Cover Assembly Locking Structure to Prevent Misalignment Rattle
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cover assembly structures suffer from defective assembly due to play between lockers and deformation of synthetic resin components, leading to rattling and improper attachment.
Innovation Solution
A cover assembly structure with a cover locker that includes a first locker locking the cover's peripheral portion and a second locker locking the housing's peripheral portion, featuring a clip with a shaft and lockers, and a cover locker that prevents movement in the opposite direction to the second locker's insertion, using an abutment to prevent defective assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the interval between the first locker and the second locker is made larger than the total value of the respective plate thicknesses to have play for attachment workability, then the ease of operation is improved, but the cover may rattle in its removal direction due to the play
Solution Approach 1:
A cover locker is introduced as an intermediary component between the cover and the housing. The cover locker includes a locking protrusion that engages with a locking groove on the cover, preventing the cover from moving in the removal direction. This mediator absorbs the play between the clip lockers and the plates, allowing the clip to maintain attachment workability while the cover locker ensures cover stability and prevents rattling.
2Productivity
If the clip is inserted to finish attachment even when the flat plates are not superposed at the proper position, then the productivity is improved, but the cover may be in a defective assembly state due to play or deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The cover locker performs a preliminary locking action before the clip attachment is completed. The locking protrusion of the cover locker engages with the locking groove on the cover first, establishing proper alignment. This preliminary action ensures that even if the flat plates are not perfectly superposed during high-speed attachment, the cover will not end up in a defective assembly state, thus maintaining assembly quality while allowing high productivity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If a cover locker is provided to suppress rattling of the cover, then the stability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The cover locker is merged with the existing clip structure. The cover locker is integrated into the clip assembly, sharing the same mounting location and utilizing the same through-holes in the cover and housing. This merging approach allows the cover locker to provide additional stabilization functionality without requiring completely separate mounting hardware, thus improving cover stability while minimizing the increase in device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are: a cover; a housing; a clip that holds the cover and the housing at an assembly complete position; and a cover locker that locks the cover at the assembly complete position, in which the clip includes: a shaft inserted in a through hole of a flat plate of the cover and a through hole of a flat plate of the housing; a first locker that locks a peripheral portion of the through hole of the flat plate of the cover; and a second locker that locks a peripheral portion of the through hole of the flat plate of the housing, the cover includes a locking target locked by the cover locker, and the cover locker includes an abutment to prevent defective assembly of the cover.