Vehicle Splash Guard Reinforcement Bending Gap Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle splash guards made of flexible materials like rubber often fail to effectively reduce the gap between the splash guard and the vehicle body panel, leading to debris accumulation and damage, as they are not adequately secured due to their flexibility, and stiffer materials can damage the paint.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating reinforcement members with bending portions into the splash guard, allowing it to deform and securely attach to the vehicle body panel, reducing the gap between the splash guard and the quarter panel.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If flexible material (rubber) is used for the splash guard, then the splash guard can be installed without damaging paint, but the gap between the splash guard and vehicle body panel cannot be effectively reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The splash guard combines flexible material (rubber) with reinforcement members (metal or rigid plastic) to create a composite structure. This allows the splash guard to maintain flexibility for paint protection while the reinforcement members provide the structural strength needed to reduce gaps and maintain precise positioning against the vehicle body panel.
2Manufacturing precision
If stiffer material is used for the splash guard, then the gap between the splash guard and vehicle body panel can be reduced, but the paint can be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement members are embedded within or attached to the flexible rubber material, creating a composite structure where the rigid reinforcement provides structural support for gap reduction while the flexible rubber outer layer protects against paint damage during installation and use.
3Reliability
If reinforcement members are added to the splash guard, then the splash guard can securely attach and reduce gaps, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Rather than making the entire splash guard complex, reinforcement members are strategically placed only in specific areas where structural support is needed to reduce gaps and improve attachment security. This localized approach maintains simplicity in non-critical areas while providing enhanced performance where required.
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 reinforcement members enable the splash guard to securely attach to the vehicle body panel, minimizing debris accumulation and preventing damage to the vehicle and external objects by ensuring a snug fit, thus enhancing the splash guard's effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
The bending portion is a portion of weakness in the reinforcement member to enable the reinforcement member to deform at the bending portion in a direction towards the vehicle body panel
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle splash guard includes a flexible body and at least one reinforcement member. The flexible body has a body panel attachment area that is configured to abut a vehicle body panel. The reinforcement member is fixedly connected to the flexible body. The reinforcement member has at least one bending portion. The bending portion is a portion of weakness in the reinforcement member to enable the reinforcement member to deform at the bending portion in a direction towards the vehicle body panel to reduce a space between the splash guard and the vehicle body panel when the splash guard is installed onto the vehicle body panel.