Vehicle Body Panel With Recessed Accessory Mounts for Off-Road Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Externally mounted lighting assemblies on vehicles are prone to damage when driving off-road due to protrusion, and there is a need for protected mounting solutions for auxiliary components like lighting, compressed air couplers, and electrical outlets.
Innovation Solution
A body panel apparatus with integral mounts and adapters that allows for the internal mounting of lighting assemblies, compressed air couplers, and electrical outlets, providing protection and external accessibility while maintaining a smooth vehicle exterior.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If lighting assemblies are mounted externally on the vehicle, then lighting functionality is provided, but the lighting assembly is prone to damage from debris during off-road driving
Solution Approach 1:
The lighting assembly is nested within a cavity formed in the body panel, with the lens protruding through an aperture in the panel exterior. This nesting arrangement protects the lighting components from external debris while maintaining light projection capability through the aperture.
Solution Approach 2:
The lighting assembly is repositioned from an external mounting on the vehicle body to an internal mounting within the body panel structure. This dimensional transition moves the lighting components from the external environment to a protected internal space while maintaining external lighting function.
2Reliability
If accessories are mounted internally within the body panel, then protection from debris is improved, but mounting complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Mounting posts are integrally formed on the interior surface of the body panel during panel manufacturing, preparing the mounting infrastructure in advance. This preliminary action eliminates the need for separate mounting bracket installations and simplifies the accessory mounting process.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting posts are combined with the body panel structure itself, forming an integrated mounting system. This merging of the mounting infrastructure with the panel structure reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the overall mounting system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple accessories are mounted on the vehicle, then functionality is enhanced, but the vehicle exterior appearance is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple accessories including lighting assemblies, compressed air couplers, and electrical outlets are nested within cavities formed in the body panel. This nesting allows multiple functional components to be housed within the smooth exterior surface of the vehicle panel.
Solution Approach 2:
Accessories are relocated from external mounting positions to internal cavities within the body panel. This dimensional transition maintains the smooth external vehicle surface while providing internal space for multiple functional accessories.
Data Source
AI summary
A body panel apparatus, for mounting various accessories onto a vehicle, has a panel body and mounts to mount in place of an existing body panel of the vehicle. The apparatus can include a light adapter plate to support a lighting assembly on the panel body in alignment with an aperture within a protrusion formed on the panel body by fastening the lighting assembly to the plate and separately fastening the plate to the panel body. The body panel may include an inwardly recessed socket with a mounting aperture at the inner end of the socket to receive a compressed air coupler mounted therein. The body panel may also include a removable breakout section in proximity to internal mounting posts to support an outlet adapter plate that supports an electrical outlet thereon so that the electrical outlet is externally accessible through the removed breakout section.