Pivotable Front Load Floor Element for Flat Cargo Surface
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Solution Overview
Problem
In passenger vehicles, the load floor arrangement often features a kinked surface when the rear seat backrest is inclined, leading to instability and risk of cargo damage or shifting during transport due to the uneven transition from the floor panel to the backrest, especially when carrying long or heavy items.
Innovation Solution
A load floor arrangement where the front load floor element is pivotable about a floor element pivot axis, allowing it to adjust between a contact position and a pivoted position with reduced inclination relative to horizontal, ensuring a flat and continuous surface when the backrest is inclined, thereby supporting cargo securely and preventing shifting or damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the backrest is folded down to expand load space, then the load space volume is increased, but the load floor surface becomes kinked and non-flat
Solution Approach 1:
The load floor is divided into two independent segments: a rear load floor element and a front load floor element. The rear element remains fixed while the front element can pivot independently. This segmentation allows each element to maintain its own orientation, enabling the front element to be adjusted to a horizontal position while the backrest is folded down, thus preserving load floor flatness while maintaining expanded load space volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The front load floor element is made dynamically adjustable through a pivot mechanism connected to the backrest. This allows the front element to change its angle relative to the horizontal plane based on the backrest position. When the backrest is folded down, the front element can be pivoted to maintain a horizontal load floor surface, resolving the contradiction between expanded volume and maintained flatness.
2Ease of operation
If the backrest is inclined forwards, then the load space is accessible and usable, but the transition region from floor panel to backrest creates an uneven surface
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the load floor into rear and front elements with independent positioning capabilities, the system can maintain surface continuity in the transition region while the backrest remains in its inclined position for easy load space access.
Solution Approach 2:
The front load floor element is specifically designed to be adjustable in the transition region between the fixed rear floor and the movable backrest. This local adjustability ensures that the critical transition area maintains a flat, continuous surface, while the rest of the load floor can accommodate the inclined backrest position for accessibility.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a removable floor panel is used to provide additional stowage space, then the load space flexibility is improved, but the structural complexity of the load floor arrangement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The front load floor element serves multiple functions: it forms part of the load floor surface, acts as a structural support, and provides the pivot mechanism for adjustment. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby maintaining load space flexibility while minimizing the increase in structural complexity compared to a fully removable floor panel system.
Data Source
AI summary
A load floor arrangement for a motor vehicle is provided. The arrangement has a rear load floor element which, in a floor position, forms a floor portion of a load space. The load floor arrangement has a front load floor element which is connected to a backrest of a vehicle seat so as to be pivotable about a floor element pivot axis extending in the vehicle transverse direction, whereby it is adjustable between a contact position and at least one pivoted position in which its inclination relative to the horizontal is reduced compared to the contact position, when the backrest is inclined forwards in an inclined position about a backrest pivot axis.