Vertical Lift Vehicle Door Carriage to Eliminate Lateral Overhang
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle door types face issues such as lateral overhang, complexity, high manufacturing costs, safety risks, and incompatibility with various vehicle designs, particularly in sedans and coupés, due to their kinematics and structural requirements.
Innovation Solution
A motor vehicle door system with a single opening leaf that articulates between a closed low position and an open high position, using a vertical transport carriage and electric motors for tilting and vertical movement, minimizing lateral overhang and incorporating hooks for secure positioning, allowing easy installation and integration with existing vehicle structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional door types (French-fashioned, sliding, elytra, or vertical lift) are used, then access to the passenger compartment is enabled, but lateral overhang, structural complexity, manufacturing cost, or safety risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The door system is divided into two independent doors, each with its own drive mechanism mounted on the body. This segmentation allows each door to be controlled separately and simplifies the overall mechanical structure by eliminating the need for a single complex mechanism to handle both doors
Solution Approach 2:
The doors move in a substantially vertical plane rather than the traditional horizontal arc, changing the dimension of motion from lateral to vertical. This dimensional change eliminates lateral overhang and simplifies the mechanical requirements by using linear vertical movement instead of rotational hinges
2Ease of operation
If French-fashioned doors are used, then easy access is provided, but lateral overhang by 50-100 cm causes safety risks and difficulty in tight spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The door motion is changed from horizontal lateral movement to vertical movement in a substantially vertical plane. This dimensional change eliminates the lateral overhang problem entirely, as the doors move up and down rather than outward, removing the harmful lateral extension while preserving access functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The vertical plane movement mechanism is designed to prevent lateral overhang before it can occur. By constraining the door motion to a vertical plane through the guide rails and drive mechanism, the system proactively eliminates the possibility of lateral extension that would create safety hazards
3Object-affected harmful factors
If vertical lift-type doors are used, then lateral overhang is reduced, but substantial modifications to the roof and body structure are required
Solution Approach 1:
The drive mechanism is designed to be mounted on the body structure and serve multiple functions: it provides the lifting force, guides the door movement through integrated rails, and can be adapted to different vehicle types. This universal design eliminates the need for substantial structural modifications while achieving vertical lift functionality
Solution Approach 2:
A drive mechanism acts as an intermediary between the body structure and the door, providing the necessary lifting and guiding functions without requiring direct structural modifications to the roof or body. The mechanism mediates the interaction, allowing the door to move vertically while the body structure remains largely unchanged
4Shape
If butterfly doors are used, then aesthetic appearance is enhanced, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses two independent standard doors rather than a single complex butterfly door mechanism. This segmentation allows each door to be manufactured using conventional processes and then installed independently, dramatically reducing manufacturing complexity and cost while maintaining aesthetic appeal through the vertical movement configuration
Data Source
AI summary
A body of a motor vehicle having a supporting structure extending between a front end and a rear end, a floor, a roof and at least one lateral flank. The lateral flank is provided with an opening defined by an embrasure and receiving a single opening leaf articulated between at least a first closed low position which occults the opening and a second open high position. The second open position is spaced apart from the opening and is positioned at least partially above the roof. The supporting structure includes a post passing vertically through the opening. A single vertical transport carriage is mounted mobile in translation from top to bottom and from bottom to top along the post to pass the opening leaf from the first closed low position to the second open high position, and vice versa.