Motor Vehicle Door Ultrasonic Obstacle Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motor vehicle electromotor door drives often lack clear visibility of the door's movement range, leading to potential damage or injury from obstacles, especially with tailgates, due to incomplete monitoring of torque and threshold settings.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a metallic strut embedded in a plastic section of the door, equipped with an ultrasonic transducer that emits and detects ultrasonic waves to monitor the surrounding area, preventing collisions by detecting objects before the door strikes them.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If torque threshold is set high to allow full door opening, then door can open even with increased friction, but object damage or injury becomes possible
Solution Approach 1:
The ultrasonic transducer performs preliminary detection of objects in the door's movement path before the door actually moves. By detecting objects in advance and preventing door activation, the system avoids the need to choose between high torque thresholds (which risk damage) and low torque thresholds (which may fail to open the door under friction). The preliminary detection resolves the contradiction by eliminating the need for high torque settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical torque-based obstacle detection system with an ultrasonic acoustic field-based detection system. Instead of relying on mechanical torque thresholds that create the contradiction between door opening reliability and safety, the system uses ultrasonic waves to detect objects, substituting the mechanical detection method with an acoustic field method that provides safer preliminary detection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If torque threshold is set low to prevent object damage, then safety is improved, but full door opening becomes impossible when friction increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ultrasonic transducer performs preliminary detection of objects in the door's movement path before the door actually moves. By detecting objects in advance and preventing door activation only when necessary, the system ensures that low torque thresholds can be used safely without compromising door opening reliability, because the preliminary detection prevents false activations while allowing legitimate door openings to proceed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical torque-based obstacle detection system with an ultrasonic acoustic field-based detection system. This substitution allows the use of low torque thresholds for safety while the ultrasonic detection handles the obstacle detection function, preventing the door from opening only when objects are detected, thus maintaining both safety and door opening reliability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If ultrasonic transducer is added to detect objects, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The ultrasonic transducer is integrated into the existing door drive system's housing or structure, merging the detection function with the existing mechanical components. This integration approach adds the safety function while minimizing the increase in device complexity by utilizing existing structural elements rather than adding completely separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The ultrasonic transducer serves multiple functions: it detects objects in the door's movement path, provides collision prevention, and can potentially serve as both a transmitter and receiver for the ultrasonic waves. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving improved safety.
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
Enhances safety by allowing the door to detect and avoid obstacles, reducing the risk of damage to objects or the door itself, while maintaining efficient operation and low manufacturing costs.
Implementation Method 1
an ultrasonic transducer which emits and detects ultrasonic waves to monitor the surrounding area
Implementation Method 2
an ultrasonic transducer which emits and detects ultrasonic waves to monitor the surrounding area
Data Source
AI summary
A door of a motor vehicle, in particular a tailgate, having a section made of a plastic, and having a metallic strut embedded in the section, and having an ultrasonic transducer. The ultrasonic transducer is acoustically coupled to the strut. An electromotor door drive of a motor vehicle is also provided as well as a metallic strut of a door of a motor vehicle.