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`US0083 82186B2
`
`c12) United States Patent
`MacN eil et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 8,382,186 B2
`Feb.26,2013
`
`(54) VEHICLE FLOOR TRAY
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: David F. MacNeil, Hinsdale, IL (US);
`Scott A. Vargo, Lombard, IL (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: MacNeil IP LLC, Bolingbrook, IL (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by O days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 13/595,703
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`Aug. 27, 2012
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2012/O319426Al
`
`Dec. 20, 2012
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(60) Continuation of application No. 12/879,899, filed on
`Sep. 10, 2010, now Pat. No. 8,267,459, which is a
`continuation of application No. 11/463,203, filed on
`Aug. 8, 2006, now abandoned, which is a division of
`application No. 10/976,441, filed on Oct. 29, 2004,
`now Pat. No. 7,316,847.
`
`(51)
`
`Int. Cl.
`B60N 3/06
`(2006.01)
`(52) U.S. Cl. ....................................... 296/75; 296/97.23
`(58) Field of Classification Search ............... 296/97.23,
`296/75; 428/81; 15/215
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`
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`No. 11/463,203 on Aug. 13, 2009.
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primary Examiner - Glenn Dayoan
`Assistant Examiner - Pine! Romain
`(7 4) Attorney, Agent, or Firm - Momkus McCluskey, LLC;
`Jefferson Perkins
`
`ABSTRACT
`(57)
`A vehicle floor tray is thermoformed from a polymer sheet of
`substantially uniform thickness. The tray has a central panel
`and at least first and second upstanding side panels joined to
`the central panel by curved transitions. Within a reservoir
`disposed in the central panel are plural, hollow treads/baffles.
`The treads/baffles have a width, in any horizontal direction,
`which is more than twice the substantially uniform thickness
`of the tray as thermoformed. The treads/baffles impede lateral
`motion, due to changes in vehicle speed or direction, ofliquid
`collected in the reservoir.
`
`7 Claims, 12 Drawing Sheets
`
`EX1001
`Yita v. MacNeil
`IPR2020-01139
`
`

`

`US 8,382,186 B2
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
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`7,316,847 B2
`1/2008 MacNeil
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`9/2005 Ferreira et al.
`2006/0091694 Al
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`9/2009 MacNeil
`
`CA
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`JP
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`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`1292028 A
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`12/1996
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`2/2000
`2002356124
`12/2002
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office Action issued on U.S.Appl.
`No. 11/934,320 on Jun. 10, 2009.
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office Action issued on U.S.Appl.
`No. 12/332,757 on Jun. 11, 2009.
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition by the Examiner
`dated Dec. 17, 2009 on Canadian Patent Application No. 2,672,116.
`Japanese Patent Office, Rejection issued in connection with Japanese
`Patent Application No. 2005-317635 dispatched on Jan. 5, 2011.
`
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition on CA 2,672,095,
`dated Jan. 14, 2011.
`German Patent and Trademark Office, Official Action on DE 10 2005
`063 533.4-21, dated Sep. 1, 2011.
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition on CA 2,672,097,
`dated on Dec. 19, 2011.
`Photographs of a Highland Floor Guard with unknown date of manu(cid:173)
`facture, obtained by Applicant in 2010, and believed to be on sale and
`in public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`American Specialty Equipment Corp., "Big Book" catalog for "Per(cid:173)
`formance Parts, Truck Accessories, and Sport Compact Equipment,"
`2000, p. 366.
`Add-On 2002-2003 Automotive Accessory Catalog, 2002, pp. 192
`and 447.
`Floor Mat Comparison Chart, Stylinconcepts.com, Jun. 2, 2002.
`Advertisement for Highland's Black Armor Floor Guard, Stylin Con(cid:173)
`cepts "Custom Truck Accessories" catalog, 2003, pp. 1, 2 and 109.
`Image from advertisement for Black Armor Floor Guard,
`Stylinconcepts.com; Apr. 3, 2002, recovered from http://webarchive.
`org/20020403230231/stylinconcepts.corn/Images/
`BlackArmorWLogo.jpg.
`List of "front custom auto floor mats", etrailer.com (as downloaded
`by web.archive.org), Jun. 4, 2004.
`Description and illustration of "Front Custom Auto floor Mats";
`etrailer.com (as downloaded by web.archive.org), Jun. 4, 2004.
`Advertisement for Highland floor guards, Counterman Info Pages,
`prior to Nov. 2002, p. 27.
`Highland Catalog and Jobber sheet; prior to 2004.
`Highland Application Guide, 2004.
`Volvo Accessories brochure, 1990, pp. 1 and 23.
`Volvo 760 GLE Accessories Brochure, 1983, pp. 1-3.
`Volvo Accessories brochure, 1981, pp. 1, 27.
`Volvo Accessories brochure, 1983, p. 1, 11, 16.
`Photographs of Volvo floor mat with unknown manufacture date,
`obtained by Applicant in 2010, and believed to be on sale and in
`public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`Photographs of a Husky Liner floor tray with unknown manufacture
`date, obtained by Applicant in 2010, and believed to be on sale and in
`public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`Husky Liners Product Catalog, 2001, pp. 1-2.
`Husky Liners Product Catalog, 2002, selected pages.
`Husky Liners Product Catalog, 2003 ½, SEMA Show Edition,
`selected pages.
`Photographs of Winfield's Husky Liner Model 3780 for 2000-2001
`BMW X-5 possessed by Applicant, believed to be on sale and in
`public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`1998 Lund Product Catalog, p. 24, Lund SportMat Molded Floor
`Trays.
`Web advertisement for Fox Weatherboots, foxweatherboots.com (as
`downloaded by web.archive.org), Mar. 3, 2000.
`Nifty Products Catalog, 2003-2004, selected pages.
`Advertisement of unknown publication date for Husky Liner 3D
`Molded Carpeted Front Floor Liners, obtained by Applicant in 2010,
`and believed to be on sale and in public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`Photographs of Husky Liner 3D Floor Liners manufactured Aug.
`2010, in possession of Applicant, and believed to be on sale and in
`public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`Geomagic Press Release, "Geomagic, Inc. Wins Second Computer
`Graphics World Innovation Award," Dec. 10, 1998.
`Geomagic Press Release, "Geomagic to Introduce Unique Solution
`for 3D Content Creation at SIGGRAPH '99," Aug. 3, 1999.
`Geomagic Press Release, "Geomagic Announces Geomagic Studio
`2.0," Jan. 14, 2000.
`Geomagic Press Release, "Geomagic, QTE Offer RevQuick, Auto(cid:173)
`matic Surface Generation for Mastercam," Sep. 25, 2000.
`Advertisement, "Third Party Options (Romer, A CimCore Com(cid:173)
`pany)," 2000.
`Son, Seokbae; Park, Hyunpung; and Lee, Kwan; "Automated laser
`scanning system for reverse engineering and inspection," Int. J.
`Machine Tools & Manufacture, 42, 889-897 (2002).
`"Competition Rising in Portable CMMs," Quality Magazine, May 5,
`2003.
`
`

`

`US 8,382,186 B2
`Page 3
`
`Press Release by Brown and Sharpe, "Portable K Series Optical
`CMMs," Sep. 11, 2002.
`"CAM2 software," as downloaded from http://web.archive.org/web/
`20040215065613/www.faro.com/Products on Nov. 4, 2010.
`"Laser Scanner edges out CMM in the race to market," Machine
`Design.com, Feb. 5, 2004.
`"Highres Delivers Complete Reverse Engineering Software Suite for
`SolidWorks 2001Plus," Reverse Engineering.com, Apr. 25, 2002.
`"HighRes Provides 3D Reverse Engineering Software to Higher
`Education Learning Institutions", ReverseEngineering.com, May 21,
`2002.
`"HighRes Reverse Engineering Software now Ships with Every
`Romer 3000i and Stinger II Portable CMM in North America,"
`ReverseEnginering.com, Oct. 14, 2002.
`Press Release, "FARO Debuts Affordable "Advantage" Line of Mea(cid:173)
`surement Products," Sep. 4, 2003.
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition by the Examiner
`in connection with Canadian Patent Application No. 2,672,423 dated
`Dec. 14, 2010.
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition by the Examiner
`issued in connection with Canadian Patent Application No.
`2,672,095, Jan. 14, 2011.
`Photographs of Ford Windstar floor mat with unknown manufacture
`date, obtained by Applicant in 2010, and believed to be on sale and in
`public use prior to Oct. 29, 2003.
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition by the Examiner
`issued in connection with Canadian Patent Application No.
`2,672,423, Dec. 14, 2010.
`Husky Liner for 1999 Ford Super Duty, downloaded from http://
`www.huskyliners.com/superduty.html on Jan. 3, 2005.
`Autoform Trunk Liner, English web page, downloaded from http://
`www.autoform.se/eng/products_trunk_liners.htmon Oct. 20, 2004.
`"Installation Instructions for Your F-150/F-250 Ford Truck Front
`Floor Liners", Winfield Consumer Products, Feb. 1, 2001, down(cid:173)
`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(cid:173)
`ucts/ScanArm.asp on Sep. 23, 2004.
`Faro ScanArm 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/Navigator.
`MacNeil Automotive Products Limited, Downers Grove, IL, 1999,
`pp. l-2and4-7.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on GB Patent Appln. No. GB
`0522091.8, Claims 47-66, 77 and 78, Jun. 23, 2006.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on Patent Appln. No. GB
`0522091.8, Claims 67-70, Jun. 26, 2006.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on Patent Appln. No. GB
`0522091.8, Claims 71-73, Jun. 27, 2006.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on Patent Appln. No. GB
`0522091.8, Claims 79-84 and 101-105, Jun. 23, 2006.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on Patent Appln. No. GB
`522091.8, claims 85-100, Jun. 27, 2006.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on Patent Appln. No. GB
`0522091.8, claims 1-46 and 74-76, Feb. 14, 2006.
`Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Requisition by Examiner
`issued on Canadian Application No. 2,524,795 on Apr. 23, 2008.
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office Action issued on U.S. Appl.
`No. 11/463,215 on Nov. 27, 2007.
`U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Office Action issued on U.S. Appl.
`No. 11/463,215 on Jun. 6, 2007.
`British Patent Office, Search Report issued on GB Application No.
`0625354.6 dated Nov. 6, 2007.
`British Patent Office, Search Report on GB Appln. No. 0625354.6
`dated Mar. 3, 2008.
`
`

`

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`U.S. Patent
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`Feb. 26, 2013
`Feb.26,2013
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`US8,382,186 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Feb.26,2013
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`CMM VEHICLE FOOT WELL
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`SHEETS
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`FIG. 7
`
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 26, 2013
`Feb.26,2013
`
`Sheet 7 of 12
`Sheet 7 of 12
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`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
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`Feb. 26, 2013
`Feb.26,2013
`
`Sheet 8 of 12
`Sheet 8 of 12
`
`US8,382,186 B2
`US 8,382,186 B2
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 26, 2013
`Feb.26,2013
`
`Sheet 9 of 12
`Sheet 9 of 12
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`US8,382,186 B2
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`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb.26,2013
`
`Sheet 10 of 12
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`US 8,382,186 B2
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`

`Sheet 11 of 12
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`US 8,382,186 B2
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`Feb. 26, 2013
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`U.S. Patent
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`

`

`U.S. Patent
`U.S. Patent
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`Feb. 26, 2013
`
`Feb.26,2013
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`Sheet 12 of12
`
`Sheet 12 of 12
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`US 8,382,186 B2
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`
`

`

`US 8,382,186 B2
`
`1
`VEHICLE FLOOR TRAY
`
`RELATED APPLICATIONS
`
`This application is a continuation of copending U.S. Non(cid:173)
`provisional application Ser. No. 12/879,899 filed on Sep. 10,
`2010, which is in tum a continuation of U.S. Nonprovisional
`application Ser. No. 11/463,203 filed on Aug. 8, 2006, now
`abandoned, which is in turn a division ofU.S. Nonprovisional
`application Ser. No. 10/976,441 filed on Oct. 29, 2004, now 10
`U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,847. The disclosures and drawings of
`those applications are fully incorporated by reference herein.
`
`5
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`2
`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, 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
`15 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 ofby the vehicle
`owner or user. One advanced design places treads in the
`middle of the reservoir, such that the feet of the occupant are
`20 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(cid:173)
`dimensional liquid-holding vessel into a product that ideally
`25 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 prob(cid:173)
`lems 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 mate(cid:173)
`rial 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
`35 properties and how slippery or nonslippery it is relative to the
`occupants' feet, with nonslipperiness (having a relatively
`high coefficient of friction) being advantageous. Often the
`designer must make tradeoffs among these different design
`constraints in specifying the material from which the tray or
`40 mat is to be made.
`
`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(cid:173)
`fore, vehicle owners have been attempting to protect the
`enclosed interiors of their vehicles ( cars, trucks, SUV s) from
`what they themselves track into them. The conventional solu(cid:173)
`tion 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 30
`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 SUVs vary in size in
`shape from one model of vehicle to the next. Floor mat manu(cid:173)
`facturers have noticed that floor mats which at least approxi(cid:173)
`mately 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
`firewalls 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 sur(cid:173)
`faces, as the designer only has to mark a two-dimensional
`periphery of the mat in providing one which will fit reason(cid:173)
`ably well.
`More recently, vehicle floor trays have come onto the mar(cid:173)
`ket. Most front-seat vehicle foot wells are actually three(cid:173)
`dimensional concave shapes, typically with complex curved
`surfaces. Floor trays have sidewalls that offer enhanced pro(cid:173)
`tection to the surfaces surrounding the vehicle floor, as might
`be needed against wearers with very muddy or snowy shoes. 55
`Conventional vehicle floor trays try to fit into these three(cid:173)
`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(cid:173)
`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 con(cid:173)
`sumer 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
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided
`45 a vehicle floor cover, mat or tray which is removably install(cid:173)
`able by a consumer and which is formed of at least three
`layers that are bonded together, preferably by coextrusion.
`The three layers include a central layer whose composition is
`distinct from a bottom layer and a top layer. Preferably, all
`50 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 outsole (neoprene rubber, Shore A
`Durometer 60) of at least about 0.82.
`Preferably, a major portion of the central layer is a poly-
`olefin. More preferably, the polyolefin is either a polypropy(cid:173)
`lene 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-
`60 acrylonitrile copolymer (SAN) or an acrylonitrile-butadiene(cid:173)
`styrene (ABS) polymer blend.
`Preferably, a major portion of the top layer is a thermoplas(cid:173)
`tic elastomer, such as one of the proprietary compositions
`sold under the trademarks SANTOPRENE®, GEOLAST®
`65 and VYRAM®. VYRAM® is particularly preferred. In
`another embodiment, a major portion of the top layer can be
`anABS polymer blend. Where ABS is used in both the top and
`
`

`

`US 8,382,186 B2
`
`3
`central layers, it is preferred that the amount of the polybuta(cid:173)
`diene phase in the top layer be greater than the amount ofthis
`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 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 coextru(cid:173)
`sion compatibility with the adjacent layer(s). Thus, a minor
`portion of the top and bottom layers can consist of a polyole(cid:173)
`fin, 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 15
`layers are preselected to be ABS blends, the amount of polyb(cid:173)
`utadiene 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 20
`can in fact be made up of two or more sub layers, such that the
`total number of sublayers in the resultant mat or tray can
`exceed three.
`In another embodiment, the thermoplastic elastomer con(cid:173)
`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(cid:173)
`lonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) or ethylene propylene rub(cid:173)
`ber (EPDM).
`According to a related aspect of the invention, a vehicle
`floor cover is provided that has three layers bonded together,
`preferably by coextrusion. 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 poly(cid:173)
`olefin 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 poly(cid:173)
`ethylene (HMPE). The thermoplastic elastomer can, for
`example, be SANTOPRENE®, GEO LAST® or VYRAM®,
`with VYRAM® being particularly preferred. It is also pre(cid:173)
`ferred that each of the layers be a polymer blend, with a minor
`portion of each layer being chosen for its coextrusion com(cid:173)
`patibility with adjacent layers. For example, the top and bot(cid:173)
`tom layers can consist of a 3:1 weight ratio ofVYRAM®/
`HMPE, and the central layer of a 3: 1 weight ratio of HMPE/
`VYRAM®.
`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 the layers from which the tray or mat
`is composed. It has been found that a triextruded vehicle mat
`
`4
`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
`5 a thermoplastic elastomer-dominated single extrusion. The
`triextrusion tray demonstrates these enhanced physical prop(cid:173)
`erties while at the same time affording an enhanced coeffi(cid:173)
`cient of friction to the feet of the occupant and improved
`tactile properties. By presenting such a surface to the shoe of
`10 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
`25 preferred embodiment, the tray departs from a door sill sur(cid:173)
`face 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 con-
`30 cave 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
`35 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-
`40 wardly and upwardly tilted relative to a horizontal floor. This
`provides enhanced protection to the vehicle foot well pre(cid:173)
`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
`45 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 inven(cid:173)
`tion, points on a surface of the vehicle foot well are digitally
`50 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
`55 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
`60 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(cid:173)
`porated into the tray floor as a collection and evaporation area
`for drip water from the feet and legs of the occupant. Com-
`65 bination 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. Chan-
`
`

`

`US 8,382,186 B2
`
`5
`nels 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 embodi(cid:173)
`ment, the channels are omitted from a portion of the floor tray 5
`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 s