Swivel Catch Hook for Front Hood Safety Closure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing front hood closure systems for motor vehicles are costly due to complex designs and increased component counts, and often result in a high overall height, which can impair functionality and increase costs, while also not effectively preventing unintentional opening of the hood.
Innovation Solution
A front hood safety closure system featuring a catch hook that is swivable independently of the rotary latch, with a return spring to maintain engagement and prevent sham closures, and an outer contour that allows the striker to clear the catch hook using its dead weight, reducing the need for additional components and simplifying the design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rotary-latch closure with a safety hook is used to prevent unintentional opening of the hood, then safety is improved, but the number of components and overall height increase
Solution Approach 1:
The catch hook is integrated into the rotary latch assembly, combining two safety functions (rotary latch retention and catch hook blocking) into a single unified component structure. This eliminates the need for separate safety hook components and reduces overall assembly complexity while maintaining safety functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotary latch serves multiple functions: it provides the primary locking mechanism, acts as a retention device, and integrates the catch hook for additional safety blocking. This multi-functional design reduces the total component count while achieving the desired safety level.
2Reliability
If the hook end of the safety hook completely covers the inside width of the passage cross-section of the sliding channel, then safety blocking is improved, but functioning impairment may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The catch hook is designed to be swivable about its own axis, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position. During normal operation, the hook can move aside to allow striker passage, but when engaged, it provides complete blocking coverage. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction between complete coverage and functional operation.
3Ease of operation
If a complex lever plate design is used to enable swiveling motion of the striker, then complete opening of the hood is achieved, but costs and overall height increase
Solution Approach 1:
The swiveling function is extracted from a complex lever plate mechanism and relocated to the catch hook itself. The catch hook's independent swiveling capability about its own axis provides the necessary motion without requiring additional lever plates or complex linkages, thereby reducing complexity and cost.
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 system effectively prevents unintentional opening of the front hood while maintaining safety features without increasing costs or overall height, ensuring secure closure and efficient operation.
Implementation Method 1
a return spring (16) which maintains engagement of the catch hook (5) with the striker (6)
Implementation Method 2
An outer contour of the hook of the catch hook (5) at right angles to the axis catch hook axis (3a) has a slope in a direction of an end of the hook (13), so that the force resulting from the closing movement of the striker (6), upon contact with the catch hook (5), transmits to the catch hook (5) a force component extending at right angles to the movement direction of the striker (6), which is sufficient to overcome the spring energy of the return spring (16) to the extent that the striker (6) clears the way for the catch hook (5) in the closing movement
Data Source
AI summary
A front hood safety closure system for motor vehicles includes a rotary latch disposed to swivel about an axis, a catch hook, a striker, as well as a retaining pawl disposed to swivel about an axis, in the closed position of the front hood, the rotary latch being connected to the striker located on the front hood in that the rotary latch receives the middle limb of the striker within a fork-shaped recess adapted to the shape of the striker, and when the locking of the front hood is released, the striker being connected to the catch hook performing a safety function upon release of the retention by the rotary latch, both the rotary latch and the retaining pawl assigned a stop. The catch hook is swivelable, independently of the rotary latch, about the catch hook axis, the catch hook axis being coincident with the rotary latch axis.