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US 7,444,748 B2Granted
Close-conforming vehicle floor tray with reservoir
OwnerDavid F. MacNeilinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle floor tray is molded from a multiple extrusion thermoplastic polymer sheet such that it has high shear and tensile strength, an acceptable degree of stiffness and a high coefficient of friction on its upper surface. The floor tray design is digitally fitted to a foot well of a particular model of vehicle such that a lower surface of the tray is no more than one-half of an inch from a digitally acquired model of the foot well surface.
Claims5
A process for manufacturing a vehicle floor tray, comprising the steps of:
- digitally measuring and storing points on a vehicle foot well surface;
- using the stored points to construct a vehicle foot well surface model;
- using the model of the vehicle foot well surface to construct a three-dimensional image of a vehicle floor tray, said step of using the model including the substeps of
- replicating the vehicle foot well surface model to create a general lower surface of the vehicle floor tray, and
- within a predetermined reservoir area, downwardly projecting the vehicle foot well surface model by at least 0.050 inch from the general lower surface of the vehicle floor tray to create a lower surface of the tray image within the reservoir area;
- using the stored three-dimensional image to construct a mold for the vehicle floor tray;
- and
- manufacturing the vehicle floor tray by molding polymer material in the mold.
5 more elements
A process for manufacturing a vehicle floor tray, comprising the steps of:
- digitally measuring and storing points on a vehicle foot well surface which is selectively compressible, the surface from which said points are obtained being substantially uncompressed;
- using the stored points to construct a vehicle foot well surface model;
- using the model of the vehicle foot well surface to construct a three-dimensional image of a vehicle floor tray, said step of using the model including the step of disposing portions of the surface of said three-dimensional image in an intentional negative standoff relative to corresponding portions of the vehicle foot well surface when the three-dimensional image of the vehicle floor tray is best-fit to the vehicle foot well surface model;
- using the stored three-dimensional image to construct a mold of for the vehicle floor tray;
- manufacturing the vehicle floor tray by molding polymer material in the mold;
- and
- fitting the tray into the vehicle foot well by selectively compressing portions of the vehicle foot well surface corresponding to those portions of the three-dimensional image which are in negative standoff with corresponding portions of the vehicle foot well surface model.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.