Rear Seat Armrest Skirt Structure for Elbow Support and Gap Coverage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing armrests for rear seats in vehicles have leather skirts that fail to provide adequate elbow support, leading to reduced riding comfort and expose empty spaces, deteriorating external appearance and elegance.
Innovation Solution
The armrest assembly features a skirt made of hard plastic material with integrated foam portions and hinge mechanisms to support the elbow and minimize exposure, enhancing comfort and appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If a leather skirt is used to cover the rear space of the armrest lid, then the external appearance is improved, but the elbow support capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite structure combining hard plastic material for the main skirt body to provide elbow support strength, and leather material for the outer cover to maintain aesthetic appearance. This composite material approach resolves the contradiction by integrating the supportive function of hard materials with the aesthetic function of soft materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different parts of the skirt: the inner structural layer uses hard plastic for elbow support, while the outer visible layer uses soft leather for appearance. This local differentiation of material quality allows each region to fulfill its specific function optimally.
2Ease of manufacture
If a leather skirt is used to cover the rear space of the armrest lid, then the aesthetic quality is improved, but the elbow support force deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The dual-layer composite structure with hard plastic inner layer and leather outer layer enables the skirt to simultaneously achieve aesthetic quality through the leather surface and sufficient elbow support force through the rigid inner structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameter from purely soft leather to a composite structure with varying hardness levels, where the inner layer has high hardness for force support and the outer layer has soft properties for aesthetic quality.
3Ease of operation
If a hard plastic skirt is used to improve elbow support, then the riding comfort is improved, but the ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the skirt into multiple segments or layers: an inner hard plastic structural layer and an outer leather cover layer. This segmentation allows each layer to be manufactured separately using appropriate processes, then assembled together, balancing manufacturing ease with functional performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary connection mechanism (hinges and coupling structures) that joins the hard plastic skirt to the armrest board and lid. This intermediary structure facilitates assembly while maintaining the rigid supportive function required for riding comfort.
4Shape
If foam portions are added to cover the space between skirt and armrest board, then the external appearance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the foam portions with the skirt structure, making them an integrated part of the overall assembly. The foam portions are positioned between the skirt and armrest board to eliminate gaps, and this combined structure is manufactured and assembled as a unified component system, reducing the number of separate parts.
Data Source
AI summary
An embodiment armrest assembly for a vehicle includes an armrest including a main body and a lid, an armrest board to which the armrest is rotatably coupled and in which the armrest is accommodated in an erect state, and a skirt coupled to a rear bezel housing of the lid and to the armrest board and correspondingly covering a rear space of the lid when the armrest is rotated forward, wherein the skirt has a panel shape and includes a hard material.