Dashboard Fold-Out Vehicle Table for Cabin Space and Leg Clearance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in designing a retractable table for industrial or commercial vehicles is to maximize free space, particularly when there is no space behind the seats, requiring the table to be installed in the front cabin without interfering with passengers' legs or other objects, while maintaining adequate height and accessibility.
Innovation Solution
A foldable table with hinges and positioning brackets that can be inserted into a compartment in the dashboard, allowing for clockwise rotation and limit stops to achieve both closed and open positions, with lateral guides and elastic pins for secure fixation, ensuring ergonomic use and space efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the table is installed in the front part of the cabin, then the table can be positioned high enough to avoid interfering with passenger legs, but the available space for table installation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The table is nested within a compartment of the dashboard when retracted, and can be extracted when needed. This allows the table to be stored in a compact form within the limited dashboard space while still providing adequate height when deployed, resolving the contradiction between installation space constraints and table height requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The table utilizes the vertical dimension by being positioned in the dashboard compartment, allowing it to extend upward to achieve sufficient height clear of passenger legs, while the horizontal footprint remains constrained within the dashboard area
2Productivity
If the table is made retractable to maximize free space, then space utilization is improved, but the complexity of the table mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The table is divided into multiple parts (first part and second part) that can fold relative to each other, allowing the table to be compact when retracted and extended when needed. This segmentation enables the retractable function while keeping the mechanism relatively simple
Solution Approach 2:
The table transitions between static (retracted) and dynamic (extended) states, allowing it to maximize space when not in use and provide functionality when needed. The foldable mechanism enables this dynamic behavior with relatively simple construction
3Ease of operation
If the table is foldable to improve accessibility and ergonomics, then ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The foldable table is segmented into multiple parts connected by hinges, allowing it to be folded and unfolded easily. This segmentation provides the desired accessibility and ergonomic benefits while keeping each individual component relatively simple
Solution Approach 2:
Hinges serve as intermediary elements connecting the different parts of the table, enabling the foldable function with simple mechanical components rather than complex mechanisms
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3A~3C
Figure 4~5
AI summary
Vehicle table, in particular for industrial or commercial vehicles, of the type suitable to be contained in and extracted from a compartment in the dashboard of the vehicle cabin, comprising: - a shelf formed by a first (1) and a second foldable part (2) with intermediate hinges (3); - two lateral brackets (4, 5), whose one end is hinged by means of second hinges (6, 7) to a side (8) of the first part (1) of the shelf, opposite to the side where the two parts of the shelf are hinged.