Retractable Floor Anchor Rail for Load Securing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing load securing systems for floors, such as trailers or utility floors, are difficult to install and remove, often leaving anchoring members in place, reducing available floor space and risking damage to loads during handling.
Innovation Solution
A securing system featuring an anchoring rail with a housing and a rider that allows the anchoring member to move between deployed and retracted positions, enabling easy installation and removal without obstructing the floor space, and incorporating latching means for secure attachment and detachment of tie-down straps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If anchoring members are fixed in place on the floor, then load securing reliability is improved, but floor space availability deteriorates and damage risk to loads increases
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring member is designed to be movable between a retracted position (stored within the rail housing) and a deployed position (extending from the rail to secure loads). This dynamic capability allows the system to provide reliable load securing when needed while maintaining full floor space availability when not in use, thereby resolving the contradiction between securing reliability and floor space availability
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring member is nested within the rail housing when in the retracted position, with the housing providing a receptacle that fully contains the anchoring member. This nesting arrangement eliminates the anchoring member's occupation of floor space during storage while preserving its functionality when deployed to secure loads
2Stability of the object's composition
If anchoring members are fixed in place, then load securing stability is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in installation and removal
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring member transitions from a static fixed position to a dynamic movable system that can be easily deployed and retracted. The movable design, guided by rails and housed in a receptacle, enables simple operational movements that maintain load securing stability when deployed while dramatically improving ease of installation and removal
Solution Approach 2:
The rail system and housing act as intermediary structures that guide and constrain the anchoring member's movement. These intermediaries provide a controlled path for deployment and retraction, enabling easy operation while maintaining stable load securing through proper alignment and positioning mechanisms
3Strength
If anchoring members remain in place, then structural integrity is maintained, but harm to loads increases due to obstruction and damage risk
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring member's ability to move between deployed and retracted positions eliminates the persistent obstruction problem. When not actively securing loads, the member is retracted into the housing, removing the source of potential damage to loads during handling and loading operations, while maintaining structural integrity through its supported movement along guided rails
Solution Approach 2:
The anchoring member is extracted from its traditional fixed position on the floor and relocated to a movable system mounted on the rail. This extraction removes the anchoring member from direct contact with the load path during loading operations, eliminating the harmful obstruction and damage risk while preserving the structural integrity function when deployed
Data Source
Figure 1A~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
A system for securing a load on a floor comprising: - an anchor rail (32) intended to be connected to an edge of the floor and having a housing (33) opening through an opening extending in one of the faces of the rail perpendicular (YZ) to the longitudinal direction (X) of the floor (4) and being delimited by two edges of said face, - an anchoring and securing device (1) comprising a strap securing portion (12) and an anchoring portion (11) to the floor (4). The securing system further comprises a bracket (2) adapted to be mounted on the opening of the rail (32) by closing said opening and is shaped to receive the anchoring portion (11) of the anchoring and securing device (1), when the device (1) is in a deployed position. The housing (33) and the anchoring and securing device (1) are shaped to allow the adoption by said device (1) of a retracted position.