Patent Publication Number: US-2022219762-A1

Title: Overlay floor for motor vehicles

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the priority of Polish Application P.436656, filed Jan. 14, 2021, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The subject of the invention is an overlay floor for motor vehicles, applied on the mother floor of the vehicle, intended to fix seats, wheelchairs or other equipment therein. 
     BACKGROUND 
     From the description of the Polish utility model no. Ru71588, an overlay floor is known, which has longitudinal mounting sockets in which mounting rails with a shaped groove for connecting elements of the equipment are placed. The overlay floor plate is layered, the bottom layer of which is made of a load-bearing plate, the top layer is a decorative plate, and between the load-bearing plate and the decorative plate there is a filling layer. In the decorative plate and in the filling layer, longitudinal mounting sockets are made, in which the mounting rails are embedded, and the bottom of the mounting sockets is a load-bearing plate and the sides of the mounting rails closely adjoin the side walls of the mounting sockets. The mounting rails have longitudinal flanges protruding along their entire length beyond the outline of the mounting sockets, so that the mounting rails lie with the flanges on the upper surface of the decorative plate. There is a shaped groove with a cross-section in the form of an inverted T-letter between the flanges. The mounting rails are attached to the walls and bottoms of the mounting sockets with glue. 
     From the patent description WO20150078288, an overlay floor is known, in which the longitudinal mounting rails are support profiles with longitudinal flanges at the top and with a shaped groove for fixing equipment between the flanges. The profiles have wide bases at the bottom, the bottom surfaces of which are used to place the rails on the vehicle&#39;s mother floor, and layered (or monolithic) plates are placed on the top surfaces of the base profiles so that the edges of the plates are below the flanges in the recesses between the flanges and the base. The base profiles presented in the description are high, therefore, in order to eliminate the large deflection of the plate between adjacent rails, support rails are placed in the middle of the distance between the rails, parallel to the mounting rails. 
     SUMMARY 
     According to the invention, the mounting rails consist of two parts, an upper rail with flanges and a groove for fasteners of the equipment and a lower base connected to it. Mounting sockets are made in the floor plate as through, longitudinal holes for the profiles of the mounting rails. The profile width of the upper rails and the width of the lower base profile are such that they fit into the mounting sockets with a light interference. The width of the foot of the lower base is many times greater than the width of the mounting sockets. 
     The upper rails have a longitudinal lock at the bottom for connecting to the lower bases which have a corresponding longitudinal lock along the top surfaces of the lower bases. 
     The upper rails and the lower bases are connected to each other by screws where in the center of the upper rails there are bolt holes for screws and in the center of the profiles on the lower bases, there are threaded holes for the threads of the bolts connecting the two parts of the mounting rails at the locations corresponding to the holes in the upper rails. 
     The lock of the upper rails and the lock of the base are joined together by a layer of glue. 
     It is also possible for the upper rails and lower bases to be bolted together, with screw holes in the center of the upper rails, and in the center of the base profiles in the places corresponding to the holes in the upper rails, there are threaded holes for the screw threads connecting both parts of the mounting rails and the lock of the upper rails and the lock of the lower base are joined together by a layer of glue. 
     Preferably, the profiles of the upper rails are attached to the mounting sockets by a layer of glue and/or the profiles of the lower bases are attached to the mounting sockets by a layer of glue. 
     The overlay floor according to the invention is an independent part, it is adjusted to a given vehicle, it is self-supporting, it is a good thermal and sound barrier of the interior of the vehicle from the floor. It is possible to freely arrange the vehicle space—to install chairs, wheelchairs, loads. The floor improves the pressure distribution, distributing point loads over its entire surface, it is rigid, which also increases the stiffness of the vehicle and reduces vibrations transmitted to the passengers or the load. The installation of the floor according to the invention is simple, as will be explained later in the description. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
       The subject of the invention is shown in the embodiment in the drawing, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the overlay floor; 
         FIG. 2  shows a cross-section of the overlay floor; and 
         FIG. 3  shows the floor components ready for mounting. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the overlay floor has a shape adapted to the mother floor of the vehicle in which it is to be mounted. As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , in the floor plate  1 , in this embodiment being a layered plate, consisting of three layers glued together, longitudinal mounting sockets  1 ′ are made into which two-part mounting rails are inserted. The mounting rails consist of an upper rail  2  with flanges  3  and a groove  4  for equipment fasteners and a  2 ″ lower base connected to it. The mounting sockets  1 ′ are made in a uniform sheet of the floor plate  1  as through, longitudinal holes for the profiles of both parts of the mounting rails. The upper rails  2 ′ have a longitudinal lock  5  at the bottom for connection to the lower bases  2 ″ which have a corresponding longitudinal lock  6  along the upper surfaces of the bases  2 ″. The width of the profile of the upper rails  2 ′ and the width of the base profile  2 ″ are such that they fit in the mounting sockets  1 ′ with a light interference. The width of the foot  10  of the lower base  2 ″ is many times greater than the width of the mounting sockets  1 ″. The upper rail  2 ′ with a shaped groove  4  at the top is used to attach the fasteners of the equipment, i.e. the screws for the seats, additional equipment such as a bed in camper van, wheelchairs in the case of cars for transporting disabled people. Both parts of the mounting rails are connected to each other in a different way, most often they are screwed with screws  9 , which are inserted into holes  7  in the upper rail  2 ″ and screwed into the threads of holes  8  in the lower base  2 ″. In another version, the surfaces of the locks  5  and  6  are covered with a layer of glue, or a bolted joint with screws  9  and a glue joint are used. The profiles of the upper  2 ′ rails and the lower  2 ″ base are pressed into the sockets  1 ′ with a light interference, and additionally it is possible to cover the contact surfaces of the upper  2 ′ rails profiles and  2 ″ lower base profiles and the walls of the  1 ′ mounting sockets with a layer of a glue so the sides of the mounting rails fit tightly to the side walls of the mounting sockets  1 ′, which makes the overlay floor stiff and durable. The installation of the floor in the vehicle is simple and results from the construction of the overlay floor. It can be realized in various ways, eg:  2 ″ lower bases are first arranged according to the design and glued to the vehicle&#39;s mother floor. Then, the plate  1  is placed on the profiles of the lower bases  2 ″ with the mounting sockets  1 ′, and the upper rails  2 ″ are inserted into the mounting sockets  1 ′, and they are fixed with screws  9  to the lower bases  2 ″. In the glued version, the joined surfaces of the locks  5  and  6  are covered with a layer of glue, and the surfaces of the mounting sockets  1 ″ are also covered with the layer of glue, while it is possible to combine both ways of joining parts of the mounting rails—screwing with screws  9  and gluing. Another method of mounting is to prepare a complete overlay floor outside the vehicle and fix the whole to the vehicle mother floor. Then insert the bottom plates  1  from the bottom of the  2 ″ bases (they can be joined with a layer of glue), then the upper rails  2 ′ are placed from the top (also by adding glue to the surface of the mounting sockets  1 ′ and to the locks  5  and  6 ) and screwed together both parts of the mounting rails. The mounting rails clamp the plate  1  on both sides, they jam on it. Such a floor is stiff, light and durable, it is easy to mount and its use is manifold. An overlay floor according to the invention is attached to the mother floor of the vehicle by gluing or screwing, using appropriate reinforcement pads if necessary.