Vehicle Windshield Attachment Unit Alignment Mechanism

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing attachment mechanisms for vehicle parts, such as cameras, to windshields often result in misalignment during attachment.

Innovation Solution

An attachment unit featuring an attachment member with traversing surfaces on the windshield that physically contacts and secures vehicle parts, ensuring correct alignment without adhesives, using protrusions or snap-fit joints to prevent misalignment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a bracket is bonded to a front windshield using an attachment mechanism, then the vehicle part can be secured to the window, but misalignment of the bracket with the front windshield may occur

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvealignment accuracyVSAvoidpositioning precision

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The attachment member is pre-formed with positioning protrusions and traversing surfaces during the windshield manufacturing process. These features are prepared in advance to guide and constrain the vehicle part during attachment, ensuring accurate alignment without requiring complex adjustment procedures during installation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The attachment member serves as an intermediary component between the windshield and the vehicle part. It includes positioning protrusions that extend from the windshield and traversing surfaces that contact the vehicle part, mediating the connection and ensuring precise positioning while distributing mechanical stresses.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Ease of operation

If adhesive bonding is used to attach the bracket to the windshield, then the attachment can be simplified, but alignment control becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveattachment simplicityVSAvoidalignment precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The invention replaces pure adhesive bonding with a mechanical attachment system using positioning protrusions and traversing surfaces. The protrusions provide mechanical guidance and constraint, while the traversing surfaces enable physical contact and positioning, substituting the alignment control function that would otherwise rely solely on adhesive application precision.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the vehicle part is mounted closer to the windshield, then imaging interference is reduced, but the attachment mechanism becomes more complex

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveimaging interferenceVSAvoidattachment structure complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The attachment member integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides mechanical attachment through bonding to the windshield, positioning through protrusions, and constraint through traversing surfaces. This merging of attachment, positioning, and alignment functions into one integrated component achieves close mounting without proportionally increasing complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Data Source

PatentUS11117528B2Attachment unit for vehicle part, attaching method for vehicle part, and windshield for vehicle

Publication Date: 2021.09.14 DENSO CORP

AI summary

An attachment unit for a vehicle parts is provided which includes an attachment member disposed on a window of a vehicle. The attachment member has a traversing surface which extends in a direction traversing a surface of the window. The vehicle part is brought into contact with the traversing surface and then positioned relative to or secured to the window. This establishes a mechanical joint of the vehicle part to the window with correct alignment therebetween.