Textile Vehicle Cladding With Fold-Out Storage Wall Sections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cladding parts in vehicle interiors face limitations due to rigid materials and production methods, restricting their ergonomic properties and space utilization, particularly in areas like door claddings where flexibility and storage are needed.
Innovation Solution
A cladding part with a textile covering, such as knitted or woven fabric, that can be folded to form a flexible surface, offering ergonomic advantages and adaptable storage solutions, and incorporating a stiffening element for structural stability and easy folding, which can be translucent for ambient lighting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If hard plastic materials are used for cladding parts, then structural strength and stability are improved, but flexibility and ergonomic properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a textile covering (knitted, woven, or stitch-bonded fabric) over a carrier structure to create a flexible cladding part. The textile layer provides the necessary flexibility and ergonomic properties while the underlying carrier maintains structural integrity. This resolves the contradiction by separating the structural support function from the surface flexibility function.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention combines different materials (textile covering + carrier structure + adhesive) to create a composite cladding part. The textile provides flexibility and comfort, the carrier provides structural strength, and the adhesive bonds them together. This composite structure simultaneously achieves both structural strength and flexibility.
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid carrier structures are used, then manufacturing precision and stability are improved, but adaptability and space efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The cladding part is designed with movable wall portions that can be folded between different positions (recessed into the carrier or extended outward). This dynamic structure allows the same component to adapt between providing storage space and maximizing interior volume, resolving the contradiction between structural stability and space efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The cladding part is divided into a fixed carrier structure and movable wall portions. The carrier provides stable mounting, while the segmented wall portions can independently fold to create or eliminate storage compartments, enabling adaptability without compromising overall structural integrity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If storage compartments are permanently formed, then utility and adaptability are improved, but interior space and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The wall portions are designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing them to fold into recesses when storage is not needed. This dynamic configuration enables the storage compartments to appear only when required, maximizing interior space during non-storage periods while providing storage utility when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The wall portions fold into recesses formed in the carrier structure, nesting the storage compartments within the existing cladding volume. This nesting approach provides storage functionality without adding external bulk or permanently occupying interior space that could be used for other purposes.
Data Source
AI summary
A cladding part has a textile covering, wherein the covering forms a visible surface of a wall. At least one wall portion of the covering is transferable into a position in which the wall portion forms at least one outer wall region of a receptacle.