Adjustable Side-Mount Toolbox Legs for Clear Truck Bed Loading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing side-mount truck bed tool boxes often interfere with cargo loading due to their vertical legs, which do not provide sufficient support for heavy tool boxes and can obstruct space in truck beds, especially when carrying large items like flat sheets of building material.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of adjustable side mount legs with a center section that can be lengthened or shortened and pivotally attached mounting brackets, allowing for adaptable angle and length adjustments to securely mount the tool box to the truck bed side wall without obstructing cargo space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If vertical legs are used to support heavy tool boxes, then the tool box can be securely mounted, but the legs interfere with cargo loading space in the truck bed
Solution Approach 1:
The leg assembly incorporates a telescopic mechanism with multiple sections that can extend and retract, allowing the leg length to be dynamically adjusted. When the tool box is being supported, the legs extend to provide sufficient strength. When cargo loading is needed, the legs can be retracted to minimize interference with cargo space, thus resolving the contradiction between support capability and cargo loading space.
Solution Approach 2:
The leg is divided into multiple telescopic sections that can independently extend or retract. This segmentation allows the leg to achieve both compact storage (when retracted) and sufficient support length (when extended), addressing the contradiction between needing strong support and maintaining cargo space.
2Volume of moving object
If the tool box is elevated to open up space on the bed floor, then cargo loading space is improved, but the tool box becomes harder to access without climbing into the truck bed
Solution Approach 1:
The leg assembly can be dynamically adjusted in height to position the tool box at an optimal elevation. When cargo space is prioritized, the legs extend to elevate the tool box higher, maximizing floor space. When accessibility is prioritized, the legs can be shortened to lower the tool box within easy reach of the user, thus resolving the contradiction between cargo loading space and ease of access.
3Device complexity
If the leg length is fixed, then the mounting structure is simpler, but it cannot adapt to various truck bed configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic leg assembly provides adjustable length to accommodate different truck bed configurations, while the pivot joints at both the top and bottom of each leg provide angular adjustability. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the same mounting structure to adapt to various truck bed sizes and shapes without requiring complex custom designs for each configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting brackets are designed with pre-positioned pivot joints and adjustment mechanisms that allow for easy configuration before installation. The legs can be pre-adjusted to the required length and angle, and the pivot joints allow for final positioning adjustments during installation, simplifying the adaptation to different truck bed configurations.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the legs are made longer to provide better support, then the support stability is improved, but the legs interfere more with cargo loading
Solution Approach 1:
The telescopic leg assembly allows the support length to be dynamically adjusted based on the specific needs. When maximum support stability is required, the legs can be extended to their full length. When cargo loading is the priority, the legs can be retracted to a shorter length, providing just enough support while minimizing interference with cargo space, thus resolving the contradiction between support stability and cargo loading space.
Data Source
AI summary
A set of adjustable side mount legs attach bed-side side-mount truck bed toolbox or similar container to most any truckbed configuration. A center section of the legs, which is adjustable in length, extends between two pivotally attached mounting brackets. The center section can be formed by two telescoping tubes, at least one of which has a series of bolt holes along its length, with a bolt attached through one of those bolt holes and through the other tube, such that the user can select and set the length between the two mounting brackets. One of the mounting brackets is attached by bolts to a bottom of the bed-side side-mount truck bed toolbox. The other mounting bracket of each leg is attached by rivet nut threaded inserts to a side of the truck bed sidewall.