Alternative Fuel Container Support Bracket Assembly
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current alternative fuel systems for vehicles lack a robust and adaptable support structure that can securely house and protect containers for various fuel types, such as compressed natural gas, across different vehicle configurations and orientations.
Innovation Solution
A support system comprising bracket assemblies with coupling members and curved members that attach to the vehicle chassis, a housing that encases the container and its mounts, and a truss assembly for structural integrity, allowing for secure positioning and protection of containers regardless of orientation or pressure changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a support structure is designed to securely house and protect alternative fuel containers, then the reliability and safety of fuel storage is improved, but the device complexity and structural requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into multiple functional components: bracket assemblies for mounting, housings for protection, truss assemblies for structural integrity, and neck mounts for container attachment. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while maintaining overall system reliability without excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket assemblies and housing structures are designed to accommodate multiple container orientations and configurations. The same basic support structure can secure containers in various positions (horizontal, vertical, angled) and adapt to different vehicle types, reducing the need for multiple specialized structures while maintaining safety.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the support structure is made adaptable to different vehicle configurations and orientations, then the versatility is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket assemblies incorporate universal mounting features that can attach to various vehicle chassis configurations. The housing and truss assembly design allows the same structure to support containers in multiple orientations (horizontal, vertical, angled) without requiring vehicle-specific redesign, achieving versatility through standardized adaptable components.
Solution Approach 2:
The support structure incorporates movable and adjustable elements within the bracket assemblies and mounting mechanisms, allowing dynamic adaptation to different vehicle configurations and container orientations while maintaining structural integrity through controlled flexibility rather than complex rigid redesigns.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the housing encases the container to provide protection, then the safety and protection are improved, but the volume and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed to tightly encase the fuel container with minimal clearance, nesting the container within the protective housing structure. This nested configuration provides maximum protection while minimizing the overall volume occupied by the housing-container assembly, optimizing space efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than providing uniform thick-walled protection throughout the entire housing, the design applies enhanced protective features (reinforcement plates, truss assemblies) only at critical locations where impact or damage is most likely to occur, such as mounting points and container ends, reducing overall housing volume while maintaining safety.
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 system provides secure, adaptable, and protective support for alternative fuel containers across various vehicle configurations and orientations, ensuring safe storage and delivery of fuels like compressed natural gas, while accommodating thermal and pressure changes.
Implementation Method 1
a threaded male portion on the first end that is coupled to a female portion on a first neck mount, wherein the threaded male portion mates with the female portion
Implementation Method 2
the second end inserted into a second neck mount to enable movement based on a pressure change or a temperature change
Implementation Method 3
the second end inserted into a second neck mount to enable movement based on a pressure change or a temperature change
Implementation Method 4
a truss assembly coupled to a front side of the first inner plate
Implementation Method 5
one or more bracket assemblies that is configured to support a container within a housing, the bracket assembly includes a coupling member that couples to a chassis of a vehicle and a curved member that supports a portion of the housing
Data Source
AI summary
A support system is provided for a vehicle. The support system can include one or more bracket assemblies in which each includes a coupling member and a curved member in which the coupling member is affixed to a structure of the vehicle. A housing can be supported by the one or more bracket assemblies in which the housing encloses a container that stores a material such that the housing protects the container and the material. The support system provides movement between a length of the container so as to reduce deterioration of the support system.