`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Motor vehicles are almost always operated in the out of doors and are frequently parked there. It
`is therefore very common for their occupants to have wet or muddy feet--if the occupants have
`not just finished an outdoor activity, at least they have had to walk across a possibly wet, snowy
`or muddy surface to access their vehicles. For decades, therefore, vehicle owners have been
`attempting to protect the enclosed interiors of their vehicles (cars, trucks, SUBSSUVs) from
`what they themselves track into them. The conventional solution to this has been to provide a
`vehicle floor mat which may be periodically removed by the owner and cleaned.
`
`Human beings have a tendency to move their feet around, and foot motion is an absolute
`requirement in operating most vehicles. This has caused a problem, in that the occupants of a
`vehicle have a tendency to push around the floor mats with their feet. The floor mats end up not
`being centered on the area protected, or pushed up so as to occlude the gas, brake or clutch
`pedals, or bunched up or folded over--all undesirable conditions. One objective of floor mat
`manufacturers has therefore been to provide a floor mat that will stay put and which will not
`adversely affect vehicle operation.
`
`The foot wells of cars, trucks and SUBSSUVs vary in size in shape from one model of vehicle to
`the next. Floor mat manufacturers have noticed that floor mats which at least approximately
`conform to the shape of the bottom surface of the foot well stay in place better and offer more
`protection. It is also common for such floor mats, where provided for front seat foot wells, to
`have portions which are meant to lie against the fireballsfirewalls or front surfaces of the foot
`wells. Even as so extended it is not too hard to provide a floor mat of flexible material that will
`approximately conform to these two surfaces, as the designer only has to mark a two-
`dimensional periphery of the mat in providing one which will fit reasonably well.
`
`More recently, vehicle floor trays have come onto the market. Most front-seat vehicle foot wells
`are actually three-dimensional concave shapes, typically with complex curved surfaces. Floor
`trays have sidewalls that offer enhanced protection to the surfaces surrounding the vehicle floor,
`as might be needed against wearers with very muddy or snowy shoes. Conventional vehicle floor
`trays try to fit into these three-dimensional cavities, but so far their fit to the surfaces that they
`are supposed to protect has been less than optimum. A conventional vehicle floor tray is typically
`molded of a single-ply rubber or plastic material, exhibits enough stiffness to retain a three-
`dimensional shape, but is also at least somewhat flexible. Fitting such a tray to the complex
`three-dimensional surface of a vehicle foot well has proven to be difficult, and the products
`currently in the marketplace have limited consumer acceptance because of their loose fit inside
`the foot well. There is often, and in many places, a considerable space between the exterior wall
`of these conventional trays and the interior surface of the foot well. This causes the wall to
`noticeably deform when the occupant's foot contacts it. Vehicle owners have a tendency to
`dislike floor trays which rattle, deform, shift and flop about. A need therefore persists for a floor
`tray that will have a more exact fit to the vehicle foot well for which it is provided, that stays in
`place once it is installed, and that provides a more solid and certain feel to the occupants' feet.
`
`Some vehicle floor mats that are now on the market have fluid reservoirs built into them.
`Particularly in cold or wet climates, dirty water has a tendency to be shed onto the floor mat,
`
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`where it persists until it evaporates. If there is enough of it, it will leak off of the floor mat and
`stain the carpeting of the foot well that the mat was meant to protect. These reservoirs typically
`are recessed areas in the mats that provide the mats with an enhanced ability to retain snow-melt
`and the like, until the water evaporates or can be disposed of by the vehicle owner or user. One
`advanced design places treads in the middle of the reservoir, such that the feet of the occupant
`are held above any fluid that the reservoir collects. But including such a reservoir within a floor
`tray that otherwise has an acceptable fit to the surface of a vehicle foot well has not yet been
`done, since there are problems in incorporating a three-dimensional liquid-holding vessel into a
`product that ideally conforms, on its lower surface, to the surface of the foot well. Further, a
`reservoir which collects drip water from a large surface, such as a vehicle floor tray, will exhibit
`more problems in keeping the collected fluid from sloshing about in a moving vehicle.
`
`Conventional vehicle floor mats and trays are molded from a single rubber or plastic material.
`The selection of this material is controlled by its cost, its resistance to shear forces, its tensile
`strength, its abrasion resistance, its ability to conform to the surface of the vehicle foot well, its
`sound-deadening properties and how slippery or non slipperynonslippery it is relative to the
`occupants' feet, with non slipperinessnonslipperiness (having a relatively high coefficient of
`friction) being advantageous. Often the designer must make trade-offtradeoffs among these
`different design constraints in specifying the material from which the tray or mat is to be made.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle floor cover, mat or tray
`which is removably install ableinstallable by a consumer and which is formed of at least three
`layers that are bonded together, preferably by contusioncoextrusion. The three layers include a
`central layer whose composition is distinct from a bottom layer and a top layer. Preferably, all
`three layers are formed of thermoplastic polymer materials. In another aspect of the invention,
`the top layer exhibits a kinetic coefficient of friction with respect to a sample meant to emulate a
`typical shoe outsoldoutsole (neoprene rubber, Shore A Durometer 60) of at least about 0.82.
`
`Preferably, a major portion of the central layer is a polyolefin. More preferably, the polyolefin is
`either a polypropylene or a polyethylene. Most preferably, the polyolefin is high molecular
`weight polyethylene (HMPE) as herein defined. In an alternative embodiment, the central layer
`can be a styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) or an acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS)
`polymer blend.
`
`Preferably, a major portion of the top layer is a thermoplastic elastomer, such as one of the
`thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) of proprietary compositioncompositions sold under the
`trademarks SANTOPRENE.RTM., GEOLAST.RTM. and VYRAM.RTM.. VYRAM .RTM.
`thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) is particularly preferred. In another embodiment, a major
`portion of the top layer can be an ABS polymer blend. Where ABS is used in both the top and
`central layers, it is preferred that the amount of the polybutadiene phase in the top layer be
`greater than the amount of this phase in the central layer.
`
`It is further preferred that a major portion of the bottom layer likewise be a thermoplastic
`elastomer, and conveniently it can be, but does not have to be, of the same composition as the
`
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`major portion of the top layer.
`
`Preferably one or more of the layers is actually a polymer blend, in which a minor portion is
`preselected for its contusioncoextrusion compatibility with the adjacent layer(s). Thus, a minor
`portion of the top and bottom layers can consist of a polyolefin, while a minor portion of the
`central layer can consist of a thermoplastic elastomer. In each case, it is preferred that the minor
`portion be no more than about one part in four by weight of each layer, or a weight ratio of 1:3.
`Where all three layers are preselected to be ABS blends, the amount of polybutadiene preferably
`is decreased in the central layer relative to the top and bottom layers.
`
`While the preferred embodiment of the vehicle floor cover consists of three integral layers, any
`one of the recited layers can in fact be made up of two or more sublayers, such that the total
`number of sublayers in the resultant mat or tray can exceed three.
`
`In another embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer constituent of the top, central and/or bottom
`layers described above can be replaced with a natural or synthetic rubber, including styrene
`butadiene rubber, butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) or ethylene propylene
`rubber (EPDM).
`
`According to a related aspect of the invention, a vehicle floor cover is provided that has three
`layers bonded together, preferably by contusioncoextrusion. Major portions of the top and
`bottom layer consist of thermoplastic elastomer(s). The top and bottom layers have compositions
`distinct from the central layer, which can be chosen for its relatively low expense. It is preferred
`that a major portion of the central layer be a polyolefin and that major portions of the top and
`bottom layers be one or more thermoplastic elastomers. The polyolefin may be selected from the
`group consisting of polypropylene and polyethylene, and preferably is a high molecular weight
`polyethylene (HMPE). The thermoplastic elastomer can, for example, be a thermoplastic
`vulcanizate (TPV) sold under one of the marks SANTOPRENE.RTM., GEOLAST .RTM. or
`VYRAM.RTM., with VYRAM.RTM. TPV being particularly preferred. It is also preferred that
`each of the layers be a polymer blend, with a minor portion of each layer being chosen for its
`contusioncoextrusion compatibility with adjacent layers. For example, the top and bottom layers
`can consist of a 3:1 weight ratio of VYRAM.RTM. TPV/./HMPE, and the central layer of a 3:1
`weight ratio of HMPE/VYRAM.RTM. TPV...
`
`In an embodiment alternative to the one above, the top and bottom layers can consist of ABS
`polymer blends and the central layer can consist of SAN or an ABS in which the polybutadiene
`phase is present in a smaller concentration than in the top and bottom layers.
`
`In yet another embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer recited in this aspect of the invention
`may be replaced with a natural or synthetic rubber, such as styrene butadiene rubber (SBR),
`butadiene rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) or ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM).
`
`In a further aspect of the invention, a vehicle floor tray or mat according to the invention is made
`of three layers, wherein a top layer and a bottom layer have composition(s) distinct from the
`central layer, and wherein at least one of the shear strength per cross-sectional area, tensile
`strength per cross-sectional area and stiffness per cross-sectional area is greater than any one of
`
`
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`the layers from which the tray or mat is composed. It has been found that a triextruded vehicle
`mat or floor tray according to the invention exhibits a tensile strength at yield, a tensile stress at
`break, a tensile modulus, a shear strength and a flexural modulus (stiffness) which are superior to
`either a polyolefin-dominated single extrusion or a thermoplastic elastomer-dominated single
`extrusion. The triextrusion tray demonstrates these enhanced physical properties while at the
`same time affording an enhanced coefficient of friction to the feet of the occupant and improved
`tactile properties. By presenting such a surface to the shoe of the driver or passenger, the footing
`of the driver or passenger will be more sure and comfortable.
`
`In a further aspect of the invention, a vehicle foot well tray is provided as a part of a system that
`has the vehicle foot well as its other main component. The tray has a greatly enhanced
`conformance to the surface of the vehicle foot well for which it is provided. At least two
`upstanding walls of the tray, both extending from the tray floor to a top margin, conform to
`respective surfaces of the vehicle foot well such that at least within that one-third of the area of
`the outer surface of these upstanding walls of the tray which is adjacent the top margin, 90% of
`that top third area departs by no more than about one-eighth of an inch from the foot well
`surfaces to which they mate. These upstanding tray surfaces may be opposed surfaces or adjacent
`surfaces, and preferably are both. In a preferred embodiment, the tray departs from a door sill
`surface of the vehicle foot well, and/or a sill curve of the vehicle foot well, by about 0.025
`inches. The upstanding sidewalls of the floor tray conform to the foot well surfaces which they
`cover, even where such foot well surfaces present both concave and convex surface elements.
`
`In a still further aspect of the invention, a top margin of a vehicle floor tray is substantially
`coplanar on at least two upstanding sidewalls thereof. Preferably, the top margin of the tray is
`substantially coplanar through three or even four continuous upstanding sidewalls. This eases the
`design of the floor tray, increases hoop strength and assures that all upstanding surfaces of the
`vehicle foot well will receive adequate protection from muddy footwear. In a particularly
`preferred embodiment, the plane of the top margin is forwardly and upwardly tilted relative to a
`horizontal floor. This provides enhanced protection to the vehicle foot well precisely in the place
`where muddy footwear are likely to be, near the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals or the
`firewall. In a preferred embodiment, the tray is at least five inches deep at its deepest part.
`
`In a further aspect of the invention, the above mentioned tight tolerances are made possible by a
`novel vehicle floor tray manufacturing method. In a first step according to the invention, points
`on a surface of the vehicle foot well are digitally measured with a coordinate measuring machine
`(CMM). These points are stored in a computer memory. A foot well surface is generated which
`includes these points, preferably by connecting linear groups of the points together by using B-
`splines, and lofting between the B-splines to create areal portions of the foot well surface. Using
`this typically complex three-dimensional, predominately concave surface, which may have
`several concavely and convexly curved portions, a corresponding substantially convex outer
`floor tray surface is built up such that in many regions, the distance between the outer surface of
`the tray and the surface of the foot well is no more than about one eighth of an inch, insuring a
`snug fit.
`
`In one embodiment of the invention, a reservoir is incorporated into the tray floor as a collection
`and evaporation area for drip water from the feet and legs of the occupant. Combination
`
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`baffles/treads are provided in the reservoir to impede lateral movement of the collected fluid.
`Longitudinal and transverse portions of these baffles are joined together. Channels are cut into
`another portion of the central area of the tray to direct fluid to the reservoir, such that the bottom
`of the channels is beneath a general tray floor surface but above the bottom of the reservoir. In a
`preferred driver's side embodiment, the channels are omitted from a portion of the floor tray
`upper surface to leave a blank space where the driver's heel will rest when operating the gas and
`brake pedals.In a preferred driver's side embodiment, the channels are omitted from a portion of
`the floor tray upper surface to leave a blank space where the driver's heel will rest when
`operating the gas and brake pedals.
`
`In a further aspect, a vehicle floor tray has a central panel for placement on the floor of a vehicle
`foot well, and at least first and second upstanding panels, joined to respective longitudinal and
`transverse margins of the central panel, for substantial conformance to side walls of the vehicle
`foot well. The tray is thermoformed from a sheet of polymer material having substantially
`uniform thickness, and this means that the components of the tray after thermoforming will have
`a substantially uniform thickness. A reservoir is formed in the central panel for collection of
`snow melt and other fluid. Multiple treads/baffles are disposed in the reservoir. The
`treads/baffles each have at least two opposed ends and are elongate. Each tread/baffle is hollow
`and has a width, in any horizontal direction, which is more than twice its thickness as measured
`from the top surface thereof to the nearest point on the bottom surface thereof. The treads/baffles
`are adapted to elevate the foot or shoe of the occupant out of the fluid collected by the reservoir.
`At the same time they are adapted to impede lateral movement of the collected fluid within the
`reservoir, as might occur when the vehicle turns, accelerates or brakes. The fluid is forced around
`ends of the treads/baffles in order to reach any remote portion of the reservoir. Since any portion
`of the reservoir is connected to any other portion of it, a large surface area of the reservoir is
`available for the collected fluid to spread out and evaporate.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`Further aspects of the invention and their advantages can be discerned in the following detailed
`description, in which like characters denote like parts and in which:
`
`FIG. 1 is an isometric view of one embodiment of a vehicle floor tray according to the invention;
`
`FIG. 2 is a top view of the floor tray illustrated in FIG. 1;
`
`FIG. 3 is an isometric and transverse sectional view of the floor tray seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the
`section taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;
`
`FIG. 4 is an isometric and longitudinal sectional view of the floor tray shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
`the section taken substantially along line 4-4 of FIG. 2;
`
`FIG. 5 is a side view of the tray illustrated in FIG. 1, taken from the outer side;
`
`FIG. 6 is a highly magnified sectional view of a vehicle floor tray, showing triextruded layers;
`
`
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`FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing steps in a design and manufacturing process
`according to the invention; and
`
`FIG. 8 is an isometric and schematic view of a digitally acquired vehicle foot well floor surface
`from which the illustrated floor tray was made;
`
`FIG. 9 is a partly transverse sectional, partly isometric view of both the floor tray illustrated in
`FIG. 2 and the vehicle foot well surface illustrated in FIG. 8, taken substantially along line 9-9 of
`FIG. 2 and substantially along line 9-9 of FIG. 8;
`
`FIG. 10 is a partly transverse sectional, partly isometric view of both the floor tray illustrated in
`FIG. 2 and the vehicle foot well surface illustrated in FIG. 8, taken substantially along line 10-10
`of FIG. 2 and substantially along line 10-10 of FIG. 8;
`
`FIG. 11 is a detail of a firewall region of FIG. 10;
`
`FIG. 12 is a detail of a seat pedestal region of FIG. 10;
`
`FIG. 13 is a partly longitudinal sectional, partly isometric view of both the floor tray illustrated
`in FIG. 2 and the vehicle foot well surface illustrated in FIG. 8, taken substantially along line 13-
`13 of FIG. 2 and substantially along line 13-13 of FIG. 8; and
`
`FIG. 14 is a detail of a kick plate region of FIG. 13.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`An isometric view of one commercial embodiment is shown in FIG. 1. The illustrated vehicle
`floor tray indicated generally at 100 is preferably molded from a blank, in sheet form, of water-
`impervious thermoplastic polymer material having a uniform thickness, although the present
`invention could be fabricated from another process such as injection molding. The floor tray 100
`is preferably formed of a triextruded thermoplastic material such that the properties of a central
`or core layer can be different than the properties of the external or jacket layers, and such that the
`triextrusion is tougher and stiffer per unit thickness than any of the layers from which it is made,
`as will be described in more detail below.
`
`The vehicle floor tray or cover 100 is meant to protect both the floor and at least the lower sides
`of a vehicle foot well, and thus takes on a much more three-dimensional shape than is typical of
`prior art floor mats. The floor tray 100 includes a floor or central panel 102, which in the
`illustrated embodiment includes a plurality of fore-to-aft or longitudinal parallel straight
`channels 104 that are disposed in a forward region 106 of the floor panel 102. Preferably these
`channels are about an eighth of an inch deep so that they will correctly channel runoff, and can
`be about one-quarter of an inch wide. In FIG. 1, forward is a direction to the upper left, while
`rearward is the direction to the lower right, and the terms are used in conformance with the
`orientation of the vehicle in which the tray is designed to be placed. As used herein,
`"longitudinal" means for-and-aft or along the axis of vehicle travel, while "transverse" means at a
`ninety degree angle to such an axis, or side-to-side.
`
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` rearward or back region 108 of the floor panel 102 is largely occupied by a reservoir 110,
`whose bottom is made up by a substantially planar general surface 112. General surface 112 is
`situated to be below a general surface 114 of the forward region 106. Preferably, the general
`bottom reservoir surface 112 is also below the bottommost points of the respective channels 104,
`as by about one-eighth of an inch, so that fluid in the channels 104 will empty into the reservoir
`110.
`
`The channels 104 are designed to channel liquid runoff from the user's feet or footwear to the
`reservoir 110. In many vehicles, the portion of the vehicle floor (not shown in this Figure; see
`FIGS. 8-11) which underlies the forward region 106 slopes from front to rear, and thus the tray
`100, by simply conforming to the contour of the underlying vehicle floor portion, will channel
`fluid to the reservoir. For those vehicle designs in which the underlying vehicle floor is not
`pitched in this manner, the tray 100 can advantageously be designed to create this fluid flow, as
`by making the material thicker in portion 106 than in portion 108, or by giving the bottoms of
`channels 104 a front-to-rear slope.
`
`The channels 104 occupy most of the forward region 106, although in this and other commercial
`embodiments a space 116 on the forward right hand side has been left open to receive the foot of
`the driver that operates the accelerator and brake pedals. In the illustrated embodiment, this space
`or clear area 116 is a delimited by a 180 degree arc of a circle of about four inch radius (shown
`in dashed line). The clear area 116 is provided so that the relatively deep channels 104 do not
`catch the heel of the driver's shoe. In other embodiments, the clear area 116 can take other shapes
`or positions, so long as the heels of almost all drivers, while operating the brake and accelerator
`pedals of the vehicle for which the particular tray is designed, will rest within its confines.
`
`The reservoir 110 has interspersed within it a plurality of tread surfaces or baffles 118, which
`have two purposes. The first purpose is to elevate the shoe or foot of the occupant above any
`fluid which may have collected in the reservoir 110. The second purpose is to prevent this
`accumulated fluid from sloshing around. To this end, most of the tread surfaces/baffles 118 have
`both fore-to-aft or longitudinal portions 120 and side-to-side or transverse portions 122. This
`prevents large fluid movement in a forward or rearward direction, as would otherwise happen
`during acceleration or braking of the vehicle, and also large fluid movement side-to-side, as
`when the vehicle is turning. Preferably, each or at least most of the fore-to-aft portions 120 are
`joined to respective side-to-side portions. This further compartmentalizes and restricts the
`movement of collected fluid. Fluid in one portion of the reservoir 110 may make its way only
`slowly and through a complicated path to another distant portion of the reservoir 110, through
`channels 124 around the ends of the treads or baffles 118. The reservoir design thus creates a
`large surface area which promotes evaporation of the fluid, while at the same time restricts fluid
`movement prior to such evaporation.
`
`Disposed around the central or floor panel 102 are a series of upstanding side panels, which will
`vary in number and configuration from one vehicle model to the next. In the illustrated
`embodiment these upstanding panels include a back panel 130 that is disposed adjacent the
`bottom of a vehicle front seat, or a vehicle pedestal for receiving same; an inner side panel 132
`that closely fits a transmission tunnel or "hump" in this vehicle; a forward panel 134 that closely
`
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`conforms to a vehicle firewall; and an outer side panel 136. In most embodiments, the outer side
`panel or kick plate panel 136 will only extend from its transition with panel 134 to a corner 138,
`at which point there begins a door sill curve 208 which transitions into a door sill panel 140.
`Unlike the other panels, the sill panel 140 is not generally upstanding but instead conforms to the
`sill of a vehicle door and lies in a substantially horizontal plane. In this way occupant ingress and
`egress is not occluded. In many embodiments, including the illustrated embodiment, the sill
`panel 140 is at an elevation below that of the general surface 114 of the floor forward region 106
`and even below the general surface (bottom) 112 of the reservoir 110. Very large amounts of
`fluid (in excess of the reservoir capacity) may therefore flow right out of the vehicle without
`having the opportunity to damage the vehicle interior. It should be noted that in these
`FIGURESFIGUREs, the lines dividing the panels are conceptual only and do not appear in the
`final part. As will be described in further detail below, the tray 100 preferably is integrally
`molded as a one-piece construction.
`
`In one important aspect of the invention, the tray 100 is closely fitted to the vehicle foot well in
`which it is designed to be placed. Panels 130, 132, 134, 136 and 140 are all formed so as to as
`closely conform to the vehicle surfaces against which they are positioned, to an extent not found
`in prior art vehicle floor trays. In a preferred embodiment, at least throughout the top one-third of
`the areas of these panels that is adjacent a vehicle tray top margin 150, at least ninety percent of
`the points on the outer surface of the peripheral or side panels 130-136 are no more than about
`one-eighth of an inch from the corresponding points on the surfaces that they are formed to mate
`with. This close conformance occurs even where the underlying vehicular surface is complexly
`curved or angled. Certain portions of the vehicle foot well surface, such as kick plate transition
`plate 214, can have both convexly and concavely curved elements. The preferred tolerance of
`door sill curve 208 and sill plate 140 is even tighter, about 0.025 in.
`
`The close conformance of the tray side panels to respective surfaces of the vehicle foot well
`produces a protective tray which will not be horizontally displaced under lateral forces created
`by the occupant's feet, or by the motion of the vehicle. Opposing pairs of the peripheral panels
`"nest" or "cage" the tray 100, preventing its lateral movement. Thus, outer side panel or kick
`plate panel 136, which closely conforms to a vehicle side wall at that position, has as its
`counterpart a portion 142 of the inner side panel 132. Any tendency of the tray 100 to shift
`leftward is stopped by panel 136; any tendency of the tray 100 to shift rightward is stopped by
`panel portion 142. In a similar manner, the upstanding rearward and forward panels 130 and 134
`cooperate to "cage" any forward or rearward motion of the tray 100 within the vehicle foot well.
`
`The close conformance of the outer or lower surfaces of panels 130-136, 218, 140 to their
`respective mating surfaces of the vehicle foot well also increases the frictional force which will
`oppose any lateral movement. The result of this close conformance is to provide a floor tray
`which will not undesirably shift position, and which will provide a steady and sure rest to the feet
`of the occupants.
`
`In most commercial embodiments of the vehicle floor tray 100, the side panels 130-136, 140 will
`not be formed to abruptly extend from the bottom panel 102, but rather will be joined to the
`bottom or central panel 102 through transitions. These transitions may be sloped or curved and
`will have a varying degree of gradualness. According to the invention, the transitions between
`
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`the outer and bottom surfaces of the tray 100 conform wherever possible to underlying surfaces
`of the vehicle foot adjacent these transitions.
`
`In FIG. 2, for example, there is seen a large transition or subpanel 200 which extends from
`forward portion 106. A further subpanel 202 joins transitional subpanel 202 to the forward
`sidewall 134. Inner or transmission tunnel sidewall 132 is joined to the pan 102 through a curved
`transitional fillet 204. The rear upstanding panel 130 is joined to the rear portion of bottom panel
`102 through a small transition 206. A transition or sill curve 208 between the outer sidewall 136
`and the sill panel 140 takes the form of a gradual curved surface.
`
`The present invention also employs (typically) curved transitions between adjacent side panels.
`For example, a curved transition 210 joins the back panel 130 to the inner side panel 132. A
`curved transition 212 joins the transmission tunnel or inner side panel 132 to the front or firewall
`panel 134. A transition 214, which in this embodiment takes the shape of an S-curve and
`conforms to a portion of vehicle wheel well, joins the front panel 134 to the outer side panel 136.
`The close conformance (preferably to a tolerance of about 1/8 in.) wherever possible to the
`transitions of the vehicle foot well surface by the outer surface of the tray 100 enhances a close
`fit.
`
`In the illustrated embodiment, the tray according to the invention has been made by placing a
`sheet of substantially uniformly thick triextruded thermoplastic material into a mold and heating
`the mold. When this process is used, discrete layers having different characteristics can persist
`into the final product, as will be described in more detail below. On the other hand, as using this
`manufacturing process it is difficult to provide the channels and reservoir structure according to
`one aspect of the invention while closely conforming the bottom surface 300 (FIGS. 3 and 4) to a
`mating surface of the vehicle foot well. In this central area, and according to the preferred
`manufacturing process, a departure away from 1/8 in. tolerance must be made in order to obtain
`the above-described benefits of fluid flow and retention. But because the side panels 130-136,
`140 and their associated transitions continue to closely conform to most of the remaining vehicle
`foot well surfaces, the tray 100 continues to be locked in one place.
`
`FIGS. 10-14 superimpose a floor tray 100 on a surface 802 of a vehicle foot well for which the
`tray is designed according to the invention. In the part-isometric, part-longitudinal sectional view
`seen in FIG. 10, It can be seen that on the section taken there is a quite tight conformance of the
`lower surface 300 of the tray 100 to the modeled surface 802 of the vehicle foot well. As best
`seen in FIG. 11, the outer surface of the firewall sidewall 134 stays within one-eighth of an inch
`of the firewall surface 826 for at least three-quarters of the length of surface 826 as measured
`from the top margin 150 of the tray. In areas 1000, 1002 and 1004 (FIG. 10), the modeled
`surface 802 of the vehicle foot well is actually above or to the interior to the tray 100. This
`negative interference is tolerable and in some instances is even desirable because the surface 802
`is that of a vehicle