Automotive Lighting Device Housing Protrusions for Wire Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing number of electronic elements in automotive lighting devices requires more complex wire harnesses, leading to space constraints and potential stress on conductive wires, which can affect their operation and functionality.
Innovation Solution
The use of protrusions on the lighting device housing allows conductive wires to cross with minimal space requirements, with upper wires making electrical contact only with specific lower wires at the protrusion tops, enabling efficient wire management and reduced stress on wires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the number of electronic elements and wire harnesses is increased to provide advanced lighting functions, then the lighting device can perform more functions and provide safer performance, but the space inside the housing is consumed and the wires are subjected to stress
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a planar wire arrangement to a three-dimensional arrangement utilizing vertical protrusions. Wires are routed along the vertical dimension by contacting protrusions at different heights, enabling complex electrical connections without increasing the horizontal footprint of the housing, thus resolving the space constraint while maintaining functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a hierarchical wire arrangement where upper wires are positioned on protrusions and can contact lower wires at specific points. This nested configuration allows multiple wire layers to coexist in a compact vertical stack, maximizing space utilization and reducing the overall housing volume required for complex wiring harnesses.
2Manufacturing precision
If wire harnesses are distributed in different bundles throughout the housing to reach specific light sources, then lighting modules can be positioned correctly, but the bundles must cross and this creates stress on the conductive wires
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the wire harness into multiple independent bundles, each routed along specific protrusions. This segmentation allows wires to be organized into discrete pathways rather than a tangled mass, reducing cross-bundle interference and stress while maintaining precise positioning capability for lighting modules.
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions serve as intermediary structures that mediate between the housing and the wire harness. By providing dedicated contact points and routing surfaces, the protrusions organize wire bundles and prevent random crossings, thereby reducing stress and improving reliability while enabling precise module positioning.
3Reliability
If more space is allocated for wire bundle crossings to accommodate complex electrical connections, then wire stress is reduced, but the lighting device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the volume-reliability contradiction by moving wire crossings from the horizontal plane to the vertical dimension through protrusions. This allows multiple wire layers to cross without requiring additional horizontal space, maintaining compact device size while reducing wire stress through organized routing paths.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an automotive lighting device (1) comprising an automotive lighting device housing (2), first and second lower conductive wires (3, 4) and an upper conductive wire (8). The automotive lighting device housing (2) comprises at least two protrusions (11-15, 21-25, 31-35, 42-45), each one protruding a height (hp1, hp2) from the automotive lighting device housing (2) until a top base (x10, x20). The first lower conductive wire (3) is arranged in contact with the automotive lighting device housing (2), between two protrusions, and has a first lower wire height (hw1) with respect to the automotive lighting device housing (2) lower than the first and second protrusion heights (hp1, hp2). The upper conductive wire (8) is deposited in contact with the top bases (x10, x20) of the first and second protrusions, and in electrical contact with the second lower conductive wire (4). The invention also comprises a method for manufacturing a such lighting device (1).