Vehicle Console Tray Vertical Sliding Guidance Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing consoles for motor vehicles with retractable tables face issues with unsatisfactory vertical sliding guidance, leading to buttressing problems when deploying the trays, which complicates their use.
Innovation Solution
A console with improved vertical sliding guidance using a cylindrical beam and a radially extending guide plate, along with additional features like tabs, ribs, and locking lugs, ensures smooth and stable extraction of the trays, preventing buttressing and facilitating easy deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If vertical guide means comprising two pins and two vertical slideways are used to guide the plate, then the plate can be extracted from the housing, but the plate tends to buttress during extraction which complicates deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The guide means is segmented into multiple functional components: a cylindrical beam for rotational guidance, a guide plate with radial guide for vertical positioning, tabs with ribs for friction control, and locking lugs for stability. Each segment performs a specific function to collectively eliminate buttressing while maintaining ease of extraction.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate is rotatably mounted on the cylindrical beam, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position during plate extraction. This dynamic capability enables the guide to adapt to slight misalignments and prevent buttressing while maintaining smooth vertical guidance throughout the extraction motion.
2Reliability
If a cylindrical beam with a rotatably mounted guide plate is used to guide the plate, then excellent vertical sliding guidance with minimal play is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple guidance functions are merged into a compact integrated assembly: the cylindrical beam provides rotational guidance, the guide plate with radial guide provides vertical positioning, tabs with ribs provide friction control, and locking lugs provide stability. This merging achieves high guidance precision without proportionally increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide plate's rotational mounting on the cylindrical beam allows it to self-adjust during plate extraction, automatically compensating for minor variations and maintaining optimal guidance without requiring external adjustment mechanisms or complex control systems.
3Stability of the object's composition
If tabs with ribs are added to slow down the descent of the plate when stored, then the plate descent is controlled, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The friction characteristic is modified by adding ribs to the tabs, changing the interaction between the plate and guide means during descent. This parameter change (increasing friction) provides controlled descent and stable positioning without requiring complex active control systems or multiple separate components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a console for a vehicle, comprising: a shell defining at least one vertical side housing (225) accessible via an entry slot, as well as at least one tray (241) movably mounted on the shell by means of guiding means for sliding and pivoting between a stowed position in which the tray (241) is received in the housing (225) and a deployed position in which the tray (241) extends horizontally such as to form a table. The aforementioned guiding means comprise, for each tray (241), a cylindrical beam (250) solidly connected to the shell and extending along the entry slot of the corresponding housing (225), and a guiding plate (260) rotatably mounted on the beam (250), said plate (260) comprising a guide extending radially opposite the beam (250) and being solidly mounted to slide along a profiled section extending along the tray (241).