Wire Rope Underride Guard for Commercial Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
The geometric mismatch between passenger vehicles and large commercial cargo vehicles, such as box trucks and trailers, poses a significant hazard during side impacts, leading to enhanced injury risks for passenger vehicle occupants due to unprotected elevated structures that can result in side underride collisions.
Innovation Solution
A wire rope underride guarding system is implemented to cover the unguarded lateral sides of commercial vehicles, featuring guides that redirect wire ropes around axles and wheels, with energy dissipating components and a bracing system to absorb and distribute impact forces, ensuring comprehensive protection and preventing passenger compartment intrusion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If mechanical guarding is implemented to protect against side underride impacts, then occupant safety is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs wire ropes as flexible guarding elements that can deform during impact to absorb energy while maintaining protection. The wire ropes are routed through guides and attached to the vehicle frame, creating a flexible barrier that adapts to impact forces without requiring rigid structural modifications
Solution Approach 2:
The guarding system is divided into discrete components including multiple wire ropes, guides, attachments, and energy absorbing elements. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and facilitates easier installation and maintenance while achieving comprehensive side protection
2Strength
If rigid guarding structures are used to prevent passenger compartment intrusion, then protection effectiveness is improved, but the structure becomes heavier and more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state and mechanical properties of the guarding system by using wire ropes with specific tensile strengths and elasticity. The wire ropes are tensioned to optimal levels to provide protection while remaining lightweight, and energy absorbing elements are designed to deform plastically during impact to dissipate energy without adding significant weight
Solution Approach 2:
The guarding system combines different materials with complementary properties: high-strength wire ropes for tensile resistance, energy absorbing elements with controlled deformation characteristics, and lightweight attachment hardware. This composite approach achieves high protection effectiveness while minimizing overall system weight
3Reliability
If comprehensive side coverage is provided to guard all unguarded lateral areas, then safety is improved, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wire rope guarding system serves multiple functions: it provides the primary protective barrier, absorbs impact energy through deformation, and can be routed to accommodate various vehicle configurations. The same basic components can be applied to different vehicle types and sizes, simplifying manufacturing and installation processes
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
The system effectively slows, stops, or redirects impacting vehicles, reducing the risk of passenger compartment intrusion and enhancing safety by distributing impact loads across the vehicle, thereby mitigating injury threats from side underride collisions.
Implementation Method 1
The wire rope acts as the principle guard component which interacts with the impacting vehicle and resists the forces developed during the crash pulse
Implementation Method 2
the in-line energy absorbing structures dissipate impacting vehicle collision energy by intentional plastic deformation
Implementation Method 3
The bracing system is intended to ensure that a substantial vehicle impact load magnitude will be resisted by the entirety of the guarding system
Data Source
AI summary
Side underride collision guards configured to be incorporated beneath the cargo containment structures of large powered or unpowered vehicles are described. These collision guards are designed to absorb the force and kinetic energy of a lateral impact from a striking vehicle in an efficient manner. The guards disclosed are suited for incorporation into those vehicles with an elevated side structure, regardless if those vehicles are equipped with or without a sliding rear axle or axles. The guards comprise at least one impact force resisting structure per vehicle side, typically wire rope, oriented axially and mounted at or near each outboard side of the vehicle. The wire rope is attached to a plurality of support members connecting the linear structures to supporting members of the vehicle. The supported linear guard interaction members diminish the impact hazard presented to other roadway users that comprises the lower axial edges of the vehicle, typically a cargo box container, which is geometrically mismatched to the impacting vehicle, typically a passenger vehicle, as the container box edges are elevated above the front and rear bumper height of the impacting vehicle.