Foot-rest structure for the driving side of the floor of a motor vehicle

A foot-rest structure for the driving side of the floor of a motor vehicle comprises a foot-rest support, secured to the floor panel of the motor vehicle, a covering element mounted on the foot-rest support, and a lateral trim panel having a front edge connected to the covering element. The foot-rest support is constituted by a three-dimensional body made of plastic material, defining a three-dimensional volume projecting from the floor panel, adjacent to the lateral trim panel, and having an inclined front surface, a top surface, and at least one lateral surface, which faces the inside of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. The covering element is constituted by a body made of plastic material, which is arranged over the foot-rest support and has an inclined front wall arranged over the inclined front surface of the foot-rest support and defining a foot-rest surface, and a top wall and a side wall arranged over the top surface and the at least one lateral surface, respectively, of the foot-rest support. The covering element and the foot-rest support are provided with engagement elements and seats cooperating with the engagement elements for their mutual rigid connection. The front edge of the lateral trim panel is connected only to the covering element, without any direct connection to the foot-rest support. The covering element has the inclined front wall that, on a side edge thereof facing the lateral trim panel, forms a channel in which the front edge of the lateral trim panel is received, the front edge of the lateral trim panel and the channel having engagement elements and seats cooperating with the engagement elements for rigid connection of the lateral trim panel to the covering element.

This application claims priority to IT Patent Application No. 102015000079926 filed 3 Dec. 2015, the entire contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a foot-rest structure for the driving side of the floor of a motor vehicle, of the type comprising a foot-rest support, secured to the floor panel of the motor vehicle, a covering element mounted on the foot-rest support, and a lateral trim panel having a front edge connected to the covering element.

A foot-rest structure of the type referred to above is, for example, described in EP-A-2 335 973. In this known solution, the aforesaid lateral trim panel has a front edge that engages both the aforesaid foot-rest support and the aforesaid covering element. The side panel is used to keep the coupling parts provided on the foot-rest support and on the covering element mutually engaged. This solution presents the drawback of rendering the assembly operations relatively complex, at the expense of speed of assembly and reliability of the connection.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a foot-rest structure of the type referred to above that is simple, presents low cost, can be assembled with easy and fast operations, and consequently provides greater assurance that the operation of assembly will be carried out properly, guaranteeing a reliable connection.

A further object lies in the simplification of the manufacturing equipment and in the possibility of guaranteeing proper assembly with not excessively stringent manufacturing tolerances.

Yet a further object lies in an increase in the space available in the area behind the foot-rest structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With a view to achieving the above object, the subject of the invention is a foot-rest structure of the type referred to at the beginning, further characterized in that:said foot-rest support is constituted by a three-dimensional body of plastic material, defining a three-dimensional volume projecting from the floor panel, adjacent to said trim lateral panel, and having a front inclined surface, an upper surface and at least one inner lateral surface facing towards the inside of the passanger compartment,said covering element is constituted by a body of plastic material arranged over said foot-rest support, and having:a front inclined wall covering said front inclined surface of the foot-rest support and defining a foot resting surface,an upper wall and a lateral wall respectively arranged over said upper surface and said at least one inner lateral surface of said foot-rest support,said covering element and said foot-rest support being provided with engagement elements and seats cooperating with said engagement elements, for their mutual rigid connection,the front edge of the trim lateral panel is connected only to said covering element, with no direct connections to said foot-rest support, said covering element having said front inclined wall which, on a lateral edge thereof facing the trim lateral panel, forms a channel in which the front edge of the trim lateral panel is received, said front edge of the trim lateral panel and said channel having engagement elements and seats cooperating with said engagement elements, for rigidly connecting the trim lateral panel to said covering element.

Thanks to the aforesaid characteristics, the foot-rest structure according to the invention can be assembled with relatively simple and fast operations. This also provides greater assurance that the assembly operation will be carried out properly, guaranteeing a stable and reliable connection of the aforesaid parts to one another. Moreover, the structure described is constituted by constructionally simple and low-cost parts. The impact on the manufacturing equipment is minimal, and it is possible to guarantee proper assembly with not excessively stringent manufacturing tolerances. Furthermore, thanks to the arrangement and structure described above, the space available in the area behind the foot-rest structure is increased.

In the preferred embodiment, arranged between the aforesaid covering element and the foot-rest support is a portion of a mat structure, which is mounted on the floor panel of the motor vehicle. In this embodiment, the connection between the covering element and the foot-rest support is obtained by means of a plurality of engagement elements, which project from the covering element and are designed to engage corresponding seats prearranged in the foot-rest support. In the case of the aforesaid embodiment, where the covering element is arranged over the foot-rest support with interposition of a mat portion, the engagement elements projecting from the covering element also traverse passages obtained in the mat portion, in addition to engaging the corresponding seats in the foot-rest support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

Further characteristics and advantages of the present invention will now be described with reference to the annexed drawings, which are provided purely by way of non-limiting example and in which:

FIG. 1is a partial perspective view of the floor and of the side wall of a driving side of a motor vehicle, provided with the foot-rest structure according to the invention;

FIG. 2is a partially exploded view of the structure ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3is a further exploded perspective view of the structure ofFIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4is a further exploded perspective view of the structure ofFIGS. 1 to 3, in a view from the front;

FIG. 5is a cross-sectional view at an enlarged scale of the structure ofFIGS. 1 to 4; and

FIG. 6shows a detail ofFIG. 4in an assembled condition and at an enlarged scale.

With reference to the drawings, number1designates as a whole a portion of the driving side of the floor of a motor vehicle adjacent to a lateral trim panel2that covers, on the side facing the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, the bottom portion of the side of the motor vehicle.

The lateral trim panel2has a rear portion2A, which defines the bottom edge of the door compartment, and a front portion2B constituting a substantially vertical wall that defines the lateral surface of the passenger compartment underneath the dashboard (not illustrated) of the motor vehicle.

Also visible in the example illustrated inFIG. 1is a handle3arranged in a recess of the vertical wall2B and connected to a flexible metal cable3A (partially visible inFIG. 1) that is designed to govern release of the lock of the bonnet of the motor vehicle.

With reference in particular toFIGS. 3 and 4, here number4designates the structure of sheet metal constituting the floor panel of the motor vehicle, mounted on which is a mat structure5of the type conventionally used for covering the floor of passenger compartments of motor vehicles. The mat5has a portion5A that is arranged between a foot-rest support6and a covering element7. The foot-rest support6has a three-dimensional body made of plastic material, mounted on the floor panel4and secured thereto via any connection means (for example, screws). The body of the support6has an inclined front surface6A and at least a top surface6B and a lateral surface6C, which faces the inside of the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle. As may be seen inFIG. 4, in the case of the example illustrated, the body made of plastic material6also has a lateral surface6D facing the outside and a rear surface6E.

As already mentioned, mounted on the foot-rest support6is a covering element7. As likewise has already been mentioned, in the case of the specific embodiment illustrated herein, moreover arranged between the support6and the covering element7is the portion5A of the mat5.

The covering element7has a body made of plastic material, which, as may be seen inFIGS. 3 and 4, includes an inclined front wall7A arranged over the inclined front surface6A of the foot-rest support6. The body of the covering element7moreover includes a top wall7B arranged on the top surface6B of the support6, and just one side wall7C, on the side facing the inside of the passenger compartment, arranged over the inner side wall6C of the support6. The element7only includes the front wall7A, the top wall7B, and the inner side wall7C and is instead open on its outer side, on its rear side, and on its bottom side.

The front wall7A has a surface preferably formed with parallel vertical ribbings7A1(seeFIG. 5) for the driver to rest his or her left foot thereon.

Of course, the present description may be applied identically also to a right-hand driving side, in which case the foot-rest structure will be on the right side, adjacent to a lateral trim panel arranged on the right side of the passenger compartment.

Projecting from the rear surface of the front wall7A of the covering element7are engagement elements70that traverse openings5A1formed in the mat portion5A and engage corresponding coupling seats60prearranged in the foot-rest support6for rigid connection of the covering element7on the support6.

As may be seen inFIG. 5, the wall7A extends laterally towards the inside of the passenger compartment beyond the foot-rest support6and has its side wall7C directly resting on the floor5. Projecting from the wall7A are also tabs71that engage openings50in the structure of the mat5.

As may be seen clearly inFIG. 6, the inclined front wall7A of the covering element7has its side edge facing the side panel2that forms a channel72, within which the front edge20of the lateral trim panel2is received.

In the example illustrated, the front edge20of the lateral trim panel2has engagement teeth21, which that cooperate with respective engagement seats73formed in the bottom of the channel72for mutual connection between the front edge20of the lateral trim panel2and the covering element7.

As may be seen inFIG. 3, the mat portion5A also has a front wall arranged over the surface6A, a top wall5B arranged over the surface6B, and an inner side wall5C arranged over the surface6C.

Assembly of the structure described above may be carried out with simple, easy, and fast operations. The foot-rest support6is fastened to the floor panel4and is then covered by the portion5A of the mat structure5when this is applied on the floor panel. The covering element7is then mounted on the support6, with interposition of the portion5A of the mat structure5, by coupling the covering element7to the support6by engagement of the elements70within the seats60and engagement of the tabs71within the openings50of the mat structure5(seeFIG. 5). This operation may be carried out in an extremely simple and intuitive way in so far as the covering element7has an internal tab74that can be used as reference for positioning against the side wall6C of the support6, with interposition of the wall5C of the mat5. In the assembly process, it is moreover possible to count on the reference determined by cooperation between the top wall7B of the covering element and the top surface6B of the support6and between the inclined front wall7A of the covering element and the inclined front surface6A of the support6. Once the covering element has been properly positioned, it merely has to be pressed into the final position so as to obtain mutual engagement between the engagement elements60and71and the respective seats60,50. Once the covering element7has been mounted, the front edge20of the lateral trim panel2can be connected thereto. For this purpose, it is simply necessary to position the front edge20of the panel2within the channel72, bringing the teeth21into engagement within the respective seats73. The front edge20of the lateral trim panel2only needs to engage the channel72of the covering element7, without any direct engagement to the support6, so that this operation can be carried out easily and quickly.

The simplicity of the operation of assembly also constitutes a greater guarantee on the fact that it is always carried out properly thus ensuring a stable and reliable connection of the various parts to one another.