Retainer And Nut Assembly With Dimple Centering And Lower Install Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing retainer and nut assemblies face limitations in production rate, tooling longevity, installation force, and centering accuracy, often requiring high installation forces and potentially leading to premature failure of bending tooling and inadequate alignment with panel apertures.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a retainer with first and second legs extending from a base wall, featuring apertured portions with dimples or shoulders, allowing for easier production, reduced installation force, and improved centering, along with a nut that can be staked, fastened, or coupled to the retainer, using materials like stainless steel and SAE 1035 steel for enhanced performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional retainer designs are used, then structural simplicity is maintained, but production rate is constrained and tooling life is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is divided into multiple functional segments: a base wall for mounting, first and second legs for positioning, apertured portions for fastener passage, and dimple arrays for centering. This segmentation allows each portion to be optimized independently for its specific function, enabling faster production while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The dimple arrays are pre-formed on the retainer legs before assembly. These pre-formed dimples automatically center the retainer with respect to panel apertures during installation, eliminating the need for complex real-time alignment mechanisms and thereby increasing production rate without compromising centering accuracy.
2Duration of action of stationary object
If conventional retainer designs are used, then manufacturing process is simpler, but bending tooling fails prematurely
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer incorporates locally optimized features such as dimple arrays at specific locations on the legs and stepped portions at critical stress points. These localized structural modifications distribute bending forces more evenly during forming, reducing stress concentrations that cause tooling failure, while the overall manufacturing process remains relatively simple.
3Force
If conventional retainer designs are used, then installation process is simpler, but installation force is excessively high
Solution Approach 1:
The dimple arrays are pre-formed on the retainer legs to automatically engage with corresponding features in the panel aperture during installation. This preliminary geometric configuration guides the retainer into proper alignment and distributes insertion forces across multiple contact points, significantly reducing the peak installation force required while maintaining operational simplicity.
4Manufacturing precision
If conventional retainer designs are used, then manufacturing is simpler, but centering accuracy with panel apertures is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer legs are segmented to include apertured portions with surrounding dimple arrays. This segmentation creates dedicated centering features that independently perform alignment functions, achieving high centering accuracy with respect to panel apertures while the overall structure remains relatively simple and manufacturable.
Solution Approach 2:
The dimple arrays are pre-formed during retainer manufacturing to precisely control the geometry and positioning of centering features. This preliminary formation of accurate geometric features ensures consistent centering accuracy without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms or post-manufacturing alignment procedures.
Data Source
AI summary
A retainer comprises first and second legs extending away from a base wall. In one embodiment, the first leg includes a dimple array surrounding an aperture and projecting from an inboard surface of the first leg. In another embodiment, the first leg has a necked portion having a set of first shoulders extending away from a first base, and a first apertured portion extending away from the set of first shoulders. The second leg has a necked and stepped portion having a step extending away from a second base, and a shouldered portion extending away from the step and having a set of second shoulders extending laterally outwardly, and a second apertured portion extending away from the second shoulders. The retainer of either embodiment may be coupled to a nut to produce a retainer and nut assembly.