Vehicle Roof Window Shading Blind Compact Vertical Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shading blinds for roof windows in vehicles require a large receiving space, reducing headroom and necessitating additional springs for reliable operation, which increases costs and assembly effort.
Innovation Solution
A shading blind design where the roller blind element is held in a 'two-layer' configuration within a receiving space with a minimized vertical height, utilizing elastic guide structures and a fixed rear edge to eliminate the need for springs, allowing for a more compact vertical installation and reduced assembly complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the roller blind element is wound on a shaft in the receiving space, then the blind element can be reliably stored, but the receiving space requires large vertical extension, reducing headroom
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a vertical winding configuration (shaft perpendicular to blind element) to a horizontal folding configuration (blind element folded parallel to guide rails). This dimensional change allows the receiving space to extend longitudinally rather than vertically, reducing headroom requirements while maintaining reliable storage.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of winding the blind element upward on a vertical shaft, the patent inverts the approach by folding the blind element horizontally within the receiving space, with the folded configuration extending in the longitudinal direction rather than the vertical direction.
2Reliability
If additional springs are added to ensure reliable rolling up of the fabric, then the operation reliability is improved, but costs and assembly effort increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs the elasticity of the flexible guide structures themselves to provide the restoring force needed for reliable operation. The guide structures act as self-contained springs, eliminating the need for separate spring components while maintaining reliable folding and extension functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the spring function from separate components and integrates it directly into the flexible guide structures. The guide structures serve dual purposes: guiding the blind element and providing elastic restoring force, thereby removing the need for additional spring components.
3Length of stationary object
If the receiving space is reduced in vertical height, then headroom is increased, but the guide structures must be highly elastic to accommodate the folded configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the receiving space, reducing vertical height while increasing longitudinal extension. This parameter change shifts the accommodation requirement from vertical compression to horizontal extension, working with rather than against the elastic properties of the guide structures.
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
This design reduces the vertical space required for the shading blind, increases headroom, especially in rear seats, and eliminates the need for additional springs, thereby lowering costs and simplifying assembly while ensuring reliable operation.
Implementation Method 1
the guide structures are only elastically deformed
Data Source
AI summary
A shading blind for a roof window of a motor vehicle having two guide rails, a roller blind element which has two lateral, flexible guide structures with which it is guided in the guide rails, and a receiving space for the roller blind element, the roller blind element being adjustable between an extended position in which it is largely located outside the receiving space, and a retracted position in which it is largely located in the receiving space, wherein the receiving space has a length which is approximately half of the adjustment path between the extended and the retracted positions, the height of the receiving space is such that when the roller blind element is deflected in the receiving space by approximately 180°, the guide structures are only elastically deformed and a rear edge of the roller blind element is permanently attached in the receiving space.