Telescoping Bed Platform for Variable-Width Vehicle Cargo Spaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional bed platforms for vehicles are typically fixed in length and height, making them difficult to install in vehicles with non-standard cargo spaces, leading to instability and fit issues due to uneven cargo walls, which complicates the installation process.
Innovation Solution
A modular telescoping bed platform with adjustable panels that can expand or retract to fit various widths and heights, using coupling mechanisms like bed rails and tracks to secure the panels to the vehicle's interior, allowing for flexible installation in different vehicle configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional bed platform is installed in a vehicle with non-straight cargo walls, then the platform can be mounted to the walls, but the platform becomes too long or too short to fit the width of the vehicle, causing instability and fit issues
Solution Approach 1:
The bed platform incorporates telescoping panels that can dynamically adjust their length to accommodate different cargo space dimensions. The panels include telescoping sections with movable segments that can extend or retract along the longitudinal axis, allowing the platform to adapt its width to match the vehicle's cargo space while maintaining stable contact with the interior walls without excessive margins
Solution Approach 2:
The platform is divided into multiple modular panels, each with telescoping sections that can independently adjust. This segmentation allows different portions of the platform to be adjusted to fit the specific contours of the cargo space, improving both adaptability to non-straight walls and stability by ensuring proper fit throughout
2Ease of manufacture
If a fixed-length bed platform is used, then the installation process is simpler, but the platform cannot accommodate vehicles with varying cargo space dimensions, leading to fit problems
Solution Approach 1:
The telescoping mechanism allows the platform to be manufactured in a standard configuration while gaining dynamic adjustability for different vehicle sizes. The movable segments can be positioned during installation to match the specific cargo space dimensions, combining the simplicity of standardized manufacturing with the flexibility of custom-fit installation
Solution Approach 2:
The platform's key parameter (length/width) is made variable through the telescoping sections. By changing the extended or retracted state of these sections, the same platform can be adapted to different cargo space dimensions without requiring custom manufacturing for each vehicle type
3Length of moving object
If the bed platform is made height adjustable, then it can accommodate different vertical positions, but the platform becomes too long or too short to fit the width of the vehicle due to non-straight cargo walls
Solution Approach 1:
The platform combines both vertical height adjustability and longitudinal width adjustment through telescoping sections. When the platform is moved up or down vertically, the telescoping panels can simultaneously extend or retract to maintain proper width fit, ensuring the platform remains level and stable at any height position
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping sections act as intermediaries that decouple the vertical positioning from the horizontal fit. This allows the platform to be positioned at different heights while the telescoping mechanism compensates for the non-straight wall geometry, maintaining proper fit and level orientation independently
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a bed platform and system for use in an enclosed or partly enclosed space, such as, a cargo space of a vehicle, such as, a van, camper, or truck, among others. By one approach, the bed platform consists of interleaved portions of panel portions that permit relative lateral motion of the panels. In some configurations, the panel portions are adjustable such that the bed platform can be fit into differently sized vehicle cargo spaces. In addition, the systems described herein also may permit the bed platform to be adjusted or moved to different heights even though the wall configurations may be different along the height thereof.