Deployable Tailgate Cushion Panel for Loadspace Seating Support
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicles with split tailgates lack a comfortable seating surface and back support for users who sit on the lower portion of the tailgate.
Innovation Solution
A deployable cushion system comprising a panel that pivots from a stowed orientation above a storage container to a deployed orientation, with a cushion member attached via a coupling, forming a seat and backrest, and a flexible coupling that maintains the cushion's position during deployment and stowage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a deployable cushion system is added to provide seating comfort, then user comfort is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cushion member is stored within the storage container when not in use, and deployed from it when needed. This nesting approach allows the cushion system to be compact during normal vehicle operation while providing full seating comfort when the tailgate is open, resolving the contradiction between comfort and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The cushion member is designed to be movable between a stowed position inside the storage container and a deployed position outside it. This dynamic configuration allows the system to adapt between two states: compact storage mode and comfortable seating mode, addressing both comfort requirements and space constraints.
2Volume of moving object
If the panel pivots through an acute angle, then space efficiency is improved, but backrest support is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The panel pivots about a horizontal axis rather than a vertical one, changing the dimension of rotation. This allows the panel to provide backrest support through lateral angulation while maintaining a compact profile in the vertical dimension, achieving both space efficiency and adequate backrest function.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for a vehicle loadspace of a vehicle, comprising: a storage container (603); a panel (108) configured to pivot via a first hinge means (300) between a stowed orientation and a deployed orientation, wherein in the stowed orientation the panel (108) is above the storage container (603), and wherein the panel (108) is configured to pivot through an acute angle to move from the stowed orientation to the deployed orientation; a first cushion member (200), configured to attach to a vehicle loadspace attachment point (350) by a first coupling (401) and movable via the first coupling (401) between a stowed position in the storage container (603) and a deployed position outside the storage container (603), wherein the first coupling (401) is configured to locate the first cushion member (200) when the first cushion member (200) is in the deployed position outside the storage container (603).