Vehicle Door Armrest Living Hinge Unitary Structure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle door armrests either lack sufficient elastic feel due to inadequate protrusions and spaces or incur high manufacturing costs from complex processes like injection molding and leather skin bonding.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle door armrest with a skin covering a cushion, integrally connected through a living hinge, forming a unitary one-piece structure to simplify assembly and reduce costs, featuring ridge portions, valley portions, and pores for load absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If protrusions and spaces are provided between core and skin to provide elastic feel, then cushioning performance is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the cushion core and skin into a single integrated component formed by injection molding. The core includes integrally formed protrusions that extend into the skin, creating cushioning pockets without requiring separate components or assembly steps. This merging maintains the elastic feel functionality while eliminating the complexity of assembling multiple parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the structural parameters of the cushion core by forming protrusions with specific geometries (heights, spacing, cross-sectional areas) that create optimal cushioning pockets. By adjusting these parameters during injection molding, the design achieves effective elastic feel without adding manufacturing complexity, as all parameters are controlled within the single molding process.
2Reliability
If elastic foam pad and leather skin are used to provide sufficient soft feel and elastic feel, then cushioning performance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure within a single material component. The injection-molded cushion core incorporates protrusions that create air-filled cushioning pockets, combining the benefits of solid material support with the cushioning effect of trapped air. This eliminates the need for separate foam pads and leather skins, reducing material costs and manufacturing complexity while maintaining soft feel performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the cushioning function from separate foam and leather components and integrates it directly into the injection-molded core structure. The protrusions and resulting cushioning pockets provide the elastic feel that would otherwise require expensive foam and leather layers, thereby eliminating unnecessary components and reducing overall manufacturing cost.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple components are assembled to form door armrest, then functional requirements are met, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the cushion core, skin, and mounting structures into a single injection-molded component. The core includes integrally formed mounting projections and receiving portions that enable direct attachment to the door panel, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps and reducing installation complexity while maintaining all necessary functional requirements.
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 a cost-effective, easily assembled armrest with enhanced elastic and soft feel, matching or exceeding the cushioning performance of prior art while reducing manufacturing complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a living hinge connecting the cushion and the skin, wherein the skin may be integrally connected to the cushion through the living hinge
Implementation Method 2
the cushion may have a plurality of ridge portions and a plurality of valley portions which are continuously formed
Implementation Method 3
the cushion may have first pores formed therein... the skin may have second pores formed therein... configured to secondarily absorb the load applied on the vehicle door armrest
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle door armrest includes: a cushion; a skin covering the cushion; and a living hinge connecting the cushion and the skin. In particular, the skin is integrally connected to the cushion through the living hinge so that the skin, the cushion, and the living hinge form a unitary one-piece structure.