Elastic Wiper Adapter Locking Tab for Longitudinal Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wiper adapters for motor vehicles lack a secure and efficient mechanism for longitudinal retention and assembly with wiper arms, particularly under heavy loads or adverse weather conditions, which can lead to accidental separation or damage.
Innovation Solution
The proposed adapter features a body with vertically projecting locking tabs and retention tabs that extend longitudinally, allowing for secure engagement with the wiper arm's yoke, along with elastic deformation mechanisms for easy assembly and disassembly, and convex stop surfaces for precise positioning, ensuring stable connection and retention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional wiper adapters are used without elastic deformation mechanisms, then the structure is simpler, but the retention security under heavy loads deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter utilizes elastic deformation of its body as a parameter change mechanism. The body is designed to deform elastically under load, allowing the locking tab to maintain secure engagement with the yoke under heavy loads such as ice or snow accumulation, thereby improving retention security without adding complex external mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The adapter incorporates dynamic characteristics through its elastic body that can deform and recover. This allows the locking tab to adapt its position and maintaining contact pressure with the yoke under varying load conditions, providing reliable retention while keeping the overall structure relatively simple
2Reliability
If locking tabs with elastic deformation are added, then the assembly security improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tab and elastic body are merged into a single integrated component. The elastic deformation capability is built into the locking tab structure itself rather than being a separate mechanism, which improves assembly security while avoiding the need for additional parts and assembly steps that would increase manufacturing complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The material properties and geometric parameters of the locking tab are optimized to provide the required elastic deformation characteristics. By carefully designing the tab's dimensions and material selection, the component achieves reliable assembly security under heavy loads while remaining manufacturable using standard processes
3Reliability
If retention tabs extending longitudinally are added, then the longitudinal retention improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adapter body is segmented into functional zones including retention tabs that extend longitudinally along the body. These tabs are strategically positioned to engage with corresponding features on the yoke, providing enhanced longitudinal retention without requiring a complete redesign of the overall adapter structure
Solution Approach 2:
The retention tabs are designed with specific local geometric features that optimize their engagement with the yoke. The tabs extend only in the regions where longitudinal retention is needed, concentrating the complexity enhancement in specific areas rather than throughout the entire component
4Manufacturing precision
If convex stop surfaces are added for precise positioning, then the positioning accuracy improves, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Convex stop surfaces are added at specific critical locations on the adapter body where precise positioning is required. These localized features provide accurate positioning during assembly without requiring high precision throughout the entire component, thereby improving positioning accuracy while minimizing the impact on manufacturing complexity
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 adapter provides enhanced longitudinal retention and secure assembly, preventing accidental separation even under heavy loads, such as ice or snow, while facilitating easy installation and removal, thus ensuring reliable wiper operation.
Implementation Method 1
which is connected to the body of the adapter by a vertical connecting part which is able to deform elastically so as to allow a longitudinal movement of the rear contact surface
Data Source
AI summary
The invention proposes an adapter (26) for a wiper (10) comprising a body (25) of elongate shape which is shaped to be mounted in a complementary yoke (28) of inverted U-shaped cross section belonging to a wiper arm, characterized in that the body (1025) of the adapter (1026) comprises at least one elastic tab (1132a, 1132b) which is deformable in the transverse direction so as to retract as the adapter (1026) is being assembled and/or dismantled with respect to the yoke (28), the elastic tab (1132a, 1132b) being borne by a lateral wall (1026a, 1026b) of the body (1025) of the adapter.