Next Generation Automotive Sun Visor : Product Development

Abstract: The main purpose of the sun visor is to prevent the driver and passengers to get blinded by the sunlight. It is essential that the sun visor is not blocking the view and that the driver has a clear line of sight so that collisions can be prevented. However, the solution of today is limited as it only covers superior parts of the light and its functionality depends on the head position of the driver and passengers. Therefore, ÅF has initiated this thesis project to develop and improve the product with the goal to further prevent the driver and passengers from being blinded by the sunlight. The scope of the project is to generate new concepts for the sun visor using product development methods. The product development process involves various phases. Collecting and identifying customer needs and wishes resulted in a detailed requirement specification. Competitor analysis, or benchmarking, was conducted to create awareness of what already exists on the market. New concepts were created by two separate brainstorming sessions. These new concepts were evaluated by concept screening and concept scoring matrices and a final concept was chosen for further development. The final concept was modeled and developed with all necessary components in CAD with help of the software Catia V5. A material selection was performed on the new components with help of CES Edupack and a final material suggestion for each component was presented. The new sun visor consists of a sun curtain that is connected to profiles in the WEM cover and the a-pillar. An electric motor in combination with a spring regulates the upward and downward motion of the sun visor to a precise position. The driver or passenger can regulate the height of the sun curtain by pushing a button. An advantage with the new design is that it eliminates the leakage between the sun visor and the WEM cover and to the a-pillar. The designed sun visor does not fit in the current interior of the driver compartment but has been created as close as possible to fit the current space with only small adjustments to the interior. In addition, the components of the new sun visor needs to be redesigned, mainly the WEM cover, to allow the new sun visor to reach down to the lowest allowed point. The new concept has the potential to increase the visibility more efficient than the standard sun visor.