Floor panels and flooring systems for a passenger vehicle, and methods for installation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10919612-B2
Application number	US-201815915732-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 8, 2018
Priority date	Mar 8, 2018
Publication date	Feb 16, 2021
Grant date	Feb 16, 2021

Abstract

An example floor panel for a flooring system in a passenger vehicle includes a top sheet, a bottom sheet, a body situated between the top sheet and the bottom sheet, and an interlocking feature that extends outward from the body for slidably engaging an adjacent floor panel. An example flooring system in a passenger vehicle includes a first set of floor panels including panels rigidly attached to a structure of the passenger vehicle, and a second set of floor panels and each floor panel of the second set of floor panels has an interlocking feature for slidably engaging an adjacent floor panel and for enabling lateral relative motion to occur and restricting vertical relative motion between panels of the second set of floor panels and a respective adjacent floor panel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flooring system in a passenger vehicle, the flooring system comprising:
a first set of floor panels including panels rigidly attached to a structure of the passenger vehicle; and
a second set of floor panels, each floor panel of the second set of floor panels having an interlocking feature for slidably engaging an adjacent floor panel, wherein the interlocking feature is configured to enable lateral relative motion to occur and restrict vertical relative motion between panels of the second set of floor panels and a respective adjacent floor panel,
wherein, after each floor panel of the second set of floor panels is interlocked with the adjacent floor panel, a space is defined between a respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels and the respective adjacent floor panel to enable the lateral relative motion to occur between panels of the second set of floor panels and the respective adjacent floor panel, and
wherein each floor panel of the second set of floor panels is positioned to engage at least one adjacent floor panel of the first set of floor panels.

2. The flooring system of claim 1 , wherein some floor panels of the second set of floor panels are positioned to engage both a respective panel of the first set of floor panels and a respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels.

3. The flooring system of claim 1 , wherein the interlocking feature is configured to restrict the vertical relative motion between panels of the second set of floor panels and the respective adjacent floor panel by preventing the panels of the second set of floor panels from moving in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the panels of the second set of floor panels.

4. The flooring system of claim 1 , wherein the interlocking feature is configured to enable relative longitudinal motion to occur between panels of the second set of floor panels and the respective adjacent floor panel.

5. The flooring system of claim 1 , wherein a respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels comprises a top sheet, a bottom sheet opposite the top sheet, and a body situated between the top sheet and the bottom sheet, and wherein the interlocking feature comprises a lip that extends outward from the body of the respective floor panel, wherein the lip is formed via an outward extension of the bottom sheet beyond the top sheet such that the top sheet is raised with respect to the lip to create a seat configured for engaging the adjacent floor panel in the first set of floor panels.

6. The flooring system of claim 5 , wherein the lip abuttingly contacts a lip of the adjacent floor panel.

7. The flooring system of claim 5 , wherein the top sheet comprises a grip surface.

8. The flooring system of claim 5 , wherein the body comprises a plurality of cells each having a cavity therein, and the plurality of cells are each internal to the body, and a respective cavity is defined between the top sheet, the bottom sheet, and internal walls of the body.

9. The flooring system of claim 5 , wherein the interlocking feature extends along a perimeter of the body.

10. The flooring system of claim 5 , wherein the top sheet, the bottom sheet, the body, and the interlocking feature are a single piece construction.

11. The flooring system of claim 1 , wherein panels of the first set of floor panels are anchored to the structure of the passenger vehicle at an area perimeter of the passenger vehicle.

12. The flooring system of claim 1 , wherein panels of the first set of floor panels are anchored to the structure of the passenger vehicle at one or more door interfaces of the passenger vehicle.

13. The flooring system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a sealant positioned into the space.

14. The flooring system of claim 1 , further comprising:
an elastomer insert positioned into the space.

15. An aircraft comprising the flooring system of claim 1 .

16. A method for installing a flooring system in a passenger vehicle, the method comprising:
attaching a first set of floor panels to a structure of the passenger vehicle at locations distributed throughout an area of the passenger vehicle;
positioning a second set of floor panels such that each floor panel of the second set of floor panels is positioned to engage at least one adjacent floor panel of the first set of floor panels, wherein each floor panel of the second set of floor panels has an interlocking feature for slidably engaging an adjacent floor panel, wherein the interlocking feature is configured to enable lateral relative motion to occur and restrict vertical relative motion between panels of the second set of floor panels and a respective adjacent floor panel, wherein, after each floor panel of the second set of floor panels is interlocked with the adjacent floor panel, a space is defined between a respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels and the respective adjacent floor panel to enable the lateral relative motion to occur between panels of the second set of floor panels and the respective adjacent floor panel; and
filling the space with a sealant or an elastomer insert.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
installing a surface onto the first set of floor panels and the second set of floor panels, wherein the surface includes at least one of a grip surface and a decorative surface.

18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
engaging each floor panel of the second set of floor panels with the at least one adjacent floor panel of the first set of floor panels by interlocking the interlocking feature of each floor panel of the second set of floor panels to an interlocking feature of the at least one adjacent floor panel so that respective interlocking features abut each other.

19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
removing a respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels.

20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising:
replacing the respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels with a new floor panel by inserting the new floor panel into an opening left by removing the respective floor panel of the second set of floor panels.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Hesslewood Sean Richard
• Mckenzie Howard

Classifications

• B32B3/06

  for securing layers together; for attaching the product to another member, e.g. to a support {, or to another product, e.g. groove/tongue, interlocking} · CPC title

• B32B33/00

  Layered products characterised by particular properties or particular surface features, e.g. particular surface coatings; Layered products designed for particular purposes not covered by another single class · CPC title

• B63B3/68

  Panellings; Linings, e.g. for insulating purposes · CPC title

• B63B3/48

  Decks (planking B63B5/06) · CPC title

• B61D17/10

  Floors · CPC title