Drain Hose Hook and Notch Design for Secure Panel Attachment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drain hoses for vehicle air conditioners require multiple components, including a soft hose, a hard pipe, and a waterstop packing, which increases complexity and makes securement verification difficult, and are prone to falling off after fastening.
Innovation Solution
A drain hose with an elastic body and a hard member featuring a hook that engages with the body panel's rim, allowing for secure attachment without a waterstop packing, providing a click and vibration feedback for securement confirmation and enhanced resistance to dislodgment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a hard part and waterstop packing are used to secure the drain hose to the body panel, then the securement reliability is improved, but the number of parts increases and the securement verification becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the hard part and waterstop packing into a single integrated hard member. The hard member includes both the securing function (hook portion) and the sealing function (waterstop portion), eliminating the need for separate components while maintaining both securement reliability and leak prevention.
Solution Approach 2:
The hard member serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a structural support, a securing mechanism (via the hook), and a sealing element (via the waterstop portion). This multi-functionality reduces the overall number of parts while improving securement reliability.
2Manufacturing precision
If a hard part is used to position the drain hose, then the positioning accuracy is improved, but the securement verification becomes difficult and the hose may fall off
Solution Approach 1:
The hard member is designed with elastic deformation capability, allowing it to dynamically adapt during installation. When the drain hose is inserted, the hard member elastically deforms to accommodate the hose, then maintains a secure fitted state, providing both accurate positioning and reliable resistance to fall-off.
Solution Approach 2:
The hard member's physical state changes from a loose fit during installation to a tightly secured state after installation. The elastic material properties allow the hard member to transition between different degrees of deformation, providing securement verification through tactile feedback while maintaining positioning accuracy.
3Strength
If multiple components are used for securement, then the securement strength is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in verification
Solution Approach 1:
The hard member provides tactile feedback through click and vibration sensations when properly secured to the body panel. This feedback mechanism allows the installer to easily verify securement completion without needing to check multiple components, maintaining strong securement while improving ease of operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution simplifies the securement process by reducing the number of components, ensures easy verification of securement, and enhances the hose's resistance to falling off, while providing a reliable seal without the need for additional packing materials.
Implementation Method 1
the drain hose body made of an elastic member... making contact with a rim of the through hole
Implementation Method 2
a hook configured to engage from the outside of the cabin with the rim of the through hole on the body panel
Implementation Method 3
depressing an edge portion of the notch in a direction to expand the hard member in diameter
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A drain hose 1 includes a drain hose body 10 and a hard member 20. The hard member 20 includes a notch 22 and hooks 21. The drain hose body 10 includes a protruding portion 14 provided to a part, of an outer periphery of the drain hose body 10, to which the hard member 20 is attached. The protruding portion 14 protrudes to be positioned in the notch 22, and, when force is applied to the drain hose body 10 in a direction to pull the drain hose body 10 from a through hole P1, depresses edge portions 22a of the notch 22 in a direction to expand the hard member 20 in diameter.