Vehicle Hood Bracket and Weld Stud Assembly for Easier Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need to improve efficiency and ergonomics in the installation of a vehicle hood on a vehicle, specifically to keep the hood in place until fasteners can be applied for complete installation.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle hood system that includes a hood body with a first bracket having a downward opening slot and a rotatable hinge with a second bracket featuring a weld stud, allowing the first bracket to be seated on the weld stud during installation, holding the hood in place until fasteners can be securely attached.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the hood is installed using traditional fastening methods, then the hood can be securely attached to the vehicle, but the installation process is inefficient and difficult to control the hood position
Solution Approach 1:
The hood is equipped with a positioning feature (protrusion or clamp) that preliminarily secures the hood to the vehicle body before final fastening. This preliminary action holds the hood in the correct position during installation, eliminating the need for manual positioning and allowing workers to focus on applying fasteners, thereby improving both productivity and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
A positioning mechanism acts as an intermediary between the hood and the final fastening system. This intermediary component temporarily maintains the hood in place during installation, providing positional control while the permanent fasteners are being applied. The positioning feature can be a protrusion fitting into a recess or a clamp that holds the hood until secured.
2Ease of operation
If the hood is held in place manually during installation, then positioning control is maintained, but installation efficiency decreases due to increased labor time and effort
Solution Approach 1:
The hood assembly includes self-positioning features such as protrusions that automatically align and engage with corresponding recesses on the vehicle body. The positioning mechanism serves itself by mechanically holding the hood in place without requiring manual intervention, thus maintaining ease of operation while improving installation efficiency through automated positioning.
3Reliability
If the hood positioning mechanism is complex, then hood position can be securely maintained during installation, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning function is segmented into simple, discrete features such as protrusions and recesses rather than a complex continuous mechanism. The hood includes a positioning protrusion that engages with a corresponding recess on the vehicle body, creating a simple yet reliable positioning system that maintains hood stability without adding device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a complex active mechanism to hold the hood in place, the design uses a passive positioning feature where the hood's own geometry (protrusion or clamp) creates the positioning function. This inverted approach simplifies the mechanism while maintaining reliability by using the hood's structure itself for positioning.
Data Source
AI summary
A hood for a vehicle is movable between an open position and a closed position for covering a vehicle compartment. The hood includes a hood body having an exterior facing surface and an interior facing surface. A first bracket attached to the interior facing surface of the hood body includes a bottom end having a downward opening slot a rotatable hinge attached to the vehicle in the vehicle compartment for moving the hood body between the open position and the closed position. A second bracket is attached to the vehicle in the vehicle compartment. The second bracket is attached to a distal end of the rotatable hinge and includes a weld stud extending laterally from a side of the second bracket. The first bracket is seated on the weld stud during installation of the hood.