FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present subject matter described herein generally relates to a luggage floor carpet, and more specifically to a collapsible support for luggage floor carpet and method to use thereof.

BACKGROUND

[002] A luggage floor carpet is used to protect the luggage in an automobile boot or trunk against damage and provides a plain surface for storage in all types of vehicles. The boot or trunk of the vehicle is also used to store a spare wheel upon which the luggage floor carpet is placed. Many a times the spare wheel is a normal tyre or a limp home tyre. The limp home tyre is basically a tyre with smaller dimensions than the normal tyre of the vehicle. Due to smaller dimensions of the limp home tyre, there is a gap/space between the tyre and the luggage floor carpet and hence there is possibility of sagging of the luggage floor carpet on storing the luggage.

[003] Currently, a foam is supported from B surface of the luggage compartment floor carpet which maintains a level of luggage compartment floor carpet in normal condition when a limp home tyre is placed in the vehicle boot or trunk. Said foam is an extra part which need to be carried every time and as it is a loose part, there are high chances of getting it misplaced. Further, as the foam is a soft part, there is chance for deformation of the luggage floor carpet on storing the luggage. Further, during sudden puncture, normal tyre needs to be placed in the spare wheel area by replacing it with the limp home tyre. In such case, the foam is kept in the boot space which reduces a storage capacity of the boot. Furthermore, removing or installing the foam is an added activity for the user during replacement of tyre.

[004] Hence to overcome the aforesaid objection, there is a requirement to provide the luggage compartment floor carpet with adequate support to the hardboard of the luggage floor carpet.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[005] One object of the present disclosure is to provide a collapsible type of support for a luggage floor carpet which is compact, lightweight and cost effective. [006] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a luggage floor carpet that supports both a normal tyre and a limp home tyre.

[007] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to prevent sagging or deformation of a luggage floor carpet.

[008] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a collapsible support system which is directly mounted on a luggage floor carpet to reduce space constraint of a boot area of vehicle.

[009] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a collapsible support to a luggage floor carpet for easy accessibility and operation by the user.

SUMMARY

[0010] Before the present system is described, it is to be understood that this application is not limited to the particular machine or device, as there can be multiple possible embodiments that are not expressly illustrated in the present disclosures. It is also to be understood that the terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. This summary is provided to introduce aspects related to a collapsible type of support to luggage floor carpet, and the aspects are further elaborated below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify essential features of the proposed subject matter nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the proposed subject matter.

[0011] The present subject matter relates to a collapsible support system for a luggage floor carpet. Said collapsible support system is opened on demand to compensate a gap created between a limp home tyre in a spare wheel well and the luggage floor carpet. Said collapsible support system mainly comprises a plurality of horizontal flaps (103), a pair of longitudinal flaps (104) and an actuating means wherein said support system is mounted on a hardboard (102) of the luggage floor carpet (101) through a plurality of hinges (105). The plurality of horizontal flaps and the pair of longitudinal flaps are configured to open simultaneously from 0 to 90 by operating the actuating means wherein the plurality of horizontal flaps and the pair of longitudinal flaps are configured to be of same height. The plurality of hinges are configured to be of detent type or L-type that are restricted to open from 0 to 90. The actuating means is configured to be from one of a string and handle mechanism, a gear mechanism, a pneumatic actuator, a solenoid valve, a hydraulic actuator and a motorized mechanism. The actuating means of the present invention is configured to be a string connected to a handle provided for pulling wherein the string is further connected to the plurality of horizontal flaps through a hole.

[0012] Further, a method of operation of the collapsible support system for the luggage floor carpet as claimed in claim 1 comprises steps of: for opening the collapsible support system: operating the actuating means to open the collapsible support wherein the plurality of collapsed horizontal flaps and the pair of collapsed longitudinal flaps opens simultaneously from 0 to 90 between the gap created between the limp home tyre of the spare wheel well and the luggage floor carpet and for closing the collapsible support system: operating the actuating means to collapse the plurality of opened horizontal flaps and the pair of opened longitudinal flaps simultaneously from 90 to 0.

STATEMENT OF INVENTION

[0013] Accordingly, the present subject matter discloses a collapsible support system for a luggage floor carpet comprising a plurality of horizontal flaps configured to be mounted between a pair of longitudinal flaps, a plurality of hinges configured for mounting the plurality of horizontal flaps and the pair of longitudinal flaps on a hardboard of the luggage floor carpet and an actuating means configured to open and close the plurality of horizontal flaps and the pair of longitudinal flaps on demand.

[0014] Moreover, said collapsible support system is configured to compensate a gap created between the luggage floor carpet and a limp home tyre mounted in a spare wheel well. The plurality of horizontal flaps and the pair of longitudinal flaps are configured to open simultaneously from 0 to 90 by the actuating means. Further, the plurality of hinges are configured to be of detent type or L-type that are restricted to open from 0 to 90. The plurality of horizontal flaps and the pair of longitudinal flaps are configured to be of same height required to compensate the gap created between the luggage floor carpet and the limp home tyre mounted in the spare wheel well. The actuating means is configured to be from one of a string and handle mechanism, a gear mechanism, a pneumatic actuator, a solenoid valve, a hydraulic actuator and a motorized mechanism. The actuating means of the present invention is configured to be a string connected to a handle provided for pulling wherein the string is further connected to the plurality of horizontal flaps through a hole. [0015] Further, a method of operation of the collapsible support system for the luggage floor carpet as claimed in claim 1 comprises steps of: for opening the collapsible support system: operating the actuating means to open the collapsible support wherein the plurality of collapsed horizontal flaps and the pair of collapsed longitudinal flaps opens simultaneously from 0 to 90 between the gap created between the limp home tyre of the spare wheel well and the luggage floor carpet and for closing the collapsible support system: operating the actuating means to collapse the plurality of opened horizontal flaps and the pair of opened longitudinal flaps simultaneously from 90 to 0.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of embodiments, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the disclosure, there is shown in the present document example constructions of the disclosure, however, the disclosure is not limited to the specific methods and device disclosed in the document and the drawing. The detailed description is described with reference to the following accompanying figures.

[0017] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic view of a boot area of vehicle with placement of a normal tyre and a limp home tyre, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0018] Figure 2 illustrates an isometric view of a collapsible support system for a luggage floor carpet in open condition, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0019] Figure 3 illustrates a top view of a collapsible support system for a luggage floor carpet, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0020] Figure 4 illustrates a collapsible support system for a luggage floor carpet in closed condition, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

[0021] The figures depict various embodiments of the present disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following discussion that alternative embodiments of the structures illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

[0022] Some embodiments of this disclosure, illustrating all its features, will now be discussed in detail. The words "comprising", “having”, and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items, or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items. It must also be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Although any devices and methods similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of embodiments of the present disclosure, the exemplary, devices and methods are now described. The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the disclosure, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0023] Various modifications to the embodiment will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments illustrated, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.

[0024] Following is a list of elements and reference numerals used to explain various embodiments of the present subject matter.

[0025] The present subject matter discloses a collapsible support for a luggage floor carpet in a vehicle. The luggage floor carpet (101) of the vehicle is provided with support system which is collapsible and is operable on demand. Said support system is generally used when a limp home tyre (110) is placed in a spare wheel storage area to compensate a height difference between the limp home tyre (110) and the luggage floor carpet (101). In presence of a normal tyre (111) in the spare wheel storage area, said system remains in collapsible condition.

[0026] Referring to figure 1, a boot area of a vehicle is shown. The figure depicts a schematic of the boot area wherein mounting of the normal tyre (111) and the limp home tyre (110) in the spare wheel storage area is shown. The luggage floor carpet (101) is mounted on the tyre wherein in case of the limp home tyre (110), a huge gap is present which is clearly observable from the figure 1. This height gap is compensated by operating a collapsible support system of the present invention.

[0027] Referring to figure 2 and figure 3, the collapsible support system provided on the luggage floor carpet (101) is illustrated. The collapsible support system mainly comprises of collapsible flaps (103, 104) operable by an actuating means. The collapsible flaps further comprises a plurality of horizontal flaps (103) mounted between a pair of longitudinal flaps (104) wherein said collapsible support system is mounted on a hardboard (102) of the luggage floor carpet (101). The hardboard (102) is configured to be mounted on a B surface of the luggage floor carpet (101) facing a tyre located in a spare wheel well of a vehicle trunk. Further, the actuating means is configured to be from one of a string and handle mechanism, a gear mechanism, a pneumatic actuator, a solenoid valve, a hydraulic actuator and a motorized mechanism. In one embodiment of the present invention, the actuating means is configured to be a string (106). However, the actuating means may be modified based on specialized skill of a person. In one embodiment of the present invention, the collapsible flaps (103, 104) comprises of three horizontal flaps (103) and two longitudinal flaps (104). However, a skilled person can vary the number of the horizontal flaps (103) and the longitudinal flaps (104) depending on available space in the vehicle. One end of the collapsible flaps (103, 104) is configured to be mounted on the hardboard (102) and the other end of the collapsible flap (103, 104) is unrestricted for opening and closing of flaps. The horizontal flaps (103) are configured to be mounted parallel to each other at predefined distance from each other. The longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to be mounted at both ends of the horizontal flaps (103) to facilitate a collapsible nature of the flaps. The longitudinal flaps (104) are also mounted parallel to each other at predefined distance from each other. Further, the collapsible flaps (103, 104) are configured to be hinged on the hardboard (102) by a plurality of hinges (105). In an embodiment of the present invention, the L-type brackets (105) are openable up to maximum of 90°. In an embodiment of the present invention, the hinges (105) are configured to be of detent type or L-type. Further, each horizontal flap of the horizontal flaps (103) is configured with a hole (107) wherein the string (106) is configured to be passed through the hole (107). The string (106) is further configured to be connected to a handle (108). The horizontal flaps (103) are configured to open due to a tension exerted on the string (106). The handle (108) is configured to be pulled for opening the collapsible flaps (103, 104). Pulling of handle (108) pulls the string (106) and the horizontal flaps (103) tend to open. Further, the longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to open due to movement of the horizontal flaps (103). The horizontal flaps (103) and the longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to open simultaneously on pulling the handle (108). The horizontal flaps (103) and the longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to open simultaneously from 0° to 90° due to the hinges (105). The open condition of the horizontal flaps (103) and the longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to attain exact 90° from the hardboard (102) due to tension of the string (106) and provides structural support between the gap of the luggage floor carpet (101) and the tyre located in the boot or trunk of the vehicle. In an embodiment of the present invention, after opening of collapsible flaps (103, 104) to a vertical position, the string (106) is configured to be tied manually around a knob (109) in order to maintain the tension of the string (106).

[0028] Now referring to figure 4, the collapsible support system in closed condition is disclosed in accordance with an embodiment of the present subject matter. The horizontal flaps (103) are configured to lie flat on the hardboard (102) with the longitudinal flaps (104) on top of the horizontal flaps (103). The hinges (105) are configured to be rotate at 0° to facilitate the closed condition of the flaps (103,104). In an embodiment of the present invention, for closing the collapsible flaps (103, 104), the string (106) is configured to be untied from the knob (109) to release the tension in the string (106). During closing of the collapsible flaps (103, 104), the flaps rotate from 90° to 0° wherein the horizontal flaps (103) are configured to collapse first followed by the longitudinal flaps (104).

[0029] In one of the embodiments, the horizontal flaps (103) and the longitudinal flaps (104) and the longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to be made of stiff material such as same material as the hardboard (102). However, the material for the flaps is configured to vary. [0030] In another embodiment, length, thickness, size and number of the horizontal flaps (103) are varied based on dimension of the luggage floor carpet (101) and the dimension of spare tyre well in the boot or trunk of the vehicle.

[0031] In another embodiment, the number of hinges (105) are varied based on the length of the horizontal flaps (103) and the length of the longitudinal flaps (104).

[0032] Furthermore, the present subject matter in general discloses a collapsible support system for a luggage floor carpet comprising a plurality of horizontal flaps (103) configured to be mounted between a pair of longitudinal flaps (104), a plurality of hinges (105) configured for mounting the plurality of horizontal flaps (103) and the pair of longitudinal flaps (104) on a hardboard of the luggage floor carpet and an actuating means configured to open and close the plurality of horizontal flaps (103) and the pair of longitudinal flaps (104) on demand. Moreover, said collapsible support system is configured to compensate a gap created between the luggage floor carpet (101) and a limp home tyre (110) mounted in a spare wheel well. The plurality of horizontal flaps (103) and the pair of longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to open simultaneously from 0 to 90 by the actuating means. Further, the plurality of hinges (105) are configured to be of detent type or L-type that are restricted to open from 0 to 90. The plurality of horizontal flaps (103) and the pair of longitudinal flaps (104) are configured to be of same height required to compensate the gap created between the luggage floor carpet and the limp home tyre mounted in the spare wheel well. The actuating means is configured to be from one of a string and handle mechanism, a gear mechanism, a pneumatic actuator, a solenoid valve, a hydraulic actuator and a motorized mechanism. The actuating means of the present invention is configured to be a string (106) connected to a handle (108) provided for pulling wherein the string (106) is further connected to the plurality of horizontal flaps (103) through a hole (107).

[0033] Further, a method of operation of the collapsible support system for the luggage floor carpet as claimed in claim 1 comprises steps of: for opening the collapsible support system: operating the actuating means to open the collapsible support wherein the plurality of collapsed horizontal flaps (103) and the pair of collapsed longitudinal flaps (104) opens simultaneously from 0 to 90 between the gap created between the limp home tyre of the spare wheel well and the luggage floor carpet and for closing the collapsible support system: operating the actuating means to collapse the plurality of opened horizontal flaps (103) and the pair of opened longitudinal flaps (104) simultaneously from 90 to 0. [0034] Exemplary embodiments discussed above may provide certain advantages. Though not required to practice aspects of the disclosure, these advantages may include the following.

[0035] Some embodiments of the subject matter provide stability to a luggage floor carpet.

[0036] Some embodiments of the subject matter maintain a boot space as no additional parts are required.

[0037] Some embodiments of the subject matter provide a proper and adequate leveling of the luggage floor carpet.

Equivalents

[0038] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0039] 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."

[0040] Although implementations for a collapsible support to luggage floor carpet have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methods, it is to be understood that the appended claims are not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features are disclosed as examples of implementation for the collapsible flaps to luggage floor carpet.