Vehicle Door Locking Assembly Curved Slotway Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing door locking assemblies for vehicles experience instability and potential damage due to vibrations and stresses during vehicle movement, leading to unwanted noise and compromised functionality over time.
Innovation Solution
The proposed assembly includes an abutment unit with a plate and walls that incorporate a curved slotway to securely accommodate the stem of the engagement element, along with a hump for additional stability and reinforcement pins to resist deformation, ensuring stable positioning and operation of the locking components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional pawl element is used between plate, pin and side walls, then door locking function is achieved, but component instability and impacts occur during vehicle movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a curved slotway (9) in the side wall that corresponds to the cross-section of the stem (5). This curved accommodation allows the stem to be stably positioned while accommodating vibrations and movements during vehicle operation, preventing impacts and chafing between the pawl element and surrounding components.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved slotway acts as an intermediary element between the stem and the rigid side wall structure. It provides a flexible accommodation that absorbs relative movements and vibrations, preventing direct contact and impacts between the pawl element and the plate or pin while maintaining the locking function.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid constraints are used to secure pawl element, then positioning stability improves, but complexity of assembly increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the positioning and constraint functions into the existing side wall structure by incorporating the curved slotway directly into the side wall (8). This integration provides stable positioning without requiring additional separate constraint components, thereby maintaining assembly simplicity while achieving the desired stability.
3Ease of operation
If conventional locking assembly is used, then door locking is achieved, but impacts and chafing occur during rotation and vehicle movement
Solution Approach 1:
The curved slotway is designed beforehand to accommodate the stem's cross-section, creating a pre-established cushioning effect that prevents impacts and chafing during both the locking operation and vehicle movement. This proactive design eliminates harmful contacts before they can occur.
Data Source
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AI summary
An assembly for locking the door (A) of vehicles (B), of the type of vans, trucks, lorries, semi-trailer trucks, trailers and the like, which comprises an abutment unit (2), which in turn comprises a plate (3) that can be rigidly applied to the chassis (C) of a vehicle (B) proximate to a door (A) that is normally arranged in the position for closing an access to an internal compartment of a vehicle (B), and an engagement element (4). The element (4) comprises a stem (5) that can be rigidly anchored to one end of a rod (100) which is rotatably supported by the door (A), and a pawl element (6), which is supported rigidly by the stem (5) and can be inserted between the plate (3) and a retaining pin (7), which is supported in a cantilever manner by walls (8) that protrude from respective flanks of the plate (3) itself, in order to define a configuration for locking the door (A) in the closed position. At least one wall (8) has, along its free edge directed away from the plate (3), a curved slotway (9) which has a profile that corresponds to the cross-section of an end segment of the stem (5) and is configured to stably accommodate the latter, at least when the pawl element (6) is arranged in the configuration for locking the door (A).