Vehicle Rear View Housing Flush Joint Design

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional rear view device housings experience wind noise issues due to the location of the separation edge within a channel, and manufacturing one-piece housings with injection molding is complex and costly.

Innovation Solution

The separation edge is relocated to an inside panel of the bezel portion, with a continuous clamp and protrusion design that overlaps to create a flush surface, allowing for a simpler structure and reduced wind noise, while enabling cost-effective manufacturing of separate scalp and bezel portions using injection molding.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Object-affected harmful factors

If the separation edge is located within a channel, then the housing structure is traditional and secure, but wind noise increases due to high speed airflow around the separation edge

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewind noiseVSAvoidhousing structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of placing the separation edge within the channel as in traditional designs, the patent inverts the approach by locating the separation edge at the inside panel of the bezel portion. This reversal positions the separation edge in a low-pressure air zone that is shielded from direct high-speed airflow, thereby reducing wind noise while maintaining structural integrity through the clamp and protrusion connection mechanism

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

2Object-affected harmful factors

If one-piece housing is manufactured using injection molding, then the separation edge is eliminated, but manufacturing complexity increases and wall thickness becomes excessive

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewind noiseVSAvoidmanufacturing process

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Rather than manufacturing a one-piece housing that creates excessive wall thickness and complex molding requirements, the patent segments the housing into separate scalp portion and bezel portion components. These segments are manufactured independently using standard injection molding processes, then connected through the clamp and protrusion mechanism, achieving wind noise reduction without the manufacturing complexities of one-piece construction

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Data Source

PatentEP3296157B1Housing for a rear view element of a rear view device for a vehicle

Publication Date: 2019.06.12 SMR PATENTS S A R L

Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4

AI summary

The present invention relates to a housing for a rear view element of a rear view device for a vehicle, preferably a motor vehicle, comprising a scalp portion comprising a first joint section at a first circumferential edge extending at least partially around an opening of the scalp portion; and a bezel portion comprising a second joint section at a second circumferential edge extending at least partially around the bezel section, wherein the first joint section of the scalp portion and the second joint section of the bezel portion are connectable to each other at a separation edge, characterized in that the first joint section (5) and the second joint section (13) are connectable to each other by a clamping connection, with the first joint section (5) comprising at least one clamp and/or the second joint section (13) comprising at least one protrusion, and the clamp being adapted to at least partly overlap the protrusion to obtain a flush surface at the separation edge (21), which is located at least partly at an inside panel of the bezel portion. Also, the present invention relates to a rear view device and to a vehicle comprising rear view device.