Sandwich Panel Channel for Adjustable Cargo Tracks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cargo transportation systems face issues with heavyweight, complex, and labor-intensive construction methods that lead to increased fuel consumption, reduced cargo capacity, snagging concerns, water leakage, and high manufacturing costs due to the use of traditional panels and attachment methods.
Innovation Solution
A cargo transportation system utilizing sandwich panels with alternating peaks and valleys core sheets and a continuously slotted channel, secured with threaded fasteners that allow for adjustable logistics tracks without rivets or hole piercing, providing a lightweight, strong, and aesthetically improved solution with flush-mounted tracks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If traditional panels with foam filling and riveted tracks are used, then structural strength is achieved, but weight increases and cargo capacity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses sandwich panels composed of two face sheets bonded to a corrugated core, creating a composite structure that achieves high strength-to-weight ratio. The corrugated core provides structural rigidity while using minimal material, eliminating the need for heavy foam filling while maintaining panel strength.
2Reliability
If traditional riveted track attachment is used, then track fixation is achieved, but water leakage occurs through rivet holes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the rivets and piercing holes from the attachment system entirely. Instead of drilling holes through panels to attach tracks, the system uses surface-mounted channels with recessed track reception, eliminating the source of water leakage while maintaining secure track fixation.
Solution Approach 2:
The track is nested within a recess in the channel, which itself is embedded in the sandwich panel. This nested configuration allows the track to be securely held without penetrating the panel surface, preventing water infiltration through the attachment points.
3Ease of operation
If protruding tracks and posts are used, then cargo securing function is achieved, but cargo snagging occurs during loading and unloading
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a localized recess in the channel that accommodates the track, allowing the track to be flush with or recessed below the panel surface. This localized modification eliminates protruding elements that would snag cargo while maintaining the cargo securing function at the specific interaction points.
4Adaptability or versatility
If adjustable track positions are implemented, then versatility is improved, but device complexity increases with multiple attachment points
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous adjustability along the channel length through a slot in the channel that accepts the track. This dynamic configuration allows the track to be positioned anywhere along the slot rather than at fixed discrete points, providing versatility without requiring multiple separate attachment mechanisms.
Data Source
AI summary
A cargo transportation system includes a sandwich panel and a channel. In another aspect, a cargo-securing or logistics track, or tie-down slat, is attached to a continuously slotted channel which is secured within a sandwich panel of a cargo container, which employs at least one core sheet including alternating peaks and valleys therein in addition to attached interior and exterior face sheets. Yet another aspect of a cargo transportation system includes an interior face sheet flange of a sandwich panel overlapping a flush mounted lateral segment of a slotted channel.