Rear-Facing Tailgate Seat Assembly with Deployable Rails
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle designs lack a cost-effective and easy-to-use deployable tailgate seating arrangement that allows for rearward-facing seating when the vehicle is parked, which is not efficiently addressed by current seating configurations.
Innovation Solution
A deployable seat assembly with pivot bars and rails that allow the seat to be raised, lowered, and extended rearward, incorporating a well for stowage and a tailgate that opens to accommodate the seat in a rearward-facing position, along with optional features like pivot bars, telescoping rails, and a footrest for enhanced usability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a deployable tailgate seating arrangement is added to the vehicle, then additional rearward-facing seating capacity is provided, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly is divided into multiple independent components including a seat unit, first rail, second rail, first pivot bar, and second pivot bar. Each component can move and be positioned independently, allowing the system to achieve complex deployment functionality while keeping individual parts simple and manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat assembly transitions from a static configuration to a dynamic one through the use of pivot bars and sliding rails. The first pivot bar enables the seat to pivot between stowed and deployed positions, while the second pivot bar allows adjustment of the seat angle. The sliding rails provide dynamic extension and retraction capability, making the seating arrangement adaptable to different usage scenarios.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the seat extends rearward beyond the cabin interior, then rearward-facing tailgate seating is enabled, but the area occupied within the vehicle increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly is designed to nest within the vehicle's existing structure when not in use. The first rail slides within a first slot and the second rail slides within a second slot, allowing the entire assembly to be compacted into a space-efficient configuration that minimizes the area occupied within the cabin interior while still providing full tailgate seating functionality when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The seat assembly utilizes the third dimension (vertical and depth extension) rather than only lateral space expansion. By allowing the seat to extend rearward beyond the cabin interior and pivot outward, the design achieves tailgate seating functionality without significantly increasing the footprint within the main cabin area, effectively using spatial dimensions more efficiently.
3Ease of operation
If pivot bars and sliding rails are used for seat deployment, then ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The seat assembly is designed to deploy and operate through simple user interaction with the pivot bars and sliding rails, which naturally guide the movement through their mechanical design. The pivot bars and slots provide self-aligning features that reduce the need for complex control mechanisms, allowing users to easily operate the seat deployment while the mechanical components self-regulate the motion paths.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle includes a cabin interior, a floor, and a deployable seat assembly. The deployable seat assembly includes a pair of deployable seat support assemblies, each having first and second pivot bars pivotally supported on the floor, a first rail coupled to the first and second pivot bars, wherein the first rail is raised and lowered as the first and second pivot bars rotate between first and second bar positions, and a second rail slidingly extendable from the first rail. The seat assembly has a seat supported by the second rail, wherein the seat faces rearward and extends rearward on the second rail as the second rail slides away from the first rail.