Roof Side Weather Strip Retainer Locking Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing attaching structures for roof side weather strips in sashless door type vehicles face challenges in achieving both good assembling and holding properties while reducing costs and weight, as they either increase cost with adhesive tapes or struggle with holding force due to pinched grooves.
Innovation Solution
The proposed attaching structure features a retainer with a vehicle upper side wall, a connecting part, and an inboard side wall, including tip locking parts and engaging grooves, which allow for secure assembly and holding of the roof side weather strip, using a combination of solid and sponge materials to enhance sealing and reduce weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a molding or double-coated adhesive tape is used to attach the roof side weather strip, then the attaching strength is improved and deformation is reduced, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The attaching structure is divided into multiple functional segments: the retainer provides structural support and attachment to the vehicle body, while the weather strip is segmented into a base portion and seal portions. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, reducing the need for expensive adhesives or moldings while maintaining attaching strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the chemical bonding method (adhesive tape) or complex molding attachment with a mechanical locking system. The retainer includes locking protrusions that engage with corresponding grooves in the weather strip, providing secure attachment through mechanical interlocking rather than adhesives, thereby reducing cost while maintaining strength.
2Strength
If the holding force is increased by pinching the engaging groove with locking parts, then the holding property is improved, but the assembling becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer and weather strip are designed with pre-formed engaging grooves and locking protrusions that align automatically during assembly. The locking protrusions are positioned to engage with the grooves before final tightening, allowing the components to self-align and reducing assembly difficulty while maintaining strong holding force.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism incorporates flexible elements that allow dynamic adjustment during assembly. The locking protrusions can elastically deform to pass through the engaging grooves during installation, then lock firmly in place, providing both easy assembly and strong holding force.
3Strength
If a solid material base portion is used in the roof side weather strip, then the attaching strength is improved, but the overall weight cannot be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The weather strip employs a composite structure combining rigid and flexible materials. The base portion uses a rigid material for structural support and attaching strength, while the seal portions use flexible sponge material for sealing functionality. This composite approach reduces overall weight compared to a fully solid construction while maintaining necessary strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the weather strip have different material properties optimized for their specific functions. The base portion requires rigidity for attachment, so it uses a solid material, while the seal portions require flexibility, so they use sponge material. This localized quality optimization reduces overall weight while maintaining attaching strength where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an attaching structure of a roof side weather strip, a retainer includes a vehicle upper side wall, a connecting part, and an inboard side wall. A first tip locking part, formed in a tip of the vehicle upper side wall, is engaged in a tip locking groove, formed in a tip of a vehicle upper side wall of the weather strip. The vehicle upper side wall of the weather strip is held by the vehicle upper side wall of the retainer. The inboard side wall of the retainer is allowed to abut on an inboard side wall of the weather strip, and a tip of a second tip locking part formed by bending the tip obliquely in the inboard direction is engaged in the engaging groove, so that the inboard side wall of the weather strip is held by the inboard side wall of the retainer.