Vehicle Door Latch Torsion Spring Panic State Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle door latch device with a divided structure of main and subsidiary levers and a spring for urging force increases the number of parts and production cost, leading to a panic state where the door cannot be unlocked effectively.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle door latch device is designed with a torsion spring that applies a smaller urging force to the opening link, allowing the locking lever to rotate to the unlock position against the torsion spring's force, thus avoiding the panic state by ensuring smooth door operation without relying on the contact between the guide wall and coupling portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a spring for urging force is provided between the main lever and the subsidiary lever, then the locking mechanism can be maintained in the lock state, but the number of parts increases and production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the main lever and subsidiary lever into a single integrated locking lever structure, eliminating the need for separate springs and reducing the number of parts. The locking lever itself is designed with elastic properties to provide the necessary urging force, merging the function of the spring into the lever structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking lever serves multiple functions: it acts as both the main lever and subsidiary lever, provides structural support, and generates urging force through its own elastic deformation. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate components.
2Reliability
If the opening link contacts the opening lever from an impossible direction, then the panic state occurs where the door cannot be unlocked, but the door-opening action stops once
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the locking lever with a guide wall that preemptively prevents the opening link from contacting the opening lever in an impossible direction. The guide wall redirects the opening link's motion before it can cause a panic state, ensuring the door can always be unlocked.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wall acts as an intermediary element between the opening link and the opening lever, mediating their interaction to prevent harmful contact while allowing necessary motion for normal door operation.
3Ease of operation
If the main lever is moved to the unlock position against the urging force of the spring, then the door-opening action stops once, but the subsidiary lever and opening link move to the unlock position
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the locking lever to dynamically transition between locked and unlocked positions through controlled elastic deformation. The lever's own elasticity provides the urging force, allowing smooth and rapid transition without stopping the door-opening action, unlike the spring-based system.
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 device securely avoids the panic state by enabling the locking lever to rotate to the unlock position, allowing door opening even when a panic state occurs, and reduces the complexity and cost of production by minimizing the number of parts.
Implementation Method 1
A vehicle door latch device is designed with a torsion spring that applies a smaller urging force to the opening link
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle door latch device comprises an outside lever, a locking lever, a holding member, an opening link and a spring. The spring applies an urging force, smaller than an elastic holding force of the holding member in an unlocking direction, to the opening link. A coil is held in a holding recess of a rotation central portion of the opening link. The first arm engages with the outside lever, and the second arm engages with the opening link. If a panic state occurs, the locking lever can rotate to an unlock position, and the opening link returns to an initial position before a releasing action and is moved to the unlock position by the urging force of the spring.