Automotive Door Shield Deployment via Hydraulic Linkages
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automotive door protection solutions, such as plastic covers, often fail to adequately protect the finish and prevent dents on automobile doors, especially when parked near other vehicles or subjected to collisions with shopping carts or pedestrians.
Innovation Solution
A hydraulic system integrated into the automobile frame deploys a shield upwardly from a chamber below the door, using linkages and a track to position it adjacent to the door, actuated by a sensor or remote control to deploy and retract the shield in sync with the door's locking and unlocking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If plastic covers are placed on door edges or molding, then the door edge or molding is protected, but the entire door surface including finish is not adequately protected
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is nested within a chamber integrated into the automobile frame structure. The chamber houses the shield in a retracted position and allows it to deploy outward when activation is detected, providing full door surface protection without permanently occupying external space.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield transitions from a static, fixed-position protection device to a dynamic system that can deploy and retract. The shield moves from a retracted state (nested in chamber) to an extended state (positioned between potential impactors and door), enabling comprehensive door surface coverage only when needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a shield is deployed to protect the entire door, then comprehensive finish protection is achieved, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shield is nested within a chamber integrated into the automobile frame structure. The chamber houses the shield in a retracted position and allows it to deploy outward when activation is detected, providing full door surface protection without permanently occupying external space.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield is designed as a temporary, deployable protection element rather than a permanent fixture. It deploys only when impact risk is detected and retracts when not needed, providing comprehensive protection on-demand without requiring permanent external space occupation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the shield is always deployed, then maximum protection is provided, but accessibility and ease of operation are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The shield transitions from a static, fixed-position protection device to a dynamic system that can deploy and retract. The shield moves from a retracted state (nested in chamber) to an extended state (positioned between potential impactors and door), enabling comprehensive door surface coverage only when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield operates on a periodic, on-demand basis rather than continuously. It deploys when activation signals are detected (indicating potential impact risk) and retracts when not needed, balancing protection provision with ease of door operation and accessibility.
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
Effectively protects the automobile door finish and prevents dents by deploying a shield when the door is locked and retracting it when opening, providing comprehensive protection against careless impacts and collisions.
Implementation Method 1
The shield is deployed by a hydraulic system coupled to the shield through a plurality of linkages on a track that deploys the shield out the chamber opening and retracts the shield into the chamber.
Data Source
AI summary
A device and a system operative for protecting an automobile door from dent and damage to the finish. The device has a shield that stows in a chamber in an automobile frame below an automobile door, the shield deploying upwardly from the chamber to a position adjacent to the automobile door. The shield is deployed by a hydraulic system coupled to the shield through a plurality of linkages on a track that deploys the shield out the chamber opening and retracts the shield into the chamber. The system has an actuator for actuating the hydraulic system, the actuator selectively actuating the hydraulic system to deploy the shield when the door is locked and selectively actuating the hydraulic system to deploy the shield when is door is opening. A remote control device actuates the hydraulic system in one example embodiment. A sensor actuates the hydraulic system in another example embodiment.