Vehicle Trim Light Guide with Elastic Connecting Strip
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a cost-effective and visually appealing design of a vehicle interior that ensures reliable fastening and easy installation of light-guide bodies without the risk of accidental detachment, while maintaining a rattle-free attachment and good mountability.
Innovation Solution
A trim arrangement featuring a light-emitting body inserted into a through-opening of a trim portion, a latching body inserted into a receiving device, and an elastically bendable connecting strip that connects the two, allowing for form-fitting blocking of movements and ensuring secure attachment and easy installation by exploiting the flexibility of the connecting strip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a light guide with separate clamping elements is pressed against the trim portion, then the light can be output into the vehicle interior, but the attachment is prone to accidental detachment and rattling
Solution Approach 1:
The light guide body is segmented into distinct functional elements: a latching body for mechanical attachment, a connecting strip for flexibility, and a light-emitting body for optical output. This segmentation allows each element to perform its specific function optimally while working together as an integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The connecting strip is designed to be elastically bendable, providing dynamic flexibility during installation while maintaining rigid form-fitting connections once installed. This dynamic property enables the light guide body to adapt during mounting while ensuring stable attachment afterward.
2Reliability
If the light guide body is rigidly fixed to ensure stable attachment, then reliability improves, but installation becomes difficult and material deformation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting strip's elastic properties are optimized to provide sufficient flexibility for installation while maintaining adequate rigidity for stable attachment. The form-fitting geometry parameters of the latching body and receiving device are designed to enable easy insertion while ensuring secure locking.
3Shape
If the light-emitting body is positioned close to the trim portion surface for aesthetic appearance, then visual appeal improves, but the risk of accidental detachment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The light-emitting body is nested within the trim portion's through-opening, with the latching body extending to the rear side. This nested configuration allows the light-emitting body to maintain a flush surface appearance while the latching body provides secure attachment from the rear.
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 solution provides a reliable, rattle-free, and visually appealing design by blocking movements and ensuring secure attachment of the light-guide body to the trim portion, facilitating easy installation and maintaining a flush surface appearance with minimal material deformation, thus addressing the need for a cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing vehicle interior.
Implementation Method 1
The connecting strip is embodied to be elastically bendable in the direction of the opening normal of the through-opening
Data Source
AI summary
A trim arrangement for a vehicle interior includes a trim portion having a through-opening for delimiting the vehicle interior and a light-emitting body inserted into the through-opening. The light-emitting body is configured to transmit light and/or light signals into the vehicle interior, and blocks a movement transversely to an opening normal of the through-opening in a form-fitting manner. The trim arrangement further includes a receiving device connected to a rear side of the trim portion, the rear side facing away from the vehicle interior, and a latching body inserted into the receiving device along an insertion direction extending transversely to the opening normal. The receiving device blocks a movement of the latching body in a direction of the opening normal in a form-fitting manner. The trim arrangement additionally includes a connecting strip provided on the rear side of the trim portion and extending transversely to the opening normal.