AUTOMOTIVE CARPET

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a floor covering insulation for a motor vehicle made of one or more foamed viscoelastic polyurethane foam(s), which can differ zone by zone (partially) over the area and thickness of the insulation in its formulation as well as in its physical and mechanical properties, and to a method for its production.

[0002] The aim is to improve the acoustic effectiveness of floor covering systems in motor vehicles by increasing the insulating properties through foam insulation.

[0003] The following floor covering insulations are known in the state of the art: a.) Viscoelastic foam, DE 39 05 607 A1, WO 2006 / 032433 A1 b.) Lightweight foam (chopped foam), DE 10 2008 017 893 A1 (partial) c.) Foam with partially different densities, EP 0 210 102 B1, EP 0 169 627 A2 d.) Nonwoven (glued / laminated nonwoven punched parts) e.) Preformed (glued) nonwovens f.) Fiber flock insulation (HMP), DE 10 2008 013 808 A1, DE 103 24 735 B3 g.) Nonwovens with upright / vertical fiber orientation, US 2017 / 0008462 A1, US 9 321 412 B2 h.)Fiber flock insulation (HMP) with vertical fiber orientation, DE 10 2012 003 093 A1, DE 10 2010 034 159 A1

[0004] For damping purposes, heavy layers are also used in the material structure of floor coverings, either over the entire surface or partially, as an intermediate layer; furthermore, PE / PA / PE and PE / PA films with higher PA basis weight and so-called PE / PA / PE + PET film fleeces are used as contact fleeces to the foam.

[0005] It is also known that so-called crash elements, floor mat fastening elements and footrest elements are foamed in or around.

[0006] EPS, EPP and PEPP inserts are also primarily foamed into the foam insulation to increase, among other things, the tread stiffness.

[0007] DE 10 2009 058 819 A1 describes a structure with spacers for this purpose.

[0008] Furthermore, it is known to foam composite foam pieces (DE 36 23 789 A1).

[0009] DE 20 2008 004 918 U1 states that anti-noise foil is (partially) applied to the carpet composite in several places in a force-fitting or material-fitting manner.

[0010] For example, DE 10 2011 085 190 A1 describes sound deadening pads, which are typically applied to the body floor. Sound deadening pads are heavy-duty foils that are attached to the body floor as separate components, as needed. This means additional assembly steps and an increase in the weight of the vehicle itself.

[0011] The solution described in DE 20 2008 004 918 U1, which partially integrates sound-absorbing / anti-noise films into the floor covering, requires a complex manufacturing process. Furthermore, separate components / films must be manufactured (individually), which then require additional processing steps to be placed in the mold.

[0012] DE 199 58 663 A1, which forms the basis for the preamble of claim 1, describes a lightweight sound insulation with partial impact resistance. It is stated that at least one localized area has a different mixing ratio of polyol and isocyanate compared to adjacent areas, the density is less than 70 g / l, the adjacent areas have approximately the same density, and the surface area of ​​the at least one localized area does not exceed approximately 20% of the total area. Regarding the foam system, no sound-insulating effect is reported; on the contrary, it is described that a fleece layer is arranged between the insulation layer and the foam system.

[0013] The other floor covering insulations mentioned in the prior art do not have any special insulating properties within the meaning of the present invention.

[0014] DE 20 2015 004 233 U1 describes a seat in which two foams of different densities are layered on top of each other. The lower foam layer is viscoelastic. A demand-oriented (corresponding to a combustion engine variant or electric drive version) multi-zone design of the PU foam insulation, namely different PU foam properties across the area and thickness of the insulation, is not available. The object of the invention is to modify a known PU foam formulation for a floor covering such that it has a high degree of sound-insulating properties, whereby the foam system has demand-oriented properties across the area of ​​the floor covering insulation and thus the basis weight of anti-noise coverings can be reduced, or these can be eliminated as an additional component.

[0015] The above-mentioned object is achieved in a first embodiment by a motor vehicle carpet having the technical features of claim 1.

[0016] The foaming tools are divided into individual zones / nests according to specific requirements. The zone / nest separators form a force-fitting seal on the underside of the carpet / top fabric.

[0017] In a further embodiment of the present invention, the above object is achieved by a method having the technical features of claim 7.

[0018] In principle, the PU foam formulations are poured into the open mold by foaming: The foaming mold is open; the carpet / outer fabric is located in the upper mold; the foam systems are poured or foamed into the corresponding mold cavities of the lower mold via one or more mixing heads mounted on a robot arm. So-called duplex mixing heads are preferably used here, allowing two foam systems to be introduced simultaneously or at different times via one mixing head.

[0019] The density of the individual foam systems is also varied by the shot weight.

[0020] In the Fig. 1 and 2An embodiment of the present invention is shown: Four possible foam systems are shown here; in practical implementation, the foam system SS-4 (4) is glued to the underside of the carpet / outer fabric before foaming; and the foam systems SS-1 (3) to SS-3 (5) are then poured / foamed in by means of mixing heads located on robot arms.

[0021] Shown here [SS-3 (5) / SS-4 (4)], arranged across the thickness; 2 different foam systems and therefore different foam properties.

[0022] The following Table 1 shows examples of the physical foam properties of the different areas according to Fig. 1 reproduced:

[0023] The following Table 2 shows examples of the physical foam properties of the different areas according to Fig. 3 reproduced:

[0024] The body-side foam surface can be ribbed or contoured. This is used when the focus is on insulation, but not when the focus is on reducing sheet metal vibrations.

[0025] Of course, the design of the foam surface on the sheet metal / body side also depends on the contours of the body floor and the cables and air ducts located there. The adhesion of the foam surface also depends on this and the floor panel installation conditions.

[0026] The core of the present invention is therefore the integration of the insulating properties into the foam insulation; that is, into the PU foam formulation itself without additional manufacturing processes or work steps.

[0027] Furthermore, in the demand-oriented (corresponding to the combustion engine variant or electric drive version) multi-zone version of the PU foam insulation, different PU foam properties can be adjusted via the area and thickness of the insulation.

[0028] The advantage is the elimination of a component, or rather, the reduction in the weight per unit area, namely that of the sound-absorbing flooring. Another advantage of this innovative solution is its cost: increased sound insulation is integrated into the floor covering—the insulation is integrated into the PU foam itself—and an additional manufacturing step is eliminated. Example:

[0029] According to the invention, a floor covering / car carpet 1 with increased insulation properties of the foam insulation 2 was produced (see Fig. 3 ).

[0030] The outer fabric was a commercially available Dilour carpet (600 g / m 2< PET fiber, black with 100 g / m 2< latex binding and 100 g / m 2< PE coating), laminated with 1000 g / m 2< heavy layer and a PE / PA film, 100µm.

[0031] The upper fabric was formed in a standard thermoforming system (deposit table / lamination in the contact heating field / forming). This formed upper fabric was back-foamed with two foam systems (SS-V1 6 and SS-V2 7) in the "foaming into the open mold" process; the densities of the two foam systems were varied by the shot weight (*). A commercially available duplex mixing head was used as the mixing head.

[0032] The foam surface of the SS-V2 7 and SS-V2* 7 foams was adhesively bonded. The foam-free areas 8 between the independent, localized areas of the underside of the carpet, each with a different foam composition, are clearly visible here, as shown in Table 2.

Claims

1. Motor vehicle carpet floor (1) with a floor covering insulation (2) made of a foamed polyurethane foam with viscoelastic properties, wherein the floor covering insulation (2) covers the underside of the carpet as required from one or more independent or interconnected localized areas, each with the same or different foam composition, wherein the foam of the floor covering insulation (2) has a modulus of elasticity in the range from 20 to 250 kN / m2, a loss factor in the range from 0.1 to 0.8 and a density in the range from 35 to 120 g / l, characterized in that the foam comprises EPS, EPP and / or PEPP inserts and that the lower surface of the floor lining insulation (2), which is in contact with the car body when installed, has adhesive properties.

2. Motor vehicle carpet floor (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the foam of the floor covering insulation (2) has a loss factor in the range from 0.2 to 0.6 and a density in the range from 45 to 80 g / l.

3. Motor vehicle carpet floor (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that that the areas of the floor covering insulation (2) have different foam compositions with different compression hardness.

4. Motor vehicle carpet floor (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the thickness of the floor covering insulation (2) is adjusted localized on the body side as required.

5. Motor vehicle carpet floor (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the body-side foam surface is contoured, in particular has a ribbed structure.

6. Motor vehicle carpet floor (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the foam includes spacer fabrics.

7. A method of manufacturing a motor vehicle carpet floor (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that one (a) in an open tool, in which a contoured carpet is placed on the upper half of the tool, introduces one or more polyurethane component mixture(s) for the production of foam with viscoelastic properties into the lower half of the tool in a localized manner as required, and (b) closes the tool, if necessary, with heating, and (c) foams up and reacts the component mixture(s), wherein the density of the foam composition of the floor covering insulation (2) is adjusted by varying the shot weight.

8. Method according to claim 7, characterized in that that the polyurethane component mixture(s) is / are introduced localized into one or more mold cavities of the lower tool half.

9. Method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the polyurethane component mixture(s) is (are) poured into the lower tool half with one or more mixing heads.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that the composition of the polyurethane component mixture(s) is varied as required during insertion into the lower tool half.