Deployable Dashboard Desk With Track-Guided Folding Panels
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Passengers in vehicles often require a convenient workspace within the cabin, but existing configurations do not efficiently provide a deployable and storable work surface that accommodates various interior components like steering wheels and storage bins.
Innovation Solution
A deployable desk system integrated into the vehicle cabin, comprising interconnected panels with support arms that engage a track to move between stowed and deployed positions, allowing the desk to extend over the steering wheel and expose storage bins, with options for incorporating a display screen and actuation mechanisms for easy deployment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a work surface is provided in the vehicle cabin, then passenger convenience is improved, but the device complexity and space management become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The work surface is designed as a deployable structure that transitions between stowed and deployed states through mechanical linkages and support arms. This dynamic configuration allows the surface to adapt between providing workspace and maintaining cabin simplicity, resolving the contradiction between convenience and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The work surface panels are interconnected in a nested arrangement where multiple panels fold into each other when stowed. This nesting mechanism allows the complex multi-panel structure to occupy minimal space when not in use, while providing a substantial work surface when deployed.
2Ease of operation
If the desk is deployed to provide workspace, then passenger convenience is improved, but the cabin space for other components is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The work surface extends in multiple dimensions from the dashboard, utilizing vertical and lateral space rather than only horizontal cabin floor space. This dimensional approach provides substantial workspace while minimizing impact on the cabin footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The deployable nature of the desk allows cabin space to be dynamically allocated between workspace and other components. When stowed, maximum cabin space is available; when deployed, workspace is provided without permanent occupation of cabin volume.
3Area of stationary object
If the desk is made deployable and storable, then space optimization is improved, but the ease of deployment and operation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The work surface is divided into multiple interconnected panels that can be independently manipulated. This segmentation allows the surface to be folded and deployed in a systematic manner, reducing the operational complexity despite the multi-component structure.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple functional elements are combined into integrated assemblies - the support arms, track engagement mechanisms, and panel connections are merged into coordinated units that move together. This integration simplifies the deployment operation despite the complex stowed configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a cabin interior, a dashboard located in the cabin interior, and a desk supported on the dashboard and movable between a stowed position on the dashboard and a deployed position extending outward from the dashboard, the desk comprising a plurality of interconnected panels having arms configured to engage a track to bend around at least a portion of the dashboard, and wherein the desk operably moves along the track when moved between the stowed position and the deployed position.