Folding Tonneau Cover Hinge Enclosure Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing tonneau cover systems for pickup trucks face limitations in ease of attachment, durability, and flexibility, particularly in securing panels and maintaining a watertight seal, which can lead to damage from debris and weather exposure.
Innovation Solution
A tonneau cover apparatus featuring a support frame assembly with a cover assembly composed of rigid panels and flexible hinges, where the panels are secured by elongated support members with flanges that form a partial enclosure to retain the hinge components, ensuring secure attachment and flexibility for easy folding and unfolding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If rigid panels are used for the cover assembly, then durability and protection against debris are improved, but flexibility and ease of folding are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The cover assembly is divided into multiple rigid panels that are separated and connected by flexible hinges, allowing each panel to be independently positioned while maintaining overall structural strength
Solution Approach 2:
Rigid panels are combined with flexible hinge elements to create a hybrid structure that exhibits both the strength of rigid materials and the flexibility needed for folding operations
2Ease of manufacture
If flexible hinge components are exposed, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability and protection against water/debris intrusion are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible hinge is nested within a recessed area formed by the flange and panel underside, creating a protected chamber that shields the hinge from external elements while maintaining manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The flange structure acts as an intermediary element that both supports the flexible hinge and provides a sealing barrier against water and debris intrusion
3Reliability
If support members with flanges are used to secure hinges, then reliability and secure attachment are improved, but device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The flange structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support for the hinge, creates a recessed protective chamber, and forms a sealing barrier, thereby improving reliability without proportionally increasing complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A folding tonneau cover apparatus including a cover assembly and a support frame assembly. The cover assembly having a plurality of rigid panels interconnected in series by a series of flexible hinges. Elongated support members having hinge support flanges help to secure the flexible hinges to the rigid panels. In preferred embodiments, the support flanges of the elongated support members cooperate with the underside of the respective rigid panels to which the support members are secured, to form a partial enclosure within which a side portion of the respective flexible hinge is secured. The cover assembly is secured to the support frame assembly to cover a cargo box of a pickup truck by a plurality of locking members when the support frame assembly is secured to sidewalls of the cargo box. Methods of making a tonneau cover apparatus and methods of folding and unfolding the cover assembly are also disclosed.