GB2340220A - A covering - Google Patents

Description

2340220 A COVERING The present invention relates to a covering for a motor

vehicle and more particularly to a floor covering combined with ducting for use in relation to air ventilation from the vehicle's ventilation svstem.

Provision of a ventilation system within a motor vehicle is almost standard. However., these ventilation systems are continuously developed in order to achieve better and more appropriate distribution of air flows within the vehicle cabin. In such circumstances, it is necessary to provide ducting at floor level and in locations that are relatively inaccessible.

Previously, in order to pass ventilation air, and in particular to the rear of a motor vehicle, dedicated duct piping has been secured to the vehicle structure and covered with a carpet or similar covering. Such ducting is expensive and can diminish both aesthetic appeal and lead to significant heat loss or gain to the ventilation air as the ducting is directly coupled to the vehicle body.

The costs and complexities of providing duct piping has thus led to small or low cost vehicles having no or limited rear ventilation. In such circumstances, there is an inherent reduction in climate control performance, particularly if an air conditioning facility is provided. It will also be understood that provision of bespoke duct piping beneath the carpet 2 - can present unsightly bul ing within the local interior which, in addit' 91 1 1 1 ion to being unsightly, can present problems with regard to occupant standing or placing loads upon such ducts.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a floor covering for a 5 motor vehicle which substantially relieves the above-mentioned problems.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a covering for a motor vehicle, the covering comprising a surface laver with a mouldable mass attached thereto and said mouldable mass incorporating a conduit passage to couple a vehicle ventilation svstem to an outlet within 10 the vehicle.

Preferably, the conduit passage includes a gap to facilitate ease of moulding and said gap, in use, is covered by tape or other means in order to provide a complete conduit passage wall perimeter.

The mouldable mass may be polystyrene foam typicallN, used for noise 15 vibration harshness within a motor vehicle.

The conduit passage may have its wall perimeter sealed by appropriate sealing means. Furthermore, the conduit passage may be reinforced in order to provide protection from occupant or other pressure loading. The conduit passage may include indicator means to show location beneath the surface layer of the covering.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure I is a front pictorial cross-section of a covering; Figure 2 is a side pictorial representation of a covering ventilation inlet portion-, and, Figure 3 is a side pictorial representation of a floor covering outlet portion.

Referring to Figure 1, a floor covering 1 comprises a surface layer 2 to which a mouldable mass 3 is secured. This floor covering 1 is juxtaposed to a vehicle body surface 4 in order to provide a covering for that body surface 4. The mouldable mass 3 may also provide sound and thermal insulation for the vehicle within which the covering 1 is located.

In accordance with the present invention, the mouldable mass 3 incorporates a conduit passage 5 able to control and entrain a flow of ventilation air. Typically, the conduit passage 5 is formed within the mouldable mass 3 when the covering 1 is made. In such circumstances, a former member will be located adjacent the surface laver 2 and the mouldable mass allowed to flow around it and become bonded to the laver 2. This bonding may be through adhesion or fusion or any appropriate means.

In order to facilitate removal of the former about which the conduit passage 5 is formed, it will be appreciated normally a slit or gap 6 will be left open so that the former can be removed. However, alternative methods of forming the conduit passage 5 can include provision of a sleeve about the former which itself becomes fastened to the mouldable mass 3 but allows easv slide removal of the former once the mouldable mass 3 has set.

-Alternatively, the former may be inflatable whilst the conduit passage 5 is formed and then deflated for removal once formation of the passage 5 is complete.

In any event, if a slit or gap 6 results for formation of the conduit passage 5. this slit or gap 6 can be sealed with a patch tape 7 in order to provide a complete wall periphery for the conduit passage 5. Furthermore, this slit or gap 6 may be plugged with an appropriate compound which may be similar to that of the mouldable mass 3.

The conduit passage 5 clearly presents a cavity or void below the surface laver 2. The surface laver 2 within a motor vehicle will provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance for the interior of that motor vehicle and belie the presence of the conduit passage 5 beneath. As the mouldable mass 3 ty ically could be of a thermally insulating nature, it will be appreciated pi that air flows through the conduit passage 5 will not be significantly prejudiced in terms of temperature.

As indicated above, the mouldable mass 3 will typically be a material suitable for noise and vibration insulation. Typically, such materials are foams and so a degree of leakage into the foam as a result of high air flow rates may result. Thus, in such circumstances, the peripheral wall 8 of the conduit passage 5 may be sealed in appropriate manner. For example, a mist of adhesive may be passed through the conduit passage 5 under at least partial over pressure such that some of this adhesive is forced into the surface of the mouldable mass 3 in order to seal that surface once the adhesive has set.

Coverings within motor vehicles are typically cut or moulded to fit specific contours and configurations of vehicle surface 4. Thus, the conduit passage 5 may be formed during this stage of manufacture. In such circumstances, it will be appreciated that the number of parts for incorporation within the vehicle during manufacture is reduced in that the covering 1, in addition to providing an aesthetic covering for the vehicle incorporates the ventilation ducting in comparison with previous arrangements where separate duct piping along with a covering must be supplied for vehicle assembly and so greatly increasing manufacturing complexity and cost.

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate respective inlet and outlet configurations for a cover 1 in accordance with the present invention including the ventilation 5 passage 5.

In Figure 2 it can be seen that the conduit passage 5 can be enclosed within the covering 1 such that from an external inspection, presence of the passage 5 is difficult to detect. However, for such encapsulation, it will be appreciated that as depicted in Figure 1, a slit or gap 6 is necessary to remove a former about which the passage 5 is formed.

An inlet arrangement 10 comprises a nozzle 11 and a seal coupling 12 secured to one end 14 of the passage 5. Thus, a ventilation air flow may pass in the direction of arrow head A through the passage 5. Location of the end 14 mav be facilitated through indicator rings 15 located about or in the passage 5. These locator rings 15 will generally be formed from robust incompressible material such that by finger feel, location of this indicator ring 15 through the covering 1 may be determined. It will be appreciated that other means for indicating passage 5 location may include provision of a bulbous end for the former used to produce the passage 5 and therefore a 7- relatively bulbous passage 5 section at that end 14 which may be noticed through the surface layer 2.

It will be appreciated that the end 14 of the passage 5 could include appropriate means to facilitate coupling with the inlet arrangement 10. In any event, through the coupling 12, a substantial air seal will be provided to ensure at least the bulk of airflow through the arrangement 10 is presented to the passage 5.

In order to track the passage 5 beneath the covering 1, it will be appreciated that indicator rings 15 could be spaced therealong. Thus, it will be possible to ensure that when installing retrofit equipment and apparatus that the passage 5 is not punctured by any fastenings for such equipment or apparatus.

In Figure 3, an outlet for the passage 5 and therefore the ventilation system of a motor vehicle is depicted. Thus.. an airflow shown by arrow head A is directed towards an outlet arrangement 21 comprising a grommet 22 in an aperture 23 between the passage 5 and the layer 2 through the mass 3. This outlet arrangement 21 may itself be coupled to vents or other means for presentation of airflow to an occupant or vehicle cabin.

The aperture 23 between the passage 5 and the surface layer 2 can be incorporated into the covering I at manufacture or subsequently as required. Where the aperture 23 is formed during manufacture, it will be appreciated that the grommet 22 is simply forced into this aperture 23 as required after removal of the former used to form the passage 5 in order to create an outlet for ventilation air flow A. Where the aperture 23 is subsequently created. it will be appreciated that indicator means as described with regard to Figure 2 or similar will be used to locate the passage 5 and then the aperture 23 cut appropriately through the layer 2 along with mass 3 and into the passage 5. Once the aperture 23 is cut, the grommet 22 is located within this aperture 23 in order to provide the outlet arrangement 21.

Normally, linear or single passages 5 may be provided within a covering 1 in order to avoid problems of proportional air distribution at junctions and forks. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that such complex passages could be constructed within the covering with an appropriate former member located as described above. Furthermore, standard sheets of covering could be provided with known distribution passages therein such that, through appropriate cutting of the sheet and knowing the passage distribution therein, appropriate inlets and outlets as described above could be coupled as required for particular motor vehicle configurations and requirements.

It will be appreciated that as the passages are formed within a mouldable mass, compression as a result of occupant and luggage loading must be considered, otherwise, the passage could be constricted or closed by such loading. In such circumstances, the indicator rings or hoops described previously could be used to reinforce the passages in order to act as an anticompression means under load. Alternatively, the passages could be reinforced as described previously through coating with an adhesive mist which upon setting becomes a resilient wall reinforcing to the passage 5.

Although the principal use of the present covering will be with regard to carpeting within a motor vehicle, it will be appreciated that the covering could also be used with regard to door panels and other surfaces such as the roof lining, in order to appropriately ventilate a motor vehicle cabin.

It will be appreciated that the covering I in accordance with the present invention as used as a carpet or other covering within motor vehicle will bv necessity relatively thin and typically no more than 2 cm thick. Thus, normally several passages will be incorporated within each covering in order to both achieve adequate air flow distribution and volume without over pressurising the limited passage cross-section available for air flow. Furthermore, and as a further refinement of the standard sheet described above, it will be appreciated that particular passages could be plugged in order to allow further control and determination of the ventilation distribution system as required within different vehicle types and across a range etc. These plugs could also incorporate slow released scent or could provide a low level of filtration in order to improve ventilation air quality.

With regard to scented plugs, it will be appreciated that location of such 5 plugs may be at positions not in general eye view such that the scent held within such plugs may be topped up periodically through a duct in the surface laver 2 directly to the scented plug. Similarly, filter plugs could be removable through apertures in passages incorporated in the surface laver. Finally, plugs could be provided which have a hydroscopic nature and so diminish the moisture content within the air presented through the ventilation system. Such dehumidif,Ing of the air flows could have significant benefits where air temperature variation is provided by the ventilation system but without the inherent dehumidift-Ing effect of an air conditioning system.

Claims (10)

1. A covering for a motor vehicle, the covering comprising a surface laVer with a mouldable mass attached thereto and said mouldable mass incorporating a conduit passage to couple a vehicle ventilation svstem to an outlet within the vehicle.

2. A covering as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the conduit passage includes a gap to facilitate moulding thereof within the mouldable mass and said gap, in use, is covered by a tape or other means in order to provide a complete peripheral wall for that conduit passage.

3. A covering as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the mouldable mass is a polystyrene foam or other noise vibration hardness insulating foam typically used within motor vehicles.

4. A covering as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the conduit passage has walls sealed in order to inhibit air flow ingress into the mouldable mass.

5. A covering as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the conduit passage is associated with anti-compression means in order to resist compression of the conduit passage under load from an occupant or luggage within a motor vehicle.

6. A covering as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the covering includes indicator means to indicate location of the conduit passage within the covering.

A covering as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the conduit passage includes a plug in order to scent or dehumidif, or filter any air flow therethrough.

8. A covering as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the covering includes a conduit passage which includes branching to couple a vehicle ventilation arrangement to more than one outlet within the vehicle.

9. A covering substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanving drawing.

10. A motor vehicle including a covering as claimed in any preceding claim.