Segmented Equipment Box for Vehicle Spare-Well Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
Equipment boxes in spare-wheel wells of motor vehicles are difficult to remove due to their large and heavy design, which fills the space completely and limits the use of the area for other storage purposes.
Innovation Solution
A two-part equipment box with a main body and a cover that can be attached in different positions, allowing it to support the loading area in a cross shape for enhanced support and storage, while also being easily removable and compact for storage elsewhere.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the equipment box is designed to fill the spare-wheel well completely for sufficient support, then the loading area support is improved, but the ease of removal and storage flexibility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The equipment box is divided into two separate parts: a main body and a cover. The main body remains in the spare-wheel well to provide structural support for the loading area, while the cover can be easily removed and used separately. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining support functionality while enabling easy removal of the cover portion.
2Volume of moving object
If the equipment box is designed to fit exactly in the spare-wheel well, then the space utilization is improved, but the adaptability for other uses deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the equipment box into a main body and a removable cover, the design allows the main body to occupy the spare-wheel well space efficiently while the cover can be used independently for additional storage purposes, thereby increasing overall adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover is designed to serve multiple functions: it closes the equipment box when attached, and can be removed to provide additional open storage space. This multi-functionality resolves the contradiction between exact fitting and adaptability for other uses.
3Volume of moving object
If the equipment box is designed as a compact single unit, then the ease of storage is improved, but the functional versatility deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The equipment box is segmented into a main body and a cover that can be separated. When attached, they form a compact unit for easy storage; when separated, they provide different functional configurations (closed box or open storage), thereby achieving both compactness and functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover can dynamically switch between being attached to form a compact closed box and being detached to provide open storage access. This dynamic capability allows the same components to provide different functional states, resolving the contradiction between compactness and versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
An equipment box, that may be stowed in the spare-wheel well of a motor vehicle, has a main body and a cover that can be attached thereto. The main body is formed for items of equipment to be received by a housing with at least one access opening. The cover can be attached to the main body in a supporting position and in a closing position, in which the cover in each case covers different regions of the main body. The cover in these two positions lies in the same plane, turned by an angle α, and the cover in the closing position covers the entire main body, while in the supporting position it only covers a middle region of the main body and protrudes beyond the main body on opposite sides.