Vehicle Door Lock Spindle Retention via Clip
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing and assembly of vehicle locks for motor vehicle doors are complicated and expensive due to the high number of parts and tight tolerances required, often necessitating overmolding of the gear to the spindle, which increases costs and complexity.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle lock design that uses a clip to hold the spindle in an axial position, eliminating the need for thrust plates and allowing the gear mechanism to be packaged in a single support housing, thereby simplifying assembly and reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining reliability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If thrust plates are used to retain the spindle in axial position, then the spindle is securely held, but the number of parts increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the thrust plate function directly into the housing structure, merging two separate components (thrust plate and housing) into one unified structure. This eliminates the need for separate thrust plates while maintaining the axial retention function, thereby reducing part count and assembly complexity while preserving reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides structural support, contains the gear mechanism, and simultaneously acts as the thrust plate for retaining the spindle in axial position. This multi-functionality approach eliminates dedicated thrust plates while maintaining secure spindle retention
2Manufacturing precision
If overmolding the gear to the spindle is performed, then locational tolerance is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gear and spindle are integrated into a single molded housing structure, combining what would traditionally be separate components requiring overmolding. This achieves the locational tolerance benefits of integration while using a simpler single-shot or two-shot molding process rather than complex overmolding operations
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is pre-designed with built-in locating features and guides that ensure proper positioning of the gear mechanism components during assembly, eliminating the need for post-molding adjustments or complex overmolding processes to achieve tight tolerances
3Ease of manufacture
If multiple housing parts are used for assembly and protection, then protection and assembly facilitation are improved, but the number of parts and assembly complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple housing parts (first housing part, second housing part, thrust plates) are merged into a single integrated housing structure that provides all necessary functions: protection, assembly facilitation, and component retention. This single-piece design eliminates the need for multiple separate parts while maintaining the protective and assembly benefits
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle lock for a door or a flap of a motor vehicle, the vehicle lock including a locking mechanism with a catch and a pawl for latching the catch as well as a gear mechanism with a spindle for moving a nut and for transferring a motion and/or force to the locking mechanism by the nut movement for locking or unlocking the vehicle lock, and a clip for holding the spindle in an axial position. A simple and easy to produce vehicle lock with reduced number of parts, in particular without thrust plates, can be obtained.