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Enhancing Ergonomics and Saving Design Costs With Center Console Hinges

Enhancing Ergonomics and Saving Design Costs With Center Console Hinges

When designing automotive interiors, engineers face challenges in how to best preserve the quality and integrity of the vehicle’s overall design while still delivering a solution that is functional and cost effective to produce. Additionally, the increased focus on enhancing end user comfort and experience has brought the concept of ergonomics to the forefront of the design phase. When designing solutions for interior applications, engineers must ensure that even the smallest detail – such as the hinge that joins the lid and frame of the enclosed center console – is factored into the overall design. To provide a quality experience for the end user, the center console hinge must be reliable in its functionality and maintain its ergonomic feel.

Designing for Consumer Preferences

Historically, the only expectation that consumers had for the center console was its capacity for storage. With changing design trends, engineers are adapting their specifications to overcome a wide range of center console challenges such as vibration and noise issues, and overall functionality of the design.

Ergonomics have also become a key focus of center console design as well, as consumer usability and operation expectations continue to influence the overall design of the vehicle.

When developing center console applications, automotive interior designers must take into account not only the functionality, but also consumers’ emotional reactions to the look and feel of a vehicle’s interior. Everything from materials used, to ease of operation and general appearance, ultimately shape customer perception of quality towards the automotive manufacturer.

However, functionality is just as important to the design as aesthetics – a well-planned center console application positions functionality at the heart of the design. Successful center console solutions enhance operation and improve usability for the end user by ensuring that the lid opens easily and remains open – delivering greater convenience to the end user accessing its interior. When selecting a hinging solution for a center console application, the core technology should operate effectively and deliver ergonomic benefits such as:

  • Ensuring smooth and consistent operation
  • Allowing the center console lid to be opened easily with minimal operating effort
  • Providing reliable and repeatable use throughout the cycle life of the vehicle

Center Console Hinging Technology from Southco

Southco’s innovative position control hinges combine functionality with ergonomic design and act as a core solution for center console applications, enabling smooth and quiet operation and precise operating efforts over the life cycle of the vehicle.

Southco’s position control hinges feature best-in-class constant torque functionality that enables the center console lid to hold open at any position and prevents it from falling or unexpectedly closing. Each position control hinge is constructed of robust materials and designed with a reliable and repeatable cycle life to last the lifetime of the vehicle, with minimal parts needed for assembly – simplifying production costs.

Position control hinges from Southco are available in varying torques to meet a full range of center console design requirements.

  • Constant torque hinges allow precise control over operating efforts and can be customized to produce the desired “feel” for the end user, enabling a more substantial perception of quality for lids or trays constructed of lighter materials. Available asymmetric torque allows different lifting and lowering resistances without buzz, squeak or rattle (BSR).
  • Counterbalance torque hinges allow heavier center console lids to pop-open easily when the latch securing the lid is released. Counterbalance hinges allow the end user to lift a lid constructed on heavier materials with ease, improving usability.
  • Detent torque hinges hold or lock the console lid at a pre-defined opening angle and provide tactile feedback which helps to reduce the chance of over-stressing the lid, preventing the end user from pushing it beyond the designated range of motion.

Additional design specifications, such as single or multiple inner tray(s), can be easily installed within the center console, by integrating them with position control hinges from Southco. These features contribute to enhanced ease and comfort for the end user when retrieving items from the center console box.

Key Product Features and Benefits

Southco’s position control hinges offer the following features and benefits in center console applications:

  • Position control hinges provide smooth operating efforts during the opening and closing of the center console lid
  • Quiet operation – no buzz, squeak or rattle (BSR) during opening and closing
  • Constant torque allows the center console lid or inner tray to hold steady at any position to delivers a quality user experience
  • Detent hinges provide tactile feedback and allow the center console lid to stop and lock into a predetermined position
  • Counterbalance hinges assist the opening of heavier lids
  • Unsymmetrical open/close effort mechanism to comply with ergonomic standards
  • Compact design takes up minimal application space
  • No adjustments throughout service life
  • Multiple inner trays can be easily integrated within the console
  • Validated solution that can be customized to any unique design requirement

Conclusion

When choosing a center console solution, it is important to incorporate technology that meets the requirements of the application with regard to functionality, but also addresses the ergonomic factors that end users associate with interior vehicle quality. By selecting Southco’s center console solution, automotive manufacturers will benefit from a proven, validated solution that not only reduce production and tooling costs, but also facilitates the incorporation of the latest interior designs, and satisfies technical demands.

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