Vehicle Wall Panel Assembly With Integrated Door Stoppers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wall panels and assemblies in upright orientations are susceptible to tipping over and door over-rotation, which can cause damage during transportation and installation, especially when not secured in a vehicle.
Innovation Solution
A wall panel with integrated door stoppers and support projections that stabilize the panel in an upright position on a resting surface and prevent door over-rotation, ensuring stability and preventing damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If wall panels are positioned in upright orientations for transportation and installation, then space efficiency and worker accessibility are improved, but the panels become susceptible to tipping over
Solution Approach 1:
The wall panel is divided into multiple support projections distributed across its structure. These segmented support points provide stable contact with the resting surface, preventing the entire panel from tipping over while maintaining an upright position that is space-efficient and worker-accessible.
Solution Approach 2:
The support projections and door stoppers are pre-integrated into the wall panel structure during manufacturing. This preliminary action ensures that when the panel is positioned upright for transportation or installation, the stability and door control functions are already in place, eliminating the need for additional temporary support structures.
2Ease of operation
If doors are left unsecured on upright wall panel assemblies, then ease of access is improved, but the doors may over-rotate and cause damage
Solution Approach 1:
Door stoppers serve as intermediary elements between the door and the wall panel body. These stoppers contact the door at specific points to prevent over-rotation, allowing the door to swing open freely while protecting the door and its connections from damage caused by excessive rotation.
Solution Approach 2:
The door stoppers are positioned to provide counter-action before the door can over-rotate and cause damage. By contacting the door at the appropriate point in its rotation arc, the stoppers prevent the harmful over-rotation from occurring in the first place, while still allowing full useful rotation for access.
3Reliability
If door stoppers are added to prevent over-rotation, then door and connection reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The door stoppers are merged with the wall panel body as an integrated structure rather than being separate components. This combining of functions reduces the overall device complexity while still providing the necessary door over-rotation prevention and upright position support functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The door stoppers serve multiple functions: they prevent door over-rotation to protect connections, and they also help support the wall panel in an upright orientation during transportation and installation. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby reducing overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A wall panel structured to form at least a portion of an interior wall of a vehicle is provided. The wall panel includes a body, a storage compartment formed in the body, and at least one door stopper extending from the body. The door stopper(s) may help support the wall panel in an upright orientation when the wall panel is positioned on a resting surface. Also described is a wall panel assembly including the wall panel and a door rotatably coupled to the wall panel for closing the storage compartment. In the wall panel assembly, the door stopper(s) on the wall panel may prevent over-rotation of the door, when the wall panel is not installed in a vehicle.