Double Sided Clip With Seal For Watertight Panel Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for attaching vehicle body panels or fascia to a vehicle body structure often result in blind installations, making it difficult to ensure proper attachment and can lead to water leakage due to unsealed connections.
Innovation Solution
A double-sided clip system with a seal, comprising a clip body with a vehicle side and a panel side, featuring a pair of W-clips and a locator pin, where the seal surrounds the clip bases and is formed as a single-piece component, ensuring a secure and watertight connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If clips are inserted through openings to attach panels to vehicle body, then attachment is achieved, but water leakage occurs at connection points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the attachment function and sealing function into a single integrated clip assembly. The seal is positioned within the clip structure itself, merging two previously separate functions (mechanical attachment and water sealing) into one unified component that simultaneously achieves both goals.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a seal as an intermediary element between the clip and the vehicle body opening. This seal acts as a mediator that blocks the water leakage path created by the clip insertion, allowing the clip to maintain its attachment function while the seal prevents the harmful water ingress.
2Ease of manufacture
If blind installation method is used for clip attachment, then assembly process is simplified, but it becomes difficult to determine proper installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes visual indicators (such as color-coded features or visible alignment markers) on the clip or seal that change or become apparent when proper installation is achieved. This allows workers to quickly verify correct installation during blind assembly without complex inspection tools, maintaining simplicity while enabling detection.
3Reliability
If multiple separate components are used for attachment and sealing, then each component can be optimized, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the seal and attachment clip into a single molded component or pre-assembled unit. This merging reduces the total number of parts that need to be handled during assembly, simplifies the assembly process, and reduces the risk of assembly errors while maintaining the functional optimization of both attachment and sealing features.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus, according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a clip body having a vehicle side and a panel side. A first clip is on the vehicle side and a second clip is on the panel side. A seal is on the vehicle side. A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, attaching the first clip to a vehicle body, and subsequently attaching a panel to the second clip such that the seal is positioned between the clip body and the vehicle body.