Aptiv has been granted a patent for self-cleaning door handles for vehicles. The door handle includes a hygienic film that rotates around the hand grip using cylindrical rollers and is irradiated with ultraviolet light to reduce bacteria. GlobalData’s report on Aptiv gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
According to GlobalData’s company profile on Aptiv, common rail fuel injection system was a key innovation area identified from patents. Aptiv's grant share as of June 2023 was 1%. Grant share is based on the ratio of number of grants to total number of patents.
Self-cleaning door handle for vehicles
A recently granted patent (Publication Number: US11684684B2) describes a door handle for vehicles that incorporates a hygienic film and a light to reduce the presence of bacteria. The door handle includes a housing with a hand grip, and a hygienic film that is wrapped around a portion of the hand grip. The film is guided by cylindrical rollers, which rotate it around the longitudinal axis of the hand grip in a circumferential path. The light, which emits ultraviolet radiation, is configured to irradiate at least one portion of the hygienic film, thereby reducing the quantity of bacteria present.
The patent also describes additional features of the door handle. The cylindrical rollers are designed to advance the hygienic film, retracting contaminated portions within the housing to be irradiated and replacing them with clean portions. The light may be mounted within the housing or within a hermetically sealed compartment. The housing is rigidly attached to the vehicle's door. The door handle may include repositories for storing clean and contaminated portions of the hygienic film. The advancement of the film by the cylindrical rollers can be triggered by a vehicle's processor, which determines when a passenger's ride has concluded and they have exited the vehicle. An end cap is provided to cover the edge of the hygienic film.
The patent also includes a method for using the door handle. The method involves advancing the hygienic film using the cylindrical rollers and irradiating contaminated portions of the film with the light to reduce bacteria. The method can be controlled by a vehicle's processor, which determines when the ride has ended and passengers are not present, as well as whether all doors of the vehicle are closed. The processor can control the cylindrical rollers to replace contaminated portions of the film with clean portions and activate the light to irradiate the film.
In summary, the granted patent describes a door handle for vehicles that incorporates a hygienic film and a light to reduce bacteria. The door handle includes cylindrical rollers to guide the film and a housing that is rigidly attached to the vehicle's door. The method for using the door handle involves advancing the film and irradiating contaminated portions to maintain hygiene.
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