Vehicle Door Assembly With Expandable Hinge Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle doors often struggle to open fully in confined spaces due to interference from obstacles, limiting access to the passenger compartment.
Innovation Solution
A door assembly with a hinge that expands and contracts along its axis, allowing the door body to move from a closed, lowered position to an open, raised position, providing clearance for entry and exit even in tight spaces without requiring significant outward extension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional hinges are used that allow doors to pivot in a plane parallel to the vehicle surface, then the door assembly structure is simple, but the door cannot open fully in confined spaces due to interference from obstacles
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism transitions the door from pivoting in a horizontal plane (parallel to vehicle surface) to moving in a vertical dimension. The door body moves from a closed, lowered position to an open, raised position, opening in the vertical dimension rather than horizontally, thereby avoiding obstacles in confined spaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge is configured to expand and contract dynamically along its axis during rotation. As the door opens, the hinge expands to accommodate the raised position; as the door closes, the hinge contracts back to the lowered position. This dynamic adjustment enables the door to adapt its position during the opening/closing cycle.
2Area of stationary object
If the door opens in a plane parallel to the vehicle surface, then the hinge mechanism is simple, but significant clearance space is required for the door to open fully
Solution Approach 1:
The door opening motion is changed from horizontal (requiring lateral clearance) to vertical (utilizing vertical space). The door body moves upward to an open, raised position, eliminating the need for significant lateral clearance space while maintaining simple hinge mechanics.
3Ease of operation
If the hinge expands and contracts along the axis during rotation, then the door can open in confined spaces with minimal clearance, but the hinge mechanism becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge combines two functions into a single mechanism: the rotational function (allowing the door to pivot open) and the expansion/contraction function (adjusting the hinge length along its axis). This merged mechanism enables the door to open in confined spaces without requiring separate systems for rotation and position adjustment.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the door body moves to an open, raised position, then access to the passenger compartment is permitted in confined spaces, but the door mechanism requires more complex motion control
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge mechanism is designed to dynamically adjust its length along the axis during rotation. As the door rotates to the open position, the hinge automatically expands to accommodate the raised door body; as the door closes, the hinge contracts. This dynamic behavior is inherent to the hinge design, eliminating the need for separate motion control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A door assembly for a vehicle. The door assembly has a door body and a hinge. The hinge is connected to the door body and is rotatable about an axis of the hinge. The hinge is configured to expand along the axis from a contracted position to an expanded position when rotated in a first direction, and is configured to contract along the axis from the expanded position to the contracted position when rotated in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction. In the contracted position, the door body is in a closed, lowered position. In the expanded position, the door body is in an open, raised position.