Vehicle Seat Clip Guide Surface Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing clip attaching structures for vehicle seats face challenges when the inserting position of the clip shifts from the attaching hole, making it difficult to insert the clip correctly into the hole.
Innovation Solution
A clip attaching structure with a fitting portion and an extending portion, where the extending portion has a guide surface to center the fitting portion within the attaching hole, and elastic engaging regions to prevent the clip from coming off and rattling, allowing for correction of positional shifts and secure attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the clip is inserted directly into the attaching hole without a guide surface, then the attachment process is simple, but the inserting position shifts easily causing misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary structure (guide surface and expanded hole) between the clip and the attaching hole to facilitate proper alignment. The guide surface on the extending portion acts as a mediator that guides the fitting portion into the correct position, while the expanded hole provides a transition zone that accommodates positional deviations during insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a radial dimension to the attaching hole by creating an expanded hole that is larger than the fitting portion. This dimensional change allows the clip to be inserted even when there is a positional shift, and the guide surface then centers the clip radially within the expanded hole before final engagement.
2Ease of operation
If the attaching hole is made larger to accommodate position shifts, then insertion becomes easier, but the clip can move radially and rattle
Solution Approach 1:
The attaching hole is segmented into two distinct zones: an expanded hole portion and a precise attaching hole portion. The expanded hole provides ease of insertion by accommodating position shifts, while the precise attaching hole portion (with the engagement groove) ensures stable positioning and prevents rattling once the clip is properly installed.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide surface performs a preliminary centering action during insertion. As the extending portion enters the expanded hole, the guide surface automatically centers the fitting portion relative to the attaching hole before the final engagement occurs, ensuring proper alignment without requiring the entire hole to be precisely sized.
3Manufacturing precision
If the fitting portion is made rigid for precise fitting, then attachment precision improves, but the clip cannot accommodate position shifts during insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The extending portion is designed with flexible characteristics that allow it to bend and adapt during insertion. This flexibility enables the extending portion to navigate positional deviations and guide the rigid fitting portion into the correct position within the attaching hole, combining adaptability during insertion with precision during engagement.
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
Ensures the clip can be inserted and centered within the attaching hole even when the inserting position shifts, preventing radial movement and ensuring a stable attachment, thereby reducing the risk of tilting and positional errors.
Implementation Method 1
on a tip surface of the extending portion in the inserting direction, a guide surface is formed to abut on a peripheral edge portion of the expanded hole when an inserting position of the fitting portion shifts from the attaching hole in the radial direction, thereby guiding the fitting portion toward the attaching hole
Implementation Method 2
elastic engaging regions which are inserted into the attaching hole prior to the fitting regions to be elastically pushed and narrowed and then restored to be hooked on the peripheral edge portions of the attaching hole from a backside, thereby exerting a come-off preventive force and a radial repulsive force
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed a clip attaching structure of a vehicle seat. The seat frame includes an attaching hole and an expanded hole which expands a hole thereof from the attaching hole in a radial direction. The clip includes a fitting portion inserted into the attaching hole to fit in an inner periphery of the attaching hole, and an extending portion which extends a shape thereof from the fitting portion in the radial direction to be inserted into the expanded hole. A tip of the extending portion extends beyond the fitting portion in an inserting direction. On a tip surface of the extending portion in the inserting direction, a guide surface is formed to abut on a peripheral edge portion of the expanded hole when an inserting position of the fitting portion shifts from the attaching hole in the radial direction, thereby guiding the fitting portion toward the attaching hole.