Vehicle Door Seal with Pivoting Elastic Wall for Gap Tolerance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sealing devices for vehicle doors are limited in their ability to accommodate different closing and opening kinematics and do not provide adequate tolerance compensation for varying door gap sizes, making them unsuitable for diverse door types.
Innovation Solution
A sealing device with an elastically deformable wall articulated like a hinge on the profile strip, which can pivot into a hollow chamber upon pressure application, ensuring easy adjustment and alignment, and featuring a protruding contour for engagement with a counter-profile strip, allowing for quick movement and defined deformation to compensate for tolerance variations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a rigid sealing structure is used, then manufacturing precision is improved, but adaptability to different door types and gap sizes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device employs a deformable wall that can dynamically change its shape and position. The wall is designed to be elastically deformable, allowing it to adapt to different door gap sizes and kinematics while maintaining sealing tightness. This dynamic capability enables the same sealing device to work with various door types including sliding doors, pivoting sliding doors, inward pivoting doors, and folding doors.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the sealing wall from rigid to elastically deformable. By modifying the material properties and structural characteristics of the wall, it can undergo controlled deformation to compensate for tolerance variations in door gap dimensions, thus maintaining reliable sealing across different door configurations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a complex adjustment mechanism is used to accommodate different door types, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing device utilizes the self-service principle through its elastically deformable wall that automatically adapts to different door gap sizes and kinematics without requiring external adjustment mechanisms. The wall's inherent elasticity allows it to self-adjust during door operation, eliminating the need for complex mechanical adjustment devices while maintaining compatibility with various door types.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a deformable wall is used to compensate for tolerance variations, then adaptability is improved, but the force required to maintain sealing increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs a flexible, elastically deformable wall that can bend and deform to accommodate tolerance variations in door gap dimensions. This flexible structure maintains sealing contact without requiring excessive sealing force, as the elasticity of the wall allows it to conform to the mating profile under normal operating conditions.
4Speed
If the wall is made highly elastic to ensure quick deformation, then speed of adjustment is improved, but structural strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the material and structural parameters of the wall to achieve an optimal balance between elasticity and strength. The wall is designed with specific elastic properties that enable quick deformation for adaptation while maintaining sufficient structural strength to withstand operational forces and maintain reliable sealing across different door configurations.
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 reliable sealing across various door types by facilitating quick and precise alignment and deformation of the sealing device, maintaining tightness regardless of gap dimensions, and supporting anti-trap protection for diverse door kinematics.
Implementation Method 1
the elastically and/or resiliently deformable wall is articulated in the manner of a hinge on the outside and inside of the profile strip and can be pivoted into the hollow chamber from the side when pressure is applied
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4
Figure 5(a)~5(c)
AI summary
The mechanism has an elastic profile strip (10) that is arranged in a vehicle door, and a profile counter strip (50). The strip has a hollow chamber (16) limited to a front side by a flexibly and/or spring deformable wall (18). The wall is movable from one position to another position by application of pressure from the front side through a projection (56) in the profile counter strip. The wall is provided inward in the hollow chamber and engages with the projection. The wall is returned back to one of the positions, when the wall is disengaged from the projection by flexible resetting forces.