Abstract:
The invention is a protective liner for the floor or cargo space of a motor vehicle. The protective liner is constructed of a flexible fabric, impervious to moisture and contaminants, which is provided with a flexible and coilable steel frame about its perimeter. The steel frame urges the cargo liner into unfolded and extended position when in use, but permits the liner to be collapsed into a compact package for storage and transport.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention pertains to cargo liners for vehicles, and more particularly, to the cargo liners incorporating a collapsible perimeter frame for providing shape to the cargo liner in use, while permitting the liner to be collapsed into a conveniently small package for storage. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Almost all motor vehicles manufactured to date feature some type of storage compartment separable or separate from the passenger compartment in which a wide variety of cargo may be carried. In fact, the cargo-carrying capability of modern sport utility vehicles has, in part, accounted for their enormous popularity. Still, station wagon cargo areas and the trunk space of traditional four-door sedans all provide common utility and common problems for the vehicle owner. 
   One of the principal concerns of motor vehicle operators is the protection of the cargo area from damage caused by liquids or other materials such as mud, dirt, grease and grime which are often associated with the cargo being transported by the vehicle. 
   Certain prior art devices have been developed for protecting the cargo areas of vehicles from such damage and soil. Currently popular for such applications are flexible plastic or rubber tray-like devices which feature a floor and a perimeter wall. These devices may be placed in the cargo area, and may be designed to conform, in perimeter shape, to the shape of the cargo area. By constructing these cargo liners from durable material, such as rubber or thermoplastic, dirt and spills from cargo may be easily contained, and the light weight and flexible nature of the cargo liners themselves permits them to be easily removed from and reinstalled in the vehicle, as needed. 
   It has long been recognized, however, that it is desirable to create such cargo liner which is easily foldable or stowable. One solution to this problem is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,831, issued to Foyen, which teaches a window shade-like retraction mechanism for a rollable and flexible cargo liner, which may be affixed to the rear seat of a motor vehicle. Another proposed solution is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,017,074, issued to Biskup, which teaches a foldable cargo liner. A cargo liner which has upstanding walls capable of providing lateral protection to the interior walls of a motor vehicle is taught by Falciani in U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,710. An interesting effort is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,710, issued to Barnard, which features inflatable elements to offer support structure to the cargo liner when in use, yet allow the device to be collapsed when not in use by deflation of the inflatable elements. 
   Each of these prior art devices are limited by their complexity, bulk, weight, collapsed size and the time required to stow and unstow, making them unsuitable in many applications. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved cargo liner for motor vehicles which is lightweight, readily collapsible, easily installed and removed from the motor vehicle, while still protecting the carpeting or other surfaces of the cargo area within the motor vehicle. 
   Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cargo liner for a motor vehicle which is collapsible into a size substantially smaller than the surface area presented by the cargo area of the motor vehicle itself. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved cargo liner for motor vehicles which utilizes a collapsible perimeter frame adapted to the shape of the cargo area in which the cargo liner is installed. 
   A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved cargo liner for motor vehicles which is constructed of a lightweight and inexpensive material which provides a flexibility at the same time that it provides impermeability to potentially stain-causing contaminants associated with the cargo to be carried in the motor vehicle. 
   In summary, the present invention comprises a flexible and impermeable barrier of material which may be either fabric, thermoplastic or rubber. The material is configured so that when extended in a flat sheet, the perimeter of the material matches in shape and dimension the approximate perimeter of the cargo area in which the cargo liner is placed. 
   The perimeter of the cargo liner of the invention is provided with a sleeve, in which is installed a coilable steel framework having a high degree of flexibility and resiliency. The framework is configured so as to be coilable, permitting the cargo liner to be collapsed into a small package easily stowed in the vehicle or removed from the vehicle for storage, without taking up an undue amount of storage space. 
   These and other features of the invention are described below in further detail, with reference to the drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the invention as installed in a typical motor vehicle environment. 
       FIG. 2  is a detailed, cutaway view of a portion of the perimeter of the invention, showing the interrelationship between the liner material, the sleeve in the liner material and the frame. 
       FIGS. 3A-3C  is a series of drawings depicting the process of folding the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the invention stored in its storage container. 
   

   DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   The cargo liner  10  as shown in  FIG. 1 , is preferably the size selected to fit the cargo area of a motor vehicle. This cargo area may be the bed of an open or enclosed truck or sport utility vehicle, the floor of the trunk of a conventional sedan, and in smaller sizes, the floor area of either the front or rear passenger compartment of a motor vehicle. A wide variety of sizes of cargo liners  10  may be manufactured, likewise having a wide variety of shapes corresponding to the shape of the area to be protected. In addition, the perimeter  11  of cargo liner  10  may be contoured so that the overall planform of cargo liner  10  corresponds to the planform of the cargo area in which the cargo liner  10  is placed. 
   Cargo liner  10  comprises a floor  12  and a continuous wall  14  which surrounds the perimeter of floor  12 . Wall  14  has an upper edge  16  and a lower edge  18  which is affixed, by stitching or other well known means to a sleeve  20  which is likewise continuous and surrounds the perimeter of floor  12 . Preferably, floor  12 , wall  14 , and sleeve  20  are manufactured from a flexible material having the characteristics of high durability and low permeability, so that dirt or other solid or liquid contaminants will not permeate the fabric floor  12  or wall  14 . In this fashion, the shallow containment vessel created by floor  12  and wall  14  serves to contain solid or liquid contaminants placed within the perimeter  11 . The fabric of floor  12  and wall  14  may be treated in any of a number of well known means to render the fabric impermeable to moisture and effectively repellent to permanent staining. At the same time, the fabric of floor  12 , wall  14  and sleeve  20  is preferably of a lightweight and highly flexible material such as Dacron, nylon or thermoplastic sheeting, enabling the cargo liner  10  to be easily carried and stored in both its unfolded and folded configurations. 
     FIG. 2  is a cutaway view of a section of the cargo liner showing a section of the floor  12 , a section of the wall  14 , and of the sleeve  20 . Captured within sleeve  20  is a flexible and coilable resilient frame  22 , preferably manufactured as a relatively thin strip of metal material, such as spring steel. Frame  22  when uncoiled is of an identical size to the maximum outer dimension of cargo liner  10  in its unfolded configuration as shown in  FIG. 1 . By utilizing a spring steel frame  22  captured within sleeve  20  and surrounding floor  12 , it will be seen that when the cargo liner  10  is in its unfolded configuration, frame  22  will urge the outer perimeter  11  of cargo liner  10  to its full and unfolded configuration, placing a predetermined amount of tension on the sleeve  20 , which in turn, places tension on floor  12 , rendering the cargo liner relatively flat while still flexible. Preferably, sleeve  20  is sewn or otherwise attached to floor  12 , and the lower edge  18  of wall  14  is secured by stitching or comparable methodologies to the upper edge of sleeve  20 . Preferably, the material for wall  14  is of sufficient resilience to permit the wall to be readily folded as further described herein, but at the same time wall  14  is of sufficient stiffness as to permit wall  14  to remain substantially upright when the cargo liner  10  is in its unfolded configuration as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
   To permit cargo liner  10  to be readily folded into a compact package for storage and transportation, the frame  22  may be easily reconfigured as a folded frame as shown in  FIG. 3A . To fold the cargo liner  10 , any portion of any side of the perimeter  11  is grasped and folded over the remaining walls of the cargo liner. This first step creates three loops of the frame  22  and sleeve  20 , as shown in  FIG. 3A , the loops being designated as  30 ,  32  and  34 . Loop  34  is then twisted 180° to overlay loop  32 . This step urges loop  30  to overlie loops  32  and  34  as shown in  FIGS. 3B and 3C . Once the folding process has been completed as shown in  FIG. 3C , the folded cargo liner consists of three interconnected loops of frame  22  and fabric. The folded cargo liner occupies space having a diameter only one-third that of the unfolded diameter of the cargo liner  10 , and having an overall thickness only slightly thicker than the unfolded configuration of the cargo liner  10 . Because of the flexibility of the floor  12 , wall  14  and sleeve  20 , the folded configuration of the cargo liner as shown in  FIG. 3C  is readily portable and easily stored either inside or outside the vehicle in which the cargo liner is used. 
   Because the spring steel frame  22 , in its coiled configuration as shown in  FIG. 3C  has a tendency, when not restrained, to return to the unfolded configuration shown in  FIG. 1 , it is desirable to secure the three coils  30 ,  32  and  34  together. This may be done by simply tying the folded cargo liner with suitable securing ties, or by storing the folded liner in a container  40 , such as shown in  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 4  depicts the folded cargo liner  10  ready to be placed in container  40 . Container  40  is typically in the form of a flexible flat bag-like container, such as a knapsack. Preferably, container  40  is provided with a closure  44 , such as a zipper, and one or more carrying straps  42 . Placement of the folded cargo liner  10  into the container  40 , followed by closure of the closure  44  serves to restrain the cargo liner  10  from unfolding. Container  40  provides protection to the folded cargo liner  10 , in addition to rendering it easily transportable. 
   In one embodiment, to prevent the cargo liner  10  from moving in relation to the area of the vehicle in which cargo liner  10  is installed, the floor  12  of cargo liner  10  is provided with fasteners  13 , adapted to engage the upper surface of the area in which the cargo liner  10  is placed. In one embodiment, fasteners  13  are in the form of the “hook” material commonly used as part of a “hook and loop” fastener, such as Velcro™. The use of the “hook” portion of the Velcro™ fastener is advantageous inasmuch as this portion of the hook and loop fastener is well adapted to removably engage the surface of motor vehicle carpeting, commonly found in cargo areas, passenger areas and trunks of motor vehicles. Other fasteners such as snaps may be used, but are less desirable in that they require corresponding placement in the cargo area and on the cargo liner  10  of complimentary mating portions of such fasteners, correctly positioned for engagement when the cargo liner is in use.