Interlocking Strip Fasteners for Vehicle Soft Top Panels
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Soft top panels for vehicles often experience issues with zippers failing or being difficult to attach, reattach, and open due to frequent use and exposure to elements, necessitating an alternative attachment method.
Innovation Solution
The use of interlocking strips with raised tabs and corresponding openings, made from materials like polyethylene or polypropylene, which can be snap-fitted together, along with optional hook and loop fasteners to secure and removably attach soft top panels, reducing water seepage and improving ease of installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If zippers are used to attach soft top panels, then the panels can be connected and disconnected, but the zippers fail and become difficult to use due to frequent use and exposure to elements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the problematic zipper component entirely from the soft top panel attachment system and replaces it with a strip-based interconnection system using tabs and openings, eliminating the source of reliability and operational issues
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs simple, durable plastic strips with tabs and openings that are more reliable than zippers for frequent use, designed to withstand exposure to elements without degrading in function
2Strength
If traditional attachment methods are used, then panels can be connected, but the connection is not secure enough to resist buckling under high winds
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the attachment system into discrete segments with tabs and openings spaced at specific intervals (e.g., every 6 inches), creating multiple connection points along the panel edges that collectively provide wind resistance without requiring a complex continuous fastening system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different features at different locations: tabs on one strip engage with openings on the corresponding strip, creating localized interlocking points that provide distributed strength across the entire panel connection
3Adaptability or versatility
If panels are made removable for open air access, then user flexibility is improved, but water seepage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediate sealing component (such as a weatherstrip or seal) that works in conjunction with the tab-and-opening attachment system to block water pathways while allowing the panels to remain removable for user flexibility
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle soft top with a removable panels having interconnecting strips that can be aligned with one another and snap fitted to attach to each other. In one embodiment, a assembly to attach components of a vehicle soft top having a top panel, a side panel and a rear panel may have a first strip connected along a portion of an edge of the top panel, the first strip having a plurality of spaced tabs raised from the first strip by a stem; a second strip connected along a portion of a top edge of at least the side panel, the second strip having a plurality of spaced openings, which are aligned and spaced to securely and removably receive and retain a portion of an edge of the tabs of the first strip and a portion of an edge of the stem of the tabs of the first strip.