Motorcycle Windscreen Assembly Sacrificial Coupling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing windscreen assemblies for vehicles pose safety risks during collisions, as support arms can cause injury to the driver and are complex in structure, requiring non-reusable configurations post-impact to ensure safety.
Innovation Solution
A safety windscreen assembly with sacrificial coupling elements in the support arms that break upon impact, detaching from the windscreen panel to prevent direct contact with the driver and allowing for secure reattachment only by authorized personnel, ensuring safety and functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the windscreen panel is attached to the vehicle by means of a pair of support arms which are arranged vertically, then the windscreen panel can be securely mounted, but the support arms represent actual blunt elements that may cause injury to the driver in case of collision
Solution Approach 1:
The support arm is divided into two distinct portions: a first arm portion that remains attached to the vehicle and a second arm portion that is detachably connected to the windscreen panel. This segmentation allows the second portion to detach during collision, separating the harmful blunt element from the driver's path while maintaining secure mounting during normal operation
Solution Approach 2:
The dangerous second arm portion is extracted from the permanent structure and made detachable. Upon collision, this extracted portion is removed from the system by detaching from the windscreen panel, eliminating the harmful element that would otherwise cause driver injury
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the windscreen panel is designed to tilt forward and detach from upper support arms upon impact, then the risk of physical damage to the driver is reduced, but the structure becomes complex with multiple support arms and attachment systems
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using multiple separate support arms (upper and lower), the invention segments a single support arm into two portions with different functions. The first portion provides stable mounting to the vehicle while the second portion provides detachable connection to the windscreen, simplifying the overall structure while maintaining safety functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The dangerous functionality is extracted into a separate detachable second arm portion that can be removed upon impact. This extraction eliminates the need for complex multi-arm configurations while achieving the same safety objective of removing harmful elements during collision
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the sacrificial coupling element is designed to break at a predetermined breaking load, then the driver is protected from impact forces, but the windscreen assembly becomes non-reusable requiring certified replacement of parts
Solution Approach 1:
The sacrificial coupling element is designed to be discarded (break) upon impact to protect the driver. However, the system enables recovery by allowing the second arm portion to be reattached to the windscreen panel through the same coupling mechanism, permitting authorized personnel to restore functionality without requiring complete part replacement
Data Source
AI summary
A safety windscreen assembly including a windscreen panel, a support arm to support the windscreen panel, the support arm having a first arm portion configured to be attached to a motor vehicle, and a second arm portion attached to the windscreen panel, the motor vehicle being a vehicle provided with a steering handlebar and with a seat astride which a driver may sit, where at least one sacrificial coupling element is provided, to couple the second arm portion with the first arm portion so that the second arm portion is adapted to pass in a breaking configuration with respect to the first arm portion when the windscreen panel is hit by a predetermined impact force higher than a threshold value.