Telescoping Bus Safety Guard Deflecting Objects
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle safety guards are prone to damage when encountering inanimate objects, leading to reduced effectiveness and high replacement costs, and there is a need for a mounting arrangement that can deflect animate objects from vehicle wheels while protecting the guard from damage.
Innovation Solution
A safety guard assembly that is mounted in a compliant, telescoping manner between vehicle wheels, allowing it to deflect animate objects and shift inwardly to prevent damage from inanimate objects, with a dampening mechanism to facilitate movement and automatic retraction to its operational position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the safety guard is mounted rigidly to deflect animate objects effectively, then the safety function is improved, but the guard is prone to damage from inanimate objects
Solution Approach 1:
The safety guard is mounted on a telescoping mechanism that allows it to dynamically adjust its position. When an inanimate object is detected, the guard retracts inwardly along the vehicle body to avoid damage. When animate objects are detected, the guard extends to its operational position to provide effective deflection. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between needing rigidity for safety function and flexibility for damage avoidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameter of the safety guard based on the type of object detected. By controlling the telescoping mechanism to adjust the guard's position (extended or retracted), the system optimizes both the safety function against animate objects and the damage resistance against inanimate objects, resolving the technical contradiction.
2Reliability
If the safety guard is positioned close to the ground to deflect objects effectively, then the safety function is improved, but the guard sustains more damage from inanimate objects
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping mounting mechanism enables the safety guard to dynamically adjust its position relative to the vehicle body. When an inanimate object is encountered, the guard retracts inwardly to minimize damage exposure. When animate objects are detected, the guard extends to the optimal position close to the ground for effective deflection, thus resolving the contradiction between safety function and damage exposure.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If the safety guard is made more durable to resist damage, then the lifespan is extended, but the cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the guard more durable through stronger materials or thicker construction, the invention uses a telescoping mounting mechanism that actively protects the guard by retracting it from dangerous positions. This dynamic protection approach extends the guard's lifespan without requiring increased material durability, thereby avoiding the associated cost and complexity increases.
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 solution effectively deflects animate objects from vehicle wheels while minimizing damage to the safety guard upon contact with inanimate objects, thereby extending the guard's lifespan and maintaining its safety function.
Implementation Method 1
a dampening mechanism to facilitate movement and automatic retraction to its operational position
Data Source
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AI summary
A safety guard for a vehicle, such as a school or transit bus, includes a skirt extending below a side body portion of the vehicle and between front and rear wheels along a side of the vehicle. The skirt functions to push individuals and other animate objects out of the path of the wheels for safety purposes, while being mounted for separate linear and arcuate movements relative to the body of the vehicle to protect the guard from damage upon abutting an inanimate object during operation of the vehicle.