Exposed-Frame Vehicle Console for Rigidity and Storage Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-performance vehicles require a center console that provides increased storage space and usability while ensuring rigidity and aesthetic appeal, particularly in flat-floor configurations where traditional consoles lack the necessary structural support.
Innovation Solution
A console design featuring a frame with exposed, partially external components, including a pair of frame members connected by a connection member, an auxiliary frame member, and a detachable carrier, which includes a tray and accessories like an arm rest, fire extinguisher, and data logger, mounted on a floor panel with a mounting bracket for enhanced stability and customization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a traditional center console is used in a flat-floor vehicle configuration, then the console can provide basic storage functionality, but the rigidity of the console is insufficient to support driver legs and maintain structural stability
Solution Approach 1:
The console is divided into separate functional components: a frame structure for rigidity, a console body for storage, and a cover trim for aesthetics. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the frame provides structural support while the other components can be designed for their specific functions without compromising overall rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure is extracted as a separate component from the traditional integrated console design. By taking out the frame as an independent element that can be partially exposed externally, the design achieves enhanced rigidity without requiring a completely enclosed complex structure, thus improving strength while managing device complexity.
2Strength
If the console height is increased to secure rigidity in a flat-floor configuration, then structural stability improves, but the storage space and usability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is positioned strategically at critical structural locations rather than uniformly throughout the console. This local placement of rigid structural elements provides the necessary support for driver leg accommodation while leaving the remaining internal volume available for storage compartments, cup holders, and other usability features.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame members are configured with closed cross-sections and bent into three-dimensional shapes that provide structural rigidity through their geometric form rather than relying solely on increased height. This dimensional approach to rigidity preserves vertical storage space while maintaining the necessary structural strength.
3Strength
If a complete internal core structure is used to support the console, then rigidity is ensured, but weight and manufacturing costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is extracted and exposed externally rather than being hidden within a complete internal core structure. This allows the rigid support function to be achieved with a simpler, more manufacturable design that reduces material usage and assembly complexity, thereby lowering production costs while maintaining necessary rigidity.
Solution Approach 2:
The frame members serve multiple functions: providing structural rigidity, serving as mounting points for accessories, and contributing to the aesthetic design when partially exposed. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate internal core structures, reducing overall complexity and manufacturing cost while maintaining strength.
4Shape
If the frame is completely enclosed by the console body, then aesthetics are improved, but accessibility to mounting panels and customization options are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of completely enclosing the frame to achieve aesthetics, the design inverts the approach by strategically exposing portions of the frame externally. This inverted approach maintains aesthetic appeal through careful design of the exposed frame elements while simultaneously providing accessible mounting panels for customization and accessory attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover trim is designed to be removable or adjustable, allowing the aesthetic enclosure to be dynamically modified. This enables the console to transition between a fully enclosed aesthetic appearance and an open configuration that exposes mounting panels for customization, thus achieving both aesthetic effect and adaptability at different times.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a console for a vehicle capable of providing a large storage space and various types of usability in, for example, a high-performance vehicle and reducing costs while securing rigidity of the console and improving an aesthetic effect. The console for a vehicle includes a frame installed on a floor of the vehicle, and a console body mounted on the frame and having at least one article receiving part, wherein the frame is at least partially exposed externally of the console body.