Carpeted automotive vehicle load floor having a living hinge

A carpeted automotive vehicle load floor comprising:

• a composite panel having first and second reinforced thermoplastic skins and a thermoplastic cellular core disposed between and bonded to the skins, the first skin having a top surface;
• a cover having top and bottom surfaces and spaced apart from the composite panel;
• and
• a substantially continuous covering layer including a top layer bonded to the top surface of the panel and the top surface of the cover to at least partially form a carpeted load floor having a carpeted cover, wherein an intermediate portion of the top layer between the cover and the panel is not bonded to either the panel or the cover to form a living hinge which allows the carpeted cover to pivot between different use positions relative to the rest of the load floor, the covering layer including a bottom layer substantially continuous with the top layer and bonded to the bottom surface of the cover wherein the living hinge includes a portion of the bottom layer bonded to the intermediate portion of the top layer.

A carpeted automotive vehicle load floor comprising:

• a composite panel having first and second reinforced thermoplastic skins and a thermoplastic cellular core disposed between and bonded to the skins, the first skin having a top surface;
• a cover having top and bottom surfaces and comprising third and fourth thermoplastic skins and a cellular core disposed between and bonded to the third and fourth skins, the cover being spaced apart from the composite panel;
• and
• a substantially continuous top covering layer bonded to the top surface of the panel and the top surface of the cover to form a carpeted load floor having a carpeted cover, wherein an intermediate portion of the top covering layer between the cover and the panel is not bonded to either the panel or the cover to form a living hinge which allows the carpeted cover to pivot between different use positions relative to the rest of the load floor.