Omni-directional Self-orienting Breakaway Hand Guard for Motorcycles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional hand guards on vehicles can cause severe injuries by entrapping a rider's hands during a crash, as they fail to break away and reorient, contrary to their intended purpose of protecting the hands.
Innovation Solution
An omni-directional self-orienting breakaway hand guard design featuring a handlebar clamp attachment member, a shield attachment member, and a shaft assembly with elastic compression, allowing the hand guard to disengage and reorient upon impact, preventing hand entrapment and injury.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If traditional rigid hand guards are used to protect hands from external objects, then protection from rocks and trees is improved, but hand entrapment injury during crash increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hand guard's structural parameter is changed from rigid to flexible/breakaway. The guard is designed to flex and break away under crash forces, transforming from a rigid protective barrier into a sacrificial component that fails safely to prevent hand entrapment while maintaining protection during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hand guard is designed as a disposable safety component that is intended to break away during severe crashes. Rather than being a permanent rigid structure, it is engineered as a temporary protective element that sacrifices itself to save the rider's hand, aligning with the principle of using disposable components for safety-critical functions.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If hand guards are designed to be breakaway to prevent entrapment, then safety during crash is improved, but protection from external objects may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The hand guard employs local quality by having different structural characteristics in different regions. The main body provides rigid protection against external objects, while specific breakaway points or flexible sections are designed to fail under crash forces. This localized differentiation allows the guard to simultaneously provide protection and prevent entrapment.
Solution Approach 2:
The hand guard transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic system that can change its mechanical properties based on applied forces. During normal operation, it remains rigid for protection, but under crash conditions, it becomes flexible and breakaway, adapting its structural response to the severity of the impact.
3Adaptability or versatility
If omni-directional self-orienting mechanism is added to hand guard, then safety and functionality are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The hand guard is segmented into multiple functional components: the main guard body, the shaft assembly, the spring mechanism, and the handlebar clamp. This segmentation allows the complex self-orienting function to be achieved through the coordinated action of simpler, specialized sub-components rather than a single complex mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The hand guard incorporates a self-service mechanism where the spring automatically pushes the guard back into its original position after breakaway, and the shaft assembly with mated surfaces enables self-alignment. The system uses its own structural elements and stored elastic energy to achieve reorientation without external intervention, reducing the need for additional complex control systems.
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 hand guard effectively disengages from the handlebars during a crash, minimizing the risk of injury by allowing the hand, wrist, or arm to escape the guard's entrapment and returning to its original position once the force is removed, enhancing safety and preventing permanent damage.
Implementation Method 1
a shaft assembly passing through the main chassis and the handlebar clamp attachment member, thereby creating elastic compression between the main chassis and the handlebar clamp attachment member to place the shield attachment member in a desired position and orientation
Implementation Method 2
The shaft assembly may comprise a spring to provide elastic compression
Data Source
AI summary
An omni-directional self-orienting hand guard for a motorcycle, ATV, snowmobile or other vehicle having handlebars. The hand guard will deflect or breakaway under an applied force such as a crash. The hand guard can re-position and re-orient itself once the applied force is removed. Apparatus and method claims are provided.