Sensor Connector Clip Windows for Assembly Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor devices face reliability issues due to misalignment and improper assembly of sealing members and clips, leading to fluid leakage and decreased performance, as the correct assembly state of these components is difficult to verify and can result in malfunctions.
Innovation Solution
The sensor device incorporates a pipe, sensor connector, sensor, sealing member, first and second clip insertion windows, and a clip with cutout portions to facilitate correct assembly verification and reduce misalignment, ensuring proper sealing and attachment of the sensor within the sensor insertion hole.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sensor connector is designed with a simple structure, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but assembly verification becomes difficult leading to reliability issues
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor connector is segmented into multiple functional features: clip insertion windows with cutout portions, sealing member reception grooves, and sensor insertion holes. These segmented features allow independent verification of each component's assembly while maintaining overall structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The cutout portions in the clip insertion windows serve as intermediary verification features that allow external observation of internal assembly states. These cutouts act as mediators between the internal sealing/clip assembly and external inspection, enabling verification without disassembly
2Reliability
If the sealing member is positioned deeper in the sensor insertion hole, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but assembly verification becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the sealing member visible from the front, the design inverts the verification approach by providing visibility from the rear through cutout portions. The sealing member's assembly state is verified by observing its position relative to the cutout portions from the opposite direction of traditional inspection
3Ease of operation
If the clip insertion window is made narrow, then structural integrity is maintained, but clip assembly becomes difficult and error-prone
Solution Approach 1:
The cutout portions in the clip insertion windows perform preliminary alignment and guidance actions before the clip is fully inserted. These cutouts pre-position the clip correctly and guide it into place, reducing assembly errors while maintaining window structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The clip insertion windows are designed with asymmetric features including cutout portions that create non-uniform opening patterns. This asymmetry provides directional guidance for clip insertion, ensuring correct orientation and reducing assembly errors without requiring larger window openings
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor device includes a pipe, a sensor connector, a sensor, a sealing member, a first clip insertion window, a second clip insertion window, a clip, and at least one cutout portion. The pipe defines a fluid passage. The sensor connector defines a sensor insertion hole. The sensor detects a physical quantity of a fluid flowing through the fluid passage and includes a large diameter portion, a small diameter portion, and a step portion. The second clip insertion window is located opposite to the first clip insertion window relative to an axis of the sensor insertion hole. The clip is inserted into the first clip insertion window and the second clip insertion window to fix the sensor in the sensor insertion hole by holding both sides of the small diameter portion.