[001] The present subject matter described herein, relates to structure of rear floor panel of a vehicle body and, in particularly, to a two part structure of rear floor panel with concave upward shape spare tire mounting well.
BACKGROUND AND PRIOR ART:
[002] In existing rear floor structures, spare wheel region and rear seat mounting regions are integrated and made with single panel. Further, a cross member under the rear floor is provided to act as additional support for mounting the spare tire. However the current rear floor structure has the following demerits.
[003] Generally, the rear floor panel and rear seat mounting is of a single part due to which there might be formability and performance issues. Also if the rear cross member is placed inside the vehicle, it reduces the space for mounting the spare wheel.
[004] Further addition of another cross member adds extra cost and weight to the vehicle which reduces fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
[005] In view of the above, it is beneficial to have a rear floor structure without any extra rear cross member to provide stiffness and support to the spare tire mounting region. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a rear floor panel structure, without using any cross member, that has high strength and is also simple and inexpensive to eliminate the existing above mentioned problems.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:
[006] The principal object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle rear floor panel to mount a spare tire.
[007] Another object of the present subject matter is to provide a two part rear floor panel structure having U shaped section joinery to provide stiffness in order to remove torsional movement in the rear floor panel structure.

[008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of beads with variable shape and configuration in the spare tire mounting well to provide stiffness and avoid torsional moment in the rear floor panel structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:
[009] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a rear floor structure of vehicle to store spare tire. The present rear floor structure is made of two parts, one is vertical panel and other is spare tire mounting well. The spare tire mounting well is connected with the vertical panel at front end toward rear seat of the vehicle. The spare tire mounting well is made of concave upward shape from a single metal sheet. The spare tire mounting well comprises an upper zone defining upper side end portion which connects with side wall of the vehicle. The upper zone portion is in horizontal surface along direction Y. Further, the spare tire mounting well comprises an intermediate zone which is connected with the upper zone by a connecting step and a middle zone which is connected with the intermediate zone by a connecting step. At the center of the spare tire mounting well, a lower zone is connected with the middle zone by a connecting step. The upper zone, the intermediate zone, the middle zone, and the lower zone are combined to define the spare tire mounting well in concave upward shape. Joinery of the vertical panel and the spare tire mounting well define a U shaped section joinery to provide stiffness to the rear floor panel structure and to avoid torsional movement. Towards the vertical panel, a boomerang bead with extended dendritic profiles is on the middle zone to attain stiffness at the front zone along the U shaped section joinery. At the right hand side and the left hand side of the spare tire mounting well, the upper zone defines flanges which connect with side walls of the vehicle. At rear side towards end of the vehicle, arc shaped raised profiles are provided at rear region of the spare tire mounting well. Further, the rear region, left hand side, and right hand side regions of the spare tire mounting well has a plurality of beads starting from upper edge of the intermediate zone and extend till the lower zone. At the lower zone, a cross bead structure with

integrated sequin beads is provided at the center to mount the spare tire with mounting bracket in the spare tire mounting well.
[0010] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the vertical panel and the spare tire mounting well join with each other to define a U shaped section which provides strength to suppress torsional movement in the rear floor panel. The vertical panel has a plurality of vertical beads for stiffness in vertical direction along height of the vehicle.
[0011] In order to further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit scope of the present subject matter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0012] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. The detailed description is described with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to reference like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:
[0013] Fig. 1 illustrates top view of rear floor panel with spare tire mounting well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0014] Fig. 2 illustrates isometric view of two part rear floor panel structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0015] Fig. 3 illustrates vertical panel of the two part rear floor panel structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;

[0016] Fig. 4a and 4b illustrate lower zone of the spare tire mounting well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0017] Fig. 5a and 5b illustrate frontal region of the spare tire mounting well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0018] Fig. 6 illustrates top view of the spare tire mounting well of the two part rear floor panel structure, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter;
[0019] Fig. 7a and 7b illustrate perspective view and U shaped section joinery of the spare tire mounting well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter; and
[0020] Fig. 8a and 8b illustrate perspective view to show side regions of the spare tire mounting well, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter.
[0021] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
[0022] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a rear floor structure of vehicle to store spare tire. The present rear floor structure is made of two parts, one is vertical panel and other is spare tire mounting well. The spare tire mounting well is connected with the vertical panel at front end toward rear seat of the vehicle. The spare tire mounting well is made of concave upward shape from a single metal sheet. The spare tire mounting well comprises an upper zone defining upper side end portion which connects with side wall of the vehicle. The upper zone portion is in horizontal surface along direction Y. Further, the spare tire mounting well comprises an intermediate zone which is connected with the upper zone by a connecting step and a middle zone which is connected with the

intermediate zone by a connecting step. At the center of the spare tire mounting well, a lower zone is connected with the middle zone by a connecting step. The upper zone, the intermediate zone, the middle zone, and the lower zone are combined to define the spare tire mounting well in concave upward shape. Joinery of the vertical panel and the spare tire mounting well define a U section joinery to provide stiffness to the rear floor panel structure and to avoid torsional movement. Towards the vertical panel, a boomerang bead with extended dendritic profiles is on the middle zone to attain stiffness at the front zone along the U shaped section joinery. At the right hand side and the left hand side of the spare tire mounting well, the upper zone defines flanges which connect with side walls of the vehicle. At rear side towards end of the vehicle, arc shaped raised profiles are provided at rear region of the spare tire mounting well. Further, the rear region, left hand side, and right hand side regions of the spare tire mounting well has a plurality of beads starting from upper edge of the intermediate zone and extend till the lower zone. At the lower zone, a cross bead structure with integrated sequin beads is provided at the center to mount the spare tire with mounting bracket in the spare tire mounting well.
[0023] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the vertical panel and the spare tire mounting well join with each other to define a U shaped section which provides strength to suppress torsional movement in the rear floor panel. The vertical panel has a plurality of vertical beads for stiffness in vertical direction along height of the vehicle.
[0024] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by devising various arrangements that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples

recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0025] These and other advantages of the present subject matter would be described in greater detail with reference to the following figures. It should be noted that the description merely illustrates the principles of the present subject matter. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its scope.
[0026] Referring to figure 1 which illustrates top view of the rear floor panel structure 100, in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The rear floor panel structure 100 has four sides, i.e., left hand side indicated by arrow L, right hand side indicated by arrow R, front side toward vehicle engine indicated by arrow F, and rear side toward rear end of the vehicle indicated by B. Hereinafter, the structure of rear floor panel provided in rear portion of the vehicle body will be described as an example of the structure according to the embodiment of the present invention. All directions as described above are with reference to vehicle body.
[0027] Refer to figure 2, the present rear floor panel structure 100 of the vehicle body is a two part structure. The rear floor panel structure 100 has vertical panel 105 and a spare tire mounting well. The vertical panel 105 connects the spare tire mounting well with the rear seat panel of the vehicle floor panel. The spare tire mounting well is in concave shape which extends in upward direction. The spare tire mounting well is made from a single sheet having different zones at different

planes. The spare tire mounting well has an upper zone 101 which has a horizontal flange portion to connect with side walls of the vehicle. The upper zone 101 is in same plane as the vehicle floor panel. The spare tire mounting well further has an intermediate zone 102 connected with the upper zone 101 by a connecting step 101a. The intermediate zone 102 extends downwardly toward ground in direction Z from the upper zone 101. The intermediate zone 102 is a vertical zone. The intermediate zone 102 is provided at left, right and rear side of the spare tire mounting well, whereas the front end 'F is covered by the vertical panel 105. The intermediate zone 102 connects with the middle zone 103 at other end by a connecting step 102a. The middle zone 103 is in horizontal plane as the vehicle floor panel. The middle zone 103 further connects with a lower zone 104 from other end by a connecting step 103a. The lower zone 104 is provided at the center of the spare tire mounting well. The upper zone 101, the intermediate zone 102 (in vertical plane), the middle zone 103 (in horizontal plane defining base), and the lower zone 104 (in horizontal plane) define the spare tire mounting well to store or mount the spare tire. The spare tire mounting well is in concave shape which extends in upward direction to receive spare tire from upper opening.
[0028] In another embodiment of the present subject matter, the connecting steps 101a, 102a, 103a are in arc shape.
[0029] Referring to figure 3, the vertical panel 105 connects the spare tire mounting well with the rear seat floor panel of the vehicle. Joint of the vertical panel 105 and the spare tire mounting well defines a U shaped section joinery to avoid torsional movement in the spare tire mounting well and provide strength to the rear floor panel structure 100. The vertical panel 105 has a plurality of beads 105a which extend in vertical direction from bottom to top. The vertical panel 105 has a bent flange 105b along width of the vehicle. The bent flange 105b connects with L shape step (as shown in the figure 7a, 7b) of the spare tire mounting well to define U shape section to provide strength to the structure.
[0030] Referring to figure 4a and 4b which describe center region (if seen from top) of the spare tire mounting well, the center region which is referred as the

lower zone 104 has a cross bead structure 106 with integrated sequin beads 107 to receive fastener of the spare tire mounting bracket. The sequin beads 107are provided on the cross bead structure 106.. The lower zone 104 receives maximum stress from the mounted spare tire. The cross bead structure 106 and the sequin beads 107 provide necessary strength to the lower zone 104 to counter stress coming from the spare tire during running of the vehicle.
[0031] Figure 5a and 5b illustrate front region 'Xf in front side 'F' of the spare tire mounting well. The front region 'Xf has boomerang beads 109, 110 with extended dendritic profiles to provide strength to the frontal region 'Xf towards the vertical panel 105. The frontal region 'Xf has L shaped step 108 at the edge which connects with the bent flange 105b of the vertical panel 105 to form a U shaped section joinery along width of the vehicle.
[0032] Figure 6 illustrates left hand side of the spare tire mounting well having arc shaped raised profiles 112 at rear region 'Xb' at both corners. The arc shaped raised profiles 112 provide strength at the rear region towards rear side 'R' of the vehicle.
[0033] As shown in the figures 6, 7a, 7b, 8a, and 8b, a plurality of beads 111 are provided on the rear region 'Xb', on left hand side region 'XI', on right hand side region 'Xr' starting from upper edge of the intermediate zone 102 and extend till the lower zone 104. The plurality of beads 111 are provided on all sides except front side 'F'. An alternative bead from the plurality of beads 111 is defined under two different dimensions. The plurality of beads 111 are in boot shaped inter linked beads starting from the edge of the intermediate zone 102 and extend downwardly towards of the cross bead structure 106 of the lower zone 104. The plurality of beads 111 provide stiffness to the spare tire mounting well. In the rear region 'Xb', the plurality of beads 111 extend in between the two arc shaped raised profiles 112 to further stiffen the spare tire mounting well at rear end.
[0034] Figure 7a and 7b illustrate front side region 'Xf and rear side region 'Xb' of the spare tire mounting well. The front side region 'Xf and rear side region 'Xb' have the plurality of beads 111 to increase strength of the spare tire

mounting well. In these regions also, the plurality of beads 111 start from edge of the intermediate zone 102 which initiates from connecting step 101a and extend upto the cross bead structure 106 of the lower zone 104. The plurality of beads 111 is continuous over all connecting steps of the intermediate zone 102 and the middle zone 103. The front region has an L shaped step 108 which joins with the bent flange 105b of the vertical panel 105 to form or define a U shaped joinery. The U shaped joinery provides necessary strength to the spare tire mounting well to avoid torsional movement.
[0035] As shown in the figure 8a and 8b, the spare tire mounting well describes arc shape raised profiles 112 at the rear corners of left side and right side and the plurality of beads 111 on left side, right side, and rear side to provide stiffness to the spare tire mounting well.
[0036] The present spare tire mounting well is made of a single sheet. All beads and plane are provided by a press machine.
[0037] The term "vehicle" or "Automobile" as used throughout this detailed description and in the claims refers to any moving vehicle that is capable of carrying one or more human occupants or Goods and is powered by any form of energy. The term "vehicle" is a motor vehicle which includes, but is not limited to: cars, trucks, vans, minivans, hatchback, sedan, MUVs, and SUVs.
[0038] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as "open" terms (e.g., the term "including" should be interpreted as "including but not limited to," the term "having" should be interpreted as "having at least," the term "includes" should be interpreted as "includes but is not limited to," etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such

phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., "a" and/or "an" should typically be interpreted to mean "at least one" or "one or more"); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, and C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, and C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to "at least one of A, B, or C, etc." is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., "a system having at least one of A, B, or C" would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B."
[0039] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps

or components. The present invention contemplates all of these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of "comprising" or "including" also contemplates embodiments that "consist essentially of or "consist of the recited feature.
[0040] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to structural features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/component of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.

WE CLAIM

1.A rear floor panel structure (100) of a vehicle comprises:
a vertical panel (105); and
a spare tire mounting well connected with the vertical panel (105) at front side (F) of the rear floor panel structure (100), the spare tire mounting well comprises:
a upper zone (101) defining upper side end portion;
an intermediate zone (102) connected with the upper zone
(101) by a connecting step (101a);
a middle zone (103) connected with the intermediate zone
(102) by a connecting step (102a);
a lower zone (104) connected with the middle zone by a connecting step (103 a),
wherein the upper zone (101), the intermediate zone (102), the middle zone (103), and the lower zone (104) are combined to define the spare tire mounting well in concave upward shape, and
wherein a U shaped section joinery is defined by joining the vertical panel (105) with the spare tire mounting well at front side (F) of the rear floor panel structure (100).
2.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of vertical beads (105a) is provided on the vertical panel (105).
3.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a boomerang bead (109, 110) with extended dendritic profiles are provided at the front side on the middle zone (103).
4.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein arc shaped raised profiles (112) are provided at rear region (R) at rear side of the spare tire mounting well.

5.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of beads (111) are provided on rear region starting from upper edge of the intermediate zone (102) and extend till the lower zone (104).
6.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of beads (111) are provided on left hand side region (L) and right hand side region (R) starting from upper edge of the intermediate zone (102) and extend till the lower zone (104).
7.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 5 and 6, wherein an alternative bead from the plurality of beads (111) is defined under two different dimensions.
8.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower zone (104) has a cross bead structure (106) with integrated sequin beads (107) to mount the spare tire with mounting bracket in the spare tire mounting well.
9.The rear floor panel structure (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spare tire mounting well is formed by a single sheet.