Automobile Sensor Holder Chamfered Notch Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing PDC sensor supports for motor vehicles often damage the seal during installation, leading to its improper positioning and failure to protect the sensor from external disturbances, resulting in discarded assemblies.
Innovation Solution
The support features a chamfer near the bottom of the notch to clear a passage for the seal, reducing the risk of damage and incorporating centering ribs to guide the sensor into position, ensuring the seal remains intact and functional.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the sensor is inserted by the free edge of the wall until the lateral protrusion houses in the notch, then the sensor can be installed in the support, but the seal may come into contact with the bottom of the notch and roll, causing degradation and improper positioning
Solution Approach 1:
The notch is segmented into two functional zones: an upper insertion zone for guiding the sensor tip, and a lower chamfered zone that provides a clear passage for the seal. This segmentation allows the sensor installation process to proceed without the seal contacting the bottom of the notch, preventing seal degradation while maintaining ease of installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfer acts as an intermediary structure between the notch and the sensor seal. It provides a transition surface that guides the seal through a clear passage during sensor insertion, preventing direct contact between the seal and the notch bottom, thus protecting the seal from rolling and degradation.
2Reliability
If a chamfer is added to the wall near the bottom of the notch to clear a passage for the seal, then seal degradation is prevented, but the mechanical strength of the support may be altered
Solution Approach 1:
The chamfer is applied locally only in the specific region where the seal needs to pass through, rather than modifying the entire wall structure. This localized modification provides the necessary clear passage for the seal while minimizing impact on the overall mechanical strength of the support. The chamfer dimensions are carefully controlled to balance seal protection with structural integrity.
3Reliability
If the notch is extended deeper in its central part, then the risk of seal damage is further reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The extended notch creates distinct functional zones: a deeper central passage area that provides additional clearance for the seal, and maintained support zones on either side that preserve structural integrity. This segmentation allows the notch to be deeper without proportionally increasing complexity, as the support zones remain intact to provide necessary structural function.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4A~5C
AI summary
The support (10) has a guiding wall (14) including an inner surface defining a reception area for a sensor, and notches (20, 22) formed in the wall. The notches include mouths opened on a free edge (18) of the wall, and opposed bottoms (20a, 22a) to allow insertion of the sensor in the reception area, respectively. The wall has a chamfer (26) near the bottoms of the notches from a side of the inner surface of the wall. The chamfer includes a support zone forming a support area for the sensor when the sensor is mounted in the support. A seal is fitted on an end of a nozzle of the sensor.