Motorcycle Visor Overlay Spacer and Gasket Sealing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current visor assembly manufacturing processes face challenges such as inaccurate bead placement and thickness control of silicone spacers, leading to suboptimal sealing and potential leakage, along with issues like visor components becoming loose due to expansion and shrinkage, which can result in poor optical quality and user inconvenience.
Innovation Solution
The integration of an elastomeric gasket on the distal surface of an integrally formed spacer along the periphery of the overlay-visor, which aids in expansion and shrinkage compensation, and is non-adhesive to allow for controlled movement and easy replacement, while maintaining secure attachment to the shield-visor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a silicone bead seal is used to create a chamber between overlay-visor and shield-visor, then anti-condensation function is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inaccurate bead placement and thickness control
Solution Approach 1:
The seal is divided into two functional parts: a rigid spacer that defines the chamber geometry and a flexible gasket that provides the sealing function. This segmentation allows the spacer to be precisely manufactured while the gasket compensates for manufacturing variations through its elasticity.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket acts as an intermediary element between the spacer and the shield-visor, providing a compliant sealing interface that accommodates manufacturing tolerances and dimensional variations, thereby ensuring reliable sealing without requiring high manufacturing precision.
2Strength
If mechanical fastenings are used to attach overlay-visor to shield-visor, then retention strength is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to components becoming loose from expansion and shrinkage
Solution Approach 1:
The gasket's elastic properties enable it to dynamically adjust to dimensional changes in the visor components caused by thermal expansion and shrinkage, maintaining continuous contact and sealing pressure without compromising the mechanical retention strength of the pin-fastening system.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket introduces a dynamic element to the assembly that can deform and recover in response to environmental conditions, allowing the rigid mechanical fastenings to maintain their retention strength while the gasket compensates for dimensional changes that would otherwise cause loosening.
3Reliability
If a sealed chamber is created to prevent misting-up, then anti-condensation performance is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional sealing components
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing system is segmented into a rigid spacer for structural definition and a flexible gasket for sealing, where each component has a specific function. This division simplifies manufacturing and assembly compared to attempting to create a seal with a single complex component.
Solution Approach 2:
The gasket is implemented as a thin, flexible element that can be easily manufactured and installed, providing the sealing function without adding significant complexity to the overall device structure.
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 solution enhances the sealing effectiveness, reduces the risk of visor components becoming loose, and simplifies the manufacturing process by allowing for more precise control over spacer height and thickness, improving the anti-misting performance and user experience.
Implementation Method 1
a gasket upon a distal surface of the spacer... which aids in expansion and shrinkage compensation
Implementation Method 2
The chamber is filled with air or gas and acts to thermally insulate the internal surface of the overlay-visor from the external environment
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3a~3d
Figure 4a~4
AI summary
There is provided a visor assembly (1), preferably for the motorcycle helment, comprising a shield-visor (2) having a surface, an overlay- visor (6) adapted to be releasably attached to the shield-visor, the overlay-visor comprising a viewing area, an integrally formed spacer (7) extending along at least a portion of a periphery of the viewing area, and a gasket (8) upon a distal surface of the spacer; and a mechanical fastening (11) releasably attaching the overlay-visor to the surface of the shield-visor.