Liquid-Tight Floor Tray for Sliding Step Water Drainage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing boarding aids in vehicles, such as trains and buses, are prone to water ingress due to manual sealing procedures which are cumbersome and prone to malfunctions, leading to contamination and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A liquid-tight floor tray assembly comprising a base plate and side walls forming a U-shape, designed to accommodate the boarding aid, which collects and drains liquids away from the vehicle, ensuring a sealed connection with the vehicle.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual sealing procedures are used to seal the access aid, then the sealing can be performed, but the procedure is cumbersome and prone to malfunctions
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is extracted from the complex manual procedure and integrated into a pre-assembled floor tray unit. The floor tray comes with sealing already incorporated into its structure, eliminating the need for separate manual sealing operations and reducing procedural complexity while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing is performed in advance during the manufacturing of the floor tray, before installation in the vehicle. The floor tray is delivered as a pre-sealed unit, ensuring consistent sealing quality without requiring cumbersome on-site manual sealing procedures.
2Reliability
If manual sealing procedures are used to seal the access aid, then the sealing can be performed, but it is prone to malfunctions leading to water ingress
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing is completed during floor tray manufacturing before delivery to the vehicle assembly site. This preliminary sealing action ensures consistent quality control and eliminates time-consuming on-site manual sealing operations, reducing both installation time and potential sealing failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor tray is designed as a self-contained unit with integrated sealing that requires no additional manual sealing operations during installation. The sealing is inherently part of the floor tray structure, making the installation process simpler and more reliable.
3Reliability
If the floor tray is sealed to the vehicle after installation, then liquid-tight sealing is achieved, but the installation process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is extracted from the installation process and integrated into the floor tray structure itself. The floor tray arrives at the installation site already sealed, eliminating the need for additional sealing operations during vehicle assembly, thus reducing installation complexity while maintaining liquid-tight sealing.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor tray is designed as a self-contained, pre-sealed unit that installs without requiring additional sealing operations. The sealing is inherently built into the floor tray structure, making the installation process simpler while ensuring liquid-tight performance.
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
Prevents water and dirt from entering the vehicle by collecting and draining liquids externally, eliminating the need for manual sealing and reducing installation errors.
Implementation Method 1
liquids which drip from the sliding step due to gravity are collected in the floor tray
Implementation Method 2
the floor tray is designed to drain the liquids collected by it into an external environment of the vehicle
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to a floor tray (21) for a boarding aid (25), in particular a sliding step, of a vehicle (31). It is characterized in that the floor tray (21) has a base plate (22) and at least three side walls (23) arranged perpendicular to the base plate (22) and connected to each other in a U-shape, wherein the base plate (22) and the side walls (23) are connected to each other in a liquid-tight manner, and the floor tray (21) is designed to accommodate the boarding aid (25) between two opposing side walls (23) and on the base plate (22).