Wedging Alignment Bracket for Stable B-Pillarless Sliding Doors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Limited-support slidable vehicle doors, often used in B-pillarless vehicles, face movement issues when loaded due to the absence of conventional rail and track assemblies, which affects their torsional stiffness and security in closed positions.
Innovation Solution
An alignment bracket assembly with a door-mounted portion and a body-mounted portion that wedge against each other, utilizing a hinge arm and track system to restrict movement by pivoting and sliding mechanisms, enhancing torsional stiffness and security without additional rail and track structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If conventional rail and track assemblies are used to support slidable doors, then the doors have adequate torsional stiffness and stability, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the conventional rail and track assemblies from the door support system, extracting only the essential function of providing stability and support. This is achieved by mounting the door directly to the vehicle body at discrete locations, eliminating unnecessary structural components while maintaining door stability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using continuous rail and track structures, the patent segments the support system into discrete mounting points and individual support elements. The door is supported at multiple separate locations along its edge, with each location providing localized stability through simple mounting brackets or fixtures, rather than requiring a continuous complex assembly.
2Strength
If conventional rail and track assemblies are installed, then the slidable door has adequate structural support, but the manufacturing and installation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential support function from complex rail and track assemblies, retaining only the critical mounting elements needed to provide structural support. This simplification reduces manufacturing steps, material requirements, and assembly operations while maintaining adequate structural support for the slidable door.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of building up support structure from complex assemblies, the patent inverts the approach by mounting the door directly to the vehicle body at discrete points. This reverse engineering approach simplifies manufacturing by eliminating the need to fabricate and assemble complex rail and track structures, focusing instead on simple, robust mounting elements.
3Manufacturing precision
If alignment bracket assembly with wedging mechanism is used, then the door maintains precise alignment and restricted movement in closed position, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment bracket assembly acts as an intermediary element between the door and vehicle body, providing precise alignment and controlled movement restriction. The bracket incorporates a wedging mechanism with a wedge member and receiving structure that converts small positional adjustments into precise alignment corrections, maintaining door position accuracy without requiring complex active control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The wedging mechanism in the alignment bracket assembly provides dynamic adjustment capability, allowing the door to be precisely aligned and secured in the closed position. The wedge member can be adjusted to different positions along the receiving structure to accommodate manufacturing tolerances and installation variations, then locked in place to maintain precise alignment, combining adjustability with structural rigidity.
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
Effectively restricts undesirable movement of slidable doors relative to the vehicle body, increasing torsional stiffness and ensuring secure closure without the need for conventional rail and track assemblies, facilitating easier battery packaging in electrified vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
The door-mounted portion and the body-mounted portion are wedged against one another when the slidable door is in the closed position to restrict movement of the slidable door relative to the vehicle body
Implementation Method 2
A hinge arm couples the vehicle body to the sliding door. A first end portion of the hinge arm is pivotably coupled to the vehicle body through at least one first pivot, and an opposite, second end portion of the hinge arm is pivotably coupled to the sliding door through an at least one second pivot.
Implementation Method 3
A slidable door is typically coupled to a vehicle body through one or more rail and track assemblies. The rail slides within the track as the vehicle door slides back and forth relative to the vehicle body between the open position and the closed position.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle door system includes, among other things, a vehicle body and a slidable door that is slidable back and forth relative to the vehicle body between an open position and a closed position. The system further includes an alignment bracket assembly having a door-mounted portion and a body-mounted portion. The door-mounted portion and the body-mounted portion are wedged against one another when the slidable door is in the closed position to restrict movement of the slidable door relative to the vehicle body when the slidable door is in the closed position.