Vehicle Roll-Screen Guide Rail Structure to Prevent Sheet Fall-Out

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

The existing roll-screen devices for vehicles face issues where the engagement belt fails to properly engage with the guide rail, causing the light-shielding sheet to easily fall out, as the side edge of the sheet must be housed in the guide rail while the engagement belt also engages with the wall section.

Innovation Solution

The roll-screen device incorporates guide sections with guide pieces that create a distance between the engagement belt and the sheet body before entering the guide rail, ensuring the engagement belt engages with the guide rail, preventing the sheet from falling out by using guide rails with engagement wall sections and guide pieces that guide the sheet body and engagement belts into the correct position.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the side edge part of the light-shielding sheet is housed in the guide rail, then the sheet can be guided properly, but the engagement belt cannot be properly engaged with the guide rail causing the sheet to fall out

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguiding of light-shielding sheetVSAvoidengagement of engagement belt
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The guide rail is divided into two distinct functional sections: a guide section for housing the side edge part of the sheet body, and an engagement section with engagement wall sections for engaging the engagement belt. This segmentation allows each section to perform its specific function effectively without interference from the other component.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different portions of the guide rail are given different structural characteristics: the guide section has a cross-sectional shape matching the side edge of the sheet body for proper guidance, while the engagement section has engagement wall sections extending in the sheet width direction to engage the engagement belt. This local differentiation ensures both guiding and engagement functions are optimized.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Device complexity

If the engagement belt is formed by folding back the side edge of the light-shielding sheet, then the structure is simplified, but the engagement belt and sheet body cannot be properly positioned relative to the guide rail

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestructure of engagement beltVSAvoidpositioning of engagement belt and sheet body
Core Design Contradiction:
Device complexityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The engagement belt is pre-formed by folding back the side edge of the sheet body at a predetermined position before assembly. This preliminary action ensures that when the sheet is installed in the guide rail, the engagement belt is already in the correct position and orientation to engage with the engagement wall sections, eliminating positioning issues during operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3003753B2Roll-screen device
Publication Date: 2024.02.14 WEBASTO AG
  • EP3003753B2 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3003753B2 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3003753B2 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A roll-screen device (4) includes a winding roller (5), a light-shielding sheet (41), guide rails (22), and guide sections (7). The light-shielding sheet includes a sheet body (41a), and engagement belts (43) provided along side edges at both sides of the sheet body in a vehicle width direction. The sheet body and the engagement belts are rolled up on the winding roller such that the sheet body and the engagement belts overlap each other. Each guide rail (22) includes engagement wall section (23d) which is located at a vehicle widthwise inner side of the engagement belt and engages with the engagement belt to prevent the light-shielding sheet (41) from falling out of the guide rail. The guide section (7) includes a guide piece (71) configured to put a distance between the engagement belt and the sheet body before the light-shielding sheet enters the guide rail.