Vehicle Door Alignment Tool for Striker Pin Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing method of installing a vehicle door assembly is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and unreliable due to the need for manual adjustment of the striker pin's position relative to the door latch assembly, often resulting in improper sealing and potential safety hazards from air and water leaks.
Innovation Solution
An alignment tool with a body featuring a striker pin through-hole and latch-engaging assembly that allows precise positioning of the striker pin in the cross-car and vertical directions, ensuring accurate engagement with the door latch assembly, thereby facilitating proper door closure and sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the striker pin is manually adjusted and tested repeatedly to achieve proper engagement with the latch, then the door closure accuracy is improved, but the installation time and labor intensity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an alignment tool as an intermediary device between the striker pin and the latch assembly. This tool includes positioning features that physically guide and align the striker pin with the latch, eliminating the need for manual trial-and-error adjustment. The alignment tool acts as a mediator that transfers the correct positional relationship from the tool's fixtures to the striker pin-latch interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment tool performs preliminary positioning of the striker pin before final installation. By pre-aligning the striker pin with the latch using the alignment tool's positioning features (such as ribs, grooves, or fixtures), the correct engagement position is established in advance, preventing the need for repeated adjustments after installation begins.
2Manufacturing precision
If the striker pin position is manually adjusted to ensure proper sealing, then the sealing quality is improved, but the reliability of the installation process deteriorates due to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment tool enables the installation process to be self-aligning and self-correcting. The tool's built-in positioning features automatically guide the striker pin into the correct position without requiring operator judgment or manual adjustment. This self-service mechanism eliminates variability caused by different installers' skills and ensures consistent, reliable results.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical adjustment process with a fixture-based mechanical guidance system. Instead of relying on operators to manually position and test the striker pin, the alignment tool uses precisely manufactured positioning features (ribs, grooves, fixtures) to mechanically enforce the correct alignment, substituting human skill with precision-engineered mechanical constraints.
3Productivity
If the striker pin is not accurately positioned, then the installation process is faster and simpler, but air and water leaks occur compromising vehicle safety
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment tool performs preliminary positioning to ensure accurate striker pin-latch engagement before final installation. By pre-establishing the correct geometric relationship between components through the tool's positioning features, the system achieves both speed (by eliminating trial-and-error) and accuracy (by ensuring proper sealing position from the start).
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment tool serves as an intermediary that guarantees proper alignment between the striker pin and latch assembly. This mediator device ensures that the sealing surfaces are correctly positioned relative to each other, preventing air and water leaks while maintaining installation efficiency through its guiding and positioning features.
Data Source
AI summary
An alignment tool for use with a vehicle having a door moveably secured to a door frame and a door latch assembly defined on the door includes a body having a front surface and a rear surface and a through-hole extending through the body that is sized and configured to receive a striker pin of a vehicle. A first end surface defined on the body is configured to engage the door frame to set a cross-car position of the striker pin. A latch-engaging assembly is engageable with a portion of the door latch assembly to set a vertical position of the striker pin.