Collapsible Cargo Box Tongue-and-Groove Interlocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cargo boxes for open vehicles, such as golf carts, are bulky and difficult to ship, and they suffer from structural integrity issues due to vibration and increased stress from cargo weight.
Innovation Solution
A collapsible cargo box design featuring interlocking walls and a rotatable tailgate with tongue-and-groove mechanisms, allowing for compact storage and enhanced stability under load and vibration conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional cargo boxes are designed with rigid structures to maintain strength, then structural integrity is improved, but shipping volume increases and becomes cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The cargo box is divided into multiple modular panels (front wall, rear wall, left wall, right wall, base) that can be detached and reconfigured. This segmentation allows the box to be collapsed into a compact configuration for shipping while maintaining structural integrity when assembled, directly resolving the contradiction between strength and shipping volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The cargo box transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic reconfigurable structure. The panels can be detached, repositioned, and reassembled in different configurations, allowing the box to adapt between a full-size operational state for strength and a collapsed state for compact shipping, resolving the volume-strength tradeoff.
2Quantity of substance
If cargo boxes are mounted on the rear portion of golf carts, then cargo storage capacity is improved, but vibration exposure increases and causes structural deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates vibration-dampening elements and stress-distributing features in the mounting brackets and panel connections before the box is subjected to vibration. This beforehand cushioning protects the structural joints from the harmful effects of vibration, preventing deterioration while maintaining cargo storage capacity in the rear-mounted position.
Solution Approach 2:
The cargo box utilizes composite construction with materials selected for both strength and vibration resistance. The combination of rigid panels for structural integrity and dampening elements for vibration absorption creates a composite structure that can withstand rear-mounted vibration exposure while maintaining cargo capacity.
3Quantity of substance
If additional weight of cargo is added to the cargo box, then cargo carrying capability is improved, but stress on the box increases and exacerbates vibration effects
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting brackets are designed to merge the load-bearing functions of multiple attachment points into a unified stress-distribution system. By combining the structural support of the brackets with the panel connections, the system distributes cargo weight across multiple points, reducing stress concentration and mitigating vibration effects while maintaining cargo carrying capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs stress-distributing features that change the stress parameters across the box structure. By redistributing the stress from concentrated loads to distributed loads through the bracket design and panel connections, the system can handle increased cargo weight without exacerbating vibration effects, resolving the contradiction between cargo capacity and structural stress.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The collapsible design reduces shipping volume and maintains structural integrity even under increased stress and vibration, providing a practical and durable solution for cargo transport.
Implementation Method 1
a base having a first groove for accommodating the tongue at the bottom of the left wall, a second groove for accommodating the tongue at the bottom of the right wall, and a third groove for accommodating the tongue at the bottom of the rear wall
Implementation Method 2
The tailgate may include a bottom portion rotatably coupled to the base
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus for providing a collapsible cargo box. The cargo box include a left wall having a tongue at the rearmost portion and a tongue at the bottom, a right wall having a tongue at the rearmost portion and a tongue at the bottom, a rear wall having a tongue at the leftmost portion, the rightmost portion and the bottom, a base and a tailgate. The method may include sliding the tongue at the bottom of the left wall into a first groove in the base, sliding the tongue at the bottom of the rear wall into a second groove in the base, sliding the tongue at the bottom of the right wall into a third groove in the base, rotatably coupling the tailgate to the base, coupling the left wall to the rear wall and coupling the right wall to the rear wall.