activation pattern functions as a composite structure combining the membrane material with the stud elements. This composite configuration allows the membrane to have overall high strength for robustness while the stud interfaces provide localized flexibility for ease of actuation, achieving both requirements simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

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

This design enhances the robustness of the push button, allowing it to withstand a high number of activations while maintaining low actuation forces and ensuring impermeability and tactile feedback, thus meeting the requirements for motor vehicle door handles.

Implementation Method 1

a membrane which is flexible in a direction of an electric switch

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFlexion: Elasticity

Data Source

PatentUS11255111B2Electronic push button for a motor vehicle door handle with activation pattern made up of studs

Publication Date: 2022.02.22 SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES AG & CO KG

AI summary

An electronic push button for a motor vehicle door handle, including an activation pattern supported by a membrane that is flexible in the direction of an electric switch carried by a printed circuit board, the activation pattern defining an activation surface that is pressed by an operator's finger in order to push the activation pattern in the direction of the electric switch. The activation pattern is made up of a set of studs that extend parallel to one another away from the electric switch, with the majority of the studs being spaced apart from one another, the set of studs discontinuously delimiting an outer contour of the activation surface of the electronic push button.