Vehicle Latch Cinching Mechanism for Dual-Latch Stroke Compensation
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles without a B-pillar, the use of two separate cinching actuators for opposite swing doors leads to weight and cost disadvantages due to differences in cinching stroke between door latches, resulting in incomplete door closure.
Innovation Solution
A cinching apparatus that employs a single cinching actuator with a cable lever and lead nut system, connected by cinching cables, to absorb differences in cinching stroke between multiple latches, allowing for synchronized control of dual latches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If two separate cinching actuators are used for dual door latches, then each latch can be controlled independently, but the overall system weight and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two separate cinching actuators into a single actuator that controls both door latches through a shared mechanical transmission system. The single actuator drives a lead screw that moves a cable lever, which in turn operates both latches through cinching cables, reducing the total number of actuators from two to one and thereby reducing system weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The single cinching actuator is designed to perform multiple functions by controlling both door latches through the cable lever mechanism. This multi-functional design allows one actuator to replace what would traditionally require two separate actuators, achieving weight reduction while maintaining the ability to control multiple latches.
2Reliability
If two separate cinching actuators are used for dual door latches, then each latch can be controlled independently, but the system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two separate actuator systems into one integrated cinching device with a single actuator, shared lead screw, and cable lever mechanism. This consolidation reduces the total number of components that need to be manufactured, assembled, and tested, thereby reducing overall system cost while maintaining functional reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The single cinching actuator system is designed to universally control multiple door latches through the cable lever mechanism, replacing what would traditionally require two separate actuator systems. This multi-functional design reduces component count and manufacturing complexity, leading to cost savings.
3Weight of moving object
If a single cinching actuator is used for dual door latches, then weight and cost are reduced, but differences in cinching stroke cause incomplete door closure
Solution Approach 1:
The cable lever is designed as a dynamic mechanism that can rotate about the lever pin, allowing it to adapt to differences in cinching stroke between the two door latches. As the lead nut moves along the lead screw, the cable lever rotates to accommodate varying cable lengths and latch positions, ensuring both latches are properly actuated despite manufacturing tolerances and positional variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable lever acts as an intermediary mechanism between the lead nut and the two door latches. It mediates the motion from the single actuator to the two latches, allowing for absorption of stroke differences through its rotational degree of freedom about the lever pin, thereby ensuring precise door closure.
4Device complexity
If a single cinching actuator is used for dual door latches, then system complexity is reduced, but stroke dispersion and position tolerance cause cinching stroke differences
Solution Approach 1:
The cable lever's rotational capability about the lever pin provides a dynamic adjustment mechanism that compensates for stroke dispersion and position tolerance. This dynamic feature allows the system to maintain precise latch synchronization despite variations in cable length and latch positioning, without increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable lever serves as an intermediary that absorbs and compensates for manufacturing tolerances and position variations between the two door latches. By introducing this intermediate rotational joint, the system maintains synchronization precision while keeping the overall device complexity low, as the cable lever is a simple mechanical component.
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
Enables the operation of dual latches with a single actuator, reducing weight and cost while ensuring complete door closure by autonomously managing stroke differences, making the system more efficient and versatile.
Implementation Method 1
a lead nut which is moved along a lead screw by driving power of a single cinching actuator
Implementation Method 2
a cable lever, by a lever pin, to a lead nut which is moved along a lead screw
Data Source
AI summary
A cinching apparatus for a vehicle latch includes a cable lever coupled, by a pin, to a lead nut which is moved along a lead screw by driving power of a single cinching actuator, and the cable lever and a plurality of latches are connected by a plurality of cinching cables so that a difference in cinching stroke between the plurality of latches may be absorbed, and cinching control is possible.