Door Latch Stopper Bracket for Side-Impact Unlatching Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle door latch assemblies are prone to unintended actuation during side impacts, affecting their operation.
Innovation Solution
A door latch stopper bracket is integrated into the vehicle door assembly, engaging the latch release lever to inhibit unintended movement during side impacts, maintaining the latch in a latched configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the door latch assembly is designed to allow normal operation with the latch release lever, then the door can be opened when needed, but the door may unintentionally unlatch during side impact events
Solution Approach 1:
The door latch stopper bracket is designed to be movable rather than fixed. During normal operation, the bracket remains retracted to allow free movement of the latch release lever. During side impact, the bracket moves into a blocking position to prevent unintended unlatching. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability during impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper bracket is positioned and configured to preemptively block the latch release lever's movement path before unintended unlatching can occur during side impact. By having the blocking structure ready in advance and automatically deploying it during impact events, the system prevents the harmful effect before it can manifest, while maintaining normal operation under non-impact conditions.
2Reliability
If a blocking structure is added to prevent unintended unlatching during side impact, then latch stability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door latch stopper bracket is integrated with the existing glass guide assembly rather than being a separate independent component. This merging of functions reduces overall device complexity while still providing the necessary blocking capability during side impact events.
Solution Approach 2:
The stopper bracket serves multiple functions: it guides the glass assembly during normal operation and simultaneously acts as a blocking structure during side impact events. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional dedicated components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while improving reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a vehicle door assembly including a door handle assembly and a door latch assembly that includes a door latch device operatively connected to the door handle assembly using a latch release lever that moves along a travel path to place the door latch assembly in an unlatched configuration. The door latch assembly includes the latch release lever that is configured to move between a latched configuration and the unlatched configuration. A glass guide assembly is mounted in the vehicle door assembly including a guide body and a door latch stopper bracket mounted to the guide body arranged and configured such that movement of an outer door panel toward an inner door panel during a side impact event moves the guide body toward the door latch assembly and causes the door latch stopper bracket to engage the latch release lever and inhibit movement of the latch release lever.