Heavy duty vehicle floor mat

Details Heavy duty vehicle floor mat Heavy duty vehicle floor mat

2000-10-30

2004-09-21

Jones, Deborah (Department: 1772)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Structurally defined web or sheet

Including sheet or component perpendicular to plane of web...

C428S095000, C428S099000, C428S213000, C296S097230, C296S075000, C005S417000, C015S215000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06794013

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to floor mats for automobiles and especially floor mats designed for use with construction vehicles, load hauling vehicles, or other heavy duty work vehicles. In such work vehicles the vehicle driver or passengers may be wearing rugged work boots which tend to accumulate mud, moisture, and debris build-up that is ultimately deposited on the floor of the work vehicle. Worker's boots also tend to be more damaging to an interior floor of the work vehicle due to the heavy and rugged sole construction.
It has long been the practice to cover the interior areas of an automobile which are subjected to heavy wear with separate floor mats, whether or not such interior areas are previously carpeted. It has been important in the design of floor mats to attempt to collect and store water and debris from shoes of drivers and passengers. Prior floor mat construction have also been designed with means to retain the floor mat in a proper position within the vehicle to prevent twisting or riding up of the floor mat under the vehicle pedals. It has also been recognized that it is necessary for a floor mat to neatly fit the area it covers without folds, wrinkles, or buckles, which may interfere with the operation of the vehicle. In view of the concerns of the prior art and the additional requirements of a work vehicle application, the apparent advantages and objects of the invention will be described hereinafter.
It is an object of the invention to provide a durable heavy-duty floor mat for use in construction or other work vehicles. It is a further object of the invention to provide a floor mat for collecting debris and moisture associated with work vehicles. Another object of the invention is to provide an extra-durable surface in areas of the floor mat most susceptible to wear. A specific object of the invention is to provide a shoe traction surface and a shoe-scraping surface on a floor mat. It is a further object of the invention to achieve a snug fit of a vehicle floor mat without substantial folds or wrinkles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is vehicle floor mat constructed to form a molded flexible mat. The mat has a raised peripheral lip provided on side edges of the molded mat. A first area of the mat is contained within the peripheral lip. The first area has a recessed bottom surface and a plurality of raised protrusions extending from the bottom surface in order to provide a texturized surface, with a first texturized surface pattern. A second area of the mat is also contained within the peripheral lip. The second area has a recessed floor and a plurality of elongated parallel ridges protruding from the recessed floor, providing the second area with a second texturized surface pattern different from the first pattern, The second area further comprises a plurality of raised bumps on the recessed floor in between the parallel ridges. The vehicle floor mat is designed so that the first area of the molded mat generally covers an upper section and a lower section of a substantial floor area of the mat, and the second area of the molded mat generally covers a middle section of the substantial floor area of the mat.
The floor mat has at least one wear plate fixed upon the bottom surface of the molded mat. The wear plates include a heel plate located in the lower section of the mat and a toe plate located in the upper section of the mat. The wear plate is surrounded at its edges by a contoured wall, which is raised and extends up from the bottom surface. The wear plate comprises a metal plate having a texturized surface pattern. The vehicle floor mat has a back side of the molded mat. The back side has at least one gripping section for gripping the vehicle floor. The gripping section having a plurality of outwardly extending protrusions which are slip-resistant. The gripping sections are located on the back side of the mat opposite the wear plates fixed to the front surface of the mat.


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