Vehicle Seat Cup Holder Support Wire Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle seat cup holders fail to provide a stable support for beverage containers due to the soft and deformable nature of the seat cushion, leading to unstable retention.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle seat design featuring a cup holder with a support wire member and a container receiving member, secured to the side frame via a housing member and protective wire member, ensuring firm attachment and stability even under loading, and positioned at a convenient height for occupants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the cup holder is integrated into the soft seat cushion, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the beverage container cannot be supported in a stable manner
Solution Approach 1:
A support wire member is introduced as an intermediary between the soft seat cushion and the container receiving member. The wire member extends between side frames and provides a rigid support structure that transcends the softness of the cushion, enabling stable container support while maintaining integration with the seat structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cup holder system combines multiple materials with different properties: the soft cushion material for comfort, the rigid side frames for structural support, and the wire member for stable container positioning. This composite approach allows each material to fulfill its optimal function.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the cushion member is made vertically reversible, then it can serve dual functions (retaining beverage container and defining seat cushion surface), but the beverage container cannot be supported stably due to the soft cushion material
Solution Approach 1:
The cup holder is divided into functionally independent components: the container receiving member that can be positioned in different orientations, the support wire member that provides stable rigid support, and the housing member that secures the assembly. This segmentation allows the receiving member to be vertically reversible for dual functionality while the wire member ensures stable container support regardless of orientation.
3Reliability
If the container receiving member is secured to the side frame, then the container can be retained firmly and the side frame is protected from undue force, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The support wire member acts as an intermediary that connects the container receiving member to the side frame in a straightforward manner. This simple wire connection provides firm securing and protects the side frame from undue force without introducing complex mechanical assemblies or multiple fastening components.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a vehicle seat fitted with a cup holder that includes a support wire member (41) including a pair of longitudinal portions (45) having base ends attached to either side of a side frame and extending in a forward direction, and a cross portion (46) extending between free ends of the longitudinal portions, a housing member (42) having a pair of side walls (47, 48), a front wall (49) extending between front edges of the side walls, and side flanges (51, 52) formed in lower edges of the side walls, the side flanges resting on the longitudinal portions of the support wire member, and a cup shaped container receiving member (60) having an open top and received in the housing member, a bottom end of the container receiving member being provided with a pair of engagement features (61) that are engaged by the longitudinal portions of the support wire member.