Vehicle Door Flush Handle Assembly With Mechanical Backup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flush handles for vehicle doors, particularly horizontal axis motorized flush handles, face challenges in minimizing size while maintaining functionality and ensuring mechanical backup in case of electronic failure.
Innovation Solution
A flush handle assembly with a rotatable intermediate lever and actuator lever, allowing a grip member to move between flush and deployed positions, and incorporating a deployment device with a deployment spring for manual operation in case of battery failure, along with a lockset for mechanical key activation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the flush handle assembly uses electronic actuators for automatic operation, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to potential electronic failure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a mechanical backup system (Bowden cable and latch lever) that is pre-configured to take over operation in case of electronic actuator failure. This allows the handle to switch from electronic to mechanical operation, ensuring continued functionality and reliability while maintaining ease of operation through automatic electronic control under normal conditions.
2Reliability
If the flush handle assembly includes both electronic actuator and mechanical backup components, then reliability is improved, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the electronic actuator system and mechanical backup system into a single integrated flush handle assembly. The actuator lever, intermediate lever, grip member, and Bowden cable are combined in a compact arrangement where components serve dual purposes - the grip member is both the user interface and the mechanical actuator, while levers serve both electronic actuation and mechanical transmission functions. This reduces overall device complexity compared to having separate electronic and mechanical systems.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the flush handle is designed to be fully flush with the door panel, then aerodynamic performance is improved, but ease of operation worsens when deployed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic flush handle design where the grip member can change its position relative to the door panel. In the flush position, the grip member is recessed into the door panel to minimize aerodynamic noise and improve aerodynamic performance. When operation is required, the actuator rotates the grip member outward to a deployed position where it protrudes from the panel, making it easily graspable and operable. This dynamic transformation resolves the contradiction between aerodynamic performance and ease of operation.
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 minimizes the size of the flush handle assembly and provides a reliable mechanical backup, ensuring smooth operation even in electronic failures, while maintaining a flush and aerodynamic design.
Implementation Method 1
The deployment device comprises at least one deployment spring
Data Source
AI summary
A flush handle assembly for a vehicle door includes a flush handle including a grip member, an actuator, and an intermediate lever. The grip member is configured to cooperate with a latch mechanism to unlatch the vehicle door. The grip member is rotatable about a horizontal axis. The actuator is configured to move the grip member from a flush position in which the grip member extends flush to an external panel of the vehicle door, to a deployed position in which the grip member projects with respect to the external panel of the vehicle door. The intermediate lever connects the actuator to the grip member. The intermediate lever is rotatable about the horizontal axis.