Drop-down Utility Rack with Telescoping Arm
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drop-down utility racks for vehicles, particularly on smaller vehicles like utility vans or trucks, pose challenges when handling larger tools like ladders due to their size, requiring cumbersome removal and reinstallation, often necessitating awkward movements and posing safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A drop-down utility rack assembly with a pivotally coupled actuating arm, a rotating bar, and a telescoping arm system that allows for easy access and storage of tools, featuring a composite linkage and adjustable support brackets to accommodate different tool sizes, enabling horizontal transportation and vertical access with reduced space requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a ladder rack is mounted onto the roof of the vehicle, then the ladder can be transported, but the operator must stand beneath the descending ladder during removal and reach over his/her head to mount it back
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a dynamic drop-down mechanism that allows the ladder rack to move between a horizontal transport position on the roof and a vertical storage position. The rack can be lowered to a safe position away from the operator, eliminating the need to stand beneath or reach over the ladder during removal and installation operations.
2Ease of operation
If the roof of the vehicle is taller than the operator, then the vehicle can provide adequate headroom, but removing and mounting the ladder becomes troublesome
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transforms the static roof-mounted rack into a dynamic system that can change its position. The rack is designed to pivot between horizontal and vertical orientations, allowing it to be lowered to a convenient working height that does not depend on the vehicle's fixed roof height, thereby making ladder handling easier regardless of roof height.
3Ease of operation
If only one end of the ladder is lowered for dismounting, then the ladder can be removed, but it is lowered at an angle which is unsafe and cumbersome
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a dynamic mechanism that lowers the entire ladder rack vertically in a controlled manner, maintaining proper orientation throughout the movement. This ensures the ladder remains safe and stable during dismounting, eliminating the unsafe angled lowering that occurs when only one end is lowered.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A drop-down utility rack for transporting a tool has a base frame, a telescoping arm pivotal about the base frame, and an actuating arm coupled to the telescoping arm and pivotal about the base frame. As the actuating arm is pivoted from a reclined position to an upright position, the drop-down utility rack moves from a tool transporting position to a tool access position and the telescoping arm moves from a retracted position to an extended position. As the actuating arm is pivoted, an internal member of the telescoping arm is pivoted and slidably displaced relative to its coupling point to the base frame and an external member of the telescoping arm is slidably displaced relative to the internal member such that the telescoping arm is extended. The actuating arm can be pivoted back to the reclined position, causing the utility rack to return to the tool transporting position.