No need for electric drive, Xiaomi's hidden door handle patent is authorized

2024-02-26

On January 3rd, according to Qichacha, Xiaomi Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. has recently been granted a patent for "hidden door handles, doors, and vehicles".

According to public information, there are currently three types of door handles on the market: protruding, semi hidden, and hidden. Among them, hidden door handles have attracted much attention due to their ability to significantly reduce vehicle wind resistance. However, traditional concealed retractable door handle designs typically require two independent spaces to accommodate the handle's retraction and the related structure for opening the door, and this design scheme must be made into an electric scheme to drive the handle's retraction. This not only makes the overall structure more complex, but also increases manufacturing costs and vehicle weight.

In this regard, Xiaomi Automotive Technology Co., Ltd.'s authorized new patent provides a new solution.

According to the patent abstract, the hidden door handle includes a base, switch assembly, handle assembly, and reset assembly. The base includes an operation port, and a switch component is located on the base for unlocking the car door. The handle component can be rotatably installed on the base and has a hidden position and a first triggering position. The reset component can drive the handle component to switch from the first triggering position to the hidden position.

It should be noted that the hidden door handle does not require an electric drive component and can automatically reset the hidden position of the handle component. The structure is simple, reducing weight while also reducing costs, and the operation is more convenient.

It is reported that at the Xiaomi car technology press conference on December 28, 2023, Lei Jun pre released the brand's first car, the Xiaomi SU7, and provided partial explanations of the car.

Lei Jun introduced that Xiaomi Motors will have many family design languages, including droplet shaped headlights, droplet shaped exterior mirrors, halo tail lights, 175 ° ripple surface, and semi hidden door handles. As for why it's necessary to make a semi hidden door handle, Lei Jun said that at first it wasn't because he was afraid of freezing, but because he found that the hidden door handle couldn't be washed clean while washing the car.

In addition, according to Lei Jun, the Xiaomi SU7 has a drag coefficient of only 0.195Cd, which is the lowest in the world for cars. The vehicle's aerodynamic design, with 8 sets of air ducts and 17 air vents, further reduces the drag coefficient.

Samsung Electronics and Tesla have reached a cooperation agreement to showcase technology at CES