Vehicle Floor Pan Shield with Impact Energy Distribution
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional devices for covering vehicle floor pans lack the mechanical loading capacity to withstand localized impact stresses, such as those encountered during a car crash when supporting a rear-facing baby seat, leading to deformation and failure to meet safety requirements.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a shield element made of plastic material combined with a carrier element containing hard foam, which absorbs and distributes impact energy, ensuring the carrier element is protected from direct impact and maintaining mechanical stability, while also enhancing sound insulation through a mass-spring vibration decoupling system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional devices are used for covering the floor pan, then the device is light-weight and cost-efficient, but the device lacks the mechanical loading capacity to withstand localized impact stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The device combines a shield element made of plastic material with a carrier element containing hard foam material. This composite structure allows the shield element to withstand localized impact stresses while the foam carrier provides lightweight support and energy distribution, resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The shield element is strategically positioned at locations subject to localized impact stresses (such as where baby seat stands contact the floor). This localized reinforcement provides high strength where needed while keeping the rest of the device lightweight, addressing the strength-weight trade-off.
2Reliability
If the device is designed to withstand extreme impact forces, then the mechanical stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By using a composite of plastic shield element and foam carrier element, the device achieves high reliability for withstanding impact forces without requiring complex structural designs. The materials themselves provide the necessary strength and energy absorption capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The hard foam carrier element is pre-configured to distribute impact energy across a larger area before it reaches structural components. This beforehand cushioning effect protects the device structure from extreme forces without adding complex reinforcement elements.
3Strength
If the shield element absorbs impact energy through deformation, then the impact resistance is improved, but the device mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shield element is designed with specific material parameters (plastic material with controlled deformation characteristics) that allow it to absorb impact energy through limited deformation. The foam carrier element's density and structure are also optimized to provide adequate support while minimizing mass, balancing impact resistance with weight constraints.
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 device effectively withstands impact loads up to 900 deca-Newtons, maintaining structural integrity and supporting the backrest of a baby seat during crashes, while also improving sound insulation properties.
Implementation Method 1
the shield element is configured for accepting, absorbing and distributing the energy of a localized impact stress, which is applied on the device from above against the shield element
Implementation Method 2
The shield element absorbs a part of the impact energy, e.g. by being configured to deform by a limited amount under a predetermined maximum impact load
Implementation Method 3
the shield element distributes the localized impact load, originating from a smaller impact area, to a larger support area at the carrier element
Implementation Method 4
such a shield element may additionally contribute to the mass of a vibration decoupling system, which is configured as a mass-spring system
Implementation Method 5
the shield element thereby improving the sound insulating properties of the device
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~6
Figure 7a~12b
AI summary
The present invention is directed to a device for at least partially covering a vehicle floor pan of a motor vehicle, comprises a carrier element made at least by a hard foam material, a vibration decoupling element made at least by a soft foam material, a surface layer to visually cover the device from the top, wherein the device has a shield element, which is made at least by a plastic material and is configured for accepting, absorbing and distributing the energy of a localized impact stress, which is applied on the device from above against the shield element. The present invention is also directed to a method for producing the device.