Resilient U-Shaped Fastener for Balanced Insertion and Retention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fasteners for mounting structures with insertion ribs to vehicular substructures face challenges in secure retention and efficient assembly/disassembly, particularly in providing balanced insertion and removal forces.
Innovation Solution
A resilient U-shaped fastener with outer and inner legs, featuring intermediate protrusions and nubs, engages the insertion rib and mounting opening to provide secure retention and controlled assembly/disassembly, leveraging the material's resilience for flexible engagement and disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing fasteners are used to mount structures with insertion ribs to vehicular substructures, then mounting function is achieved, but secure retention and efficient assembly/disassembly with balanced insertion and removal forces are not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The fastener incorporates a resilient U-shaped body that can dynamically deform during insertion and removal operations. The body flexes to allow easy insertion through the mounting opening while maintaining rigid engagement with the insertion rib for secure retention, and then flexes again to facilitate controlled removal. This dynamic behavior resolves the contradiction between secure retention and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener changes its physical state between a deformed insertion configuration and a retained operational configuration. During insertion, the resilient body is deformed to a compact state to pass through the mounting opening. Once engaged with the insertion rib, it returns to its original shape, creating secure retention through geometric interlocking and friction. This parameter change enables both easy assembly and secure mounting.
2Reliability
If high insertion force is used to ensure secure mounting, then retention is improved, but insertion difficulty and assembly time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient U-shaped body dynamically absorbs insertion force through elastic deformation rather than requiring high static force. The material flexes during insertion, converting applied force into temporary deformation energy, then releases this energy to create secure engagement. This reduces the peak insertion force required while maintaining mounting security.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient body acts as a cushioning element that anticipates and absorbs insertion forces before they are fully transmitted to the mounting structures. The elastic material deforms in advance during insertion, cushioning the impact and reducing the force required to complete the mounting operation while ensuring secure retention.
3Ease of operation
If traditional fastener designs are used, then basic mounting function is achieved, but balanced insertion and removal forces are not provided
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient U-shaped body provides dynamic force balance during both insertion and removal. During insertion, the body flexes to reduce required force. During removal, the body's elasticity provides a controlled release mechanism where the force increases gradually as the fastener disengages from the insertion rib, preventing sudden release and enabling controlled disassembly. This achieves force balance and reliability simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient body provides tactile feedback through its deformation characteristics during insertion and removal operations. The operator can feel the force changes as the fastener engages and disengages from the insertion rib, allowing for controlled operation. The material's elastic properties create a feedback loop where force application is automatically regulated by the material's resistance to deformation, ensuring both ease of operation and controlled disassembly.
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 ensures secure mounting with reduced insertion force and easy disassembly, maintaining structural integrity while allowing for efficient assembly and disassembly processes.
Implementation Method 1
A resilient U-shaped fastener with outer and inner legs, featuring intermediate protrusions and nubs, engages the insertion rib and mounting opening to provide secure retention and controlled assembly/disassembly, leveraging the material's resilience for flexible engagement and disengagement.
Data Source
AI summary
A fastener is provided for mounting a first structure having an insertion rib with a retention slot to a second structure having a mounting opening. The fastener includes a U-shaped body having a bight portion at an upper portion thereof with a pair of outer legs depending therefrom. Each of the pair of outer legs terminates at a distal free end to engage an edge of the mounting opening when the U-shaped body penetrates the mounting opening. A pair of inner legs extends from the distal free ends of the outer legs toward the bight portion. The pair of inner legs has an intermediate protrusion configured to engage the insertion rib and bear against a stop in the retention slot to retain the U-shaped body on the first structure.