Sunshade Tensioning via Biasing Member Extraction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sunshade assemblies face challenges in maintaining optimal tension and aesthetic presentation, particularly with heavy fabrics, as elastic materials are difficult to control and complex spring mechanisms are hard to implement, especially with curved guide rails.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a biasing member between the guide strip and guide channel section, which can be a separate spring member or integrated within the guide strip, to maintain tension without requiring a spring function in the guide rail or sunscreen, ensuring low frictional resistance and even tension distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If elastic material is used for the sunscreen to compensate for tolerances and maintain tension, then the sunscreen can self-tension, but the solution is not possible for heavy fabrics and quality control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The spring function is extracted from the sunscreen material itself and placed into a separate biasing member that is stationary with respect to the guide channel section. This allows the sunscreen to be made from any material (including heavy non-elastic fabrics) while still achieving tension compensation through the separate biasing member.
Solution Approach 2:
A separate biasing member acts as an intermediary between the guide channel section and the guide strip. This mediator provides the spring function without requiring the sunscreen material itself to be elastic, enabling quality control while maintaining reliability.
2Reliability
If guide rails are designed to exert spring pressure on the sunscreen in laterally outward direction to compensate for tolerances, then tension can be maintained, but the arrangement becomes complex and even pressure distribution is difficult to achieve, especially with curved guide rails
Solution Approach 1:
The spring function is extracted from the guide rail structure itself and placed into a separate biasing member that is stationary with respect to the guide channel section. This simplifies the guide rail structure while maintaining the tension maintenance function.
Solution Approach 2:
A separate biasing member acts as an intermediary between the guide channel section and the guide strip, providing the spring pressure function without requiring complex guide rail structures. This intermediary approach enables even pressure distribution while maintaining simple guide rail geometry.
3Reliability
If a biasing member is added between the guide strip and guide channel section to maintain tension, then reliable tensioning is achieved without elastic materials or complex spring mechanisms, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing member is integrated with the guide channel section by being stationary with respect to it, effectively merging their functions. This reduces the number of separate components while maintaining the tension maintenance function through the biasing member's spring action.
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
This solution allows for reliable and simple tensioning of the sunscreen, ensuring it remains taut and smooth in operation, even with local variations, without the need for elastic materials or complex spring mechanisms.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member acting between at least one of the guide strips and the corresponding guide member section to bias the guide strip at least on its edge adjacent the sunscreen in a direction away from the guide flange
Data Source
AI summary
A sunshade assembly includes a sunscreen having opposed longitudinal edges which are provided with guide strips which are substantially rigid in transverse direction. Opposed longitudinal guiderails each include a guide channel section defining a guide channel in which the respective guide strip is accommodated when the sunscreen is moved between open and closed positions. The guide channel of each guide rail is bound on the side facing the opposite guiderail by a guide flange supporting the lower side of the sunscreen. A part of the guide channel supports the guide strip on its side remote from the sunscreen. A biasing member acts between at least one of the guide strips and the corresponding guide channel section to bias the guide strip at least on its edge adjacent the sunscreen in a direction away from the guide flange.