Convertible Top Cable Guide Dual Shell Linkage
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing top linkage systems for convertible vehicles require significant effort and special tools for installing the cable guide, limiting design options and increasing installation time and costs.
Innovation Solution
A cable guide design featuring two shells that connect easily to the link without additional securing elements, with a smooth sliding surface and latching mechanism, allowing for quick installation and reduced wear on the tensioning cable, and utilizing injection-molded plastic parts for precision and cost-effectiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hollow rivet press-fit into a through hole is used as the cable guide, then the cable guide can be securely fixed to the link, but significant effort and special tools are required for installation, and the cut-out must be easily accessible
Solution Approach 1:
The cable guide is divided into two separate shells (first shell and second shell) that can be independently positioned and connected. This segmentation allows each shell to be separately installed onto the link from opposite sides, eliminating the need for complex press-fit tools and special accessibility requirements for the cut-out.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of pressing a single hollow rivet into a through hole from one side, the invention inverts the approach by having two shells contact the link from opposite sides and connect to each other. This reversal of the installation sequence and direction simplifies the installation process and eliminates the need for special tools.
2Reliability
If a hollow rivet is used as the cable guide, then the cable guide can be fixed to the link, but the geometrical design options are limited
Solution Approach 1:
Dividing the cable guide into two independent shells provides greater geometric flexibility compared to a single hollow rivet. Each shell can be independently shaped and positioned, allowing for optimized passage opening geometries and better adaptation to different link configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-dimensional through-hole approach to a three-dimensional arrangement with two shells contacting the link from opposite sides. This dimensional expansion enables more versatile passage opening designs and better geometric adaptation to various application requirements.
3Reliability
If additional securing elements are used to fix the cable guide, then the fixation is more secure, but the installation becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The two shells are designed to connect directly to each other through integrated latching mechanisms (latching parts and latching counterparts), merging the fixation function into the basic cable guide structure. This eliminates the need for separate securing elements while maintaining secure fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The latching mechanism is designed so that the shells self-latch to each other during installation without requiring additional securing elements or external tools. The latching parts and latching counterparts automatically engage when the shells are positioned on the link, providing secure fixation through self-service.
Data Source
AI summary
A top of a convertible vehicle having a top linkage which can be displaced between a closed position, in which the top covers a vehicle interior, and a storage position, in which the vehicle interior is uncovered, and which has a linkage arrangement on either side of a vertical longitudinal center plane of the top, each linkage arrangement having a link and a cable guide disposed on the link and serving to guide a tensioning cable. The cable guide may have two shells defining a passage opening and being in contact with the link from opposite sides.