USOO7316847B2
`
`(12)
`
`United States Patent
`MacNeil
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,316,847 B2
`Jan. 8, 2008
`
`(54) VEHICLE FLOOR TRAY
`(76) Inventor: David F. MacNeil, 205 E. Sixth St.,
`Hinsdale, IL (US) 60521
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 37 days.
`
`(*) Notice:
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 10/976,441
`(22) Filed:
`Oct. 29, 2004
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2006/009 1694 A1
`
`May 4, 2006
`
`(51) Int. C.
`(2006.01)
`B32B 27/08
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....................................... 428/515; 428/517
`(58) Field of Classification Search ................ 428/515,
`428/517,522
`See application file for complete search history.
`References Cited
`
`(56)
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`4,101,702 A * 7/1978 Churchill et al. ........... 428,213
`4,591,532 A
`5, 1986 Tanaka
`4,693,507 A
`9, 1987 Dresen et al.
`5,082,742 A
`1, 1992 Padwa ........................ 428,515
`D377,780 S
`2, 1997 MacNeil
`5,848,769 A * 12/1998 Fronek et al. .............. 244,200
`6,027,782 A
`2/2000 Sherman
`6,155,629 A 12/2000 Sherman
`6,431,629 B1* 8/2002 Emery ....................... 296/.39.2
`6,953,545 B1
`10/2005 Tyler
`
`
`
`EP
`
`2004/0048036 A1* 3/2004 Nakasuji et al. .............. 428,95
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`O 968 875 A1
`1, 2000
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`http://www.santoprene.com/site/Resource Library/Product
`Technical Document/378/TCD00303.pdf, Santoprene 8000 Ther
`moplastic Vulcanizate Series General Product Information, Techni
`cal Correspondence TCD00303, ExxonMobile Corporation, 2003.*
`http://www.mrwinterscience.wiley.com/emrw/0471440264/epstar
`ticle/pst064/current/html?hd=All.coextrusion, Encyclopedia of
`Polymer Science and Technology, Coextrusion Standard Article,
`Joseph Dooley and Harvey Tung, Oct. 22, 2001.*
`http://www.machinedesign.com/BDE/materials/bdemat4/rvmat3e.
`html. Thermoplastic Elastomers, accessed Jun. 15, 2007.*
`Husky Liner for 1999 Ford Super Duty, downloaded from http://
`www.huskyliners.com/superduty.html on Jan. 3, 2005.
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner Carol Chaney
`Assistant Examiner Elizabeth Robinson
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm Momkus McCluskey, LLC;
`Jefferson Perkins
`
`(57)
`ABSTRACT
`A vehicle floor tray is molded from a multiple extrusion
`polymer sheet Such that it has high shear and tensile
`strength, an acceptable degree of stiffness and a high coef
`ficient of friction on its upper surface. The floor tray design
`is digitally fitted to a foot well of a particular vehicle such
`that large areas of at least two upstanding walls of the tray
`depart from respective surfaces of the foot well by no more
`than an eighth of an inch.
`
`42 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
`
`MacNeil Exhibit 2047
`Yita v. MacNeil IP, IPR2020-01139
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`US 7,316,847 B2
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Autoform Trunk Liner, English web page, downloaded from http://
`www.autoform.se/eng/products trunk liners.htm on Oct. 20.
`2004.
`“Installation Instructions For Your F-150/F-250 Ford Truck Front
`Floor Liners', Winfield Consumer Products, Feb. 1, 2001, down
`loaded from http://www.huskyliners.com on Jan. 3, 2005.
`Husky Deep Tray Floor Liner, downloaded from http://www.
`truckstuffusa.com/cusfitdeeptr.html on Jan. 3, 2005.
`Web pages featuring products from 3D Carpet Liners,
`Weatherboots, Nifty Products, Inc. and Husky, downloaded from
`http://www.premiermotoring.net on Aug. 11, 2004.
`WeatherTech Floor Mat and Cargo Liner Product Sheets, MacNeil
`Automotive Products Limited, Downers Grove, IL, Nov. 1994.4 pp.
`Faro Laser ScanArm, downloaded from http://www.faro.com/Prod
`ucts/Scan Arm.asp on Sep. 23, 2004.
`Faro Scan Arm Product Techsheet, downloaded from http://www.
`faro.com/Products/Product Techsheet.asp?techsheet id=106 on
`Oct. 11, 2004.
`
`“CMM Produces Bikes With Custom-Look', downloaded from
`http://manufacturingcenter.com/man/articles/0604/0604CMM.asp
`on Oct. 11, 2004.
`"Stereolithography (SLA) for Rapid Precision Prototypes', p. 1,
`downloaded from http://www.boedeker.com/sla.htm on Oct. 12,
`2004.
`“About Coordinate Measuring Machines (CMM), downloaded
`from http://cmm...globalspec.com on Oct. 11, 2004.
`"Bagagerumsmattor', downloaded from http://www.autoform.se/
`Sv/produkter bagagerumsmattor.htm on Oct. 20, 2004.
`STRICTLY Catalog for Explorer/Mountaineer/Expedition/Naviga
`tor, MacNeil Automotive Products Limited, Downers Grove, IL,
`1999, pp. 1-2 and 4-7.
`British Patent Office, Search Report of GB Applin. No. GB0522091.
`8, Feb. 14, 2006.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`MacNeil Exhibit 2047
`Yita v. MacNeil IP, IPR2020-01139
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`600 N 77 777 777 777 a N 604-1Z Z / / / / / / / / / 2
`
`c
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`CMM VEHICLE FOO WELL
`PONTAOUISITION
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`SPLINES
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`VEHICLE FOOT WELL
`SURFACE MODEL
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`TOP, BOTTOM SKETCH PLANES
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`711
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`700
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`701
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`702
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`703
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`704
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`705
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`7O6
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`707
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`SIDEWALLS
`
`FIT CURVES
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`RADIUSING
`
`ADJUST FOR SURFACE
`RREGULARITIES
`
`709
`
`IMPORT RESERVOIR, CHANNELS
`
`RAY DATA
`FILE
`
`708
`
`710
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`712
`
`MOLD
`MOLD
`
`TREXTRUSION
`SHEETS
`
`VEHICLE
`716-1 FLOOR TRAY
`S
`FIG. 7
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`V-r
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`1.
`VEHICLE FLOOR TRAY
`
`US 7,316,847 B2
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`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, there
`fore, vehicle owners have been attempting to protect the
`enclosed interiors of their vehicles (cars, trucks, SUBS)
`from what they themselves track into them. The conven
`tional 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 unde
`sirable 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 SUBS 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
`30
`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 fireballs or front surfaces of the foot wells. Even
`as so extended it is not too hard to provide a floor mat of
`35
`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 occupants 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
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`climates, dirty water has a tendency to be shed onto the floor
`mat, 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-hold
`ing 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 slip
`pery it is relative to the occupants’ feet, with non slipperi
`ness (having a relatively high coefficient of friction) being
`advantageous. Often the designer must make trade-off
`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 pro
`vided a vehicle floor cover, mat or tray which is removably
`install able by a consumer and which is formed of at least
`three layers that are bonded together, preferably by contu
`Sion. The three layers include a central layer whose com
`position 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 outsold (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 poly
`olefin 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 thermo
`plastic elastomer, Such as one of the thermoplastic Vulcani
`Zates (TPVs) of proprietary composition sold under the
`trademarks
`SANTOPRENER, GEOLASTR)
`and
`VYRAMR). VYRAM (R) thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) is
`particularly preferred. In another embodiment, a major por
`tion 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 conve
`niently it can be, but does not have to be, of the same
`composition as the 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
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`contusion 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 con
`stituent 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, acry
`lonitrile 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 contusion. 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 SANTOPRENER),
`GEOLAST (R) or VYRAMR, with VYRAMR) 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 contusion compatibility with adjacent
`layers. For example, the top and bottom layers can consist of
`a 3:1 weight ratio of VYRAMRTPV/HMPE, and the central
`40
`layer of a 3:1 weight ratio of HMPE/VYRAM(R) 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 rub
`ber (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 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 prop
`erties while at the same time affording an enhanced coeffi
`cient of friction to the feet of the occupant and improved
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`4
`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 upstand
`ing 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 for
`wardly and upwardly tilted relative to a horizontal floor. This
`provides enhanced protection to the vehicle foot well pre
`cisely 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 con
`cave Surface, which may have several concavely and con
`vexly 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 incor
`porated into the tray floor as a collection and evaporation
`area for drip water from the feet and legs of the occupant.
`Combination 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
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`5
`floor tray upper surface to leave a blank space where the
`driver's heel will rest when operating the gas and brake
`pedals.
`
`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 substan
`tially 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;
`FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing steps in a
`design and manufacturing process according to the inven
`tion; 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 sub
`stantially 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 sub
`stantially 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 sub
`stantially 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.
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`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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`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
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`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.
`A 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 bottom most 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 embodi
`ments, 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 Sur
`faces/baffles 118 have both fore-to-aft or longitudinal por
`tions 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 compartmen
`talizes 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
`
`MacNeil Exhibit 2047
`Yita v. MacNeil IP, IPR2020-01139
`Page 17
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`US 7,316,847 B2
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`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 5
`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
`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 15
`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
`FIGURES, 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
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`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 com
`plexly curved or angled. Certain portions of the vehicle foot 45
`well Surface, such as kick plate transition plate 214, can have
`both convexly and concavely curved elements. The pre
`ferred 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 respec- 50
`tive surfaces of the vehicle foot well produces a protective
`tray which will not be horizontally displaced under lateral
`forc