Vehicle body floor construction of motor vehicle

• US 4,511,176 A
• Filed: 06/01/1982
• Issued: 04/16/1985
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/1981
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hiroyuki, Tanaka, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Reeves, Robert B.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pedder, Dennis H.
• Application Number:
  US06/383,964
• Time in Patent Office: 1,050 Days
• Field of Search: 296/204, 296/205, 296/185, 296/188, 296/189, 296/203, 296/208, 280/5 A, 180/89.1, 180/271
• US Class Current: 296/204
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 15/073 Tank construction specially adapted to the vehicle B60K15/077 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/20 Floors or bottom sub-units sub-frames for mounting engine or suspensions B62D21/11; drip trays F16N31/006

Abstract

A vehicle body floor construction of a motor vehicle, wherein a tunnel upwardly projecting from the surface of a floor panel and disposed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle is formed at the central portion in the widthwise direction of the floor panel and includes a fuel tank disposed therein, and said tunnel is made to serve as an armrest for an occupant at the upper surface thereof at an inner side of an occupant'"'"'s seat.

Claims

1. A vehicle body floor construction for a motor vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle floor panel having an upwardly projecting central portion in the widthwise direction of the vehicle, the central portion of said floor panel projecting upwardly to form a tunnel disposed in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and

a fuel tank disposed in said tunnel, said fuel tank having an upper surface within said tunnel which progressively increases in height within said tunnel toward a rear portion of a vehicle;

an upper surface of said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel being located on the interior of a vehicle compartment, said upper surface of said upwardly projecting central portion and said upper surface of said fuel tank defining a closed cross-sectional area therebetween, a shift linkage coupled to a speed-change control lever mounted within the compartment, said shift linkage extending through said closed cross-sectional area, said upper surface of said upwardly projecting central portion being constructed and arranged to form an armrest for an occupant extending from an inner side of a seat within the compartment toward the rear of the vehicle.

2. In a motor vehicle having a front, a rear, a longitudinal direction, a floor panel and occupant seats within a vehicle compartment, the improvement in said floor panel comprising:

a central portion of said floor panel projecting upwardly to form a tunnel extending in a longitudinal direction of said vehicle between said front and rear and adjacent to said occupant seats, said central portion having an upper surface having a first height and a second height, said second height of said upper surface being such that said central portion forms an armrest adjacent said occupant seats;

a fuel tank disposed within said tunnel formed by said central portion and extending in a longitudinal direction of said tunnel; and

a speed-change control lever mounted within said compartment and having a shift linkage which extends from the front of said vehicle to the rear of said vehicle, said first height of said upper surface being lower than said shift linkage and said central portion including through-holes through which said linkage extends to within said tunnel beneath said upper surface having a second height, said fuel tank and said upper surface having a second height being constructed and arranged adjacent said linkage to form a closed cross-sectional space through which said linkage extends without interference by said fuel tank.

3. The motor vehicle of claim 2 wherein said central portion between said upper surface of said first and second height is tapered to form a tunnel increasing in height from the front to the rear of said vehicle in the longitudinal direction, said fuel tank being constructed and arranged to likewise taper in height to increase in height from the front to rear of the vehicle.

4. A vehicle body floor construction of a motor vehicle comprising:

a vehicle floor panel normally mounted within a motor vehicle and having an upwardly projecting central portion in the widthwise direction of a vehicle, said upwardly projecting central portion forming a tunnel disposed in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle;

a speed-change control lever coupled to said floor panel within an occupant compartment of a vehicle and having a shift linkage extending from a front portion to a rear portion of a vehicle; and

a fuel tank disposed within said tunnel, said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel being constructed and arranged to be lower in height than the shift linkage at a position adjacent said speed-change control lever and said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel being constructed and arranged to project upwardly to a height higher than said shift linkage in a rearward direction from said speed-change control lever, said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel being constructed and arranged to form a closed cross-sectional area between an inner surface of said tunnel and an outer surface of said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting central portion including through-holes such that said shift linkage extends through said through-holes and through the closed cross-sectional area so that the fuel tank does not interfere with said shift linkage.

5. A vehicle body floor construction of a motor vehicle as set forth in claim 4, wherein said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel is constructed and arranged to have an upper surface of a height so that it forms an armrest for an occupant at an inner side of an occupant'"'"'s seat within a vehicle.

6. A vehicle body floor construction of a motor vehicle comprising:

a vehicle floor panel normally mounted within a motor vehicle and having a front portion, a rear portion, and an upwardly projecting central portion in the widthwise direction of a vehicle, said upwardly projecting central portion forming a tunnel disposed in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle;

a speed-change control lever coupled to said floor panel within an occupant compartment of a vehicle and having a shift linkage extending from a front portion to a rear portion of a vehicle;

a fuel tank disposed within said tunnel, said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel being constructed and arranged to be lower in height than the shift linkage at a position adjacent said speed-change control lever and said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel being constructed and arranged to project upwardly to a height higher than said shift linkage in a rearward direction from said speed-change control lever;

a back panel coupled adjacent the rear portion of said floor panel;

a dash panel coupled adjacent the front portion of said floor panel; and

a reinforcing member coupled at a rear end thereof to said back panel and mounted over said upwardly projecting central portion forming said tunnel and coupled at opposite ends thereof to said floor panel;

said fuel tank and said upwardly projecting portion forming said tunnel being constructed and arranged to form a closed cross-sectional area between said reinforcing member and said upwardly projecting central portion, said reinforcing member including through-holes such that said shift linkage extends through said through-holes and through the closed cross-sectional area so that the fuel tank and upwardly projecting central portion do not interfere with said shift linkage.

7. A vehicle body floor construction of a motor vehicle as set forth in claim 6, wherein said central portion forming said tunnel is constructed and arranged to have an upper surface of a height so that it forms an armrest for an occupant at an inner side of an occupant'"'"'s seat within a vehicle.