Panel Clip Assembly With Deployable Support Leg for Precise Installation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional panel clips are difficult to install accurately, often leading to improper placement and reduced holding strength, which can result in vibration, rattling, or structural integrity issues due to their small size, sharp edges, and limited arm flexibility, requiring manual placement and experience.
Innovation Solution
A clip assembly featuring a support leg joined with a control arm and an actuator, such as a grenade pin, that allows for precise placement and secure engagement with a panel, with a retention leg providing additional stability and tactile feedback, ensuring the clip is adequately installed and secured.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional clips are manually installed by workers, then installation can be performed, but the clips are difficult to grasp and align due to their small size and sharp edges, leading to improper placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a guide pin as an intermediary tool that mediates between the installer and the clip. The guide pin includes a guide portion that fits into the hole and a flange with engagement features that interface with the clip, making it easy to grasp and align the clip precisely without the installer directly handling the difficult-to-grasp clip itself
Solution Approach 2:
The guide pin is inserted into the hole before the clip is installed. This preliminary action establishes the correct position and orientation of the hole, providing a reference for subsequent clip placement. The guide pin's flange with engagement features prepares the clip for precise alignment by engaging with the clip's corresponding features before final installation
2Stability of the object's composition
If clips are designed to be pressed through holes without bending or warping the panel, then panel integrity is maintained, but the arms are limited in their ability to bend and provide holding strength
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the retention mechanism into separate functional components: the clip's arms for initial engagement and the support leg for secondary retention. The support leg is a separate element that can be independently deployed to provide additional holding strength without requiring the panel itself to be deformed, thus maintaining panel integrity while enhancing holding strength
Solution Approach 2:
The support leg is designed to be deployable from a retracted position to an extended position. In the retracted position, it does not interfere with panel integrity. When deployed, it extends to engage the rear surface of the panel, providing additional dynamic retention force that enhances holding strength without permanently deforming the panel
3Strength
If support legs are deployed during installation, then holding strength is improved, but the clip cannot be properly aligned and placed in the hole
Solution Approach 1:
The guide pin is inserted into the hole before the clip is installed, establishing the correct position and orientation. The support leg remains in a retracted position during this preliminary alignment phase, preventing interference with the alignment process. Only after proper alignment is achieved is the support leg deployed to provide enhanced holding strength
Solution Approach 2:
The support leg transitions from a retracted state during alignment to an extended state after alignment is complete. This dynamic behavior allows the support leg to be present during installation (in retracted form) without interfering with alignment, and then deployed afterward to provide the intended holding strength enhancement
4Volume of moving object
If clips are small in size, then they are less intrusive and easier to install in some cases, but they are difficult for workers to grasp and firmly hold
Solution Approach 1:
The guide pin serves as an intermediary that provides a larger, easier-to-grasp interface for the installer. Instead of directly grasping the small clip, the installer grasps the guide pin, which is connected to the clip through engagement features. This intermediary approach maintains the small size of the clip itself while providing an ergonomically favorable interface for installation
Solution Approach 2:
The guide pin with its flange and engagement features is prepared and positioned before the clip installation. This preliminary preparation creates a larger, more graspable structure that facilitates easy handling, while the actual clip remains small and unobtrusive. The engagement features between the guide pin flange and the clip ensure that the small clip is securely transferred to its final position
Data Source
AI summary
A clip assembly is provided including a clip having a support leg joined with a control arm and a grenade pin having a grasping element and a key with a displacement control element operable to engage the control arm and hold the support leg in a retracted mode. The grenade pin is removable from the clip to disengage the displacement control element from the control arm and thereby deploy the associated support leg from the body to secure the clip to the panel. The clip can include a retention leg to retain the clip relative to the panel upon installation of the clip relative to the panel. A related method of use is provided.