RU2510341C1 - Bearing structure for floor panels - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: transport.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to bearing structure for floor panels that close store compartment arranged under floor in car trunk. Proposed structure comprises two long tail guides 14 for third row seats 70 smoothly sliding over them. Long rail guides 13 are arranged above to cover said store compartment 56 extending back and forth along the vehicle. Multiple panels are supported by engaging stepped parts 18 of long rail guides 14 and engaging stepped parts 57 of store compartment 56.

EFFECT: increased capacity of the truck.

8 cl, 6 dwg

Description

Technical field

The present invention relates to a supporting structure for floor panels that cover a storage compartment under the floor in the luggage compartment of a vehicle.

State of the art

Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional rear luggage compartment structure for a vehicle. The design includes a pair of seat rails that support the rear seat to allow movement with the possibility of smooth movement and securing the rear seat. A pair of seat rails extends into the rear space to form the rear luggage space of the vehicle. Between a pair of rearward-facing seat rails, a storage compartment is provided under the floor in the luggage compartment. This design has the advantage that the layout of the rear seat is expanded as the rear seat can be moved into place above the storage compartment by means of the seat rails.

In the design described in Patent Document 1, a trunk dividing panel (equivalent to a floor panel) closes a storage compartment and is placed between a pair of seat rails for moving back and forth. With this design, it is possible to open the upper part of the storage compartment by moving the luggage compartment dividing panel forward and closing the storage compartment, conversely, by moving the luggage compartment dividing panel back.

Background Documents

Patent documents

Patent Document 1. Patent Laid-Open (Japan) No. 2008-120354

Problems Solved by the Invention

With the above construction, however, the rearwardly guiding seats are wholly attached to the floor deck panel adjacent to the storage compartment in the width direction of the storage compartment, and therefore, the size of the width of the storage compartment cannot be increased. Therefore, the design has such a problem that the storage compartment has a small capacity.

Additionally, when the trunk dividing panel is positioned so that it closes the storage compartment, the trunk dividing panel must include a reinforcing member to prevent the trunk dividing panel from bending downward due to its own weight. For this reason, there is such a problem that the cost of the dividing panel for the trunk becomes high.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a support structure for floor panels that allows for an increase in storage compartment capacity compared to a conventional structure while excluding the reinforcing element from the floor panel, thereby reducing manufacturing costs, while the structure has a seat guide extending into the storage compartment located under the floor in the luggage compartment.

Problem Solver

To solve this problem and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a floor panel, which is characterized by a storage compartment provided under the floor of the luggage compartment of the vehicle, at least one floor panel covering the storage compartment, and at least one guide rail of the seat supporting the seat to move smoothly and covering the storage compartment above the storage compartment, so that it extends in the front-to-back direction of the vehicles . The floor panel is removably supported by the seat guide and the upper part of the storage compartment.

At least one floor panel is preferably one of a plurality of floor panels, and the storage compartment preferably defines an upper opening in its upper part. Furthermore, the upper opening of the storage compartment is preferably divided into a plurality of upper openings by means of at least one seat guide, and the upper openings preferably each comprise a support portion in the upper part of the storage compartment and at least one seat guide. Additionally, it is preferable that each supporting part is removably supported by a corresponding one of the floor panels.

Each of the floor panels preferably has a peripheral edge in its lower part, and the support part is preferably an engaging stepped part for engagement with the peripheral edge of the floor panel.

The engaging step portion is preferably formed on both sides of the at least one seat guide.

The engaging step portion is preferably formed along the entire length of at least one seat guide.

The at least one seat guide is preferably one of at least one pair of seat guides, and the support portion is preferably located between the seat guides of the at least one pair. In addition, it is preferable that the floor panel is removably supported between the seat rails of at least one pair.

At least one seat guide preferably comprises lighting means for illuminating the storage compartment.

The storage compartment is preferably in the form of a recess having a peripheral wall defining a storage compartment, and the engaging step portion is preferably formed in the upper portion of the peripheral wall.

Advantages of the Invention

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support structure for floor panels that allows for an increase in storage compartment capacity compared to a conventional structure while excluding the reinforcing element from the floor panel, thereby reducing manufacturing costs, while the structure has a seat guide extending into the storage compartment located under the floor in the luggage compartment.

A seat guide provided above the storage compartment divides the upper opening of the storage compartment into a plurality of openings. Each of the floor panels can be placed on top of the corresponding one of the upper openings resulting from the separation. As a result, floor panels need not necessarily contain a reinforcing element, which results in lower costs for the floor panel compared to a structure having a storage compartment covered by a floor panel containing one element. When placing a small piece of luggage or taking such a small piece of luggage from the storage compartment, not all floor panels must be removed or installed on the supporting parts. For this reason, it is sufficient that only the floor panel, which corresponds to the desired position, is removed and mounted on the associated supporting part, which provides easy handling of the floor panels.

By forming the engaging stepped part as a supporting part, each floor panel can be removably supported.

An engaging step portion formed on opposite sides of at least one seat guide may support a plurality of floor panels.

An engaging step portion formed along the entire length of at least one seat guide can stably support the floor panels.

A floor panel placed between at least one pair of seat rails may be removably supported.

The lighting means (illuminating portion) provided on the seat guide may illuminate the storage compartment and, therefore, may illuminate the storage compartment when the vehicle is parked in a dark place or at night.

Since the engaging step portion is formed in the upper portion of the peripheral wall, the storage compartment may have increased capacity.

Brief Description of the Drawings

1 is a perspective view illustrating a rear opening of a vehicle having a support structure for floor panels according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating floor panels supported by a long rail;

Figure 3 is a side view in cross section illustrating the relative position between the long rail rail and the storage compartment;

4 is a plan view illustrating a relationship between a long rail and a storage compartment;

5 is a top view of floor panels; and

6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating floor panels supported by a long rail rail according to another embodiment.

MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a support structure for floor panels according to one embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to FIGS. As used herein, a “front” indicates a front side of a vehicle, and a “rear” indicates a rear side of a vehicle. "Left" and "right" indicate the left side and the right side, respectively, when viewed from the side of an observer looking in the direction of movement of the vehicle, i.e. in the forward direction.

A vehicle 10 comprising a support structure for floor panels according to the present embodiment is a minivan having three rows of seats. The vehicle is formed with a rear opening 20 in its rear end portion. The rear opening 20 can be opened and closed by means of an un illustrated illustrated tailgate.

A bumper 40 is provided under the rear opening 20, as shown in FIG. The bumper 40 is mounted on the element 50 of the rear end cross member (figure 3). As shown in FIG. 3, the rear end cross member 50 is shaped with a hollow and closed section defined by a lower rear outer panel 52 and a lower rear inner panel 54.

A storage compartment 56 is formed between the flooring panel 12 and the rear end cross member 50, which is open at the top. The storage compartment 56 is located under the floor in the luggage compartment of the vehicle 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a pair of long rail rails 14 serving as seat guides are attached to the flooring panel 12 of the vehicle 10 so that they extend in a forward-backward direction. A pair of long rail rails 14 are located opposite each other through the axial line O, passing in the direction back and forth (see figure 4). Figure 4 shows only the long rail rail 14, which is located on the right side of the vehicle 10 with respect to the center line O. The long rail rail 14 has a backward portion that extends through the upper opening of the storage compartment 56. The rearwardly extending portion of the long rail 14 has a rear end attached to an arm 55 attached to the lower rear inner panel 54.

The short rail guides 62 are respectively mounted on the upper surfaces of the right and left wheel arches 60. The short rail guides 62 are arranged in parallel with the long rail guides 14. Figures 1 and 4 show only the short rail guide 62, which is located on the right side of the vehicle 10 .

The long rail rails 14 and the corresponding short rail rails 62 form a set of rail rails. The upper rail rail 74, which is provided under the seat cushion 72, which forms the seat 70 in the third row, is provided with the ability to smoothly move on each long rail rail 14. The support portion 73 of the upper rail is located near the vehicle wall next to the seat 70 in the third row. An upper rail (not shown), which is provided on the support portion 73 of the upper rail, is provided to move smoothly on each short rail 62. The upper rail 74 is supported so that it can lock on the associated rail in the desired forward direction -Back through an un illustrated illustrated locking mechanism. In the present embodiment, the third row seat 70 is movable in the forward and reverse direction selectively from the main position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the long rail 14 has an upper surface formed with a longitudinally extending section 16. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 3. The upper rail guide 74 is inserted into the long rail rail 14 through the cut 16 and is supported with the possibility of smooth movement through it.

The long rail 14 has opposite sides formed with corresponding engaging stepped parts 18 as supporting parts. In the present embodiment, the engaging step parts 18 are formed so that they extend along the entire length of the long rail rail 14. However, it is sufficient that the engaging step parts 18 are formed at least on the part of the long rail rail 14 that covers the upper opening compartment 56 for storage. This part of the long rail 14, which extends along the flooring panel 12, need not be formed with engaging stepped parts 18. The upper surface of the long rail 14 is closed by the molding 17, as shown in FIG. 2.

The storage compartment 56 is defined by a peripheral wall. The peripheral wall has an upper peripheral edge formed with an engaging step portion 57 as a support portion. The height of the upper surface of the engaging step parts 57 is set equal to the height of the upper surfaces of the engaging step parts 18.

The upper opening of the storage compartment 56 is divided into a central opening 56a, an opening 56b on the left and an opening 56c on the right by means of long rail guides 14, as shown in FIG. The floor panels 80-82 for the central opening, the opening on the left and the opening on the right, as shown in FIG. 5, can be placed on top of the central opening 56a, the opening 56b on the left, and the opening 56c on the right, respectively. Thus, the floor panels 80-82 have corresponding lower peripheral edges that are removably engaged with the upper surfaces of the engaging step portions 18 of the long rail guides 14 and the upper surface of the engaging step portion 57 of the storage compartment 56. These upper surfaces are located in conjunction with a central opening, an opening on the left and an opening on the right.

The floor panels 80-82 are formed, for example, from synthetic plastic and have the form of a flat plate. Floor panels 80-82 are formed with hinged portions 80a, 81a and 82a, respectively, along portions indicated by transversely extending lines formed by a long bar alternating with a short bar in FIG. 5. The floor panels 80-82 may flex against the elasticity of the synthetic plastic by means of the corresponding hinge parts 80a, 81a and 82a. Thus, after releasing from the bent states, the hinge portions 80a, 81a and 82a can restore their planar states by intrinsic elasticity.

When the seat 70 in the third row moves to a position above the storage compartment 56, indicated by lines formed by a long line alternating with two short lines in FIG. 3, the front side portions of the floor panels 80-82 are engaged with the engaging step portions 18 and the engaging step portion 57. The rear side portions of the floor panels 80-82, on the other hand, can be held in contact with the back of the seat 70 in the third row by folding in the hinge portion 80a due to elasticity.

The position of the hinge portion 80a provided on the floor panels 80-82 may be changed as desired without limitation. In the present embodiment, the position of the hinge portion 80a coincides with a point located approximately 1/2 of the length of the floor panels 80-82 in the forward and backward direction when the limit position of the seat 70 in the third row is set to be the position closest to the rear opening 20, for example, when the limit position is set as the position indicated by lines formed by a long line alternating with two short lines, in Fig.3.

The present embodiment may have the following advantages.

(1) The long rail rails 14 for the seat 70 in the third row for smooth movement along them cover the storage compartment 56 above, so that they extend in the forward-backward direction. The floor panels 80-82 are removably supported by the long rail rails 14 and the upper part of the storage compartment 56. As a result, the storage compartment 56 may have increased capacity compared to the conventional design, while the long rail rails 14 extend into the upper opening of the storage compartment 56. Additionally, the floor panel 80 is laterally supported by a pair of long rail rails 14.

According to the design described in Patent Document 1, one floor panel is supported at transversely opposite edges. For this reason, the floor panel must have a certain degree of rigidity in order to prevent its central part from bending downward. As a result, the floor panel should contain a reinforcing element. On the contrary, when the vehicle according to the present embodiment is set so that it has a width identical to that of the vehicle according to Patent Document 1, it is sufficient that the floor panels 81 and 82 are laterally supported by the long rail rails 14 and the upper part (engaging step portion 57 ) compartment 56 for storage. Therefore, floor panels 80-82 provide a greater advantage than the floor panel of Patent Document 1 by reducing downward deflection under its own weight. Therefore, it is possible to use floor panels having lateral stiffness reduced by reducing downward deflection. Additionally, reinforcing elements are not required to increase rigidity, whereby manufacturing costs can be reduced.

(2) The upper aperture of the storage compartment 56 is divided into a plurality of apertures by long rail rails 14. A plurality of apertures consisting of a central aperture 56a, an aperture 56b on the left, and an aperture 56c on the right resulting from the separation contain engaging step portions 18 and 57 in the upper parts of the storage compartment 56 and in the long rail rails 14 for removably supporting the respective floor panels 80-82.

Consequently, floor panels 80-82 can be placed on top of respective upper openings separated by long rail rails 14 extending above the storage compartment 56. As a result, floor panels need not necessarily contain a reinforcing element, unlike the design of Patent Document 1, which results in lower costs for the floor panel compared to a structure having a storage compartment 56 covered by a floor panel 80 containing one element. When placing a small piece of luggage or removing such a small piece of luggage from the storage compartment 56, not all floor panels must be removed or installed on the supporting parts. It is sufficient that only the floor panel, which corresponds to the desired position, is removed or mounted on the supporting parts, thereby leading to easy handling of the floor panels.

(3) The long rail rails 14 that cover the storage compartment 56 form a pair. The engaging step portions 18 for engagement with the floor panel 80 are provided between the long rail rails 14. The engaging step portions 18 removably support the floor panel 80 between the long rail rails 14. As a result, the floor panel 80 located between the pair of long rail rails 14 is removable .

The present embodiment may be modified as follows.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a portion of the long rail 14, which extends above the storage compartment 56, may be provided on the lower side with the light lamp 90 as a lighting means (lighting part). The light bulb 90 can be turned on and off by an un illustrated switch provided inside the vehicle. A lighting lamp 90 thus provided can illuminate the storage compartment 56 and, therefore, can illuminate the storage compartment 56 when the vehicle is parked in a dark place or at night. Lighting lamp 90 may be any lighting means, such as an electric lamp, xenon lamp, LED, or the like.

In the above embodiment, long rail rails 14 are formed with engaging stepped parts 18 as supporting parts. However, the support parts are not limited to the engaging stepped parts. Horizontally protruding engaging parts can be attached to opposite sides of each long rail 14 for removably mounting floor panels thereon. Instead of engaging parts, each of the supporting parts can be implemented as a plurality of adjacent engaging projections.

In the above embodiment, the number of floor panels 80-82 is three. However, one floor panel may be used. In this case, one floor panel comprises floor panels 80-82 connected to each other by connecting parts having a width identical to the width of each long rail rail 14. In this case also, one floor panel preferably has a hinged part, as in the above embodiment. Even with this arrangement, one floor panel can be removably supported by the seat rails and the engaging step portion 57 in the upper part of the storage compartment.

In the above embodiment, a pair of long rail rails 14 are used as seat rails. Instead of short rail guides 62, long rail guides may be used. In particular, with a pair of long rail tracks used as a set, two sets of long rail tracks can be arranged in parallel with each other, so that they go to positions above the storage compartment 56. In this case, floor panels are provided that are located between adjacent long rail guides and between long rail guides and the right and left side walls forming the upper part of the storage compartment 56. These floor panels are simply supported in the upper opening of the storage compartment 56 by means of the engaging step portions 18 and 57, which are formed in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

In the above embodiment, the seat 70 in the third row is movable on the long rail rails 14 in the forward and reverse directions selectively from the main position indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 3. Thus, the seat rails are formed from the long rail rails 14 in the present embodiment. However, the seat rails are not limited to long rail rails. For example, the seat rails may be seat rails that only allow the seat 70 to be moved in the opposite direction from the main position shown in FIG.

In the above embodiment, a vehicle having three rows of seats is used. However, it is possible to implement a vehicle having two rows of seats or four or more rows of seats.

Claims (8)

1. The supporting structure for floor panels, characterized in that it contains:
a storage compartment located under the floor of the luggage compartment of the vehicle;
at least one floor panel covering the storage compartment; and
at least one seat guide supporting the seat to smoothly move the seat and covering the compartment, passing above it in the front-back direction of the vehicle,
wherein the floor panel is removably supported by the seat guide and the upper part of the storage compartment. 2. The supporting structure according to claim 1, characterized in that:
at least one floor panel is one of a plurality of floor panels,
the storage compartment defines the upper opening in its upper part,
the upper opening of the storage compartment is divided into a plurality of upper openings by means of at least one seat guide,
the upper openings comprise a support portion in the upper portion of the storage compartment and at least one seat guide, and
each supporting part is removably supported by a corresponding one of the floor panels. 3. The supporting structure according to claim 2, characterized in that each of the floor panels has a peripheral edge in its lower part, and
the supporting part is an engaging stepped part for engagement with the peripheral edge of the floor panel. 4. The support structure according to claim 3, characterized in that the engaging step portion is formed on both sides of at least one seat guide. 5. The support structure according to claim 4, characterized in that the engaging step portion is formed along the entire length of at least one seat guide. 6. The supporting structure according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that:
at least one seat guide is one of at least one pair of seat guides,
the supporting part is between the guides of the seat of at least one pair, and
the floor panel is removably supported between the guides of the seat of at least one pair. 7. A support structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that at least one seat guide comprises lighting means for illuminating the storage compartment. 8. The supporting structure according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that:
the storage compartment is in the form of a recess having a peripheral wall forming a storage compartment, and
the engaging step portion is formed in the upper portion of the peripheral wall.

Images