Vehicle Trim Panel Assembly with Through-Hole Fastening
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Solution Overview
Problem
The inefficient and noisy process of assembling leather or soft materials onto vehicle door trim panels due to their soft nature, which requires intermediate parts and time-consuming connections.
Innovation Solution
A trim panel assembly design featuring a groove and through-holes on the trim panel, allowing direct connection of leg portions from a cover layer, such as leather, to the trim panel's surface, eliminating the need for intermediate parts and reducing noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If an intermediate part is used to connect the leather to the vehicle door trim panel, then the assembly becomes feasible for soft materials, but the assembly time increases and noise is generated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the intermediate part from the assembly structure, allowing the leather cover to connect directly to the vehicle door trim panel through through-holes. This extraction of the intermediate component eliminates the additional assembly step while maintaining connection feasibility through the direct fastening structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a fastening structure (screws or clips) as a new intermediary element that enables direct connection between the leather cover and trim panel. This new mediator replaces the old intermediate part and achieves both direct connection and noise reduction simultaneously
2Ease of manufacture
If an intermediate part is used to connect the leather to the vehicle door trim panel, then the assembly becomes feasible for soft materials, but noise is caused by the connection
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the intermediate part that generated noise during connection. By eliminating this component entirely and implementing direct fastening through the through-holes, the noise source is removed while assembly feasibility is maintained through the simplified direct connection structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of direct connection (which might seem to increase noise) into a benefit by using a direct fastening structure that actually reduces noise compared to the intermediate part connection. The through-hole fastening method creates a more stable, noise-reducing connection
3Productivity
If a direct connection method is used without intermediate parts, then assembly efficiency is improved and noise is reduced, but the soft property of leather makes assembly difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the leather cover into sections with through-holes positioned at specific locations. This segmentation allows the soft leather material to be divided into manageable sections that can be individually fastened, making the assembly process easier while maintaining high efficiency through the direct connection method
Solution Approach 2:
The leather cover design includes pre-positioned through-holes that guide the fastening process. The material essentially serves itself by providing the necessary connection points, reducing the complexity of alignment and positioning operations while maintaining assembly efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a trim panel assembly of a vehicle. The trim panel assembly includes a first member having a first surface and a second surface, and including a first assembling area, a first groove positioned on the first surface along a peripheral of the first assembling area, and a plurality of first through-holes positioned in the first groove and spaced apart from each other; and a second member including a first main body corresponding to the first assembling area, and a plurality of leg portions extending from the first main body. The plurality of the first leg portions correspond to the plurality of the first through-holes, respectively, and the plurality of the first leg portions pass through corresponding a plurality of the first through-holes, extend onto and connect to the second surface of the first member.