Visor-Mounted Placard Holder with Spring-Biased Clasp
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing placard holders for vehicles are inconvenient, prone to damage, and difficult to move between vehicles due to permanent attachments, two-step operations, and issues with placard visibility and durability.
Innovation Solution
A hingedly connected placard holder with a spring-biased frame clasp and visor clip, made from formed wire and transparent thermoformed plastic, allowing easy attachment and detachment from visors with a single action, accommodating various placard sizes, and maintaining visibility through a transparent display frame.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive attachment strips are used to permanently attach the base to the visor, then the placard holder is securely mounted, but the visor appearance is marred and the device cannot be easily moved between vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting system is divided into separate components: a base with attachment strips that can be detached from the visor, and a placard holder assembly that attaches to the base. This segmentation allows the base to remain on the visor for stable mounting while the placard holder can be easily removed and transferred between vehicles, resolving the conflict between secure mounting and movability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive attachment strips are designed to be reusable - after detaching from the visor, they can be recovered and reattached to the same or different visors. This allows the mounting system to maintain reliability when needed while enabling easy relocation, addressing both the security and adaptability requirements.
2Ease of operation
If a pivot connection is used to rotate the placard into position, then the placard can be displayed or hidden, but the operation requires two steps (pulling down visor and rotating placard) and fragile placards may damage during pivoting
Solution Approach 1:
The placard attachment and positioning mechanisms are merged into a single integrated assembly. The placard is attached to the holder body rather than requiring separate attachment and rotation steps. This combines multiple operations into one action, reducing complexity while maintaining the ability to display or hide the placard.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of rotating the placard itself into position, the entire placard holder assembly is designed to be positioned as a unit. The placard remains fixed to the holder, and positioning is achieved by moving the entire assembly, which protects the fragile placard from damage during positioning operations.
3Ease of operation
If the retainer body grips only the top portion of the placard, then the placard can be easily inserted, but the placard is likely to slip from the retainer clips when pushed around the pivot
Solution Approach 1:
The retention mechanism is extended from gripping only the top portion of the placard to gripping multiple portions along the placard's length. By adding retention points in different dimensions (top and bottom edges), the system maintains easy insertion while significantly improving retention security during positioning operations.
4Reliability
If the retainer body covers the top portion of the placard, then the placard is secured, but the view of the top portion of the placard is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer body is constructed from transparent or translucent thin film material that allows light to pass through. This enables the retainer to securely cover and protect the placard while maintaining full visibility of the placard information, resolving the contradiction between security and information access.
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 an inexpensive, easy-to-use placard holder that can be moved between vehicles without leaving attachments on the visor, offers one-step operation for displaying or hiding placards, and protects placards from damage by housing them in a transparent frame.
Implementation Method 1
a frame clasp that is spring biased to releasably clasp the display frame against the base
Implementation Method 2
a visor clip on the opposite side of the base from the frame clasp, the visor clip being spring biased toward the base for spring clipping the mounting body onto the visor
Implementation Method 3
a mounting body hingedly connected to a display frame
Data Source
AI summary
A placard holder device that removably holds for display an informational placard that can be viewed through the windshield of a parked vehicle, and which enables simple and quick manual repositioning into a stored position that does not obstruct the line of sight through the windshield. Only a single action step is needed to make the placard visible or invisible. The device features: a frame that removably holds the placard for display, a mounting body having a hinged connection to the frame, a clasp distal to the hinged connection for releasably clasping the frame to the body, and a clip for removable attachment to a visor of the vehicle. Examples of informational placards include: handicapped or parking passes; identifications of a parked vehicle of a member of the media/press, or of a delivery service; placards that display information about a vehicle at a car show or dealership.