Powered Running Board Actuator Eliminates Pivot Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
State-of-the-art powered running board assemblies with pivoting joints are prone to galvanic corrosion, leading to malfunction and increased maintenance requirements due to the use of steel and polytetrafluoroethylene bushing bearings in contact with aluminum components.
Innovation Solution
A powered running board assembly design that eliminates pivot joints by using a telescoping arm mechanism with a fixed included angle between 91 degrees and 179 degrees, allowing for linear movement between stowed and deployed positions, and employing actuators with housings and telescoping arms oriented obliquely to reduce maintenance needs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pivoting joints with steel and polytetrafluoroethylene bushing bearings are used in the actuator mechanism, then the running board can achieve rotational movement between stowed and deployed positions, but galvanic corrosion occurs between dissimilar metals leading to malfunction and increased maintenance requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the problematic pivoting joints with bushing bearings from the actuator mechanism. Instead of using traditional rotational joints that require dissimilar metal contacts, the invention extracts these components entirely and replaces them with a telescoping linear motion mechanism that eliminates the source of galvanic corrosion while maintaining the essential function of moving the running board between positions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the traditional mechanical pivoting joint system with a telescoping arm mechanism that uses linear extension and retraction instead of rotation. This mechanical substitution eliminates the need for bushing bearings and pivoting joints, thereby preventing galvanic corrosion between steel and aluminum components while still achieving the required movement between stowed and deployed positions
2Ease of operation
If complicated linkages with pivoting joints are employed in the actuator, then the running board can be displaced between positions, but the device complexity increases leading to more maintenance requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the complicated linkage system with multiple pivoting joints from the actuator mechanism. By taking out these complex components, the invention simplifies the overall device structure while retaining the essential functionality of displacing the running board between stowed and deployed positions through a simpler telescoping action
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a traditional approach where the actuator rotates through pivoting joints to achieve position change, the patent inverts the mechanism by using linear telescoping motion of the arm. This inversion of the motion paradigm simplifies the linkage requirements and reduces device complexity while maintaining the necessary position displacement capability
Data Source
AI summary
A powered running board assembly includes a running board and an actuator to displace the running board between a stowed position and a deployed position. That actuator includes a housing and a telescoping arm oriented along a first axis oblique to the running board. A related method of operating a running board is also disclosed.