Design guidelines for the door opening of an automobile based on the ease of ingress and egress: Focusing on recreational vehicles

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study is to suggest design guidelines for the door opening of an automobile based on the ease of ingress and egress. This study will show how the vehicle"s design guidelines are derived, especially through the example of foot clearance among many design elements of the automobile. Background: Recently, as well as the performance of the automobile, the ergonomic design for its appearance and convenience has become important to consumers. However, compared to the developed countries, there are only a few ergonomic researches and applications of the automobile in Korea. Method: Twelve participants evaluated the degree of discomfort for two levels of foot clearance. Results: Binary logistic regression analysis was performed between the probability of the discomfort and the ratio of the foot clearance and the foot length. Conclusion: A specific foot clearance could be derived according to a length of foot in an acceptable discomfort probability. Application: The results can be utilized when designing the foot clearance of the automobiles. Thus, through the evaluation of ease of ingress and egress, design guidelines for other elements can also be suggested.