Vehicle Side Step Foot Restriction Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles with high ground clearance, such as trucks and SUVs, present difficulties for users in accessing the passenger compartment or storage area, making it inconvenient to use these vehicles.
Innovation Solution
A side step apparatus with an elongated support member attached to the vehicle, featuring a stepping surface and side surfaces to restrict foot motion, providing a secure and accessible platform for users to enter or exit the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If the vehicle passenger compartment is positioned high off the ground, then the vehicle structure is simplified and ground clearance is improved, but user convenience in accessing the passenger compartment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
A side step assembly serves as an intermediary element between the ground and the high passenger compartment. The assembly includes a horizontal support member mounted to the vehicle frame and a step pad that extends outward, providing a intermediate platform that users can step on to reach the passenger compartment, thereby resolving the access difficulty caused by high ground clearance.
Solution Approach 2:
The side step assembly extends in the lateral dimension (outward from the vehicle body) to provide access to the high passenger compartment. By utilizing the lateral dimension rather than vertical extension, the assembly creates a horizontal platform that bridges the gap between ground level and the elevated compartment, improving user convenience without compromising ground clearance.
2Ease of operation
If the stepping surface is made larger to improve user stability, then user convenience is improved, but the device complexity and material usage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The step pad is merged with the horizontal support member to form an integrated side step assembly. The step pad is fixedly attached to the support member, combining the structural support function with the user stepping surface into a single unified component, thereby providing user stability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The step pad is designed with specific local features including side surfaces that extend vertically and a back surface that extends toward the vehicle. These localized geometric features provide user stability and prevent foot slippage without requiring the entire structure to be overly complex or large.
3Reliability
If the side surfaces of the stepping surface extend further to restrict foot motion, then user safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The step pad incorporates localized vertical side surfaces at its edges and a back surface at its rear end. These localized geometric features create physical barriers that restrict foot motion in specific directions (preventing slippage off the edges or backward toward the vehicle) without requiring the entire structure to be overly complex. The side surfaces extend a controlled distance to provide safety while maintaining structural simplicity.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus may include an elongated support member that when attached to a vehicle is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. A mounting bracket is fixedly attached to the elongated support member and configured for being fixedly attached to a vehicle. The elongated support member is fixedly attached to a stepping surface that provides a back surface to restrict motion of the foot of a user past the elongated support member, a first side surface to restrict motion of the foot of the user in a first direction, and a second side surface to restrict motion of the foot of the user in a second direction that opposes the first direction. The distance between the first side surface and the second side surface is substantially less than a length of the elongated support member.