Cowl-top cover with low rigidity portion for easy mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cowl-top covers are difficult to mount and remove from a vehicle body due to their high rigidity and design, which complicates the process of deforming and removing them, especially when trying to compensate for gaps between the bonnet/hood and the vehicle body for pedestrian protection.
Innovation Solution
A cowl-top cover design featuring a low rigidity portion at one end, which is easily deformable to facilitate counter-insertion and removal, along with a protrusion portion divided into multiple members that can be detached, allowing for easier mounting and removal by spacing the engagement portion from the engagement receptacle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the cowl-top cover is designed with high rigidity to maintain structural integrity and compensate for gaps, then the structural stability is improved, but the ease of mounting and removal deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cowl-top cover is divided into a cover main body portion and a protrusion portion that can be separated. The protrusion portion is further divided into multiple engagement portions that can be deformed independently. This segmentation allows the cover to maintain overall structural integrity while enabling localized deformation for easy mounting and removal operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the cowl-top cover are given different rigidity characteristics. The cover main body portion maintains high rigidity for structural stability, while the protrusion portion and engagement portions are designed with lower rigidity to facilitate deformation during mounting and removal. This local differentiation of mechanical properties resolves the contradiction between overall stability and operational ease.
2Reliability
If the cover mounting portion is designed to continuously engage with the front glass, then the reliability of fixation is improved, but the ease of removal deteriorates due to the need for continuous deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement portions are designed to transition between engaged and disengaged states dynamically. During normal operation, the engagement portions maintain continuous contact with the front glass for reliable fixation. During removal, the low-rigidity protrusion portion allows the engagement portions to be deformed and disengaged sequentially, enabling easy removal while maintaining fixation reliability during use.
3Ease of manufacture
If the cowl-top cover is designed as a single integrated piece, then the manufacturing simplicity is improved, but the ease of removal deteriorates due to high overall rigidity
Solution Approach 1:
The cowl-top cover is segmented into a cover main body portion and a protrusion portion that can be manufactured separately and then assembled. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function - the cover main body for structural integrity and the protrusion portion for ease of removal - while still achieving a relatively simple manufacturing process through modular construction.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a cowl-top cover. A cover mounting portion which is provided along a longitudinal direction from one end part in a longitudinal direction of a cover main body portion is inserted into and then engaged with an engagement receptacle portion, whereby the cowl-top cover is caused to be easily mountable to a vehicle body. A low rigidity portion which is provided at one end part in the longitudinal direction of the cover main body portion is deformed so as to space the cover mounting portion in a counter-insertion direction with respect to the engagement receptacle portion, whereby the cover mounting portion is caused to be easily removable from the engagement receptacle portion at a position of one end part in the longitudinal direction of the cover main body portion.