WO2007148440A1

WO2007148440A1 - Carpet edge attachment structure for vehicle and method of configuring the structure

Info

Publication number: WO2007148440A1
Application number: PCT/JP2007/000671
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kiyotaka Satou; Atsushi Nagano; Hiroshi Toba; Hiroyuki Kazawa
Original assignee: Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-06-22
Filing date: 2007-06-21
Publication date: 2007-12-27
Also published as: JP4866666B2; JP2008001224A; CN101472765A; MY147524A; CN101472765B; ZA200810786B

Abstract

With this structure for attaching an edge of a carpet (1) for a vehicle, a carpet edge is attached to a vehicle body frame member (2) provided at a vehicle body side. This attachment structure comprises a flange (2a), a retainer (3) and a pinchwelt (4). The flange (2a) is raised from the vehicle body frame member (2) along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body frame member (2). The retainer (3) includes a bottom plate (3a) and first and second wall plates (3b, 3c) respectively raised from both edges of the bottom plate (3a). The retainer (3) is attached to the edge of the carpet along the flange (2a). The pinchwelt (4) sandwiches the first wall plate (3b) and the flange (2a). The carpet (1) extends over the second wall plate (3c). The pinchwelt (4) has a lip (4a) extending over the upper edge of the second wall plate (3c). This attachment structure can more securely fix the edge of the carpet and can realize a favorable appearance.

Description

CARPET EDGE ATTACHMENT STRUCTURE FOR VEHICLE AND METHOD OF CONFIGURING THE STRUCTURE

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an attachment structure for attaching an edge of a carpet to a vehicle body frame member and a method for providing the structure. Background Art

[0002] Within a vehicle compartment, a floor carpet is laid as shown in the drawing of

[Patent Citation 1] as shown below. Specifically, an edge of a floor carpet along a side sill (a vehicle frame structure) is fixed to a flange provided on the side sill. In the conventional structure for fixing a carpet edge as described above, an edge of a floor carpet along a flange is attached with a retainer having an L-shaped cross section and the flange and a retainer plate are sandwiched by a pinch welt.

[Patent Citation 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H08- 132947 Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[0003] However, the fixing structure as described above has caused a risk where a floor carpet pulled toward the inner side of the vehicle compartment may cause the edge to be detached from tucker staples. Especially, such a risk is increased when thickness of the floor carpet has reduced. The fixing structure as described above also has caused a risk where the tucker staple is exposed to deteriorate the appearance. Thus, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle in which an edge of a carpet can be more securely fixed and a favorable appearance can be realized. And it is also an objective of the present invention to provide a method for configuring the structure. Technical Solution

[0004] With a carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle of the present invention, an edge of a carpet is attached along a vehicle body frame member provided at a vehicle body side. The structure comprises a flange, a retainer and a pinchwelt. The flange is raised from the vehicle body frame member along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body frame member. The retainer consists of a bottom plate and first and second wall plates respectively raised from both side edges of the bottom plate. And the retainer is attached to the edge of the carpet along the flange. The pinchwelt sandwiches the first wall plate and the flange. The edge of the carpet extends over the second wall plate and is fixed to the retainer. The pinchwelt has a lip extending over an upper edge of the second wall plate. [0005] With a method of configuring a carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle of the present invention configures the following structure. The structure comprises a flange, a retainer and a pinchwelt. The flange is raised from a vehicle body frame member along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body frame member provided at a vehicle body side. The retainer consists of a bottom plate and first and second wall plates respectively raised from both side edges of the bottom plate. The retainer is attached to an edge of a carpet along the flange. The pinchwelt for sandwiching the first wall plate and the flange. The edge of the carpet extends over the second wall plate and is fixed to the retainer. The pinchwelt has a lip extending over an upper edge of the second wall plate. The edge of the carpet is attached along the vehicle body frame member. Then the method comprises the following steps, previously fixing the bottom plate to the edge of the carpet, and sandwiching the first wall plate of the retainer and the flange by the pinchwelt.

Advantageous Effects

[0006] According to the carpet edge attachment structure of the present invention, the edge of the carpet is laid over the upper edge of the second wall plate and is fixed to the retainer. Thus, even when the carpet is pulled, the pulling force acts as a force to press down the carpet edge onto the upper edge of the second wall plate. Then, it is suppressed that the edge of the carpet gets detached. Furthermore, the lip extends over the upper edge of the second wall plate and thus the lip is prevented from being bent inward. Thus, a fixing portion between the carpet and the retainer can be securely blindfolded.

[0007] Furthermore, the method for configuring the carpet edge attachment structure of the present invention can provide the above-described attachment structure that can prevent the detachment of the edge of the carpet and provide an improved appearance. With this method, the retainer is previously attached to the carpet and thus the above- described attachment structure can be configured efficiently. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008] [fig. l]Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a side sill of one embodiment of a carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle of the present invention. [fig.2]Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the carpet edge attachment structure of the present invention. Explanation of Reference

[0009] 1 Floor carpet

2 Side sill (vehicle body frame member) 2a Flange

3 Retainer 3a Bottom plate (of retainer 3) 3b First wall plate (of retainer 3) 3c Second wall plate (of retainer 3)

4 Pinchwelt 4a Lip

5 Tucker staple

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, one embodiment of the carpet edge attachment structure of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a side sill of one embodiment of the carpet edge attachment structure of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an attached side sill. The carpet of the present embodiment is the floor carpet 1 which is laid on the floor of the vehicle compartment.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, the floor carpet 1 is laid on the floor of the vehicle compartment. An edge of the floor carpet 1 is fixed to a side sill (vehicle body frame member) 2 via a flange 2a on the side sill 2. The side sill 2 is provided at a side section of the vehicle body. A retainer 3 is attached to the edge of the floor carpet 1 along the flange 2a. The retainer 3 is a long metal angle member having a substantially U-shaped (or J-shaped) cross section. The retainer 3 is attached so that an opening is positioned vertically upwards. The edge of the floor carpet 1 is fixed to a bottom plate 3a of the retainer 3 by tucker staples 5. A plurality of tucker staples 5 are provided at intervals in a direction of the length of the retainer 3. The tucker staples 5 fixes the edge of the floor carpet 1 to the retainer 3 securely.

[0012] A first wall plate 3b and a second wall plate 3c are vertically raised from both side edges of the bottom plate 3a, respectively. In this embodiment, the retainer 3 consisting of the bottom plate 3a, the first wall plate 3b, and the second wall plate 3c is integrally formed by bending a metal plate. A corner (edge-line) 3ci at an inner side of the vehicle compartment and a corner 3cii at an outer side of the vehicle compartment are provided at an upper edges of the second wall plate 3c. Each of the corners (edge-lines) 3ci, 3cii is formed as a crisp edge. It is noted that the term "crisp edge" means to include not only a clearly angulated edge but also a corner having a very slight curve having a sectional curvature radius of 0.5mm or less. The surfaces of the first wall plate 3b and the flange 2a are contacted each other and the first wall plate 3b and the flange 2a are sandwiched by a resin pinchwelt (body-side welt) 4. As a result, the floor carpet 1 is fixed to the vehicle body. A part of the pinchwelt 4 that sandwiches the first wall plate 3b and the flange 2a has a U-shaped cross section. A plurality of barbed tabs is provided on the inner surface of the U-shaped portion to hold the first wall plate 3b and the flange 2a along a direction of the length of the pinchwelt 4. The first wall plate 3b and the flange 2a are held by the holding force of the U-shaped portion of the pinchwelt 4 and an elastic restorative force of the barbed tabs. The plurality of barbed tabs project in a direction along which the pinchwelt 4 is prevented from being detached (upward in the drawing).

[0013] The edge of the floor carpet 1 extends over an upper edge of the raised second wall plate 3c. A lip (tab) 4a extends from the upper portion of the pinchwelt 4 toward the inside of the vehicle compartment. The floor carpet 1 is sandwiched by the lip 4a and the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c. The floor carpet 1 is pressed down onto the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c by the elastic restorative force of the lip 4a. In a range in which the retainer 3 and the pinchwelt 4 are provided, all elements have the same cross sections as shown in Fig. 1 (except for tucker staple 5). Both ends of the retainer 3 and the pinchwelt 4 are covered by a dash side cover attached to the vehicle compartment and a cover attached to the lower side of a center pillar.

[0014] The above-described structure allows, even when the floor carpet 1 is pulled toward the inner side of the vehicle compartment, the pulled tension acts as a force to press down the overlaying portion of the floor carpet 1 onto the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c. Then it is suppressed that the edge of the floor carpet 1 gets detached. Furthermore, the floor carpet 1 is hooked by the corners 3ci and 3cii formed as crisp edges and thus it is more suppressed that the edge of the floor carpet 1 gets detached. In particular, the edge of the floor carpet 1 in this embodiment is fixed to the bottom plate 3a of the retainer 3 by the tucker staples 5. Thus, when the floor carpet 1 is pulled toward the inner side of the vehicle compartment, the pulled tension acts as a force to try to pull out the tucker staples 5 upward. This pulling out direction does not act to tear the edge of the floor carpet 1. In addition, the tucker staples 5 can sufficiently endure this pulling out force.

[0015] Furthermore, the lip 4a of the pinchwelt 4 extends over the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c of the retainer 3. Thus, the lip 4a can be prevented from being bent inward. The lip 4a also can hide the fixing portion between the floor carpet 1 and the retainer 3 (especially, tucker staples 5). Then it is prevented for the passenger to see the fixing portion between the floor carpet 1 and the retainer 3 (especially, tucker staples 5). Furthermore, the floor carpet 1 in this embodiment is sandwiched by the lip 4a and the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c. This structure can counteract more effectively against the force that pulls the floor carpet 1 to the inner side of the vehicle compartment. Furthermore, a ripple of the floor carpet 1 also can be prevented, thus providing an improved appearance.

[0016] When the above-described attachment structure of this embodiment is configured, the edge of the floor carpet 1 is previously fixed to the bottom plate 3a of the retainer 3 and then the floor carpet 1 is laid on the floor of the vehicle compartment. Thereafter, the first wall plate 3b of the retainer 3 and the flange 2a of the side sill 2 are sandwiched by the pinchwelt 4. As a result, the edge of the floor carpet 1 extends over the upper edge of the raised second wall plate 3c and then the structure can endure the above-described pulling force effectively. Furthermore, the lip 4a extends over the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c of the retainer 3 as a result of attaching the pinchwelt 4 from above. Then, the fixing portion between the floor carpet 1 and the retainer3 (especially, the tucker stapes 5) can be hidden and an improved appearance is provided. At the same time, the floor carpet 1 in this embodiment is sandwiched by the lip 4a and the upper edge of the second wall plate 3c. This can provide a structure that can more effectively counteract the force pulling the floor carpet 1 to the inner side of the vehicle compartment and that suppresses a ripple of the floor carpet 1, thus providing an improved appearance.

[0017] The entire content of Japanese Patent Application NO. P2006- 172557 with a filing date of June 22, 2006 is herein incorporated by reference. Although the invention has been described above by reference to certain embodiments of the present invention, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and changes will occur to those skilled in the art, in light of the teachings. The scope of the invention is defined with reference to the following claims. Industrial Applicability

[0018] The carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle of the present invention can be applied to a structure in which an edge of a carpet is attached to a frame member of a vehicle body. The method of configuring the carpet edge attachment structure of the present invention can be applied to the building of a carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle.

Claims

[1] A carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle where an edge of a carpet is attached along a vehicle body frame member provided at a vehicle body side, comprising: a flange raised from the vehicle body frame member along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body frame member; a retainer that consists of a bottom plate and first and second wall plates respectively raised from both side edges of the bottom plate and that is attached to the edge of the carpet along the flange; and a pinchwelt for sandwiching the first wall plate and the flange, wherein the edge of the carpet extends over the second wall plate and is fixed to the retainer, and the pinchwelt has a lip extending over an upper edge of the second wall plate.

[2] The carpet edge attachment structure according to Claim 1, wherein the carpet is sandwiched by the lip and the upper edge of the second wall plate.

[3] The vehicle carpet edge attachment structure according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of corners of the upper edge of the second wall plate has a crisp edge.

[4] A method for providing a carpet edge attachment structure for a vehicle, the structure comprises: a flange raised from a vehicle body frame member along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle body frame member provided at a vehicle body side; a retainer that consists of a bottom plate and first and second wall plates respectively raised from both side edges of the bottom plate and that is attached to an edge of a carpet along the flange; and a pinchwelt for sandwiching the first wall plate and the flange, wherein the edge of the carpet extends over the second wall plate and is fixed to the retainer, the pinchwelt has a lip extending over an upper edge of the second wall plate, and the edge of the carpet is attached along the vehicle body frame member, the method includes: previously fixing the bottom plate to the edge of the carpet, and sandwiching the first wall plate of the retainer and the flange by the pinchwelt.