Vehicle Sun Visor Slide-on Rod Retention Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sun visor slide on rod (SOR) systems face issues with permanent deformation, material aging, and sensitivity to temperature due to flexible plastic retention clips, leading to unreliable retention and potential misalignment between the screen and carrier, causing variable retention forces and risk of detachment or damage.
Innovation Solution
A sun visor system with a metal spring coupling a rotary slider and a floating slider, allowing orthogonal movement to compensate for misalignments and provide consistent retention efforts, using retention means that are not affected by deformation or temperature changes, ensuring stable sliding and clipping operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If flexible plastic retention clips are used to provide run-end retention of the sliding movement, then the retention function is achieved, but the system suffers from permanent deformation, material ageing, and temperature sensitivity leading to unreliable retention
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from flexible plastic to metal spring, fundamentally altering the physical properties. The metal spring provides retention through elastic deformation rather than plastic flexion, eliminating permanent deformation and material ageing issues while maintaining temperature independence.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the disposable-like plastic clips that degrade over time with a durable metal spring mechanism that can be reused indefinitely without losing its retention properties, effectively creating a non-disposable retention system.
2Reliability
If retention clips are arranged in the carrier and housing in the screen, then retention is provided, but misalignment between screen and carrier causes variable retention force and potential detachment or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dynamic alignment mechanism where the carrier can float relative to the screen, allowing automatic compensation for manufacturing tolerances and misalignments. This dynamic adjustment ensures consistent retention force regardless of initial alignment variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The floating carrier acts as an intermediary element between the screen and the retention clips, absorbing misalignment errors and ensuring proper engagement of the retention mechanism even when manufacturing tolerances cause initial mispositioning.
3Ease of operation
If floating sliders are used to improve sliding efforts and noises, then sliding performance is improved, but additional complexity is introduced to the carrier structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the floating slider function with the carrier structure itself, integrating the alignment compensation mechanism into the existing carrier component rather than adding separate floating slider elements, thereby reducing overall structural complexity.
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
The metal spring coupling ensures regular and steady sliding efforts, detectable clipping and detaching forces, and prevents unintentional sliding, maintaining retention across varying conditions and extending the system's durability.
Implementation Method 1
a metal spring elastically coupling the rotary and floating sliders such that the floating slider is movable in relation to the rotary slider
Data Source
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AI summary
The sun visor comprises an L shaped rod fixed to the vehicle and a screen rotatably mounted on the rod and slidable on the rod along a sliding direction parallel to a longitudinal axle of the rod. The sun visor comprises a detent clip coupled to the rod to establish control stable predefined rotational positions of the screen defining at least a first screening position and an inoperative position and a carrier rotatably attached to the rod and housed in a guiding profile of the screen such that the screen is movable between two end positions of the sliding movement of the screen along the rod, defining a first end position and a second end position. The carrier comprises a rotary slider where the detent clip is attached, a floating slider and a metal spring elastically coupling the floating and rotary sliders such that the floating slider is movable in relation to the rotary slider in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction. The carrier also comprises first retention means engageable with second retention means provided in the screen at one of the end positions of the sliding movement of the screen. The first retention means are mounted in the floating slider such that the first retention means are engageable to the second retention means by a movement of the floating slider in a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction against the force exerted by the metal spring.