Suspended Instrument Panel Assembly for Unobstructed Vehicle Egress
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle interior center consoles obstruct egress between the front and rear seats, limiting space and mobility.
Innovation Solution
A cantilevered dashboard extension with a structural assembly that includes a main instrument panel, stay brackets, reinforcement members, and trim components, allowing the dashboard to be spaced apart from the floor and providing unobstructed passage between seats while maintaining structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a center console is mounted to the floor and includes cup holder sections, then storage functionality is provided, but egress between the front seats and the space behind the front seats is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard assembly is elevated from the floor to a suspended position, transitioning the support structure from a floor-mounted configuration to one supported by stay brackets extending from the instrument panel. This dimensional change in vertical positioning eliminates the obstruction to egress while maintaining storage functionality through the cantilevered extension.
2Ease of operation
If the dashboard is spaced apart from the floor to eliminate obstructions, then passenger mobility is enhanced, but structural support and stability become challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into distinct functional components: stay brackets extending from the instrument panel, reinforcement members providing structural stiffening, and mounting brackets securing the assembly. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while collectively providing the necessary structural support for the suspended dashboard.
Solution Approach 2:
Stay brackets serve as intermediary elements connecting the instrument panel to the suspended dashboard assembly, transferring loads and forces between these components. The reinforcement members act as additional intermediaries to distribute and manage structural stresses, enabling the dashboard to be spaced from the floor while maintaining strength.
3Strength
If a structural assembly with stay brackets and reinforcement members is used to support the dashboard, then structural integrity is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple structural components (stay brackets, reinforcement members, mounting brackets) are merged into a single integrated structural assembly that functions as a unified support system. This consolidation reduces the number of separate parts to manage and install while maintaining the necessary structural integrity through the combined action of all components.
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle interior structural assembly includes an instrument panel that is dimensioned to extend laterally between opposing interior side walls of a passenger compartment of a vehicle. A structural member extends between first and second ends of the instrument panel such that the structural member is substantially concealed by the instrument panel. A stay bracket is connected to the structural member and extends downward from the structural member. The stay bracket is located forward of a rearmost extent of the instrument panel. A reinforcement member is connected to the stay bracket at a first point and a second point that are vertically spaced from one another. The reinforcement member includes a support portion cantilevered from and extending rearward of the rearmost extent of the instrument panel such that forces applied to the reinforcement member are directed to the stay bracket and the structural member.