Rear-Engine Car Layout With Bottom Access and No Hood
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing car designs with internal combustion engines face challenges in providing ideal access to the engine while maintaining structural integrity and minimizing mass, particularly when the engine is located in a central or rear position, leading to increased structural weakening and mass due to the need for additional support elements.
Innovation Solution
A car design with a hybrid propulsion system featuring a centrally or rearward-mounted internal combustion engine, utilizing a unique layout with hydrogen tanks and a reversed cylinder-head configuration, along with a compressor and turbine assembly, which allows access from the bottom and reduces structural mass by eliminating the need for a traditional hood.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a traditional hood is used to cover the engine compartment, then the engine is protected, but access to the engine is limited and structural stiffness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional hood design by making the engine cover removable from below rather than opening from the top. This allows operators to access the engine by removing panels from the bottom of the vehicle, eliminating the need for a traditional top-opening hood while maintaining engine protection when installed.
Solution Approach 2:
The engine cover is divided into multiple removable panels that can be selectively removed to access different parts of the engine. This segmentation allows for targeted access to specific engine components without removing the entire cover, balancing protection with maintenance accessibility.
2Ease of operation
If a large hole is created in the body for engine access, then engine accessibility is improved, but structural integrity is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of creating large openings in the top of the body for hood access, the patent provides engine access through removable panels in the bottom of the body. This inversion allows engine accessibility while maintaining the continuity and structural integrity of the upper body structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The body structure maintains full integrity in critical areas while incorporating localized removable panels only where needed for engine access. This ensures that the overall structural strength is preserved while providing necessary access points.
3Strength
If additional structural elements are added to compensate for body weakening, then structural stiffness is maintained, but vehicle mass increases
Solution Approach 1:
By moving the access openings to the bottom of the body rather than the top, the patent eliminates the need for additional structural reinforcement that would be required if large hood openings were present. The bottom structure naturally provides adequate support without requiring extra elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A car having: two front wheels; two rear wheels; an internal combustion engine, which is provided with a plurality of cylinders, where respective pistons slide on the inside, and with a crankshaft connected to the pistons; an engine compartment, where the internal combustion engine is arranged; and a bottom, which is the lowest part of the car and, in use, faces a road surface on which the car moves. The body has no openable hood allowing access to the engine compartment.