Having A Fixed Cover Patents (Class 297/452.58)
  • Publication number: 20090267401
    Abstract: A cushion body, which can secure both a soft touch feeling and favorable shape reproduction of a groove portion, a seat having the same, and a manufacturing method thereof are provided. A cushion body 11 is formed by stacking a plurality of sheet-like fibrous structures 4a to 4e, a groove portion 12 is formed in a surface layer, and the sheet-like fibrous structures 4a to 4e have a web 2 stacked so that the web extends in a thickness direction of the fibrous structures. The surface layer sheet-like fibrous structure 4e has a thickness substantially equal to or smaller than a depth of the groove portion 12.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2007
    Publication date: October 29, 2009
    Inventors: Mika Ito, Yasuchika Takei
  • Patent number: 7588290
    Abstract: The invention provides a simple mechanism whereby the material of a seat-cover assembly of the side section of the front of a vehicle seat stretches so as to snugly fit the shape of the seat's seat-pad assembly, thereby covering the seat so that it has a good appearance. A material-puller is arranged, on the boundary of the side section of the seat and the central section of a seat-cover assembly that covers the seat, in such a way that (a) the material-puller's top-end side of an appropriate length is affixed to the boundary between the rear-bottom part of said central section and the rear-bottom part of the side section, (b) the material-puller's bottom end is affixed to the front of a piece of cloth at the back-face bottom end of the main-part seat-cover assembly in the last step of sewing the cover on the seat, and (c) the seat-cover assembly is attached to the seat by pulling the bottom end of the seat-cover assembly in the backside direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2001
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2009
    Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Takezawa
  • Patent number: 7585030
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an environmentally friendly layered vehicle seat assembly and a method of making the same. In at least one embodiment, the vehicle seat assembly comprises a cushion composite comprising a structural layer and a cushion layer adjacent to the structural layer, and a trim material secured over the cushion composite.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 20, 2006
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2009
    Inventors: Ashford A. Galbreath, Asad S. Ali, Mark A. Folkert, Scott A. Ziolek, Terry R. O'Bannon
  • Patent number: 7568769
    Abstract: An elastic support assembly for a chair includes two opposite mounting members each attached to the chair, a flat elastic strip mounted between the mounting members, and a circular elastic cord mounted between the mounting members. Thus, the flat elastic strip and the circular elastic cord are mounted between the mounting members to reinforce the strength of the elastic support assembly so that the elastic support assembly has a greater strength to withstand a larger load. In addition, the flat elastic strip co-operates with the circular elastic cord to support the mounting members so that the elastic support assembly is not deformed or distorted easily during a long-term utilization or due to a heavier load, thereby greatly enhancing the lifetime of the elastic support assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 4, 2009
    Inventor: Teng-Fu Chuang
  • Patent number: 7549708
    Abstract: A seam for use in a vehicle armrest or other interior component. The seam includes a first material and a second material joined to the first material. The seam also includes a T-member connected to the first material and the second material to form a French seam appearance on the outer surface of the material. The T-member is then used to align with a groove in a foam of an armrest or other interior component to create an exterior seam on an armrest or interior component of a vehicle. The seam is created using a guide member attached to a sewing machine that will allow for sewing of the first material and second material to the T-member in a simultaneous process at a predetermined speed thus increasing efficiency of manufacturing the upholstery panel and reducing costs to the manufacturer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2009
    Assignee: Irvin Automotive Products, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph P. Wieczorek, William B. Berghoff, Bryan W. Busha, Daniel Muller
  • Patent number: 7523991
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a seat assembly having an exposed non-seating surface that includes one of a hook material and a loop material. The seat assembly also includes at least one removable storage element having a surface portion covered with the other of the hook material and the loop material. The removable storage element further removably attaches to a portion of the exposed non-passenger supporting surface in any one of a plurality of orientations and positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 28, 2009
    Assignee: Nissan Technical Center North America, Inc.
    Inventors: Bryan Scot Thompson, Raymond Devers, Anke Mazzei, Hideshi Saiki
  • Patent number: 7506939
    Abstract: Vehicle seat includes a cushion body and an attached cover with a groove at the attachment sites in the cushion body, and first lockable attachment elements attached to a groove base that lock with second lockable attachment elements affixed to the cover. Vehicle seat includes attachment elements that enable the cover to be easily, quickly and properly attached to the cushion body. This is achieved in that the first and second lockable attachment elements are the halves of a slide lock or zipper lock with a slide received by the groove.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2009
    Assignee: Faurecia Autositze GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Dagmar Brockschneider, Silvia Krömer, Benno Kauls
  • Patent number: 7490392
    Abstract: A cushion subassembly includes a support, a cushion of non-woven polymeric (PET) or PETE fibers with a formed edge that wraps over an edge of the support, and an upholstery sock pulled onto and covering the support and the cushion. The formed edge has sufficient structure to retain the cushion in place on the support as the upholstery sock is pulled onto the support. A back support shell supports the cushion assembly, and has first fasteners that engage in a first direction and second fasteners that prevent disengagement. The cushion assembly is stressed during assembly, especially at corners, but is thermally stress-relieved after assembly to relax the polymeric fibers and the upholstery sock to a state of minimized balanced tension. The back support shell includes a shallow depression on its face. The cushion fills the depression sufficient to eliminate loose fabric but provides a same force deflection curve across its shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 17, 2009
    Assignee: Steelcase Inc.
    Inventor: Gordon J. Peterson
  • Patent number: 7469968
    Abstract: A seat assembly for a vehicle includes a first seat back and a second seat back. The seat backs are spaced apart to define a gap therebetween. Each seat back is pivotally coupled in the vehicle for independent angular adjustment relative to each other. Each of the first and second seat backs has a trim cover. The trim cover of at least one of the seat backs has a flap that conceals the gap between the seat backs. The flap is flexible to accommodate the independent angular adjustment of the seat backs relative to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2008
    Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Robert Joseph Hazlewood
  • Patent number: 7425040
    Abstract: An outdoor vehicle seat is formed by placing a cushioning material on a bottom plate, and covering them with a surface skin, and fixing a surface skin end portion onto the bottom plate. Further, a highly water absorbing, highly moisture absorbing, and highly expanding member is arranged between the surface skin end portion and the bottom plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2008
    Assignee: TS Tech Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Yuichi Honma
  • Publication number: 20080185900
    Abstract: An automobile interior component including a support layer formed of a foam material and being generally covered by a cover layer, and a film layer generally disposed between the support and cover layers to prevent a selected portion of the foam material from directly contacting the cover layer during manufacture of the interior component, and/or allow placement of the cover layer on a selected portion of the support layer upon application of a vacuum within the film layer. The support, film and/or cover layers may be formed of biodegradable and/or renewable materials. The invention also provides a method of manufacturing the aforementioned automobile interior component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2006
    Publication date: August 7, 2008
    Inventors: Ellen Cheng-ch Lee, Cynthia Mowery Flanigan, Kelly A. Williams, Christine Perry
  • Publication number: 20080136240
    Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a seat part, a backrest, and at least one shell structure comprising a plastic material and having foam padding on a side on which an occupant sits. The at least one shell structure is arranged on frame parts provided on at least one of the seat part and the backrest, the frame parts comprising a metal material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 9, 2007
    Publication date: June 12, 2008
    Inventors: Ian Matthews, Hugues Gall, Oliver Klukowski, Richard Boudinot, Jean-Baptiste Trolle, Nick Xiromeritis, David Cooke, Wolfgang Pellenz, Robin Ndagijimana
  • Patent number: 7255405
    Abstract: A cushion for a seat, including a foam padding integral with a three-dimensional cover covering the padding, the three-dimensional cover including a first piece, a second piece spaced apart from the first piece and facing the first piece, the second piece having first and second spaced apart sections, and a connecting section adjacent one ends of the first and second sections and interconnecting the first and second spaced apart sections, a peripheral piece disposed between the first and second pieces, extending along peripheral edges of the first and second pieces except an edge of one side of each of the first and second pieces, and attached at edges thereof to the peripheral edges of the first and second pieces, an intermediate piece attached at an edge of one side thereof to an edge of the connecting section of the second piece between the first and second sections so as to be disposed between the first and second sections, a third piece attached at an edge of one side thereof to the edge of the side of t
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2007
    Assignee: TS Tech Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Tokio Kodera, Takahito Yabe
  • Patent number: 7252341
    Abstract: In the case of a vehicle seat, in particular a motor vehicle seat, with a seat part and a backrest as seat components, of which at least one seat component has a structure (11) and at least one adapter (15) arranged on the structure (11), the adapter (15) bears extensively and with a form-fitting connection on the structure (11).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2007
    Assignee: Recaro GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Sascha Kircher, Matthias Dittler, Ulf Schlenker, Thomas Kaiser
  • Patent number: 7118176
    Abstract: A bucket seat includes a support surface (14), curved shaped members (1) for supporting the support surface (14), receiving members (2) for receiving respective shaped members (1) and extending in a same direction as the shaped members (1), and an arrangement for rotating the shaped members (1) and the receiving members (2) in opposite direction for changing an inclination of the support surface (14), with an alignment of respective shaped members (1) and the receiving members (2) being maintained.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2006
    Assignees: Grammer AG
    Inventor: Christian Erker
  • Patent number: 7025423
    Abstract: A plurality of trim retainers 6, 50 are joined at opposite ends thereof to a seat back frame 4a. A first tension member 16 is connected at one end thereof to an outer edge of a body-contact portion of a cushioning material 8 and to an outer edge of a trim material 14. A second tension member 20 is connected at one end thereof to a portion of the body-contact portion of the cushioning material 8 and to an inner edge of the trim material 14. The plurality of trim retainers include a first trim retainer 50 for retaining the other end of the first tension member 16 and a second trim retainer 6 having a retaining portion for retaining the other end of the second tension member 20, with the retaining portion of the second trim retainer extending generally parallel to a cylindrical frame 4a.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2006
    Assignee: Delta Tooling Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Etsunori Fujita, Kazuyoshi Chizuka, Shusuke Takahashi
  • Patent number: 6851755
    Abstract: Padding for seats, in particular vehicle seats, has a padded body predetermining the contour of the padded surface, which can be changed. In order to adjust the padded surface contour to support the body of a seated person in an individual and orthopaedically correct manner, avoiding hardening of the padded surface which has an adverse effect on the seat comfort, the padded body is composed, at least in subregions, of a plurality of individual padded segments which are arranged next to one another and can be displaced relative to one another in the direction of the normal of the padded surface. Adjusting elements can displace the padded elements individually.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2002
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2005
    Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG
    Inventors: Emil Dinkel, Ewald Guenther, Juergen Schrader
  • Publication number: 20040262976
    Abstract: A cushioning material 8 is stretched over a frame 6 by engaging only front and rear edges of the cushioning material 8 with the frame 6, thereby applying a tension to the cushioning material 8 substantially only in the longitudinal direction thereof.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 20, 2004
    Publication date: December 30, 2004
    Inventor: Seiji Kawasaki
  • Publication number: 20040051367
    Abstract: An upholsterd seat element, in particular for vehicle seats, is disclosed along with a method for its manufacture. It comprises a cover (10) that encloses a layer of padding (20) on one side and is placed under tension so that it is pulled around the periphery of a cushion carrier (30). By way of its edge the cover (10) is directly attached to the periphery (32) of the cushion carrier (30), which has been placed on the other side of the layer of padding (20).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2003
    Publication date: March 18, 2004
    Inventors: Ivan Banovic, Heiko Malsch, Bernd Rager, Hansjorg Walk
  • Publication number: 20030227212
    Abstract: The invention relates to a cover for a seat in a motor vehicle or plane. The inventive seat cover is made of a leather material. Said leather material is provided with a braided area (31, 51) consisting of cord-like or strip-like elements (71, 72) in at least one point which comes under particular stress.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2003
    Publication date: December 11, 2003
    Inventor: Ernst Biermann
  • Patent number: 6578923
    Abstract: A vehicle seat covering system that results in a vehicle seat having a good appearance with a simple mechanism, wherein a seat-cover assembly evenly covers the seat-pad assembly on the side parts of the seat, closely fitting to the shape of the seat-pad assembly. The seat-cover assembly has a main part and side parts that are sewn along the boundaries of the main part and side parts. The vehicle seat covering system is equipped with (a) side-part pulling tubes that have a shape of along tube and that are sewn onto the boundaries between the main part and the side parts, and (b) pulling parts that have an u-shape or somewhat circular shape and that penetrate the side-part pulling tubes in the longitudinal direction thereof, and one end or both ends of which is/are pulled to the side of the seat-pad assembly in its longitudinal direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2003
    Assignee: NHK Spring Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Takezawa
  • Patent number: 6540303
    Abstract: A flexible cover for a vehicle seat, the cover having an inside face against which a conductive thread is fixed by means of a flexible assembly thread forming a seam of chain stitches, which seam does not pass through the cover and is not visible on its outside face, the assembly thread penetrating into the thickness of the cover and surrounding the conductive thread.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: April 1, 2003
    Assignee: Faurecia Sieges d'Automobile SA
    Inventor: Pablo Mosquera
  • Publication number: 20020101110
    Abstract: A flexible cover for a vehicle seat, the cover having an inside face against which a conductive thread is fixed by means of a flexible assembly thread forming a seam of chain stitches, which seam does not pass through the cover and is not visible on its outside face, the assembly thread penetrating into the thickness of the cover and surrounding the conductive thread.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2002
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Inventor: Pablo Mosquera
  • Publication number: 20020063465
    Abstract: A vehicle seat assembly includes a sensor assembly that is used to provide data for an occupant classification system. The data is used to determine such characteristics as seat occupant weight and position. These characteristics are used to control deployment of a safety restraint mechanism such as an airbag. The sensor assembly is part of a mat that is placed on top of a foam cushion used to form a seat bottom. Fasteners are used to permanently attach the mat to the foam to restrict lateral and vertical movement of the mat relative to the foam.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 20, 2001
    Publication date: May 30, 2002
    Applicant: Siemens Automotive Corporation
    Inventor: Andrew F. Pinkos
  • Publication number: 20020050734
    Abstract: The object of this invention is to provide a simple mechanism whereby the material of a seat-cover assembly of the side section of the front of a vehicle seat stretches so as to snugly fit the shape of the seat's seat-pad assembly, thereby covering the seat so that it has a good appearance.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2001
    Publication date: May 2, 2002
    Applicant: NHK SPRING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Takezawa