Patent ID: 8172311
Filing Date: 2012-05-08
Classification: B60N

Abstract:
1. An armrest for a motor vehicle, comprising: a support member attached to a fixed portion of the motor vehicle and configured to provide vertical support for the armrest under a vertical load applied by an arm of an occupant, the support member including a substantially flat support portion and a rib projecting away from the substantially flat support portion, the rib extending in a longitudinal direction that is generally perpendicular to a lateral direction, the lateral direction being a direction between the occupant and the fixed portion of the motor vehicle, and the rib having a first end portion at the substantially flat support portion and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion, wherein the rib is configured to substantially reinforce the support member in a vertical direction and wherein the rib is configured to provide lateral deformation when a lateral force is applied to the armrest, wherein the rib comprises a first leg portion and a second leg portion projecting away from the substantially flat support portion, wherein the first leg portion and the second leg portion are spaced apart from each other at the first end portion of the rib and at the second end portion of the rib so as to define a hollow cavity that extends through the rib in the longitudinal direction and that is open at the first end portion and the second end portion of the rib, and wherein each of the first and second leg portions has a free end at the second end portion of the rib.