Parallel Drum Sliding Door Drive Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sliding-door drive devices for vehicles are thick due to protruding stoppers or knobs for cable tensioning, leading to increased weight, space requirements, and a narrower interior width, with wasted space in the axial direction of the drums and the presence of multiple components like tension pulleys and springs.
Innovation Solution
A sliding-door drive device with parallel rotation axes for the motor, opening drum, and closing drum, integrated with a brushless motor and a two-stage speed reducing mechanism, eliminating the need for clutches and reducing thickness by optimizing the winding range and using a path-length adjustment mechanism to minimize component count and space usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If a sliding-door drive device is provided in the center rail, then the door opening/closing operation is stable, but the interior width is reduced due to the thickness of the housing section
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spatial arrangement from serial axial arrangement to parallel radial arrangement. The opening drum and closing drum are positioned side-by-side in the radial direction rather than one after another in the axial direction, transforming the thickness problem into a width problem that can be better managed within the housing constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The opening drum and closing drum are nested within the same housing space, with their shafts positioned adjacently. This nesting approach allows both drums to share the housing volume efficiently, reducing the overall axial thickness while maintaining both functions.
2Reliability
If stoppers or knobs for cable tensioning are provided, then cable tensioning is achieved, but the device thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the tensioning function with the drum structure itself. The shafts of the opening and closing drums serve dual purposes: rotating to wind/unwind cables and providing the tensioning function through their structural design, eliminating the need for separate stoppers or knobs that would protrude and increase thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The drum shafts are designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: they act as rotation axes for cable winding, provide structural support, and enable cable tensioning. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated tensioning components that would add to the device thickness.
3Volume of moving object
If opening drum and closing drum are arranged serially in axial direction, then space utilization is improved, but thickness reduction is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from axial serial arrangement to radial parallel arrangement. By positioning the opening drum and closing drum side-by-side in the radial direction with their shafts adjacent to each other, the design achieves better space utilization while significantly reducing the axial thickness of the housing.
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 achieves a reduced thickness of the sliding-door drive device, enhancing interior width and reducing weight, while maintaining efficient cable tensioning and operation, thereby improving vehicle layout flexibility and interior space utilization.
Implementation Method 1
a motor (24) which is a power source; an opening drum (70), having the opening cable (20a) wound therearound, to be rotated by the motor (24)
Implementation Method 2
a speed reducing mechanism (28) which reduces the rotation of the motor (24)
Implementation Method 3
The opening cable (501) is given tension by a tension pulley (505) elastically biased by a spring (504)
Data Source
AI summary
A sliding-door drive device includes: a motor; a speed reducing mechanism reducing rotation of the motor; opening and closing cables having respective one ends secured to a sliding door of a vehicle; an opening drum, having the opening cable wound therearound, to be rotated by the motor through the speed reducing mechanism; and a closing drum, having the closing cable wound therearound, to be rotated by the motor through the speed reducing mechanism. Further, rotation axes of the motor, the opening drum, and the closing drum are parallel, and the opening drum and the closing drum are arranged parallel in radial directions thereof.