JP7572334B2 - Vehicle seat - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to vehicle seats, and is applicable, for example, to vehicle seats equipped with a trim cover having a design groove.

For vehicle seats, there is an adhesive sheet formed by adhering a covering material to a foam pad molded to the approximate outer shape of the seat. For example, there is an adhesive sheet in which the sewn parts of the covering material covering the foam pad are inserted into grooves provided on the surface of the foam pad, and the sewn parts of the covering material are adhered to the grooves of the foam pad with an adhesive (Patent Document 1). In Patent Document 1, the sewn parts that join the covering materials form a design groove to improve the design.

JP 2016-129645 A JP 2012-81091 A

The objective of this disclosure is to provide technology that improves the design of the decorative grooves in the trim cover.

Other objects and novel features will become apparent from the description of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

A brief summary of representative aspects of this disclosure is as follows.
That is, the vehicle seat includes a molded pad having a first groove and a second groove, and a trim cover including a first skin material and a second skin material in which wadding is laminated to the skin and covers the molded pad. The first skin material has a valley-folded portion on the skin side, and the valley-folded wadding side is bonded to the first groove. The trim cover has a sewing portion where the surfaces of the skins of the first skin material and the second skin material are sewn together, and the sewing portion is bonded to the second groove.

This disclosure makes it possible to improve the design of the design groove.

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a vehicle seat according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the vehicle seat shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E--E shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method for bonding the trim cover to the groove of the mold pad. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a problem with the trim cover of the vehicle seat in the first modified example. FIG. 7 is an external view showing a vehicle seat according to a first modified example. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a rear view of the vicinity of the design groove of the trim cover in the second modified example. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the seat cushion according to the second modified example taken along line DD shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a rear view of the vicinity of the design groove of the trim cover in the third modified example. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the seat cushion according to the third modified example taken along line DD shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the seat cushion according to the fourth modified example taken along line DD shown in FIG.

Below, examples and modified examples are described with reference to the drawings. However, in the following description, the same components are given the same reference numerals and repeated description may be omitted. Note that in the drawings, the width, thickness, shape, etc. of each part may be shown diagrammatically compared to the actual embodiment in order to make the description clearer, but these are merely examples and do not limit the interpretation of this disclosure. Furthermore, the examples are described in detail to explain this disclosure in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all of the configurations described.

The vehicle seat in the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an external view showing the vehicle seat in the embodiment.

In the following description, the vertical direction is defined as the up-down direction (UP, DW) based on the assumption that the vehicle on which the vehicle seat is mounted is placed on a horizontal plane. The front-rear direction (FR, RR) is defined to coincide with the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the left-right direction (width direction) is defined to coincide with the width direction of the vehicle. FR is the front direction of the vehicle, and RR is the rear direction of the vehicle. The vehicle seat 1 will be described as the right side (RH) and left side (LH) when viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

The vehicle seat 1 includes a seat cushion 2 and a seat back 3. The seat cushion 2 and the seat back 3 are each covered with a trim cover 20, 30, which is made of multiple sheet-shaped covering materials sewn together.

The trim cover 20 is formed by sewing together multiple skin materials (skin materials 21-26, etc.). The trim cover 30 is formed by sewing together multiple skin materials (skin materials 31-34, etc.). Here, for each skin material, for example, leather (natural leather, synthetic leather) or cloth (knitted, woven, nonwoven) is used. Each skin material has a multi-layer structure in which wadding (for example, a resin foam such as elastically deformable soft polyurethane foam) is layered on leather or cloth.

The skin material 21 is a part that constitutes the center of the seating surface of the trim cover 20. The skin material 21 has a generally rectangular shape when viewed from above. The skin material 22 is a part that constitutes the left side of the seating surface of the trim cover 20. The skin material 23 is a part that constitutes the right side of the seating surface of the trim cover 20. The skin material 24 is a part that constitutes the left side gusset of the trim cover 20. The skin material 25 is a part that constitutes the right side gusset of the trim cover 20. The skin material 26 is a part that constitutes the front side gusset of the trim cover 20.

The skin material 31 is the part that forms the center of the seating surface of the trim cover 30. The skin material 32 is the part that forms the left side gusset of the trim cover 30. The skin material 33 is the part that forms the right side gusset of the trim cover 30. The skin material 34 is the part that forms the upper side gusset of the trim cover 30.

The trim cover 20 also has design grooves 41, 42 to improve the design. The trim cover 30 has design grooves 61, 62. The design grooves 41, 42 extend in the front-to-rear direction. The lower sides of the design grooves 61, 62 each extend in the up-down direction, and the upper sides gradually extend upward toward the left gusset side and the right gusset side.

The design grooves 41, 61 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the vehicle seat shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2(a) is a cross-sectional diagram along the lines A-A and A1-A1 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2(b) is a cross-sectional diagram along the lines B-B and B1-B1 shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2(c) is a cross-sectional diagram along the lines C-C and C1-C1 shown in FIG. 1.

The concave groove 51a of the molded pad 51 does not extend in the front-rear direction over the entire upper surface of the seat cushion 2, but is not formed on the front and rear sides of the seat cushion 2. In addition, the concave groove 71a of the molded pad 71 does not extend in the up-down direction over the entire upper surface of the seat back 3, but is not formed on the upper and lower sides of the seat back 3. Here, the molded pads 51 and 71 are molded foam pads. The foam is, for example, urethane foam.

Groove 51a is deepest in the center in the extension direction of groove 51a (front-to-back direction, longitudinal direction), becomes shallower toward the front-to-back direction, and finally disappears. Groove 71a is deepest in the center in the extension direction of groove 71a (up-to-down direction, longitudinal direction), becomes shallower toward the top-to-bottom direction, and finally disappears.

That is, if the depth of the grooves 51a and 71a shown in FIG. 2(a) is Da, the depth of the grooves 51a and 71a shown in FIG. 2(b) is Db, and the depth of the grooves 51a and 71a shown in FIG. 2(c) is Dc, then Da>Db>Dc.

Therefore, the design groove 41 does not extend in the front-rear direction over the entire upper surface of the skin material 21, but is not formed in front of the front end of the groove 51a or behind the rear end of the groove 51a, eliminating the design groove from the skin material 21 and making the skin material 21 flat. Also, the design groove 61 does not extend in the up-down direction over the entire front surface of the skin material 31, but is not formed above the upper end of the groove 71a of the mold pad 71 or below the lower end of the groove 71a, eliminating the design groove from the skin material 31 and making the skin material 31 flat.

The detailed structure of the design groove 41 shown in Figure 3 will be explained using Figure 3. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 1.

The cross section of the seat cushion 2 is formed by a molded pad 51 and a trim cover 20 that covers the surface. A concave groove 51a that corresponds to the design groove 41 is formed in the molded pad 51, and the surface of this concave groove 51a is also covered by a skin material 21 that constitutes the trim cover 20. The skin material 21 is constructed by laminating a skin 21a made of leather or cloth with a wadding 21b made of urethane or the like.

The skin 21a and wadding 21b are folded along the extension direction of the design groove 41 (a valley fold is made toward the skin 21a side). The sheet-like adhesive 52 (see FIG. 5) is forced into the groove 51a and temporarily placed therein, and the adhesive 52a melts due to heat, bonding the wadding 21b side of the skin material 21 forced into the groove 51a to the groove 51a.

The cross sections taken along lines B-B and C-C in FIG. 1 are similar to the cross sections shown in FIG. 3, except for the depth of the design groove 41 and groove 51a. Also, the cross section taken along line A1-A1 in FIG. 1 is similar to the cross section shown in FIG. 3. Also, the cross sections taken along lines B1-B1 and C1-C1 in FIG. 1 are similar to the cross sections shown in FIG. 3, except for the depth of the design groove 61 and groove 71a of the mold pad 71. In other words, the design grooves 42, 61, 62 have the same structure as the design groove 41.

The trim cover 20 also has a groove 43 for sewing the two skins together. This groove 43 will be explained using Figures 1 and 4. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line E-E in Figure 1.

The concave groove 51b of the molded pad 51 is formed to a substantially uniform depth, extending in the front-rear direction over the entire upper surface of the seat cushion 2. Adjacent upholstery materials 21 and 22 are sewn together in the front-rear direction with thread 21d, and a sheet-like adhesive 52 is sewn in during sewing. The sewn portion 21c of the trim cover 20, which is pushed into the groove 51b, is adhered to the groove 51a by the adhesive 52a that is melted from the sheet-like adhesive 52. Thus, the groove 43 is formed to extend in the front-rear direction over the entire upper surface of the trim cover 20. The groove 44 has the same structure as the groove 43.

The groove 64 formed in the trim cover 30 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 4. The cross section taken along line F-F in Figure 1 is the same as the cross section shown in Figure 4. Thus, groove 64 has the same structure as groove 43. Note that groove 63 has the same structure as groove 64.

The method of adhering the trim cover 20 to the groove 51a will be explained using Figure 5. Figure 5 is a diagram explaining the method of adhering the trim cover to the groove of the mold pad.

First, the sheet-like adhesive 52 is forced into the groove 51a and temporarily placed there. Here, the sheet-like adhesive 52 is a hot melt adhesive. Next, the folded portion of the skin material 21 is forced into the groove 51a of the mold pad 51 by the pushing plate 81. After that, the steam nozzle 82 is inserted into the mold pad 51, and steam is ejected from the steam nozzle 82, and the sheet-like adhesive 52 in the groove 51a is melted by the steam or heat. The sheet-like adhesive 52 then cools and solidifies, adhering the skin material 21 to the groove 51a. Note that the cooling and solidification of the sheet-like adhesive 52 may be promoted by suctioning air from the steam nozzle 82.

In addition, by spraying steam from the steam nozzle 72 at predetermined intervals along the groove 51a, the groove 51a and the skin material 21 can be bonded evenly.

The above explanation of the method of adhering the trim cover 20 to the groove 51a is based on the assumption that the sheet-like adhesive 52 is pushed into the groove 51a and temporarily placed therein, but it is also applicable to the method shown in Figure 4 in which the sheet-like adhesive 52 is sewn in at the same time as sewing the trim cover 20.

<Modification>
Below, some representative modified examples of the embodiments are illustrated. In the following description of the modified examples, the same reference numerals as those in the above-mentioned embodiments may be used for parts having the same configurations and functions as those described in the above-mentioned embodiments. The description of such parts may be appropriately cited within the scope of technical inconsistency. Furthermore, a part of the above-mentioned embodiments and all or a part of the modified examples may be appropriately applied in a composite manner within the scope of technical inconsistency.

(First Modification)
The vehicle seat in the first modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 6 to Fig. 8. Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the problem of the trim cover of the vehicle seat in the embodiment. Fig. 7 is an external view showing the vehicle seat in the first modified example. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D shown in Fig. 7.

When the skin material 21 is folded in a valley as in the embodiment, depending on the material of the skin 21a, for example, synthetic leather is less likely to become creased and therefore does not fold at the bottom of the groove. As a result, as shown in Figure 6, the bottom of the design groove is U-shaped rather than V-shaped, the groove width is wide, and the bottom of the groove is visible. Also, when the skin material 21 is glued into the groove, it is difficult to insert the wadding 21b on the back of the skin 21a into the groove, it is difficult to glue inside the groove 51a, and the design shape of the design groove 41 becomes blurred.

The vehicle seat 1 in the first modified example has the same structure as the vehicle seat in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, except for the central design groove 41 around the line D-D shown in FIG. 7 and the central design groove 61 around the line D1-D1.

As shown in FIG. 8, in the center of the extension direction of the design groove 41, the skin material 21 is not folded (valley folded) and is cut (slits are made) in the same manner as the groove 43 shown in FIG. 4. The surfaces of the skin 21a of the cut skin material 21 are joined together, and the skin material 21 has a sewing portion 21c sewn with thread 21d. In addition, a sheet-like adhesive 52 is sewn to the sewing portion 21c when the skin material 21 is sewn, and the sewing portion 21c of the trim cover 20, which is pushed into the groove 51a by the adhesive 52a melted by heat from the sheet-like adhesive 52, is adhered to the groove 51a. By forming the sewing portion 21c, the skin material 21 can be easily inserted into the groove 51a. In addition, the V-shape of the skin material 21 (design groove 41) inserted into the groove 51a becomes acute-angled, which looks good.

The cross section of the seat back 3 taken along line D1-D1 in FIG. 7 has the same structure as the cross section of the seat cushion 2 taken along line D-D. That is, the design groove 61 has the same structure as the design groove 41. The cross section of the design groove 42 has the same structure as the design groove 41. The cross section of the groove 64 has the same structure as the design groove 61.

(Second Modification)
The vehicle seat in the second modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 9 and Fig. 10. Fig. 9 is a back view of the vicinity of the design groove of the cover material in the second modified example, Fig. 9(a) shows a case where a plurality of holes are formed in the wadding, and Fig. 9(b) shows a case where one hole is formed in the wadding. Fig. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the seat cushion in the second modified example, corresponding to the line D-D shown in Fig. 7.

As shown in FIG. 9, a hole 21e is made in the wadding 21b at the bottom of the skin material 21 to be inserted into the groove. As shown in FIG. 9(a), the hole 21e may be part of the groove 51a, or as shown in FIG. 9(b), the hole 21e may be the entire groove 51a.

As shown in FIG. 10, by providing holes 21e in wadding 21b, skin material 21 can be bent into a V shape, making it easier to insert into groove 51a. In addition, the V shape of skin material 21 (design groove 41) inserted into groove 51a has an acute angle, making it look attractive. Note that the cross sections of design grooves 42, 61, and 64 have the same structure as design groove 41.

(Third Modification)
The vehicle seat according to the third modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 11 and Fig. 12. Fig. 11 is a rear view of the trim cover in the vicinity of the design groove in the third modified example. Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the seat cushion according to the third modified example taken along line D-D in Fig. 7.

In the second modification, a hole 21e is made in the wadding 21b at the bottom of the skin material 21 that is inserted into the groove, but in the third modification, a member 21f made of a material different from the material of the wadding 21b is provided in the hole 21e.

As shown in FIG. 11, the holes 21e are provided throughout the entire groove 51a. The member 21f is divided into two parts, and is made of a material such as resin, nonwoven fabric, or felt.

As shown in FIG. 12, by providing holes 21e in wadding 21b, skin material 21 can be bent into a V shape, making it easier to insert into groove 51a. In addition, by attaching two members 21f to the tip, rigidity is increased, making it easier for the anchor part of skin material 21 (design groove 41) to maintain its V shape. Note that the cross sections of design grooves 42, 61, and 64 have the same structure as design groove 41.

(Fourth Modification)
A vehicle seat according to the fourth modified example will be described with reference to Fig. 13. Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the seat cushion according to the fourth modified example, taken along line DD shown in Fig. 7.

As in the embodiment, the skin material 21 is not cut, but is folded. However, the bottom surface of the trim cover that is inserted into the groove is pinched and stitched to form the design groove 41 into a V shape. Pinched stitching is generally a method of folding a piece of fabric in two and sewing it as a loop, but in this modified example, the skin material 21 is folded and the loop of the fold of the wadding 21b is pinched and sewn as a seam allowance.

As shown in FIG. 13, by pinching the bottom surface of the skin 21, the skin 21 can be bent into a V shape, making it easier to insert into the groove 51a. In addition, the V shape of the skin 21 (design groove 41) that is inserted into the groove 51a has an acute angle, which makes it look attractive. The cross sections of the design grooves 42, 61, and 64 have the same structure as the design groove 41.

The disclosure made by the present inventors has been specifically described above based on examples and modified examples, but it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above examples and modified examples, and various modifications are possible.

For example, in the embodiment and modified example, a design groove is provided on the seating surface of the trim cover, but it may also be provided on the gusset.

In addition, in the embodiment and modified example, a sheet-like adhesive is used as the adhesive in the groove 51a, but the adhesive is not limited to a sheet-like adhesive, and may be a liquid, stick-like, or spray-like adhesive.

In addition, while the examples of each skin material have been described in which wadding is laminated onto leather or cloth, a backing fabric may also be laminated onto the wadding.

21...Skin material (first skin material)
21a...Skin 21b...Wading 22...Skin material (second skin material)
22a: Cover 22b: Wadding 22c: Sewing portion 51: Molded pad 51a: Groove (first groove)
52b... Groove (second groove)

Claims (2)

a mold pad having a first groove and a second groove;
a trim cover including a first skin material and a second skin material, the first skin material and the second skin material being laminated with a wadding, the trim cover covering the mold pad;
Equipped with
The first skin material has a valley-folded portion on the skin side, and the valley-folded wadding side is bonded to the first groove,
the trim cover has a sewing portion where the surfaces of the first skin material and the second skin material are sewn together, the sewing portion being adhered to the second groove;
At the valley-folded portion of the first skin, the wadding is removed by a predetermined width on both sides of the valley line,
A vehicle seat in which a member made of a material different from the wadding is provided in a location where the wadding has been removed. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 ,
The vehicle seat has a first groove whose depth gradually decreases from a center portion toward an end portion in a longitudinal direction, the molded pad at the end portion has no groove, and the first cover material is present even on the portion of the molded pad that has no groove.

Images