Swivelable Tray Device in Vehicle Center Armrest
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle armrest designs fail to provide a convenient and space-efficient table surface for passengers in the back seat, often requiring loose parts or significant structural modifications that compromise arm support or create accessibility issues.
Innovation Solution
A center armrest with a swivelable tray device mounted on a console part, allowing the tray to transition between a non-use position behind the armrest and a use position supported by the armrest, featuring a carrier element and table element connected via an annular latching mechanism, ensuring stability and compact storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a removable lid is used in the arm rest to create a table surface, then a plane surface for placing items is created, but the lid becomes a loose part that may be removed without being reinserted and may not be available again
Solution Approach 1:
The tray device is nested within the arm rest structure, with the tray table positioned in a recessed area. The carrier element integrates the tray table and table element into a single unit that is contained within the arm rest, eliminating loose parts while maintaining the table surface functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray device merges multiple functions into a single integrated unit: the carrier element, tray table, and table element are combined into one assembly that swivels as a unit. This integration ensures that the table surface functionality is reliably available as part of the arm rest structure rather than as a separate removable component.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a folding table is arranged beneath the center part of the seat surface and the center seat surface is swung up, then a table surface is provided, but sufficient space is required for the seat surface to be swiveled forward which is not possible in many vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring horizontal swiveling space, the solution utilizes vertical dimension by positioning the tray device in an upper non-use position behind the arm rest. The swivelable mounting allows the tray to transition between upper and lower positions, providing table surface functionality without requiring additional horizontal space in the vehicle interior.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray device is mounted to be swivelable about a hinge axis, allowing it to dynamically transition between an upper non-use position and a lower use position. This dynamic positioning enables the table surface to be accessed when needed while maintaining a compact configuration when not in use, eliminating the need for fixed space allocation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a lid of a center console is used in a position swiveled backwards by 180° to form a table, then a table surface is created for back seat bench, but passengers sitting in the front are deprived of the center console as an arm support
Solution Approach 1:
The solution segments the table surface functionality from the arm rest structure by using a separate swivelable tray device. This allows the arm rest to maintain its primary function as arm support for front passengers while the independently mounted tray device provides table surface functionality for back seat passengers when swiveled to the lower use position.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a center arm rest (01) for use in a vehicle with a console part (03), which can be directly or indirectly attached to the vehicle body, and with an arm rest (05), which is mounted on the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a lower use position and an upper rest position, the arm rest (05) having a top side (07) for resting an arm thereon, which is padded at least in sections, and a bottom side (08) on the opposite side, which is padded at least in sections and forms part of a back rest, comprising a tray device (11), which is swivelably mounted in the center arm rest (01) and which is in an upper non-use position behind the arm rest (05) when the arm rest (05) is in the rest position, and which is swivelable about a hinge axis (12) between the non-use position and a lower use position having the tray device (11) resting on the top side of the arm rest (05) when the arm rest (05) is in the use position.