Vehicle Door Latch Auxiliary Cover Positioning Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle door latch devices face inefficiencies in assembling the motion-transmitting member and auxiliary cover due to the inability to couple the Bowden cable ends to the operating levers simultaneously from one direction, hindering automatic assembly and reducing efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle door latch device design featuring a housing with a motion-transmitting member, an operating lever, and an auxiliary cover with a holding portion and positioning means, where the auxiliary cover is fixed to the housing, allowing the coupling portion of the motion-transmitting member to be positioned and coupled to the operating lever from the same direction, utilizing a spherical coupling portion that fits into a recess with a positioning step.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the auxiliary cover is hinged to open and close over the cable coupling area, then the coupling portion can be covered after assembly, but it is not possible to couple the Bowden cable ends to the operating levers and fix the outer tube end simultaneously from one direction
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary cover is designed with a holding portion that preliminarily holds the Bowden cable in position before final assembly. The positioning means (positioning hole and positioning projection) pre-positions the coupling portion of the inner cable relative to the operating lever, enabling simultaneous coupling and fixing from one direction without requiring the cover to open and close.
2Productivity
If automatic assembling is carried out, then assembling efficiency should be improved, but it is difficult to couple the Bowden cable ends to the operating levers automatically while positioned
Solution Approach 1:
The auxiliary cover with holding portion and positioning means enables the Bowden cable and operating lever to self-align and self-couple automatically. The positioning projection automatically engages with the positioning hole, and the holding portion automatically holds the outer tube, allowing automatic assembling machinery to couple the components without complex positioning mechanisms.
3Reliability
If the auxiliary cover is turned over the cable coupling area to cover the coupling portion, then the coupling is protected, but it cannot be done automatically in one direction
Solution Approach 1:
The functions of holding the Bowden cable, positioning the coupling portion, and protecting the assembly are merged into a single auxiliary cover component. The holding portion, positioning means, and cover structure work together as an integrated unit that performs all functions simultaneously from one assembly direction, eliminating the need for separate covering operations.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
A vehicle door latch device which efficiently performs connecting a motion-transmitting member to an operating lever and attaching an auxiliary cover to a housing from one direction simultaneously is provided. The auxiliary cover 23 comprises a holding portion which is capable of holding the motion-transmitting members 8, 10 to the side facing a coupling area 17; and positioning means which can position coupling portions 12, 13 of the motion-transmitting member. Without fixing the auxiliary cover 23 to the coupling area 17, the motion-transmitting members 8, 10 are held by the holding portion. The coupling portions 12, 13 are positioned by the positioning means. By fixing the auxiliary cover 23 to the coupling area, the coupling portions 12, 13 can be coupled to coupled portions 20, 21 of the operating levers 9, 11 which are stationary at a predetermined position.