Unitary Overhead Console Button Carrier Mold for Part Consolidation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manufacturing process for overhead console button carriers requires assembly from multiple parts, increasing complexity and cost due to the need for multiple mold tools and assembly labor.
Innovation Solution
A unitary body overhead console button carrier is created using a mold assembly with zero draft core inserts and retractor mechanisms, allowing for the consolidation of components like light collimators, intrusion sensor brackets, and button guides into a single, complex structure molded in one piece.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If multiple parts are assembled to create the overhead console button carrier, then the functionality and structural requirements are met, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to multiple mold tools and assembly labor
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate components (button carrier body, light collimators, intrusion sensor brackets, and button guides) into a single unitary structure that is molded as one piece. This consolidation eliminates the need for multiple mold tools and assembly operations, directly resolving the technical contradiction by reducing manufacturing complexity while maintaining all required functionalities through integrated design
2Productivity
If multiple parts are assembled to create the overhead console button carrier, then the structural requirements are satisfied, but production time and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
By combining all functional components into a unitary body that is molded in a single operation, the patent eliminates sequential assembly steps and associated labor time. The integrated design allows all features to be created simultaneously during the molding process, directly improving productivity by reducing total production time and eliminating assembly operations
Data Source
AI summary
A mold assembly, for an overhead console button carrier having a unitary body, includes a cavity side and a core side. The core side includes at least one zero draft core insert, a first buried retractor mechanism and a first slide mechanism.