Reversible Load Floor with Spare Tire Container
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Cargo compartments in vehicles face challenges in securely storing items, particularly liquids, as they can shift and spill during travel, causing damage to the load floor due to the lack of effective organization and containment solutions.
Innovation Solution
A reversible load floor with a container that fits over the spare tire, allowing for two positions: one where the container is over the tire and another where it extends vertically into the compartment, providing secure storage and containment for items that may spill or stain, with the container's diameter being larger than the tire to facilitate easy removal and repositioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional flat load floor is used in the cargo compartment, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but items especially liquids cannot be securely stored and may shift and spill during travel
Solution Approach 1:
The load floor is segmented into a reversible design with two distinct sides: a first flat side for general cargo storage and a second side featuring a vertical container structure for secure liquid/item storage. This segmentation allows the load floor to provide different storage functionalities depending on which side is facing upward, thereby improving reliability for storing various types of cargo without requiring multiple separate components.
Solution Approach 2:
The load floor incorporates a reversible mechanism that allows it to be flipped between two orientations. When the second side with the vertical container is facing upward, items are securely contained; when flipped to show the first flat side, it provides a smooth storage surface. This dynamic reversibility enables the single load floor structure to adapt to different storage needs, improving reliability while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Ease of operation
If the container diameter is made larger than the spare tire diameter to facilitate easy removal and repositioning, then the ease of operation is improved, but the space utilization in the cargo compartment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The container on the second side of the load floor extends vertically from the load floor surface rather than spreading horizontally. This vertical dimensionality allows the container to provide secure storage volume without significantly increasing the horizontal footprint in the cargo compartment. The vertical extension enables easy removal and repositioning of the entire load floor assembly while minimizing space utilization concerns.
Data Source
AI summary
A reversible load floor for a vehicle includes a first side defining a planar surface. The reversible load floor also includes a second side disposed opposite of the first side. The second side includes a container, which extends from the second side along a vertical axis at a center of a spare tire such that, in a first position, the first side is accessible via a cargo compartment and the container is disposed over the spare tire, and, in a second position, the first side extends across a top of the spare tire and the container is accessible via the cargo compartment.