GB2118035A

GB2118035A - Moulded floor mat

Info

Publication number: GB2118035A
Application number: GB08206048A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Roger Leonard Williams
Original assignee: Cannon Rubber Ltd
Current assignee: Avent Ltd
Priority date: 1982-03-02
Filing date: 1982-03-02
Publication date: 1983-10-26
Also published as: DE8222938U1; GB2118035B

Abstract

A moulded floor mat 10 comprising an upper surface 11 and a lower surface 12 substantially wholly covered by a plurality of recesses 13, 14 each having a region 18 of maximum resistance to wear in which the surface area of the recesses 13, 14 are generally uniform and which increase generally uniformly in a direction from the region 18 of maximum resistance to wear towards the periphery of the mat 10 so as to correspondingly reduce the amount of material in the mat 10. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Moulded floor mat The present invention is concerned with a moulded floor mat of the type which is suitable for use as a loose vehicle floor mat.

Loose vehicle floor mats may be moulded from rubber or plastics materials, they may be woven or they may be made from felt material. In use, the loose mat which is placed beneath the driver's feet will be subjected to substantially greater wear than a mat positioned in any other place in the vehicle and this wear occurs mainly in the region of the vehicle control pedals. For this reason, the driver's mat will usually wear out first in one small area. However, when this occurs the whole mat has to be replaced even though it may be worn only in one area and in many cases a completely new set of mats may be required for the whole vehicle.

Many attempts have been made to provide a mat which is more resistant to wear in one particular area of the mat than elsewhere, for instance textile or felt mats have been provided with a rubber or plastics insert in the area which takes most wear.

Moulded rubber mats may be made with either or both surfaces formed with a plurality of recesses to reduce the amount of material in the mat and to give the mat a pleasing appearance and it is known to form the recesses in one half of the mat larger than the recesses in the other half of the mat so that one half of the mat is more resistant to wear than the other. However, this solution to the problem is not wholly satisfactory as it still entails the use of substantially more material than is necessary over a large part of the mat which is not subjected to the maximum wear.

In order to meet these problems and provide a moulded floor mat which is economic to manufacture and yet resistant to wear in that area of the mat which is subjected to maximum wear, we provide a moulded floor mat comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, at least the upper surface being substantially wholly covered by a plurality of recesses and having a region of maximum resistance to wear and a region of minimum resistance to wear, the surface area of the recesses in the region of maximum resistance to wear being generally uniform and the surface area of the recesses increasing generally uniformly in a direction from the region of maximum resistance to wear towards the region of minimum resistance to wear so as to correspondingly reduce the amount of material in the mat.

Preferably the upper and lower surfaces of the mat of the present invention are similar so that the mat is reversible.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a moulded floor mat according to the present invention and Figure 2 is a section taken on the line Il-Il of Figure 1.

In the drawings, a moulded floor mat is indicated generally at 10. The floor mat 10 may be made from a natural or synthetic rubber material and moulded in a conventional injection moulding machine. It is designed for use as a vehicle floor mat for use beneath the driver's feet.

Both the upper surface 11 and the lower surface 12 of the mat are similar, although this is not essential, and the lower surface 12 may be of a different pattern and design if required. Both the upper and lower surfaces 11 and 12 are covered with a plurality of rectangular recesses 13 and 14 respectively which are arranged in a grid pattern.

Each pair of recesses 13, 14 is divided by a relatively thin web 1 5 and adjacent recesses on each surface are separated by walls 16, 1 7 which are of substantially greater thickness than the webs 15.

The upper surface 11 has a region 18 which will be subjected to maximum wear because in use it will be located adjacent the vehicle pedals and the driver's heels will normally rest on this part of the mat. In this region, the surface area taken up by each recess 1 3 is uniform and at a minimum so that the thickness of the dividing walls 1 6 and therefore the resistance to wear is at a maximum.

The periphery of the upper surface 11 of the mat constitutes a region which will be subjected to minimum wear and in this region, the size of each recess 1 3a, in the sense of the surface area taken up by the recess is uniform and at a maximum so that the dividing walls 1 6a are of minimum thickness. In the region between the region 1 8 of maximum resistance to wear and the peripheral region of minimum resistance to wear, the size of the recesses 1 3b, in the sense of the surface area taken up by the recesses, increases uniformly in a direction from the region 1 8 towards the periphery of the mat.By increasing the size of the recesses and thereby reducing the thickness of the dividing walls of material progressively away from the region which is subjected to maximum wear the amount of material required to make the mat 10 is minimised and the resistance to wear is adapted to correspond to the amount of wear to which the different areas of the mat are likely to be subjected.

In order to strengthen and stiffen the mat in the region in which the surface area of the recesses is at a maximum, the webs 1 5a in this region are provided with stiffening ribs 1 9.

1. A moulded floor mat comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, at least the upper surface being substantially wholly covered by a plurality of recesses and having a region of maximum resistance to wear, and a region of minimum resistance to wear, the surface area of the recesses in the region of maximum resistance to wear being generally uniform and the surface area of the recesses increasing generally uniformly in a direction from the region of maximum

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Moulded floor mat The present invention is concerned with a moulded floor mat of the type which is suitable for use as a loose vehicle floor mat. Loose vehicle floor mats may be moulded from rubber or plastics materials, they may be woven or they may be made from felt material. In use, the loose mat which is placed beneath the driver's feet will be subjected to substantially greater wear than a mat positioned in any other place in the vehicle and this wear occurs mainly in the region of the vehicle control pedals. For this reason, the driver's mat will usually wear out first in one small area. However, when this occurs the whole mat has to be replaced even though it may be worn only in one area and in many cases a completely new set of mats may be required for the whole vehicle. Many attempts have been made to provide a mat which is more resistant to wear in one particular area of the mat than elsewhere, for instance textile or felt mats have been provided with a rubber or plastics insert in the area which takes most wear. Moulded rubber mats may be made with either or both surfaces formed with a plurality of recesses to reduce the amount of material in the mat and to give the mat a pleasing appearance and it is known to form the recesses in one half of the mat larger than the recesses in the other half of the mat so that one half of the mat is more resistant to wear than the other. However, this solution to the problem is not wholly satisfactory as it still entails the use of substantially more material than is necessary over a large part of the mat which is not subjected to the maximum wear. In order to meet these problems and provide a moulded floor mat which is economic to manufacture and yet resistant to wear in that area of the mat which is subjected to maximum wear, we provide a moulded floor mat comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, at least the upper surface being substantially wholly covered by a plurality of recesses and having a region of maximum resistance to wear and a region of minimum resistance to wear, the surface area of the recesses in the region of maximum resistance to wear being generally uniform and the surface area of the recesses increasing generally uniformly in a direction from the region of maximum resistance to wear towards the region of minimum resistance to wear so as to correspondingly reduce the amount of material in the mat. Preferably the upper and lower surfaces of the mat of the present invention are similar so that the mat is reversible. One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a moulded floor mat according to the present invention and Figure 2 is a section taken on the line Il-Il of Figure 1. In the drawings, a moulded floor mat is indicated generally at 10. The floor mat 10 may be made from a natural or synthetic rubber material and moulded in a conventional injection moulding machine. It is designed for use as a vehicle floor mat for use beneath the driver's feet. Both the upper surface 11 and the lower surface 12 of the mat are similar, although this is not essential, and the lower surface 12 may be of a different pattern and design if required. Both the upper and lower surfaces 11 and 12 are covered with a plurality of rectangular recesses 13 and 14 respectively which are arranged in a grid pattern. Each pair of recesses 13, 14 is divided by a relatively thin web 1 5 and adjacent recesses on each surface are separated by walls 16, 1 7 which are of substantially greater thickness than the webs 15. The upper surface 11 has a region 18 which will be subjected to maximum wear because in use it will be located adjacent the vehicle pedals and the driver's heels will normally rest on this part of the mat. In this region, the surface area taken up by each recess 1 3 is uniform and at a minimum so that the thickness of the dividing walls 1 6 and therefore the resistance to wear is at a maximum. The periphery of the upper surface 11 of the mat constitutes a region which will be subjected to minimum wear and in this region, the size of each recess 1 3a, in the sense of the surface area taken up by the recess is uniform and at a maximum so that the dividing walls 1 6a are of minimum thickness. In the region between the region 1 8 of maximum resistance to wear and the peripheral region of minimum resistance to wear, the size of the recesses 1 3b, in the sense of the surface area taken up by the recesses, increases uniformly in a direction from the region 1 8 towards the periphery of the mat.By increasing the size of the recesses and thereby reducing the thickness of the dividing walls of material progressively away from the region which is subjected to maximum wear the amount of material required to make the mat 10 is minimised and the resistance to wear is adapted to correspond to the amount of wear to which the different areas of the mat are likely to be subjected. In order to strengthen and stiffen the mat in the region in which the surface area of the recesses is at a maximum, the webs 1 5a in this region are provided with stiffening ribs 1 9. CLAIMS

1. A moulded floor mat comprising an upper surface and a lower surface, at least the upper surface being substantially wholly covered by a plurality of recesses and having a region of maximum resistance to wear, and a region of minimum resistance to wear, the surface area of the recesses in the region of maximum resistance to wear being generally uniform and the surface area of the recesses increasing generally uniformly in a direction from the region of maximum resistance to wear towards the region of minimum resistance to wear so as to correspondingly reduce the amount of material in the mat.

2. moulded floor mat as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper and lower surfaces of the mat are similar.

3. A moulded floor mat as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the region of minimum resistance to wear surrounds the region of maximum resistance to wear.

4. A moulded floor mat as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the material of the mat forming the base of each recess is strengthened in the area of minimum resistance to wear.

5. A moulded floor mat as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the recesses are generally rectangular.

6. A moulded floor mat substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.