Aligned Vehicle Floor Mat Design Reduces Material Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of floor mats for vehicles with multiple levels of finishes results in significant waste due to different cutouts required for each part of the loading surface, increasing production costs without ensuring optimal sound insulation.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle design where the lateral edges of the loading surface parts are aligned to allow a single, linear-edged floor mat to cover the entire area, with intermediate elements extending from the rear wheel arch to the rear side upright, ensuring continuous sound insulation and minimizing material waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the loading surface has multiple width variations requiring different cutouts for floor mat coverage, then the sound insulation is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases due to material waste
Solution Approach 1:
The loading surface is divided into three distinct parts (front part 21, central part 22, rear part 23) with different widths, allowing each part to be optimally covered by the floor mat without requiring complex cutouts. The lateral edges of these parts are aligned in the same direction, enabling continuous coverage along the longitudinal axis
Solution Approach 2:
The problem is solved by transitioning from a two-dimensional cutout approach to a three-dimensional alignment approach. By aligning the lateral edges of the three parts in the same direction and positioning intermediate elements (8, 9) to extend from the rear wheel arch to the rear side upright, the floor mat can cover the entire loading surface with linear edges parallel to the vehicle's longitudinal axis, eliminating the need for complex lateral cutouts
2Reliability
If complex cutouts are made in the floor mat to fit the loading surface dimensions, then the sound insulation coverage is improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cutting the floor mat to fit complex loading surface contours, the loading surface is designed with aligned lateral edges that allow a simple rectangular floor mat to fit perfectly. The intermediate elements (8, 9) extending from the rear wheel arch to the rear side upright create continuous linear edges, inverting the traditional approach of adapting the mat to the surface versus adapting the surface to the mat
3Reliability
If the floor mat is designed to completely cover the loading surface with complex cutouts, then the sound insulation performance is improved, but the production time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The loading surface is pre-configured with aligned lateral edges and intermediate elements (8, 9) positioned to extend from the rear wheel arch to the rear side upright, creating a ready-to-receive geometry for a simple rectangular floor mat. This preliminary structural preparation eliminates the need for complex mat manufacturing processes
Solution Approach 2:
The floor mat design parameters are simplified from complex irregular shapes with multiple cutouts to a simple rectangular shape with linear edges. The alignment of lateral edges of the three loading surface parts and the positioning of intermediate elements changes the geometric parameters to enable standard rectangular mat production
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a vehicle comprising a loading surface (1) extending along a floor (2) which extends from the central posts (3) towards the rear of the vehicle, said floor (2) comprising a front part (21), a central part (22) and a rear part (23), such that the three parts (21, 22, 23) of the floor (2) are in the same alignment, which allows the three parts (21, 22, 23) of the floor (2) to be entirely covered by a groundsheet (7) with linear edges.