Spring-Biased Struts for Dual-Sided Cargo Box Lid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicular mountable cargo containers with dual-sided opening mechanisms often experience undesirable slamming shut due to closing forces and imbalanced strut actions, leading to twisting or torquing of the lid, which results in mal-performance during opening and closing operations.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a dual-sided opening roof mount cargo box design featuring a pair of spring-biased struts located at opposite end regions, providing an expansively directed force to assist in opening and balancing the lid's weight, while preventing closing forces that could cause twisting, ensuring smooth operation and maintaining a parallel orientation during transitions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If dual-force struts are used to provide opening spring force, then the lid can be opened with assistance, but closing forces cause the lid to slam shut undesirably
Solution Approach 1:
The strut function is divided into two independent components: a two-force strut for structural support and a separate single-force spring strut for providing opening assistance. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function without creating harmful closing forces, as the spring strut is designed to only exert force in the opening direction.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a dual-force strut that provides both opening and closing forces, the invention inverts the approach by using a single-force strut that exclusively provides opening assistance. The spring mechanism is configured to engage only when the lid is being opened, and disengage before closing begins, effectively reversing the traditional approach of bidirectional force application.
2Ease of operation
If two struts are used at each end of the cargo box, then opening force is provided, but imbalanced forces cause twisting or torquing of the box-top
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the force-providing function from the structural strut and places it in a separate spring-biased strut. This allows the original two-force strut to maintain pure structural support without imbalanced forces, while the spring strut provides centralized opening assistance that does not create torquing effects on the box-top.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the structural support function and the opening assistance function into a coordinated system where the two-force strut provides rigid structural support and the single-force spring strut provides flexible opening assistance. This combination allows both functions to be performed simultaneously without the harmful effects of imbalanced forces causing box-top twisting.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution ensures smooth opening and closing of the cargo box by balancing the lid's weight and preventing twisting, enhancing user experience and operational reliability by maintaining a consistent assisting force across the lid's travel range without inducing torque or twist.
Implementation Method 1
A biasing spring is operatively interposed between the two arms
Data Source
AI summary
Arrangement for providing and controlling operation of a dual sided opening roof mount cargo box (10) for a carrying vehicle. A dual sided opening roof mount cargo box (10) is provided and which has a lid portion (30) releasably hinge-connected at two lateral sides to a bottom portion (32) of the cargo box (10) for alternate pivotation at each of the two lateral sides between open and closed configurations. The bottom portion (32) is adapted to be mounted to a carrying vehicle and the lid portion (30) is manufactured from a semi-flexible material sufficiently pliable to permit two opposite end regions thereof to be at different relative distances from the bottom portion (32) of the cargo box (10) during transition between the open and closed configurations. A pair of spring-biased struts (50) are also provided, each operatively interposed between the lid portion (30) and the bottom portion (32) of the cargo box (10), and one each of the pair of spring-biased struts (50) being located at the two opposite end regions of the cargo box. An expansively directed force is imposed on the lid portion (30), utilizing the pair of spring-biased struts (50), across a substantial entirety of travel of the lid portion (30) during operator induced movement from the closed configuration to the open configuration and thereby assisting the operator to smoothly open the cargo box (10).