Vehicle Armrest Cup Holder Layout for Compact Heating and Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional techniques fail to effectively mount cup holders with cooling and heating functions in vehicles and optimize their efficiency for use as an armrest, particularly in rear seats, where space is limited and safety and comfort must be maintained.
Innovation Solution
An armrest design incorporating an intake port, exhaust port, blower, intake duct, and thermoelements, with a shared heat exchange part, allowing for efficient cooling and heating while allowing the armrest to function as both a seatback and an armrest, with a bellows-shaped external duct for waste heat exhaust, ensuring comfort and safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If cup holders with cooling and heating functions are installed in the armrest, then the functionality and marketability of the vehicle are enhanced, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions (armrest support, cup holder, cooling, and heating) into a single integrated structure. The thermoelement is embedded within the armrest body, and the duct system is merged with the armrest structure, allowing the armrest to serve both as a structural component and as a thermal processing device.
Solution Approach 2:
The armrest structure is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support as an armrest, holds beverages in cup holders, and delivers cooling or heating functions through the thermoelement and duct system. The same structure serves different purposes depending on operational mode.
2Ease of operation
If a pair of cup holders are installed in the armrest, then the usability is improved, but the armrest width requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holders are nested within the armrest body structure rather than being external attachments. The intake duct is positioned to pass through or alongside the cup holders, allowing compact arrangement where smaller components are integrated within the space of larger components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup holders are arranged in a vertical or depth-oriented configuration rather than spreading laterally. The intake duct branches to serve both cup holders through a compact three-dimensional layout, utilizing vertical space and depth rather than increasing horizontal width.
3Productivity
If thermoelements are mounted on cup holder surfaces, then cooling and heating efficiency is improved, but the heat dissipation space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The duct acts as an intermediary component that facilitates heat dissipation from the thermoelement. The duct is positioned in close proximity to the thermoelement, allowing efficient thermal coupling while channeling the dissipated heat away from the cup holder area through the armrest structure to the exhaust port.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat dissipation function is extracted from the cup holder assembly and relocated to a dedicated exhaust port positioned away from the cup holders. This separates the thermal processing zone from the beverage holding zone, allowing efficient heat removal without requiring additional space around the cup holders.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the armrest is designed with cooling and heating functions, then the marketability is enhanced, but the reliability during vehicle accidents may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The armrest incorporates a bellows-shaped external duct that can expand and contract. This flexible structure allows the duct to deform during impact events, absorbing shock and preventing rigid structural failure that could compromise passenger safety while maintaining the thermal processing functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The bellows structure provides inherent shock absorption capability before an accident occurs. The flexible, expandable design of the external duct prepares the system to accommodate sudden deformations during collisions, protecting both the thermal processing components and passengers from impact forces.
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 design enables reliable cooling and heating functions in a compact armrest, enhancing marketability by allowing sufficient cup holder installation and ensuring safety and comfort, even during vehicle accidents.
Implementation Method 1
the armrest is provided with cup holders, and a thermoelement for cooling and heating the cup holders
Implementation Method 2
a blower installed in the armrest body, the blower being connected to the exhaust port by an exhaust duct
Implementation Method 3
a heat exchange part installed in the intake duct, wherein the heat exchange part is brought into close contact with both of the thermoelements for the cup holders
Implementation Method 4
the thermoelement positioned to be in close contact with the intake duct
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention discloses an armrest for a vehicle, the armrest having a front end, a rear end, and two sides; an intake port formed in the front end of an armrest body; an exhaust port formed in the rear end of the armrest body; a blower installed in the armrest body, the blower being connected to the exhaust port by an exhaust duct, and to the intake port by an intake duct, wherein the intake duct is configured to extend rearward from the intake port, branch off into a plurality of diverged parts, and converge prior to connection with the blower; a plurality of cup holders arranged in a row and positioned forward of the blower and proximate to the diverge parts of the intake duct; and a thermoelement disposed on each of the cup holders, the thermoelement being brought into close contact with the intake duct.