Thermostat Housing Hook Structure to Prevent Leg Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thermostat devices face issues with leg separation and frame detachment when the housing is made of synthetic resin, leading to reduced durability and functionality due to the spring load applied by the coil spring.
Innovation Solution
The thermostat device incorporates a housing with inwardly protruding hooking portions at the tip of the legs, featuring an engaged portion and auxiliary portions, which are designed to resist leg separation and frame detachment by distributing the spring load effectively, along with R-chamfered surfaces to prevent stress concentration and ribs for additional reinforcement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the housing is changed from metal to synthetic resin for cost reduction and weight reduction, then cost and weight are reduced, but durability is reduced and the spring load causes the tips of the legs to deform and separate, potentially causing the frame to fall off
Solution Approach 1:
The hooking portion is divided into multiple functional segments: an engaged portion that contacts the frame, auxiliary portions that provide additional support, and a boundary portion that connects to the leg. This segmentation allows each part to bear specific loads, distributing the spring force across multiple contact points and preventing concentrated stress that would cause deformation or separation of the legs.
Solution Approach 2:
The hooking portion features different geometric characteristics at different locations: the engaged portion has a specific depth and shape optimized for frame contact, the auxiliary portions extend further to provide additional support points, and the boundary portion is R-chamfered to distribute stress. This local differentiation of geometric properties allows the synthetic resin housing to withstand spring loads without deformation while maintaining overall structural integrity.
2Ease of operation
If the hooking portions are formed by protruding the entire tip portion of the legs inwardly, then the frame can be hooked, but the spring load causes the tips of the legs to move away from each other and deform, opening the legs and causing the frame to fall off
Solution Approach 1:
The hooking portion is segmented into an engaged portion for frame contact and auxiliary portions for additional support. This segmentation allows the frame to be easily hooked onto the engaged portion while the auxiliary portions prevent leg separation by providing counterbalancing support points that maintain leg stability during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The engaged portion and auxiliary portions are merged into a single integrated hooking structure at the leg tip. This combination provides both the ease of frame engagement (through the engaged portion) and the stability against leg separation (through the auxiliary portions), resolving the contradiction between assembly ease and structural stability.
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 configuration inhibits leg separation and prevents the frame from falling off, enhancing the durability and assembly ease of the thermostat device, particularly when the housing is made of synthetic resin.
Implementation Method 1
a thermo-element having one end disposed inside the housing and performing a telescopic operation in response to temperature
Implementation Method 2
a biasing member biasing the valve toward the valve seat
Data Source
AI summary
The thermostat device has a housing, a valve body provided around the periphery of a thermo-element inserted inside the housing, and a frame that supports one end of a coil spring that biases the valve body, wherein the housing has a hollow body having an opening at one end, a pair of legs rising from the opening edge of the body, and a hooking portion protruding inwardly at the tip of the legs; the hooking portion has an engaged portion located in the center of the width direction of the legs and an auxiliary portion connected to the engaged portion and located at both ends of the width direction of the legs, wherein an end face of the root side of the legs in the engaged portion is located farther from the tip of the legs than an end face of the leg-root side in the auxiliary portion.