Motorized RV Shade Assembly with Torsion Spring and Discontinuous Web
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Solution Overview
Problem
Motorized window shades for inclined or curved windows in vehicles, such as RVs, face challenges like sagging, misalignment, high cost, increased weight, and complex installation due to spatial constraints and the need to minimize electric power consumption, especially in cab-over windows where accessibility is limited.
Innovation Solution
A motorized shade assembly with a discontinuous web between two rollers, one motorized and the other tensioned with a torsion spring, featuring a rigid draw bar and friction-reducing tape for smooth operation, allowing the shade to wrap around rollers and fit snugly between the window and shroud, with options for hardwired or wireless control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If motorized shades use top and bottom rollers with alignment mechanisms, then proper alignment is ensured, but the frame becomes heavy, expensive, and oversized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the complex alignment mechanisms and heavy frame structures from traditional motorized shades. Instead of using top and bottom rollers with alignment features, the invention uses a single roller mounted in the header, eliminating the need for heavy alignment structures while maintaining proper shade alignment through the roller's position and the web's attachment method.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible shade web that can conform to the window opening without requiring rigid alignment structures. The web is attached to a single roller and allowed to flex and adjust naturally, eliminating the need for heavy frames and complex alignment mechanisms while maintaining proper positioning.
2Stability of the object's composition
If rigid material is used to form the shade web, then shade sag is reduced, but cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a tension spring attached to the shade web that provides continuous tension to counteract the weight of the web and prevent sagging. This elastic counterforce allows the use of lighter, more flexible materials without experiencing the sagging problems associated with heavy rigid materials, thus reducing both weight and cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the shade web from rigid to flexible by using lightweight materials, and compensates for the resulting sag through the application of continuous tension via a spring mechanism. This parameter change allows the system to achieve both weight reduction and sag resistance simultaneously.
3Stability of the object's composition
If guide wires and web tensioning rollers are used to prevent shade sag, then sag is reduced, but actuation torque increases requiring larger motors
Solution Approach 1:
The tension spring provides continuous counterforce to the shade web's weight, eliminating the need for guide wires and tensioning rollers during actuation. This reduces the peak torque requirements during motor operation, allowing for smaller, more energy-efficient motors while maintaining sag resistance throughout operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The tension spring is pre-loaded to provide continuous tension on the shade web before actuation occurs. This preliminary tensioning prevents sagging during both the retracted and extended positions, as well as during transitions, eliminating the need for additional torque during actuation to overcome sagging web behavior.
4Adaptability or versatility
If motorized shades are used in cab-over windows with interior shrouds, then window coverage is achieved, but spatial constraints limit shade movement and increase complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a flexible shade web that can conform to the contours of the interior shroud and narrow window openings in cab-over windows. The web's flexibility allows it to navigate tight spaces and irregular geometries without requiring complex rigid structures or adjustment mechanisms, thereby reducing installation complexity while maintaining adaptability to various shroud configurations.
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 solution provides a cost-effective, lightweight, and aesthetically appealing motorized shade that maintains proper alignment and minimizes sagging, reducing installation time and electric power requirements while conforming to tight vehicle spaces.
Implementation Method 1
The roller motor can be mounted inside of one of the rollers, and the tensioning device, such as a torsion spring, can be mounted inside of the other roller.
Data Source
AI summary
A motorized shade assembly is provided having a discontinuous web extending between two rollers, one of which is motorized and the other is tensioned or biased toward rotation away from the other roller. The roller motor can be mounted inside of one of the rollers, and the tensioning device, such as a torsion spring, can be mounted inside of the other roller. The web includes a shade portion and a strap portion, with a rigid draw bar at the junction of those portions. Rotation of the rollers causes the strap portion to wrap over one of the rollers as the shade portion unwraps from the other roller. The shade assembly can be positioned between an inclined or curved vehicle window and an interior shroud for the window, such as found with a cab-over window of a Class B motorhome. The draw bar and fasteners connecting the strap to the draw bar facilitate movement of the shade when in contact with the shroud. Friction reducing tape or surface treatment on the periphery of the window opening in the shroud can also facilitate movement of the shade when in contact with the shroud. Motor actuation can be hardwired to a desired location within the vehicle, or wirelessly controlled by the user, as with an RF device.