Power Cinching Door Latch for Vibration-Resistant Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automotive door seals lose effectiveness during turbulent driving conditions due to vibrations and pressure differences, leading to leakage, despite the need for a balance between sealing performance and avoiding excessive forces during door operation.
Innovation Solution
A power-cinching door latch system that monitors vehicle speed and vibration parameters to selectively activate a subflush mode, increasing the compression load deflection of the door seal, ensuring a tighter seal by pulling the door into a subflush condition during high-speed and vibration thresholds, and reverting to a flush condition at lower speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the compression load deflection of the weather-stripping is increased to improve sealing effectiveness during turbulent driving conditions, then the seal's ability to remain in contact with the door and door frame improves, but the forces during closing and opening of the door become excessive
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the compression load deflection of the weather-stripping based on real-time driving conditions. During turbulent conditions (high speed and high vibration), the door latch pulls the door to a subflush position that increases seal compression. During normal conditions, the door remains in a flush position with standard compression. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by providing high sealing effectiveness only when needed, while maintaining normal operating forces during routine door operations.
2Reliability
If the door is pulled into a subflush condition to increase seal compression during turbulent conditions, then sealing performance improves, but the device complexity increases due to the need for power cinching latch and control system
Solution Approach 1:
The door latch system performs multiple functions: it provides standard latching operation during normal conditions and activates power cinching mode during turbulent conditions. By making the latch system multi-functional, the patent avoids adding a completely separate sealing mechanism, thereby reducing overall system complexity while still achieving improved sealing performance when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system continuously monitors vehicle speed and vibration parameters, and based on this feedback, determines when to activate the power cinching mode. This feedback mechanism ensures that the increased device complexity is only utilized when actually needed for sealing, allowing the system to operate in a simplified state during normal conditions.
3Reliability
If the compression load deflection is increased to prevent leakage during high-speed driving, then the seal remains effective under pressure differences, but the wear on the seal and door surfaces increases due to excessive forces
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies increased seal compression periodically or conditionally only during turbulent driving conditions (high speed and high vibration) rather than continuously. During normal driving conditions, the door remains in the flush position with standard compression forces. This periodic/conditional application of high compression prevents wear accumulation while maintaining sealing effectiveness when actually needed under pressure differences.
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 power-cinching door latch system enhances the sealing performance by maintaining a tighter seal during turbulent conditions while minimizing excessive forces and wear, ensuring a flush door closure and improved noise dampening.
Implementation Method 1
A seal is mounted to one of the door frame or door assembly which is compressed between the door frame and door assembly in the closed state
Implementation Method 2
A door latch is configured to capture the door assembly and having a power cinching mode to pull the door assembly into the closed state
Data Source
AI summary
The invention controls a power cinching function of a motor vehicle door latch in order to improve door seal performance under conditions wherein vibrations could otherwise reduce seal effectiveness. With the door latched closed in a flush condition, the vehicle speed is compared to a slow-speed threshold. When the vehicle speed is greater than the slow-speed threshold, then a vehicle vibration parameter is compared to a vibration threshold. When the vibration parameter is greater than the vibration threshold, then the power cinching function is activated to move the door to to a subflush condition which increases a compression of the seal between the door and a vehicle door frame. When the door is in the subflush condition, the vehicle speed continues to be compared to the slow-speed threshold, and when the vehicle speed is less than the slow-speed threshold then the door is released back to the flush condition.