Grille Shutter Flap Alignment for Vehicle Front Surface Harmony
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing grille shutter devices installed on vehicles with design surfaces extending rearward from the vehicle width direction suffer from aesthetic appeal issues due to misalignment of blade planes with the design surface, reducing the overall visual harmony.
Innovation Solution
A grille shutter device with flaps that rotate around up-down oriented rotary shafts, where the flaps in the closed position align their front surfaces with the rearward-extending frame body surfaces, ensuring alignment with the vehicle's design surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the blades are arranged along the same axis extending in the vehicle width direction, then the grille shutter device can effectively open or close the grille opening, but the plane direction of the front surfaces of the blades is less aligned with the plane direction of the design surface, reducing aesthetic appeal
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a two-dimensional arrangement (blades aligned along a straight axis perpendicular to the vehicle front) to a three-dimensional arrangement (blades positioned along a curved axis that follows the design surface contour). This dimensional change allows the blade front surfaces to align with the design surface while maintaining the opening/closing function through rotational movement around curved rotary shafts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies curvature by arranging the rotary shafts along a curved axis that matches the design surface geometry, rather than using a straight axis. The blades are positioned such that their front surfaces follow the curved contour of the design surface, creating a harmonious visual integration while preserving the mechanical function of opening and closing the grille.
2Shape
If the blades are arranged to align with the design surface, then aesthetic appeal is improved, but the structural complexity of the rotary shaft arrangement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the grille shutter system into multiple independent blade units, each with its own rotary shaft. This segmentation allows each blade to be independently positioned and oriented to match the design surface curvature, while the modular structure makes the complex curved arrangement more manageable and potentially easier to manufacture and assemble compared to a single complex mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A grille shutter device includes a frame body having an inlet. The frame body defines a design surface at a front section of a vehicle. The grille shutter device also includes flaps that are configured to open or close the inlet by rotating in forward and reverse directions around respective rotary shafts. A front surface of a part of the frame body that surrounds the inlet extends in a direction intersecting a vehicle width direction such that the front surface extends rearward as the front surface extends outward in the vehicle width direction. When the flaps are located in closed position to close the inlet, the flaps are arranged such that front surfaces of the flaps are arranged along the front surface of the frame body.