Motorcycle Windscreen Guide Rails Using Concentric Arcs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional windscreen up-down devices for motorcycles require complex structures and increased components to adjust the windscreen angle, leading to higher manufacturing costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A windscreen up-down device with side rails and a center rail of circular-arc shapes, allowing the windscreen to change angle through smooth up and down movement without a rotation mechanism, featuring a movable unit with side slide members, a coupling member, and a center slide member for guiding along the rails, reducing the number of components and manufacturing steps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rotation mechanism is mounted between the plate and sliders to absorb angle differences, then the windscreen can change angle during up-down movement, but the structure becomes intricate and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies curvature by designing the guide rails (center rail and side rails) with circular-arc shapes instead of straight lines. These curved rails guide the sliders to move along arcs that naturally accommodate the windscreen's angle change during vertical movement, eliminating the need for additional rotation mechanisms while achieving the desired adaptability.
2Ease of operation
If the side rails are tilted upward with larger angles than the center rail, then the windscreen rises smoothly while changing angle, but the structure becomes more complex compared to non-angle-changing designs
Solution Approach 1:
The guide rails are designed with circular-arc shapes where the arcs are substantially concentric. This curvature allows the windscreen to change angle smoothly during vertical movement by following the natural arc path, replacing the need for complex tilted rail configurations with a more elegant curved rail design that achieves the same smooth movement effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetry by positioning the center rail and side rails at different distances from the concentric center of the circular arcs. This asymmetric arrangement of the rails creates the necessary geometric conditions for the windscreen to rotate smoothly as it moves vertically, achieving ease of operation through careful asymmetric positioning rather than complex mechanisms.
3Adaptability or versatility
If conventional straight-line rails with different tilt angles are used, then angle difference absorption is achieved through rotation mechanism, but the number of components and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By replacing straight-line rails with circular-arc shaped rails that are substantially concentric, the patent eliminates the need for rotation mechanisms and complex angled configurations. The curved rails inherently guide the windscreen through angle changes during vertical movement, simplifying the overall structure and reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining the ability to absorb angle differences.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of angle adjustment and vertical movement into a single integrated system. The circular-arc shaped guide rails simultaneously provide the path for vertical movement and the geometric constraint for angle change, combining what were previously separate functions (vertical translation and rotational adjustment) into one unified mechanism, thereby reducing component count and manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A windscreen up-down device comprises a pair of right and left side rails disposed to extend in a forward direction and a rearward direction so as to be tilted downward in the forward direction, a center rail that is disposed between the side rails such that the center rail extends in the forward and rearward directions so as to be tilted downward in the forward direction, and a movable unit that is configured to be guided up and down along the side rails and the center rail, and is attached with a windscreen. The movable unit includes a pair of side slide members respectively guided along the side rails, a coupling member disposed to extend in a rightward direction and a leftward direction to couple the side slide members to each other, and a center slide member that is provided on the coupling member and is configured to be guided along the center rail. The side rails and the center rail have circular-arc shapes of substantially concentric circles as viewed from the side.