Automotive Floor Covering With Pad Attachment Means

This invention relates to a floor covering for an automobile and more particularly to automobile carpets having an attachment means to insure maintenance of a protective carpet pad in its desired place upon the automobile carpet.

With the demand for quality, comfort and aesthetic beauty regulating all aspects of automobile construction and design, including the vehicle's interior, automobile manufacturers have responded by decorating an automobile's interior floor board with a unitary piece of carpet having a size and configuration to cover the entire floor board of at least the front portion of the passenger compartment of an automobile. This "wall-to-wall" look is pleasing to the eye but expensive to replace, especially in instances in which only a small portion of the unitary carpet piece becomes worn such as when a driver's feet have eroded the carpet in the vicinity of the brake and accelerator pedals. Accordingly, manufacturers have designed disposable automotive carpet pads which may be placed onto those critical areas of the carpeted floor board subject to the most wear, i.e. where the driver's and passenger's feet normally rest.

These carpet pads prolong the useful life of an automotive carpet but are sometimes of little protective use, especially where, upon a driver's or passenger's entry or exit from an automobile, the pad is skidded or shifted out of the desired protective covering relation to the desired areas of the automotive carpet. This shifting of a carpet pad can also be hazardous, especially if the carpet pad is pushed too far under an accelerator pedal such as to cause the accelerator to stick. to remedy this problem, various pad designs have been attempted heretofore which, either by the pad design itself or the pad working in conjunction with another apparatus, would aid in preventing the shifting of a pad relative to the carpet therebeneath. For example, some known automotive carpet pads are designed with the upper face on one side of the pad having a carpet face thereon and the other or underside thereof having a number of elastomeric projections thereon which engage the automotive carpet therebeneath.

Other types of pads have been proposed which use a series of stiff bristles formed or positioned on the underside of the pad. When the pad is positioned over the automotive carpet, the stiff bristles engage the carpet to aid in preventing pad slippage. Examples of such designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,361,610 and 4,481,240 to Roth. These stiff bristles may be integrally formed on the underside of the carpet pad, or as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,240, the bristles may be integrally formed on a plurality of retaining devices with the retaining devices spaced around the perimeter of the carpet pad underside. However, these designs have not proven to be satisfactory to prevent the carpet pad from shifting during those periods in which an individual is getting into and out of an automobile.

Various other forms of attaching means have been proposed heretofore, but to my knowledge none of the known attaching means have proven entirely satisfactory to effectively restrain the protective carpet pad against shifting relative to the automobile carpet.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of this invention to provide an automobile floor covering having a carpet pad attaching means effective to prevent a carpet pad having downwardly extending projections on its backside, from shifting out of its desired placed relationship overlying the automobile carpet.

It is another object of this invention to provide an automobile carpet pad attaching means which is localized in an area of the automobile carpet corresponding to that area of the carpet upon which the driver's heel would rest when operating the accelerator of the automobile.

In accordance with the present invention, a floor covering for an automobile includes an automobile carpet of a predetermined size and configuration and at least one carpet pad overlying a predetermined area of the carpet. A carpet pad attaching means is connected to the face of the carpet in at least one localized area of the carpet and comprises a unitary group of upstanding integrally formed spaced apart projections which extend upwardly from the face of the carpet. Connected to and depending from the backside of the carpet pad are a plurality of downwardly extending integrally formed projections which are adapted to penetrate into the underlying carpet to prevent the shifting of the pad. Some of the projections which depend from the pad are in intermeshing relationship with the unitary group of upstanding projections and serve to ensure maintenance of the carpet pad in its desired placed relationship overlying the automobile carpet.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the carpet pad attaching means is connected to the carpet in at least one localized area of the carpet corresponding to that area of the carpet wherein the driver's heel would rest when depressing the accelerator pedal of the automobile. The upstanding projections are also smaller, shorter in length and greater in number per square inch than the depending projections, and substantially all of the upstanding and depending projections are frustoconically shaped. A substantial number of the downwardly extending projections are grippingly engaged by a plurality of the upwardly extending projections so as to prevent shifting of the carpet pad and ensure maintenance of the carpet pad in its desired placed relationship overlying the automobile carpet.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, and from the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded isometric view of the invention showing an automobile carpet configured to the contours of an automobile floor board and also showing the position of the carpet pad attaching means relative to the automobile carpet and the carpet pad;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view looking in the direction of the arrow 2 in FIG. 1 and showing the underside or backside of the carpet pad;

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded, enlarged, fragmentary vertical sectional view through the carpet pad and the carpet pad attaching means;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but showing portions of the carpet pad attaching means and the carpet pad, in intermeshing relationship;

FIG. 5 is a composite partially exploded isometric view of corresponding portions of the carpet pad backside and the carpet pad attaching means showing a preferred arrangement of the respective downwardly and upwardly extending projections of the carpet pad and carpet pad attaching means;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken substantially along line 6--6 in FIG. 4 and showing the positional or intermeshing relationship of the upstanding and depending projections;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary inverted plan view of the carpet pad illustrating a few of the downwardly extending integrally formed spaced apart projections connected to and depending from the backside of the carpet pad; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view similar to FIG. 7, but showing the upper face of the carpet pad attaching means so as to illustrate the preferred greater density of the upwardly extending projections on the carpet pad attaching means as compared with the density of the downwardly extending projections on the carpet pad per se shown in FIG. 7.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1 wherein a floor covering embodied in an automobile carpet 14 is illustrated as though resting upon and conforming to the floorboard of an automobile, not shown. The portion of the carpet 14 shown in FIG. 1 serves as the usual passenger compartment of the automobile, and on the driver's side of the compartment, the floorboard supports the usual throttle or accelerator pedal 11 adapted to be engaged and operated by the driver's foot, as is usual. It is apparent that the automobile carpet 14 is of a predetermined size and configuration to cover a typical floorboard of an automobile.

As shown in FIG. 1, two carpet pads 15, 15' are overlying the respective driver's and passenger's sides of the automobile carpet 14. Both carpet pads 15, 15' may be of essentially the same construction and may be attached to the face of the automobile carpet in the same manner and in accordance with the present invention. Therefore, only the carpet pad 15 overlying a predetermined area of the driver's side of the automobile carpet 14, and the associated attaching means, will be described in detail in order to avoid repetitive description.

Although the carpet pad 15 may contribute little to the safety or operability of the automobile, carpet pads have become standard accessories in virtually all new makes and models of automobiles, since they are the only feasible and economical means capable of protecting the automobile carpets which are generally quite expensive. Typically, the carpet pad 15 on the driver's side of the automobile is shaped and dimensioned so as to fit under the accelerator pedal 11 and to thereby provide the desired protective covering for the automobile carpet 14 in the area of the floorboard where the driver's feet rest. Accordingly, the forward portion of the carpet pad 15 is provided with a slit 15a which terminates in an opening 15b to enable an installer to readily position the forward portion of the carpet pad 15 beneath the accelerator pedal 11 and in surrounding relation to the usual throttle shaft 11a extending downwardly from the accelerator pedal 11 and through the floorboard.

As is well known, with the repeated shuffling of a driver's foot during driving and upon exit and entry from the automobile, a conventional automobile carpet pad, having no suitable means to secure the same to the automobile carpet therebeneath, has frequently shifted from its desired placed relationship overlying the automobile carpet and occasionally would form into a "crumpled" or "bunched" condition under the accelerator pedal, with the attendant danger of the bunched carpet pad causing the accelerator pedal to stick. The present invention overcomes this deficiency by fixedly connecting to the automobile carpet 14 a carpet pad attaching means, broadly designated at 20 in at least one localized area of the automobile carpet 14. With particular reference to the attaching means 20 on the driver's side of the passenger compartment, the carpet pad attaching means should be desirably located in that localized area of the automobile carpet 14 wherein the driver's heel would rest when depressing the accelerator pedal 11 of the automobile. The carpet pad attaching means 20 of this invention ensures maintenance of the carpet pad 15 in its desired placed relationship when present in overlying relation to the automobile carpet 14, thus preventing undue shifting and displacement of the carpet pad 15. In the preferred embodiment, since the carpet pad attaching means 20 is positioned in a localized area adjacent the accelerator pedal 11, it may serve to replace the conventional heel wear pad provided in most automobiles. In FIG. 1, the carpet pad attaching means 20' is shown located on the passenger side of the vehicle to prevent displacement of that carpet pad 15' from its desired placed relationship. However, since there is virtually no danger in the vehicle's operation in the event that the carpet pad 15' is shifted on the passenger side of the vehicle, cost considerations may dictate that a carpet pad attaching means made in accordance with the present invention be provided only on the driver's side of the passenger compartment.

The automobile carpet 14 and carpet 15 may be of conventional or other construction provided that the carpet pad 15 has a plurality of downwardly extending integrally formed spaced apart projections 15e connected thereto and depending from the backside thereof for cooperating with the improved attaching means 20. Accordingly, as best seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the carpet pad 15 comprises a relatively thin, flexible backing 15d of elastomeric or rubber-like material having on the underside thereof a plurality of the spaced apart downwardly extending projections 15e which are integrally formed in that they depend from and are integral with the backing 15d. Conventionally, the projections 15e are of tapered or frustoconical shape and are adapted to penetrate into the underlying automobile carpet 14 for aiding in preventing shifting of the carpet pad 15 relative to the automobile carpet 14. It is apparent that the projections 15e on the backside of the carpet pad 15 can engage and penetrate into the automobile carpet 14 to provide some restraining force against shifting movement thereof. However, the amount of movement restraint which these projections alone can provide through simply engaging the carpet has not been found to be sufficient to practically anchor the pad against slipping. To ensure restraint against the carpet pad 15 shifting, relative to the carpet 14, some of the downwardly extending projections 15e engage the improved carpet pad attaching means 20, as will be presently described. As preferred, a mat or facing 15f of conventional construction, e.g., knit, woven or non-woven material, defines the upper side or face of carpet pad 15 and is suitably secured on the side of the backing 15d opposite from the side from which the projections 15e extend. Desirably, the mat 15f covers substantially the entire upper surface of the backing 15d and may be secured thereto by any suitable means, such as suitable stitching extending through piping 15g (FIGS. 1 and 2) extending along and folded over the peripheral edges of the backing and the mat or facing 15f of the carpet pad 15.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-6 and 8, the carpet pad attaching means 20 comprises a backing 20a molded of elastomeric or rubber-like material which may be similar to the material of which the carpet pad backing 15d and its downwardly extending projections 15e are formed. The underside of the backing 20a is suitably bonded, as by heat and pressure, to the upper face of the carpet 14. The size of the attaching means backing 20a should be substantially less than the overall size of the carpet 14 and the carpet pad 15 so that such an attachment means may be connected to the face of the carpet 14 in at least one localized area of the carpet. Stated otherwise, the attaching means 20 may be of any shape or size suitable for its intended purpose. By way of example, the shape of the attaching means may be square, round, oblong or irregular, and/or the attaching means 20 may be of about the same shape and size as the conventional heel wear pad provided on the carpets of most automobiles adjacent the throttle control pedals thereof. A 6".times.8" rectangular carpet pad attaching means has served quite well in experimental use of the invention.

The attaching means 20 further comprises a unitary group of upstanding integrally formed spaced apart frustoconically shaped projections 20b extending upwardly from the upper face of the backing 20a and thus extending upwardly from the face of the automobile carpet 14. The upstanding projections 20b are integrally formed by being formed integral with the backing 20a from which the projections 20b extend upwardly and are elastomeric and have such flexural rigidity as to return to an upright position if manually deflected therefrom (FIG. 5).

When the carpet pad 15 is positioned upon the carpet 14, some of those projections 15e depending from the pad 15 are positioned in intermeshing relationship with the unitary group of upstanding projections 20b and serve to ensure maintenance of the carpet pad 15 in its desired placed relationship overlying the automible carpet 14. Since the projections 20b on the carpet pad attaching means 20 are integrally formed on a flexiable backing 20a, and the backing 20a may be bonded to the automobile carpet 14 during the manufacture of the carpet, the carpet pad attaching means 20 is an integral part of the automobile carpet 14 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5).

When the carpet pad 15 overlies the carpet pad attaching means 20, those projections 15e which depend from the carpet pad 15 and which overlie the carpet pad attaching means 20 grippingly engage in an intermeshing relationship with those projections 20b which extend upwardly from the carpet pad attaching means 20 and serve to ensure maintenance of the carpet pad 15 in its desired placed relationship overlying the carpet pad 14.

To assure that the intermeshing of the depending and upstanding projections is effective to prevent any unintentional carpet pad 15 displacement, the upwardly extending projections 20b of the carpet pad attaching means 20 are smaller in cross section and greater in number per square inch than the downwardly depending projections 15e (FIGS. 6-8) so as to provide an enhanced intermeshing relation between the upstanding and depending projections. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the more dense upstanding projections 20b are at least a dozen in number per square inch and are illustrated arranged in staggered relationship in adjacent rows with about 34 projections per square inch. This compares to the less dense depending projections 15e which are integrally formed on the backing 15d, also in staggered relation of about 9 projections per square inch.

The depending projections 15e are also longer than the upstanding projections 20b of the carpet pad attaching means 20 so that the lower ends of the depending projections 15e can frictionally engage the areas between the upstanding projections 20b to thereby increase the frictional force resisting shear between the carpet pad 15 and the underlying automobile carpet 14. In a preferred commercial embodiment, the upstanding projections 20b are less than 1/4 inch in height and preferably approximately 3/16 inch in height while the depending projectins 15e are approximately 1/4 inch in height.

In actual use, when the carpet pad 15 is initially placed over the carpet 14, some of the projections 15e depending from the pad 15 intermesh with the unitary group of upstanding projections 20b of the carpet pad attaching means 20. Because the upstanding projections 20b are elastomeric (as are the downwardly extending projections 15e), they readily flex (see FIGS. 4, 5 and 6) to allow full intermeshing between the shorter in length and more dense upstanding projections 20b and the longer and less dense depending projections 15e. Thus, there is assurance that a substantial number of downwardly extending projections 15e are grippingly engaged by a plurality of the upwardly extending projections 20b to ensure maintenance of the carpet pad 15 in its desired placed relationship overlying the carpet 14.

The foregoing embodiments are to be considered illustrative rather than restrictive of the invention and those modifications which come within the meaning and range of equivalents of the claims are to be included therein.