Retractable Optical Unit Support for Accessory Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for securing motor vehicle accessories, such as windscreen washer fluid filler necks, in the engine compartment under the bonnet face challenges in minimizing the size of the support and optical unit while ensuring easy installation and maintenance, often leading to increased packaging volume and interference with other components.
Innovation Solution
A retractable support system for motor vehicle accessories, where the support is rotatably mounted around a vertical pivot on the optical unit, with an elastically deformable clamp end and a retaining mechanism that allows manual actuation between retracted and active positions, ensuring the accessory can be securely held without increasing the overall size of the optical unit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a support is fixedly mounted on the optical unit to carry an accessory, then the accessory can be securely held, but the overall size of the optical unit increases and packaging volume is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The support is designed to be movable between a retracted position (against the optical unit) and an active position (extending outward to carry the accessory). This dynamic configuration allows the support to provide secure accessory retention when needed while minimizing the overall volume when the accessory is not in use, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and packaging volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure is designed to nest against the optical unit when in the retracted position, fitting within the contours of the optical unit housing. This nesting arrangement ensures that the support does not increase the external dimensions of the optical unit for packaging purposes, while still providing a functional platform for accessory mounting when extended.
2Volume of stationary object
If a support is made retractable to reduce size, then packaging volume is minimized, but the means for retaining the support in active position may complicate the structure
Solution Approach 1:
The support incorporates a self-retaining mechanism that automatically engages to hold the support in the active position when the accessory is mounted. This self-service feature eliminates the need for complex external locking mechanisms or additional actuation systems, thereby maintaining structural simplicity while providing reliable retention functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
A retaining means acts as an intermediary element between the support and the optical unit housing, providing a simple yet effective locking mechanism. This intermediary component facilitates the retention function without requiring complex integration into the support structure itself, thereby minimizing overall device complexity while ensuring stable positioning.
3Ease of operation
If the support is made rotatable on a vertical pivot, then ease of manipulation and access is improved, but the support may interfere with other components during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The support's rotatability on a vertical pivot enables dynamic adjustment of its position, allowing easy manipulation and access to the accessory from multiple angles. This rotational freedom of movement resolves the contradiction by providing operational flexibility without requiring the support to be in a fixed position that might interfere with assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The support is designed to be installed in a preliminary retracted position that does not interfere with other components, and then rotated into its operational position after assembly is complete. This preliminary action approach allows the support to avoid interference during critical assembly phases while still providing ease of manipulation when the vehicle is in service.
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
This solution allows for easy installation and maintenance of motor vehicle accessories while minimizing the overall size of the support and optical unit, reducing packaging volume and avoiding interference with other components, while maintaining secure retention of the accessory in the active position.
Implementation Method 1
The end of the arm remote from the axis of rotation can be in the form of a clamp, elastically deformable to receive the accessory
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~6
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The support (1) has a retaining unit e.g. fin, comprising clipping or interlock, and provided in an effective position and an active position, where exerted retaining of the support by the retaining unit permits manual actuation for passage from one position to the other position. The support is retractably mounted on an optical block (2) and displaced between the effective position against the optical block whose encumbrance is not increased and the active position in which the support receives an accessory.