Rollover Seat Retraction for Hatch-Exposed Vehicle Crew
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Protected vehicles, such as infantry fighting vehicles, often have confusing geometry requiring crew members to drive over hatches, exposing them to fatal risks during rollovers.
Innovation Solution
A rollover protection system with a support element and actuator that moves the crew member from an extended to a retracted state within the vehicle during a rollover, using a damping element to decelerate the movement and prevent ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the crew member drives over the hatch with upper body outside the vehicle, then the crew member can assist the driver or control the vehicle in civilian traffic, but the crew member is exposed to fatal risk of being crushed during rollover
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by detecting rollover risk conditions (vehicle tilt angle, acceleration) and automatically retracting the support element with the crew member into the vehicle before the rollover completes, preventing the harmful effect of being crushed
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to continuously monitor vehicle state (acceleration, tilt angle) and provides feedback to the control unit, which triggers the actuator to retract the support element when rollover conditions are detected, creating a closed-loop safety system
2Speed
If the support element is moved rapidly from extended to retracted state during rollover, then the crew member is quickly protected inside the vehicle, but the crew member may be injured by excessive deceleration force
Solution Approach 1:
The damping element is pre-installed in the support element to provide beforehand cushioning. When the support element is retracted during rollover, the damping element activates to decelerate the movement and cushion the impact, preventing injury from excessive deceleration while still enabling rapid protection
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
Prevents injuries to crew members by ensuring they are fully inside the vehicle during a rollover, reducing the risk of being crushed.
Implementation Method 1
The rollover protection system has a damping element for decelerating the support element before reaching the retracted state, wherein the damping element has a belt winder and a belt that can be wound onto and unwound from the belt winder
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Rollover protection system (19A, 19B) for a protected vehicle (1), comprising a support element (30) for carrying a crew member (29) and an actuator (42) associated with the support element (30), wherein the actuator (42) is configured to move the support element (30) immediately before or during a rollover of the protected vehicle (1) from an extended state (Z1), in which the crew member (29) is partly inside and partly outside the protected vehicle (1), to a retracted state (Z2), in which the crew member (29) is completely inside the protected vehicle (1), so that the crew member (29) is protected during the rollover of the protected vehicle (1).