Plastic Clip With Segmented Bush For Narrow Fastening
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing plastic clips require a long bush to expand the outer diameter over its entire length, making them unsuitable for applications where the fastened position needs to be set in a narrow range, and they often have design flaws that lead to poor operating efficiency, cost issues, and unreliable coupling forces.
Innovation Solution
A plastic clip design featuring a pre-assembled pin and bush with a protruding portion that expands the bush's outer diameter only when needed, reducing the bush's length and ensuring reliable expansion, using a pin shank with different diameter regions and latch mechanisms to maintain the fastened position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the bush is made long to expand the outer diameter over the entire length, then the coupling force is improved, but the longitudinal length increases making it unsuitable for narrow fastening ranges
Solution Approach 1:
The bush is divided into a thin-walled portion and thick-walled portions, with only the thin-walled portion expanding during fastening. This segmentation allows the bush to provide sufficient coupling force through localized expansion rather than requiring the entire length to expand, thus reducing the overall longitudinal length needed while maintaining coupling effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The bush has different wall thicknesses at different locations - a thin-walled portion for expansion and thick-walled portions for structural support. This local quality differentiation enables the bush to achieve reliable expansion at the fastening location without requiring the entire bush to be long, as only the local thin-walled portion needs to expand to provide sufficient coupling force.
2Device complexity
If the pin and bush are not pre-assembled to allow flexibility, then the design is simpler, but the operating efficiency deteriorates due to separation risks during fastening
Solution Approach 1:
The pin and bush are pre-assembled into an integrated clip unit before installation. This merging eliminates the risk of separation during the fastening operation, improving operating efficiency and reliability. The pre-assembled structure ensures that the pin and bush work together as a coordinated system without requiring separate handling or alignment during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The pin is pre-inserted into the bush during manufacturing to create a pre-assembled clip. This preliminary action ensures that the components are properly positioned and secured before installation, eliminating the need for complex alignment operations during fastening and improving overall operating efficiency while maintaining design simplicity.
3Reliability
If the bush is made long to ensure reliable expansion, then the coupling reliability is improved, but the longitudinal length increases reducing adaptability to tight spaces
Solution Approach 1:
The bush is segmented into thin-walled and thick-walled portions, with only the thin-walled portion designed to expand. This segmentation allows reliable coupling to be achieved through localized expansion at the fastening point, eliminating the need for a long bush and enabling the clip to fit into narrow fastening ranges while maintaining coupling reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The bush has localized thin-walled portions positioned at specific fastening locations where expansion is needed. This local quality approach ensures reliable expansion and coupling at the critical fastening point without requiring the entire bush to be long, thus improving adaptability to tight spaces while maintaining coupling reliability.
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 clip achieves reliable and efficient expansion of the bush's outer diameter in a controlled manner, allowing for secure coupling of workpieces and attachment components even in tight spaces, while reducing the bush's length and improving operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
the peripheral wall is expanded in a radially outward direction of the bush to allow a workpiece and an attachment component to be clamped between the expanded portion and a flange of the bush
Data Source
AI summary
A clip comprises a pin, and a hollow bush adapted to receive the pin therein. The bush includes a flange and a bush body having an opening which is formed by partially cutting off a peripheral wall thereof and adapted to receive therein a pin shank in a direction orthogonal to an axial direction of the bush body. The bush body and the bush flange are adapted to be expanded in a radially outward direction of the bush body about a position opposed to the opening, in a hinged manner. The pin has a shank that includes a protruding portion which has a narrow region formed near a distal end of the pin shank, causing no expansion in an outer diameter of the bush body in the radially outward direction when the pin is in a non-fastened position, and a wide region adjacent to the bush flange, causing an expansion in the outer diameter of the bush body when the pin is in a fastened position.