Composite Monocoque EV Flatbed Layout for Low-Floor Utility Space
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems and methods for manufacturing utility and delivery vehicles face various drawbacks and limitations, including inefficient use of space, elevated floors necessitated by internal combustion engines, poor thermal insulation, and increased maintenance complexity due to metallic structures.
Innovation Solution
The development of electric vehicles with a monocoque construction using composite materials, featuring a front cage, rear floor, intermediate section, and utility cabinet, which eliminates the need for an internal chassis and incorporates a flatbed open to the ambient environment, allowing for improved storage capacity and thermal insulation, and simplifies maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional internal combustion engine vehicles are used, then power and propulsion are achieved, but the floor must be elevated and space utilization is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the internal combustion engine from the vehicle design, extracting the power source that previously necessitated elevated floors and complex chassis structures. This extraction enables the floor to be lowered and simplifies the overall vehicle architecture, directly resolving the contradiction between storage capacity and floor height.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the floor structure with the chassis into a unified low-profile design, eliminating the separation between these components that previously required elevated floors. This merging allows the floor to extend lower while maintaining structural integrity, thereby increasing storage capacity without compromising propulsion.
2Temperature
If metallic structures are used for vehicle construction, then structural strength is achieved, but thermal insulation performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials that integrate metallic components for structural strength with insulating materials for thermal performance. This composite approach allows the vehicle structure to simultaneously achieve the required mechanical strength while providing effective thermal insulation, resolving the contradiction between these two properties.
3Reliability
If complex chassis and engine systems are implemented, then propulsion capability is achieved, but maintenance complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the complex mechanical internal combustion engine system with an electric motor system, which has fewer moving parts and requires less maintenance. This substitution maintains propulsion capability while significantly reducing maintenance complexity, directly addressing the contradiction between reliability and ease of repair.
4Volume of moving object
If utility cabinets and storage compartments are added, then storage capacity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the utility cabinets and storage compartments with the vehicle's floor and chassis structure, integrating these storage elements into the existing structural framework rather than adding them as separate components. This integration increases storage capacity while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In certain embodiments, an electric vehicle includes a front cage, a rear floor, an intermediate section, a utility cabinet, and a flatbed. In other embodiments, an electric vehicle includes a front cage, a rear floor, an intermediate section, and a flatbed. In some embodiments, the front cage at least partially defines an operator cabin, the rear floor is positioned rearward of the front cage in a longitudinal direction, and the intermediate section is disposed at least partially between the front cage and the rear floor in the longitudinal direction.