Hinged Seal for Exterior Rear View Mirror Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing exterior rear view mirror assemblies face issues with seal loss, incorrect mounting, and faulty sealing due to the seal being easily forgotten or misplaced during installation, and the risk of incorrect alignment and orientation of the seal on the bodywork side.
Innovation Solution
A seal securely connected to the mirror base or mirror base cover via a hinge-like articulated connection, allowing it to be folded onto the bodywork side, preventing loss and ensuring correct alignment and orientation, with the connecting link forming a defined hinge-joint axis for precise positioning and tolerance compensation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the seal is provided separately and not connected to the mirror base, then the installation process is simple, but the seal is easily lost or misplaced during installation
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is merged with the mirror base cover by integrating it into the same component structure. The seal is received within a receiving space formed by the mirror base cover and connected to it, ensuring they move together as a unit. This eliminates the risk of the seal being lost or misplaced during installation while maintaining operational simplicity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the seal is not connected to the mirror base, then the assembly process is flexible, but the seal alignment and orientation may be incorrect
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is pre-positioned and connected to the mirror base cover in the correct orientation during manufacturing. The receiving space in the mirror base cover is designed to guide and orient the seal correctly, ensuring proper alignment before the assembly is installed on the vehicle. This preliminary positioning ensures manufacturing precision while maintaining assembly flexibility.
3Manufacturing precision
If the seal is securely connected to the mirror base cover, then the seal positioning is precise, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seal and mirror base cover are merged into a single integrated component structure. The seal is received within a receiving space formed by the mirror base cover and connected to it, eliminating the need for separate mounting hardware or complex assembly mechanisms. This integration achieves precise seal positioning while minimizing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A seal of a part of an exterior rear view mirror assembly relative to a body part of a motor vehicle is described, which seal is provided for covering at least one section of a surface of a mirror base and/or a mirror base cover, which takes its bearing on the bodywork side. The seal is securely connected to the mirror base and/or mirror base cover by means of at least one connecting link. The at least one connecting link forms a hinge-like articulated connection. The hinge-like articulated connection includes at least one hinge joint axis running adjacently to the at least one surface, which takes its bearing on the bodywork side. The seal can preferably be folded about the at least one hinge-joint axis onto the section, which is at least to be covered, of the at least one surface, which takes its bearing on the bodywork side.