Moveable tray assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10384580-B2
Application number	US-201715416463-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 26, 2017
Priority date	Jan 26, 2017
Publication date	Aug 20, 2019
Grant date	Aug 20, 2019

Abstract

A moveable tray assembly for a vehicle includes a tray portion and a collapsible cup portion coupled to the tray portion. The cup portion is extendible downward from the tray portion and sized to fit within a cupholder recess. A floor of the tray portion extends outwardly from a top circumference of the cup portion to support items. The floor has a length and width greater than 3″×4″.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle comprising:
a closeable storage compartment including sidewalls defining a cavity, wherein the sidewalls have upper lateral edges that form a rim of the cavity;
a console having a cupholder; and
a moveable tray assembly including:
a tray portion shaped to dock within the cavity and having a floor and opposing lateral sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor and cooperating with the floor to define a tray-portion cavity, each of the sidewalls having a flange extending outwardly therefrom in a lateral direction, and
a collapsible cup portion coupled to the floor, the cup portion having a plurality of interconnected, concentric rings forming a pleated wall that has a topmost ring of the concentric rings attached to the floor and a bottommost ring of the concentric rings, wherein the cup portion is moveable between a collapsed position in which the bottommost ring is disposed radially within the topmost ring to place the cup portion proximate to the floor and an extended portion in which the pleated wall is unfolded to have the bottommost ring depend downwardly from the floor; wherein

the moveable tray assembly has a first position in which the tray portion is supported within the cavity via engagement of bottom surfaces of the flanges with the upper lateral edges and the cup portion in the collapsed position, and a second position in which the cup portion is in the extending position and received within the cupholder to dock the tray portion to the console.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the topmost ring has a top diameter greater than a bottom diameter of the bottommost ring.

3. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the cup portion resides entirely within a bottom area of the tray portion when in the collapsed position.

4. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the tray portion further includes a perimeter wall extending upwards from the floor to define a tray-portion cavity.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the closeable storage compartment defines lateral edges, and wherein the tray portion defines flanges that engage with the lateral edges to support the tray assembly within the closeable storage compartment when in the first position.

6. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the collapsible cup portion has a frustoconical shape when in the extended position.

7. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the closeable storage compartment defines pins and the tray portion defines holes that receive the pins when in the first position.

8. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the closeable storage compartment defines gussets that engage with the tray portion when in the first position.

9. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the moveable tray assembly is designed to be in a first rotational orientation when in the first position and in a second rotational orientation when in the second position, wherein the first and second rotational orientation is about a central vertical axis of the moveable tray assembly.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 , wherein a difference between the first and second rotational orientations is 90 degrees about the central vertical axis of the moveable tray assembly.

11. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein a pin extends upwardly from the flange.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 , wherein the closeable storage compartment has a lid that receives the pin when the lid is closed.

13. The vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the closeable storage compartment is an armrest assembly.

14. A vehicle comprising:
a storage compartment including sidewalls defining a cavity, wherein the sidewalls have upper lateral edges that form a rim of the cavity;
a cupholder; and
a tray assembly including:
a tray portion shaped to dock within the cavity and having a floor and opposing lateral sidewalls extending upwardly from the floor and cooperating with the floor to define a tray-portion cavity, each of the sidewalls having a flange extending outwardly therefrom in a lateral direction, and

a collapsible projection coupled to the floor, the collapsible projection having a collapsed position disposed in the floor and an extended position depending downwardly from the floor, wherein the tray assembly is supported within the cavity via engagement of bottom surfaces of the flanges with the upper lateral edges when in a first position and is docked to the cupholder, via the projection in the extended position and disposed in the cupholder, when in a second position.

15. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the collapsible projection includes a plurality of interconnected, concentric rings forming a pleated wall.

16. The vehicle of claim 15 , wherein the pleated wall includes a topmost ring of the concentric rings attached to a floor of the receptacle and a bottommost ring of the concentric rings.

17. The vehicle of claim 16 , wherein the projection is moveable between the collapsed position in which the bottommost ring is disposed radially within the topmost ring to place the cup portion proximate to the floor and the extended position in which the pleated wall is unfolded to have the bottommost ring depend downwardly from the topmost ring.

18. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the projection resides entirely within the floor when in the collapsed position.

19. The vehicle of claim 14 , wherein the projection has a frustoconical shape when in the extended position.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Medina Luna Maria Fernanda
• Mendoza Vera Omar
• Shinska John A
• Rivera Paredes Luis Pablo

Classifications

• B60N2/793

  for use as storage compartments · CPC title

• B60N3/10 Primary

  of receptacles for food or beverages, e.g. refrigerated · CPC title

• B60R7/04

  in driver or passenger space {, e.g. using racks (B60R7/005, B60R7/08 take precedence)} · CPC title

• B60N3/002 Primary

  of trays · CPC title