Vehicle dashboard desk
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle dashboard designs fail to effectively keep loose items organized and secure, as they tend to slide or fall during turns and accelerations, and the glove compartment becomes cluttered, lacking segmented compartments for secure storage.
Innovation Solution
A removable, flexible dashboard desk organizer made from semi-rigid rubber or polymer with contoured top and bottom members and vertical slats, featuring a lower lip or slanted shelves to prevent items from sliding, with optional compartments and accessory holders for secure storage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a flat depressed tray is placed on the dashboard to hold items, then items can be stored, but items still slide or jump off during vehicle acceleration and turns
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard tray is divided into multiple compartments separated by vertical slats, creating segmented spaces that better contain items. The slats are spaced to allow item access while preventing items from sliding across the entire dashboard surface, thus improving stability without compromising accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds vertical dimension with raised edges and lips around the compartments, transforming a flat 2D surface into a 3D contained structure. This vertical containment prevents items from sliding off during acceleration and turns while maintaining easy access from above.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a removable dashboard desk with compartments is added to organize items, then item organization is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dashboard desk is segmented into multiple compartments using vertical slats that are evenly spaced. This segmentation provides organized storage for different items (keys, phones, cards) while maintaining a simple overall structure that doesn't significantly increase device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The dashboard desk serves multiple functions: it organizes items into compartments, prevents sliding during acceleration, provides a stable surface, and can be easily removed and reinstalled. This multi-functionality increases adaptability without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
3Quantity of substance
If the dashboard surface is made larger to accommodate more items, then storage capacity increases, but vision obstruction increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of expanding the dashboard surface horizontally which would block vision, the invention uses vertical containment with raised edges and lips. This vertical dimension provides storage capacity without increasing the horizontal footprint, thus maintaining vision clarity while increasing storage capability.
4Reliability
If a lower lip is added to prevent items from sliding out, then item retention is improved, but the opening size is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lower lip is strategically positioned only at the rear and side edges of each compartment, not across the entire opening. This local containment prevents items from sliding out during acceleration while leaving the front opening wide for easy item access and retrieval.
Data Source
AI summary
A dashboard desk organizer fits on the dashboard of a vehicle providing compartments for storage. Its top and bottom can be made from a semi-stiff rubber or polymer product that, while partially stiff, can nevertheless be contoured to match the contours of the dashboards of different vehicles. The structure can be around four to five inches high with a lower lip of about an inch to keep items from sliding out. It can be from about nine to eleven inches deep with varying standard manufactured lengths sized to fit a wide range of dashboards. Alternatively, its compartments can be slanted downward in the forward direction to prevent slip out of items rather than having a lip.