Integrally Molded Spring in Vehicle Lamp Base
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional automotive headlamp capsules with separate piece-part metal springs are prone to dislodging, causing short circuits and increased scrap rates due to loose springs contacting electrical connections, and require costly 100% inspection to ensure correct installation and compliance with regulations.
Innovation Solution
An integral spring is monolithically molded with the lamp capsule base, eliminating the risk of electrical shorts and reducing material usage, allowing for cost savings and potentially eliminating the need for 100% inspection, while maintaining compliance with regulatory deflection forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate piece-part metal spring is used in the lamp capsule base, then the spring can provide the required deflection force to preload the lamp, but the spring may dislodge and contact electrical connections causing short circuits
Solution Approach 1:
The spring is integrated monolithically with the lamp capsule base as a single molded part, eliminating the separate piece-part spring that could dislodge and cause electrical shorts. This merging of the spring function into the base structure prevents reliability issues while simplifying the overall assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring function is extracted from the reflector assembly and embedded directly into the lamp capsule base during molding. This extraction ensures the spring remains fixed relative to the base and cannot dislodge to contact electrical connections, solving the electrical safety problem.
2Ease of manufacture
If a separate piece-part spring is used, then the spring can be independently manufactured, but it requires costly 100% inspection to ensure correct installation and compliance
Solution Approach 1:
The spring and base are combined into a single molded part, eliminating the need for separate manufacturing and assembly steps. This integration removes the requirement for 100% inspection of spring installation, as the spring is inherently correctly positioned during the molding process, thereby reducing inspection costs and improving productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The molding process itself ensures correct spring formation and positioning within the base, making the assembly self-ensuring of compliance. This self-service characteristic eliminates the need for external inspection processes, reducing both cost and time.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a separate piece-part spring is used, then the spring can be adjusted for compliance, but material usage increases and assembly costs rise
Solution Approach 1:
The spring and base are merged into a single part, eliminating the need for additional material to create a separate spring component. The spring function is achieved through strategic material distribution and structural design within the base itself, reducing overall material usage while maintaining compliance adjustability through molded geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated spring-base structure utilizes the same material for both components, optimized for the specific application. This composite approach allows the material to serve dual functions (base structure and spring element) with optimized properties for both support and deflection, reducing total material requirement compared to separate components.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances reliability by preventing electrical shorts and reducing assembly line downtime and costs, ensuring consistent beam pattern alignment and reduced scrap rates through a unitary, molded spring design that meets regulatory deflection force requirements.
Implementation Method 1
a spring feature in the lamp base... molded spring, molded monolithically of the same plastics material as the base... deflecting the molded spring against the reflector
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle lamp capsule 32 having a base 34 having a spring 5 which, when lamp capsule 32 is installed, biases an inner surface of a vehicle lamp reflector 12. Spring 5 is monolithically formed with base 34 along with at least one reflector-locating structure on the base such as circumferentially extending exterior locating surface 44 and/or retaining keys 42. Base 34 and spring 5 may be molded of a plastics material. In other embodiments base 34 and spring 5 are made in one piece of sheet metal. The spring 5 formed unitary with the lamp base 34 meets regulatory requirements and avoids a risk of dislodgement of a conventional separate piece-part metal spring which could cause an electrical short when the lamp is installed in the field. The lamp capsule 32 is suitably an H13-style lamp.