Composite Vehicle Monocoque Molding for Insulation and Payload Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems and methods for manufacturing utility and delivery vehicles face limitations, including inefficiencies in structural construction and insulation, which affect weight, storage capacity, and refrigeration performance.
Innovation Solution
A land vehicle with a monocoque structure made from composite materials, such as fiberglass and resin, without metallic components, featuring a modular system for forming the monocoque, which includes a front cage, rear floor, and intermediate sections, allowing for a single-piece, monolithic construction that eliminates the need for an internal chassis and enhances insulation and storage capacity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional manufacturing systems and methods are used for utility and delivery vehicles, then production processes are established, but inefficiencies in structural construction and insulation occur, affecting weight, storage capacity, and refrigeration performance
Solution Approach 1:
The monocoque is divided into multiple moldable sections (front cage, intermediate sections, rear floor) that can be manufactured separately and assembled, enabling modular production while maintaining the integrity of the single-piece structure. This segmentation allows for efficient manufacturing of complex curved surfaces without requiring entirely custom tooling for each vehicle type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs adjustable mold tools with variable parameters (such as adjustable formers and repositionable mold sections) that can be modified to create different vehicle configurations. By changing mold parameters rather than creating entirely new molds, the system achieves high productivity across multiple vehicle types while reducing manufacturing complexity.
2Weight of moving object
If a single-piece monolithic structure is used without an internal chassis, then vehicle weight is reduced and structural integrity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses fiber-reinforced plastic composite materials that form flexible yet strong shells. These composite materials allow the creation of large, complex curved surfaces in a single piece without requiring heavy internal chassis support, achieving weight reduction while maintaining manufacturability through moldable composite construction.
Solution Approach 2:
The monocoque is constructed using composite materials (fiber-reinforced plastics) that combine strength-to-weight ratio advantages with moldability. These composite materials enable the single-piece structure to achieve both weight reduction and manufacturing ease through conventional molding processes, avoiding the need for heavy metallic chassis while remaining producible with standard manufacturing techniques.
3Temperature
If composite materials such as fiberglass and resin are used without metallic components, then insulation performance is improved and weight is reduced, but structural strength may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses fiber-reinforced plastic composites that combine the insulating properties of plastics with the structural strength of embedded fibers. This composite construction provides both thermal insulation (improving refrigeration performance) and structural integrity without metallic components, as the fiber reinforcement compensates for the lower inherent strength of plastic materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different material properties to different regions of the monocoque. High-strength fiber reinforcement is concentrated in areas requiring structural strength (such as load-bearing sections and attachment points), while areas requiring insulation can use lighter composite formulations. This local differentiation of material quality optimizes both strength and insulation performance throughout the vehicle structure.
4Adaptability or versatility
If a modular mold system is used to form the monocoque, then manufacturing flexibility and adaptability are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs universal mold tools and formers that can be adjusted and repositioned to create multiple different vehicle configurations. Rather than requiring dedicated molds for each vehicle type, the same basic mold system can be adapted to produce various monocoque designs, achieving manufacturing flexibility without proportionally increasing system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The mold system incorporates dynamic, adjustable components (such as repositionable mold sections and adjustable formers) that can be modified during the manufacturing process. This dynamic capability allows the same mold system to adapt to different production requirements, providing versatility while avoiding the complexity of entirely separate fixed molds for each configuration.
Data Source
AI summary
Land vehicles, modular systems for forming monocoques of land vehicles, and methods of forming monocoques of land vehicles using modular systems are envisioned. In certain embodiments, the land vehicles are provided as delivery vehicles and/or utility vehicles. A land vehicle includes a monocoque supporting a plurality of wheels to permit movement of the vehicle relative to an underlying surface in use of the land vehicle.