Extendable Cargo Bed Floor With Folding Sections for Larger Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional cargo beds in vehicles, such as pickup trucks, lack the ability to efficiently expand to accommodate larger cargo, limiting their utility for transporting oversized items without complex and cumbersome modifications.
Innovation Solution
A cargo bed system featuring a floor assembly that transitions between standard and extended positions through a combination of pivotable and slidable floor sections, along with a split tailgate and deployable steps, allowing for increased cargo capacity by folding and unfolding like an accordion, and sliding sections to create a larger, vertically oriented cargo surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the cargo bed is designed with a fixed standard size, then the vehicle maintains good maneuverability and compactness, but it cannot accommodate larger cargo items
Solution Approach 1:
The floor assembly is divided into multiple floor sections (first floor section, second floor section, third floor section) that can be independently positioned. These sections are connected through pivotable connections, allowing them to be folded or extended relative to each other, enabling the cargo bed to transition between compact and expanded configurations without requiring a completely complex restructuring mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor assembly incorporates movable and adjustable components including pivotable floor sections and slidable floor sections. These dynamic elements allow the floor assembly to transition between different configurations (standard and extended positions) based on cargo requirements, providing adaptability while maintaining a relatively simple base structure when in standard configuration.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the cargo bed is extended to accommodate larger cargo, then cargo capacity increases, but the vehicle length increases reducing maneuverability
Solution Approach 1:
The floor sections are designed to nest within each other when in the standard configuration. The first, second, and third floor sections can be folded and stacked in a nested arrangement, allowing the extended portions to be stored compactly within the standard cargo bed volume, thus not increasing the overall vehicle length when not in use.
Solution Approach 2:
The extension mechanism utilizes vertical folding and stacking of floor sections rather than horizontal extension. When extended, the floor sections create additional cargo volume primarily in the vertical and depth dimensions through accordion-like folding, rather than significantly increasing the horizontal length of the vehicle.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex modifications are added to expand cargo bed capacity, then larger cargo can be accommodated, but the system becomes cumbersome and difficult to operate
Solution Approach 1:
The floor assembly is designed with self-servicing characteristics where the floor sections can be manually folded and extended by users without requiring complex control systems, motors, or automated mechanisms. The pivotable and slidable connections allow intuitive manual operation, and the sections can be positioned and locked into place through simple user actions, maintaining ease of operation despite the expandable capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A cargo bed system includes a floor assembly for a cargo bed of a vehicle. The floor assembly is configured to transition back and forth between a standard floor position and an extended floor position. The floor assembly includes a plurality of floor sections each having a cargo support surface. The floor sections are folded when the floor assembly is in the standard floor position. The floor sections are unfolded when the floor assembly is in the extended floor position.