Vehicle Door Window Net Structure for Rollover Limb Retention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Off-road vehicles lack effective protection for occupants' arms and legs during rollovers due to open designs, leading to potential serious injuries from exposure during rough terrain travel.
Innovation Solution
A window net door attachment is coupled with the vehicle door to surround the open area between the door, roof, and windshield, using a loosely woven window net with a tightly woven boundary support and vertical supports for enhanced strength, attached to frame portions that extend around the open area to retain occupants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If off-road vehicles use open designs without windows and doors, then accessibility and ventilation are improved, but occupant safety during rollovers deteriorates due to exposed limbs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a window net made of flexible woven material that can be deployed across the open door area to protect occupants during rollovers while maintaining the open design's accessibility benefits. The net acts as a flexible barrier that prevents limb exposure without requiring rigid structural modifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The window net is designed as a dynamic component that can be deployed and removed as needed. It attaches to the door frame structure but can be positioned to cover the open area only when protection is required, allowing the vehicle to switch between protected and accessible states.
2Reliability
If off-road vehicles are equipped with rigid protective frames, then occupant safety during rollovers is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of rigid protective frames, the patent uses a flexible window net that provides equivalent protection with significantly reduced complexity. The net can be secured to existing door frames without requiring additional rigid structural components.
Solution Approach 2:
The window net is a simple, inexpensive component that can be easily replaced if damaged, rather than investing in complex rigid protective structures. This approach prioritizes simplicity and ease of replacement over permanent rigid installation.
3Ease of operation
If window net is made from loosely woven material for occupant retention, then flexibility and comfort are improved, but structural strength deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The window net employs different weave densities in different areas: loosely woven sections for flexibility and comfort in contact with occupants, and tightly woven boundary sections for structural strength at the edges where the net attaches to the door frame and needs to resist forces during rollovers.
Solution Approach 2:
The window net functions as a composite structure combining loosely woven and tightly woven materials in a single component. This allows the net to simultaneously provide occupant comfort through flexibility and structural integrity through reinforced edges.
4Strength
If vertical supports are added to the window net, then structural strength is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Vertical supports are added only at critical locations within the window net where additional strength is needed, rather than uniformly throughout. This localized reinforcement provides necessary structural support while minimizing the increase in overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of providing complete uniform reinforcement across the entire window net, vertical supports are strategically placed at key positions to provide sufficient strength where most needed, accepting that some areas may have excess material while avoiding unnecessary complexity elsewhere.
Data Source
AI summary
A window net door attachment is provided for coupling with a vehicle door to provide protection to occupants within the vehicle during travel over rough terrain or during rolling over of the vehicle. Framed portions of the window net door attachment surround an open area between a top of the vehicle door, a roof, and a windshield area of the vehicle. A window net within a boundary support is attached to the frame portions and to the top of the vehicle door, such that the window net is disposed throughout the open area. Attachments along the boundary support retain the window net in an extended disposition within the open area. Vertical supports may be interwoven with the window net so as to impart relatively greater strength to the window net.