DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present invention relates to a vehicle carpet and a method of manufacturing the same. The vehicle carpet is integrated with a stiffener pad at predetermined locations for shielding an occupant’s leg from hard metal structures protruding at a lower end of a dash panel of the vehicle, thereby meeting safety requirement criterion.

BACKGROUND
[002] Generally, during a crash of a vehicle it is required to protect an occupant of the vehicle. There exists many technologies, methods and systems employed by the manufacturers of the vehicle to test the safety of the occupant during the crash. Much research is conducted to analyze crash impact on the occupant and thus many standards have been developed to provide crash rating of the vehicle which the vehicle manufacturers are required to comply. Protecting a lower leg of 1st row occupant also plays a critical role to improve the occupant safety and improve the crash rating of the vehicle.
[003] Conventionally, it has been observed that a plurality of structures which are essential to assemble various components of the vehicle are located at a lower end of a dash panel. Such structures have plurality of protruding metal structures and fastener heads. These plurality of protruding metal structures and fastener heads deteriorate a 1st row occupant’s lower leg injury and safety requirement criterion during a crash, leading to lower crash ratings of the vehicle.
[004] Figures 1-2 show a conventional lower end of dash panel (100) with protruding hard points (110), for example metal structures and fastener heads. The vehicle manufacturers in order to meet the safety requirements of various standards for crash analysis and to have good crash rating for the vehicle, add a thick layer of foam (130) shielding to the protruding structural metal structures and fastener heads (110) in the dash panel assembly thereby improving safety of the lower leg of the occupant. Such safety achieved by adding conventional foam of higher thickness assembled throughout a carpet (120) compensates legroom degrading ergonomics for the occupant.
[005] Therefore, there is a need to provide a vehicle carpet to overcome one or more of the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY
[006] Accordingly, an exemplary aspect of the present invention discloses a vehicle carpet comprising a top surface and a bottom surface. A stiffener pad is provided for each protruding hard point of a vehicle body. The stiffener pad is integrated with the bottom surface at least at a first surface area portion of the vehicle carpet parallel to each protruding hard point for covering each protruding hard point. A peripheral foam having a thickness is coupled to an inner end surface of the stiffener pad. The peripheral foam has a surface area circumscribing only each protruding hard point for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at the first surface area portion of the vehicle carpet.
[007] According to another exemplary aspect, the present invention discloses a method of manufacturing a vehicle carpet comprising the steps of identifying a first surface area portion on the vehicle carpet parallel to each protruding hard point of a vehicle body; thermoforming the vehicle carpet at the first surface area portion; integrating a stiffener pad for each protruding hard point of a vehicle body at a bottom surface of the vehicle carpet at the first surface area portion for covering each protruding hard point; and coupling a peripheral foam to an inner end surface of the stiffener pad circumscribing only each protruding hard point for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at the first surface area portion of the vehicle carpet.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[008] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
[009] Figure 1 illustrates a conventional lower end of dash panel with protruding hard points (110), for example metal structures and fastener heads;
[010] Figure 2 illustrates a cross-sectional detailed side view of the conventional protruding hard points (110) along with conventional carpet and foam assembly;
[011] Figure 3 illustrates a detailed view of a carpet integrated stiffener pad along with peripheral foam assembled, according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention; and
[012] Figure 4 illustrates a cross-sectional detailed side view of the carpet integrated stiffener pad along with peripheral foam assembled only around protruding metal structure, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
[013] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may have not been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to the other elements to help improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference signs are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[014] While this invention is susceptible of embodiments in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail, a preferred embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the broad aspects of the invention to the embodiment illustrated.
[015] Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses exemplary embodiments of the invention. Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to a person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forth relating to specific components to provide a complete understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that the details provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-known apparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.
[016] In general, the present invention discloses a vehicle carpet comprising a stiffener pad integrated at a bottom surface of the vehicle carpet and a peripheral foam coupled to said stiffener pad. The peripheral foam has a surface area circumscribing only said protruding hard point for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at the first surface area portion defined by additional legroom.
[017] According to an exemplary aspect, the present invention discloses a vehicle carpet comprising a stiffener pad uniformly integrated with said carpet, said integrated stiffener pad located at predetermined locations parallel to a plurality of protruding metal structures and fastener heads thereby shielding an occupant’s leg from the plurality of protruding metal structures and fastener heads i.e., a plurality of hard points. A peripheral foam is assembled around the plurality of hard points, thus, the assembly according to present invention does not consume any additional packaging space thereby improving the legroom and ergonomics for the occupant.
[018] According to an exemplary embodiment, during thermoforming of a carpet, a hard felt patch of stiffener pad is molded, thereby increasing the local stiffness of the carpet where the patches are used. The thickness of the carpet remains very minimal or not affected due to the local patch addition, thus saving legroom space and avoiding abrupt steps in the carpet.
[019] According to the exemplary embodiment, results of crash test show that with the stiffener pad- peripheral foam of the present invention included, there is a reduction of 50% in a tibia index and 30% reduction on a tibia compression force. According to the present invention, stiffener pad also protects the lower leg from hazardous cuts, by avoiding sharp penetrations of the interior compartment into the limbs during an event of a crash.
[020] According to the exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the foam is not limited to but may be of 25 mm and thickness of the stiffener pad post integration to carpet is not limited to but may be of 1.5 mm. The carpet thickness is not limited to but may be of 5 mm.
[021] According to the exemplary embodiment, the peripheral foam is not limited to but may be made of polyethylene (PE). The stiffener pad is not limited to but may be made of thermoplastic polyester (TP). The vehicle carpet is not limited to but may be made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric or a latex fabric or a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) fabric or a combination thereof.
[022] According to the embodiment, the area of the integrated stiffener pad is not limited to but may be of 160 cm2 and carpet area is not limited too but may be of 9845 cm2. According to the embodiment, reduction in compression force on tibia (part of foot anatomy) due to addition of stiffener pad-foam combination is 30% and a reduction of 50% in tibia index. The present invention improves the safety of lower leg for 1st row passengers.
[023] The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose of explaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The use of the expression “at least” or “at least one” suggests the use of one or more elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment of the disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results. As used in the present disclosure, the forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly suggests otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” “made of” and “having,” are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specify the presence of stated elements, units and/or components, but do not forbid the presence or addition of one or more other elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
[024] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of oil cooler system referred in the description are for the purpose of understanding and nowhere limit the invention. The skilled person will be able to devise various structures, shapes of the vehicle carpet that, although not explicitly described herein, embody the principles of the present invention. All the terms and expressions in the description are only for the purpose of the understanding and nowhere limit the invention. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Terms like parallel, at least, peripheral, inner, outer, and the like are used to differentiate between objects having the same terminology and are in no way intended to represent a chronological order, unless where explicitly stated otherwise. Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass equivalents thereof. Thus, while particular type of structure, material, thickness, area, height, width, length, shape, diameters, quantity, numbers of the vehicle carpet, stiffener pad, foam, and method of assembling and manufacturing, have been disclosed, nowhere limit the invention and are provided for understanding of the invention. It will be appreciated that the embodiments may be manufactured with other design parameters and configurations as well and are not limited to those described herein above may be as per operational requirements by making necessary changes and is not limited to those described herein and nowhere limits the scope of the invention and are provided only for reference and for understating purpose of the invention.
[025] Figures 3-4 disclose a vehicle carpet (200), a stiffener pad (210), a first surface area portion (A1), a second surface area portion (A2), a protruding hard point (110), a peripheral foam (220), a central axis (X-X), a reference line (Y-Y), an axis (L-L), an integrated thickness (Ti), a first surface area portion (A1) thickness (t1), a second surface area portion (A2) thickness (t2), a peripheral foam (220) thickness (t3) and a normal thickness (Tn).
[026] According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, Figures 3-4, disclose a vehicle carpet (200) having a top surface and a bottom surface. The vehicle carpet (200) is provided with a stiffener pad (210) for each protruding hard point (110) of a vehicle body. The stiffener pad (210) is integrated with said bottom surface at least at a first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200) parallel to each said protruding hard point (110) for covering each said protruding hard point (110). The integrated stiffener pad (210) is uniformly assembled within the carpet (200) at predetermined locations intermediate to each protruding hard point and the vehicle carpet. A peripheral foam (220) having a thickness (t3) is coupled to an inner end surface of said stiffener pad (210). The peripheral foam (220) has a surface area circumscribing only said protruding hard point (110) for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at the first surface area portion (A1) defined by additional legroom. Thus, the vehicle carpet (200) with peripheral foam (220) assembled around the hard points (110) over the integrated stiffener pad (210), provides better ergonomics to the occupant.
[027] According to an exemplary embodiment, the carpet integrated stiffener pad provision of the local zone barrier for foot of the occupant, and the distribution of the compression force over a wider surface area of the peripheral foam during a crash, aids in reducing the injury on the occupant’s foot.
[028] According to the exemplary embodiment, a foam with higher thickness is attached on the stiffener pad around periphery of the hard points. The combination of carpet integrated stiffener pad directly over the hard point with peripheral foam around the hard point, helps to meet the lower leg injury criterion for crash. By not having any foam over the hard point, the legroom is improved as no additional space is consumed for the energy absorption during crash.
[029] According to the exemplary embodiment, the thickness (t3) of said peripheral foam (220) is equal to length of said protruding hard point (110).
[030] According to the exemplary embodiment, the additional legroom established by said vehicle carpet (200) is defined by: a central axis (X-X) of said peripheral foam (220) coinciding with a reference line (Y-Y) of said protruding hard point (110) defined in a plane perpendicular to an axis (L-L) of said protruding hard point (110); and an integrated thickness (Ti) of said vehicle carpet (200) defined as a sum of said first surface area portion (A1) thickness (t1) and a thickness (t3) of said peripheral foam (220) being smaller than a normal thickness (Tn).
[031] According to the exemplary embodiment, said first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200) has a thickness (t1) greater than a second portion (A2) thickness (t2) of said vehicle carpet (200).
[032] According to another exemplary embodiment, the present invention discloses a method of manufacturing a vehicle carpet (200), the method comprising the steps of: identifying a first surface area portion (A1) on said vehicle carpet (200) parallel to each protruding hard point (110) of a vehicle body; thermoforming said vehicle carpet (200) at said first surface area portion (A1); integrating a stiffener pad (210) for each protruding hard point (110) of a vehicle body at a bottom surface of said vehicle carpet (200) at said first surface area portion (A1) for covering each said protruding hard point (110); and coupling a peripheral foam (220) to an inner end surface of said stiffener pad (210) circumscribing only each said protruding hard point (110) for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at said first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200).
[033] There have been described and illustrated herein several embodiments of exemplary indicative implementation of a vehicle carpet. It will also be apparent to a skilled person that the embodiments described above are specific examples of a single broader invention, which may have greater scope than any of the singular descriptions taught. There may be many alterations made in the description without departing from the scope of the invention. The present invention is simple in construction and design, integrated, cost effective and easy to manufacture and assemble. While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited to said configuration disclosed thereto, as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise not restrictive to the terminology described herein above. The vehicle carpet (200) is not limited to a front row dash panel; accordingly, the concept can be applicable to a rear seating where hard points are present by making necessary changes and is not limited to those described herein. Any discussion of embodiments included in this specification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure as it existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.

,CLAIMS:
1. A vehicle carpet (200) comprising:
a top surface and a bottom surface;
a stiffener pad (210) for each protruding hard point (110) of a vehicle body, said stiffener pad (210) integrated with said bottom surface at least at a first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200) parallel to each said protruding hard point (110) for covering each said protruding hard point (110); and
a peripheral foam (220) having a thickness (t3), coupled to an inner end surface of said stiffener pad (210) and having a surface area circumscribing only each said protruding hard point (110) for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at said first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200).

2. The vehicle carpet (200) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said thickness (t3) of said peripheral foam (220) is equal to a length of said protruding hard point (110).

3. The vehicle carpet (200) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200) has a thickness (t1) greater than a second surface area portion (A2) thickness (t2) of said vehicle carpet (200).

4. The vehicle carpet (200) as claimed in anyone of preceding claims 1-3, wherein a central axis (X-X) of said peripheral foam (220) coincides with a reference line (Y-Y) of said protruding hard point (110) defined in a plane perpendicular to an axis (L-L) of said protruding hard point (110).

5. The vehicle carpet (200) as claimed in anyone of preceding claims 1-4, wherein an integrated thickness (Ti) of said vehicle carpet (200) defined as a sum of said first surface area portion (A1)) thickness (t1) and said thickness (t3) of said peripheral foam (220) is smaller than a normal thickness (Tn).

6. The vehicle carpet (200) as claimed in anyone of preceding claims 1-5, wherein said peripheral foam (220) is made of polyethylene (PE), said stiffener pad (210) is made of thermoplastic polyester (TP) and said vehicle carpet (200) is made of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric or a latex fabric or a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) fabric or a combination thereof.

7. A method of manufacturing a vehicle carpet (200), the method comprising the steps of:
identifying a first surface area portion (A1) on said vehicle carpet (200) parallel to each protruding hard point (110) of a vehicle body;
thermoforming said vehicle carpet (200) at said first surface area portion (A1);
integrating a stiffener pad (210) for each protruding hard point (110) of a vehicle body at a bottom surface of said vehicle carpet (200) at said first surface area portion (A1) for covering each said protruding hard point (110); and
coupling a peripheral foam (220) to an inner end surface of said stiffener pad (210) circumscribing only each said protruding hard point (110) for distributing a compression force and establishing a local zone protection barrier at said first surface area portion (A1) of said vehicle carpet (200).

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a thickness (t3) of said peripheral foam (220) is equal to a length of said protruding hard point (110).