Automated Self-Loading Cargo Carrier with Tilting Enclosure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing cargo carriers for vehicles require users to manually lift cargo onto elevated platforms, which is physically demanding and limits the weight and type of items that can be stored, and often occupy less than 50% of the vehicle roof's area, making them inefficient and difficult to access.
Innovation Solution
An automated self-loading cargo carrier with a motorized mechanism and actuators that tilts the enclosure and deploys a tray, allowing remote control operation, maximizing storage space and reducing user effort by lowering the tray to a manageable height for loading and unloading.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If cargo carriers are mounted on the vehicle roof to maximize storage space, then storage capacity is improved, but users must manually lift cargo to high positions which increases operational difficulty and limits cargo weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical lifting system with an automated motorized lifting mechanism. The motorized elevator automatically transports cargo from the ground to the roof-mounted storage container, eliminating the need for users to manually lift heavy items to high positions while maintaining maximum roof storage capacity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a motorized elevator as an intermediary device between the ground and the roof-mounted storage container. This intermediary mechanism facilitates cargo transfer by automatically lifting items to the storage container, resolving the contradiction between high storage position and easy loading operation
2Volume of moving object
If cargo carriers are mounted on the vehicle roof to utilize full roof area, then storage volume is maximized, but access to cargo becomes difficult without ladders
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual ladder-based access system with an automated motorized elevator. The elevator mechanism provides automated vertical transport to and from the roof-mounted storage container, eliminating the need for ladders while maintaining maximum utilization of roof storage volume
Solution Approach 2:
The motorized elevator system enables self-service cargo loading and unloading by automatically handling the vertical transport of items. Users simply place cargo on the elevator platform at ground level, and the system autonomously transports it to the storage container on the roof, making the system accessible without requiring ladders or manual lifting to high positions
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 1E~1F
AI summary
The invention involves a cargo carrier for vehicles that facilitates loading and unloading of items onto an enclosure; the cargo carrier may be automated and self-loading via actuators and a motorized mechanism that may be remotely controlled. The actuators may be configured to tilt the enclosure and one or more motors may be configured to deploy a deployable tray housed within the enclosure, which minimizes user loading or unloading labor. Typically, on a front end of the enclosure, one or more actuators may couple the enclosure to a front portion of a vehicle support structure. On a rear end of the enclosure, one or more rear fittings may be configured to tiltably couple the enclosure to a rear portion of the vehicle support structure. The deployable tray may include a conveyor mechanism to further facilitate loading or unloading.