Step Tread Holder Assembly for Crash Deflection Away From Battery
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles with step treads, particularly electric passenger vehicles, there is a risk of damage to the energy storage unit during a side-on crash, as the step tread can be accelerated towards it, necessitating protective design measures to prevent such damage.
Innovation Solution
A step tread holder assembly with a bearing unit and motion guiding element, featuring a front holder and rear holder with deflector guide faces angled between 85° and 15° relative to the horizontal, and a predetermined breaking point, allowing the step tread to detach and move along a guided path that avoids the energy storage unit during a crash.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the step tread is attached to the vehicle structure, then it provides support for entering and exiting the vehicle, but it may accelerate towards the energy storage unit during a crash and cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
The bearing unit is divided into multiple holders (front holder and rear holder) positioned at different locations on the vehicle structure. This segmentation allows the step tread to be attached at two positions, enabling it to be held by the second holder when detached at one position during a crash, preventing uncontrolled movement towards the energy storage unit.
Solution Approach 2:
A deflector is introduced as an intermediary component between the step tread and the vehicle structure. The deflector guides the movement of the step tread along a predetermined path during a crash, ensuring it does not hit the energy storage unit directly. The guide faces of the deflector actively redirect the step tread away from the energy storage unit.
2Reliability
If the step tread is rigidly attached to prevent movement, then protection is improved, but the structure becomes more complex and heavier
Solution Approach 1:
The holder assembly is designed to be dynamic rather than rigid. The predetermined breaking point allows the connection between the step tread and the vehicle structure to change state during a crash - transitioning from a connected state to a detached state. This dynamic design enables the step tread to move along a controlled path without requiring a complex rigid restraint system.
Solution Approach 2:
The design extracts the protective function from a complex rigid restraint system and implements it through a simpler mechanism with predetermined breaking points and a deflector. The breaking points are strategically placed to provide protection without requiring elaborate structural reinforcements or multiple complex locking mechanisms.
3Device complexity
If the step tread is allowed to move freely during a crash, then structural simplicity is maintained, but uncontrolled movement may damage the energy storage unit
Solution Approach 1:
The deflector is pre-positioned on the vehicle structure with guide faces oriented at specific angles (85° to 15° relative to horizontal). This preliminary arrangement ensures that when the step tread moves during a crash, it will automatically contact the guide faces and be redirected along a safe path away from the energy storage unit, without requiring active control systems or complex mechanisms.
4Reliability
If guide faces are angled steeply (85°-15°), then the step tread is effectively deflected away from the energy storage unit, but the force required to deform the predetermined breaking point increases
Solution Approach 1:
The angle of the guide faces is optimized within a specific range (85° to 15° relative to horizontal) to balance deflection effectiveness with the strength requirements of the breaking point. This parameter optimization ensures that the guide faces can effectively redirect the step tread while the breaking point remains within feasible strength limits for the materials used.
Data Source
AI summary
A step tread holder assembly for vehicles includes a step tread which can be attached to a vehicle structure of the vehicle. The assembly also includes at least one bearing unit for attaching the step tread to the vehicle structure, the bearing unit being designed in such a way that in the event of a crash the step tread can be moved relative to the vehicle structure and/or can be partly or completely detached from the vehicle structure by a motion guiding element for influencing a path of movement of the step tread relative to the vehicle structure in the event of a crash. The bearing unit has at least one front holder which is positioned on the vehicle structure in an outer area of the vehicle, and at least one rear holder which is positioned on the vehicle structure in an inner area of the vehicle.