Vehicle Door Handle Base Member Nesting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing vehicle door structure requires an increased thickness to accommodate the base member and concave portion, leading to reduced space inside the vehicle due to the need for the base member to support the handle mechanism, which cannot be easily reduced in thickness while maintaining strength.
Innovation Solution
A base member is fixed on the internal surface of the outer panel, detouring around the concave portion and extending within its depth, allowing it to support the handle member without increasing the door panel's thickness by forming a shape that conforms to the concave portion's dimensions, thus preventing additional thickness and maintaining structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the base member is fixed on the internal surface of the outer panel to support the handle member, then the handle device can be properly supported, but the door panel member thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base member is nested within the concave portion of the outer panel, utilizing the existing recessed space to accommodate the base member without increasing the overall door panel thickness. The base member fits into the concave portion like a nested structure, allowing it to be contained within the existing geometric envelope of the door panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The base member is designed to extend in the circumferential direction around the concave portion rather than only in the thickness direction. By changing the orientation and dimensionality of the base member's extension, it can achieve sufficient support span without increasing door panel thickness, as it wraps around the concave portion's perimeter.
2Strength
If the base member is made thicker to maintain strength, then the handle member can be properly supported, but the door panel member thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base member has varying thickness distribution, being thicker at critical support locations and thinner in non-critical areas. This local quality variation allows the base member to maintain sufficient strength at key positions while reducing overall material usage and avoiding uniform thickness increase throughout the door panel.
Solution Approach 2:
The base member may utilize composite material structures or material distribution patterns that provide high strength-to-weight ratio, allowing it to maintain required strength properties without increasing thickness. The composite structure enables optimized mechanical properties concentrated where needed.
3Ease of operation
If a concave portion is provided in the outer panel for handle insertion, then ease of operation is improved, but the door panel member thickness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The base member's circumferential extension merges with the concave portion structure, so that the base member effectively becomes part of the concave portion's structural definition. This merging allows the concave portion to serve dual purposes: providing ease of handle insertion and simultaneously accommodating the base member without requiring additional thickness.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle door comprises a door panel member having an outer panel, the outer panel having a concave portion which receives a user's hand, a handle member which is provided outside the outer panel and extends to cross the concave portion, a base member which is fixed on an internal surface of the outer panel and supports end portions of the handle member on both sides of the concave portion, the base member being formed to have a shape of detouring around the concave portion and reaching from one end to the other end of the concave portion, within a range of a depth of the concave portion in a thickness direction of the door panel member.