One-Piece Mirror Seal with Integrated Grommet for Cable Harness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing seal solutions for exterior rear view mirror assemblies in vehicles are prone to slipping during installation, leading to imperfect sealing and potential entry of dirt and moisture through feed-through openings for cable harnesses, complicating installation and maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A one-piece seal comprising an integrally moulded sealing pad and grommet with a hollow body design and passage opening along the symmetry axis, featuring fixing elements like grooves, springs, and assembly fittings to ensure correct positioning and prevent slippage, while the grommet encases the cable harness through cavities to prevent dirt and moisture ingress.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If separate sealing components are used for the sealing pad and sealing grommet, then installation flexibility is improved, but positioning accuracy deteriorates due to slippage during installation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the sealing pad and sealing grommet into a single integrated sealing component. The sealing grommet is directly attached to the sealing pad, forming one piece that is inserted as a unit into the mirror base. This integration eliminates the slippage problem between separate components during installation, ensuring accurate positioning while maintaining installation simplicity.
2Reliability
If the sealing grommet is designed as a closed body, then sealing performance is improved, but cable harness passage capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing grommet is segmented into two functional zones: a closed body portion that provides sealing against dirt and moisture, and an open body portion that accommodates the cable harness passage. This segmentation allows the grommet to simultaneously achieve reliable sealing performance and cable harness passage capability through its hollow cylindrical structure with an opening.
3Ease of manufacture
If fixing elements are provided only on the mirror base, then mirror base modification is simplified, but seal positioning accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent provides fixing elements on both the sealing pad and the mirror base, creating a dual-fixing system. The sealing pad includes fixing elements that engage with corresponding elements on the mirror base, ensuring accurate positioning of the entire sealing component during installation. This bidirectional fixing approach maintains positioning accuracy while allowing for straightforward manufacturing of both components.
Data Source
AI summary
A seal of an exterior rear view mirror assembly relative to a body part of a motor vehicle is described, which is formed as one piece, and comprises a sealing pad and a sealing grommet integrally molded on the sealing pad. The sealing pad covers at least one section of the surface of a minor base of the exterior rear view minor assembly lying on the bodywork side. The sealing grommet serves for sealing at least one feed-through opening, which is provided on the bodywork side for feed-through of the cable harness of the exterior rear view minor assembly. The sealing grommet is formed as an open hollow body on the free end, which is turned away from the sealing pad. A passage opening is provided for the cable harness at the intersection of the symmetry axis of the hollow body with the sealing pad.