Dual-arm interior item hanger

Abstract

A hanger is provided as an attachment structure for securing a seat trim cover to an underlying seat frame or seat cushion that is more secure and has greater resistance to shear forces that cause the connection between the seat trim and the underlying structure to fail. The hanger employs heat activated adhesive applied to both arms of the hanger that are each attached to an interior surface or underside of the seat trim. Due to the hot melt welds formed on opposite arms on both sides of the hanger, one of the two hot melt welds is always in tension, so there is less chance of peeling compared to prior hanger designs where only one arm is attached to the seat trim. This two-arm hanger provides more than twice the strength of prior designs and can be applied to transition surfaces, not just flat surfaces as with prior single-arm hangers.

Description

[0001] Cross-reference to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 63 / 523,679, filed June 28, 2023, which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention generally relates to upholstery, and more specifically, to a Y-shaped suspension for securing a seat upholstery cover to an underlying seat frame or cushion. Background Technology

[0004] Vehicle seats have three main components: a support frame, cushioning material, and a trim cover. Figure 1 shows a typical seat frame 10, which has a seat support frame 14 and a backrest frame 12, and is fitted with cushioning material 16. The cushioning material 16 (exemplarily including memory foam) is shaped to a desired profile and fitted to conform to the seat backrest frame 12 and the seat support frame 14. Figure 2 shows a complete vehicle seat 20, which has a backrest 22 and a seat portion 24, with a trim cover 26 fitted onto the cushioning material 16. Attachment structures are used to attach the seat trim cover to the internal structure of the seat frame 10 or the cushioning material 16. The attachment structures are connected to the seat trim cover 26 and are secured to complementary attachment features on the internal frame structure 10 located below the seat 20. During the assembly of the seat trim cover, the attachment structures on the seat trim cover 26 are secured to complementary attachment structures on the underlying internal structures (12, 14, 16). The seat trim cover 26 is secured to the underlying internal frame structure 10 and / or padding material 16 to prevent the seat trim cover 26 from wrinkling, lifting, folding or exhibiting other undesirable surface defects, thereby maintaining an aesthetically pleasing appearance.

[0005] The development of heat-activated adhesives has enabled seamless attachment structures to be seamlessly attached to the underside of seat trim covers without creating visible seams and stitching on the exterior of the cover. Seamless attachments avoid the drawbacks of seam connections visible from the top and prevent material build-up or wrinkling in the seam area (especially in cases of irregular seam connections). Furthermore, even when concealed seams are used for seam connections, visible dents remain, affecting the seat's appearance. Moreover, the applicability of concealed seam connections is limited, for example, by certain materials or shapes of the interior trim components.

[0006] German patent application DE102021119034A describes a suspension for securing a seat trim cover to underlying cushioning foam or an underlying seat internal frame structure. As shown in Figures 3A to 3E, and in the context of the improved suspension of this invention, the suspension 30 has a heat-activated adhesive 36 applied only to a single arm 34R, which is attached to the inner surface 26I or underside of the seat trim 26. It is understood that although the single arm 34 is shown on the right side of the suspension strap 32 and labeled 34R, the single arm could also be located on the left side of the suspension strap 32. Although a seamless connection is not visible on the outer surface 26E of the seat trim 26, it has been found that the heat-fused joint formed between the inner surface 26I and the single, single-sided arm 34R of the suspension 30 is prone to peeling and separation from the inner surface 26I of the seat trim 26 when repeated loads are applied to the joint.

[0007] Figures 8A and 8B illustrate the shear forces experienced by a single heat-fused joint of a single side arm 34 during the process of leaving and entering a vehicle seat. In Figure 8A, as the occupant stands up from the seat and leaves the vehicle, the occupant's weight lifts off the seat cushion below, and the force F generated by the expanding seat cushion is projected outward, generating a shear force FS on the right side of Figure 8A. Conversely, in Figure 8B, as the vehicle occupant enters and sits in the seat, the passenger's weight compresses the seat cushion, and the force F is projected inward, generating a shear force FS on the left side of Figure 8B. The repeated reverse action of the shear force applied to the heat-fused joint of the single side arm of the prior art suspension can cause joint fatigue and ultimately lead to joint failure and separation of the suspension from the inner surface 26I of the seat trim 26.

[0008] Although advancements in heat-activated adhesives have enabled seamless attachment structures to the underside of seat trim covers, the resulting joints remain susceptible to fatigue and failure. Therefore, there is a need for improved attachment structures that are structurally more robust and offer greater resistance to shear forces that could lead to failure of the connection between the seat trim and the underlying structure. Summary of the Invention

[0009] A suspension is provided for attaching a seat trim cover to an underlying seat frame or cushion. The suspension includes a suspension strap having a distal end and a proximal end, the distal end of the suspension strap having a connecting end, and the proximal end of the suspension strap having a pair of outwardly extending opposing arms. Each of the pair of opposing arms is adapted to receive an adhesive on its surface to facilitate adhesion to the seat trim. The connecting end is a press-fit structure or a barbed structure made of resin material. The pair of arms bends relative to the distal end when subjected to a tensile force between 1 Newton and 1000 Newtons. The suspension strap is made of a folded nonwoven material, and the suspension strap can vary in length along its length direction. The adhesive applied to the arms is a heat-activated adhesive, and the adhesive can be in the form of a welded strip. The adhesive can be applied to each arm in a straight pattern, a series of strips, a series of angled strips, or a series of arrow-shaped strips. The pair of arms can both be straight or form a wave, wherein the wave is sinusoidal, triangular, square, or a combination thereof.

[0010] A suspension member for attaching seat trim is provided. The suspension member includes a suspension strap with a pair of outwardly extending opposing arms at its proximal end. Each of these opposing arms is adapted to receive an adhesive on its surface to facilitate adhesion to the seat trim, and the distal end of the strap is adapted to receive the adhesive for securing it in an engagement retention feature or slot within a seat support frame. The suspension strap is punched or cut from a single piece of nonwoven material, or the suspension strap is formed by joining two separate pieces of nonwoven material.

[0011] A seat is provided, comprising a seat support frame, cushioning material fitted to fit against the seat support frame, a trim cover fitted on the cushioning material, an internal frame structure; and a suspension member as described above, the suspension member connecting the trim cover to the internal frame structure, the cushioning material, or a combination thereof. Attached Figure Description

[0012] The subject matter constituting this invention is specifically pointed out and clearly defined in the claims at the end of the specification. The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will become apparent when reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0013] Figure 1 shows the basic main components of a vehicle seat;

[0014] Figure 2 is a perspective view of an existing fully assembled vehicle seat;

[0015] Figures 3A to 3E are a series of views illustrating an embodiment of a conventional suspension having a heat-activated adhesive applied only to a single arm attached to the inner surface or underside of a seat trim.

[0016] Figures 4A to 4E are a series of views illustrating an embodiment of a double-arm suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention, the suspension having a heat-activated adhesive applied to two arms, both arms being attached to the inner surface or underside of a seat trim.

[0017] Figure 5A is a side view of a double-arm suspension member connected to a seat frame according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 5B is a top view of the double-arm suspension component shown in Figure 5A, which is punched or cut from a single piece of nonwoven material, before folding.

[0019] Figure 5C is a top view of two separate pieces of nonwoven material before they are fused or sewn together to form the double-arm suspension shown in Figure 5A;

[0020] Figures 6A to 6D illustrate various configurations of the two arms of the double-arm suspension used in embodiments of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 7A shows a partial cross-sectional view of the seat portion of a vehicle seat, illustrating an embodiment of the double-arm suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention, while Figure 7B shows a detailed view of the portion defined by the circle in Figure 7A.

[0022] Figures 8A and 8B show the shear forces experienced by a single heat fusion joint of a single unilateral arm during the peeling action during entry and exit from a vehicle seat.

[0023] Figure 9 illustrates the balance of shear forces experienced by the double-arm suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0024] Figure 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the joint strength of the double-arm suspension component and the applied force according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0025] This invention can be used as a suspension for securing a seat upholstery cover to an underlying seat frame or cushion. The improved attachment structure of embodiments of this invention is more robust and offers greater resistance to shear forces that could cause the connection between the seat upholstery and the underlying structure to fail. Embodiments of this invention employ heat-activated adhesives applied to two arms of the suspension, both arms being attached to the inner surface or underside of the seat upholstery. Due to the thermofusion welds formed on both sides of the suspension on the opposing arms, one of the two thermofusion welds is always under tension, thus reducing the likelihood of peeling compared to existing suspension designs where only one arm is attached to the seat upholstery. Embodiments of the dual-arm suspension of this invention provide up to twice (or even more) the strength compared to existing designs. Furthermore, embodiments of the dual-arm suspension of this invention can be applied to transitional surfaces, unlike existing single-arm suspensions which are currently limited to flat surfaces.

[0026] The invention will now be described with reference to the following embodiments. It will be apparent from these descriptions that the invention can be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided to make this disclosure complete and sufficient, and to fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, features shown for one embodiment may be incorporated into other embodiments, and features described for a particular embodiment may be omitted from that embodiment. Furthermore, various modifications and additions to the embodiments described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art based on this disclosure, without departing from the invention. Therefore, the following description is intended to illustrate some specific embodiments of the invention, and not to exhaustively limit all permutations, combinations, and modifications thereof.

[0027] It should also be understood that while the examples shown herein relate to vehicle seats and can be applied to various modes of transportation, including automobiles, trucks, buses, ships, and aircraft, embodiments of the double-arm suspension of the present invention can also be applied to interior furniture. Although the invention is described in detail below generally around a Y-shaped double-arm suspension, it should be understood that a T-shaped double-arm suspension can be easily formed by providing an adhesive layer in the intermediate layer of the substrate between the arms, a structure also considered a novel improvement in the field.

[0028] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used in the description of this invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.

[0029] All publications, patent applications, patents and other references mentioned in this article are incorporated herein in their entirety through citation.

[0030] It should be understood that when a numerical range is provided, the range is intended to include not only the endpoints of the range but also the intermediate values ​​within the range, which are explicitly considered to be included in the range, with the last significant digit of the range as the unit of variation. For example, an enumerated range from 1 to 4 is intended to include 1-2, 1-3, 2-4, 3-4, and 1-4.

[0031] definition

[0032] Unless otherwise specified in the context, the following terms are used herein.

[0033] Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” used in the description of the invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms.

[0034] Furthermore, as used herein, “and / or” refers to and includes any and all possible combinations of one or more related listed items, as well as cases where no combination is formed when interpreted selectively (“or”).

[0035] Referring now to the accompanying drawings, Figures 4A to 4E are a series of views illustrating an embodiment of a double-arm suspension 40 having a heat-activated adhesive 36 applied to two arms 34L and 34R, both of which are attached to the inner surface 26I or underside of the seat trim 26. In a particular embodiment of the invention, the adhesive 36 may be in the form of a welded strip. The arms (34L, 34R) extend from the suspension strap 32 and flex freely upward and downward from the horizontal direction (the T direction shown), thus forming a Y shape. As used herein, “flex” refers to flexing relative to the distal end of the suspension strap 32 under a tensile force of 1 Newton to 1000 Newtons. As shown in Figure 4D, the gap between the arms (34L, 34R) varies between 0% and 30% of the width W; a T-shape is formed at the minimum gap, while a Y-shape is formed at a larger gap at the width W. In a particular embodiment, the suspension strap may be formed of a folded nonwoven material. The suspension strap 32 can vary in length along the longitudinal direction of the double-arm suspension 40. The distal end of the suspension strap 32 terminates in a connector 38, which is designed to engage with elements of the support frame 10 and / or the seat cushion 16. The connector 38 can be a press-fit structure or a hook structure and can be made of resin material. Although the arms (34L, 34R) are described herein as having the same linear range on either side of the gap between them, it is understood that the linear range of the left arm 34L varies relative to the linear range of the right arm 34R in a ratio ranging from 0.1 to 10:1.

[0036] Figure 4E shows two arms (34L, 34R) attached to the interior or lower side 26I of the seat trim 26. It can be seen that the free movement of the arms (34L, 34R) allows them to conform to the contour of the outer surface 26E of the trim 26. Note that although Figures 4C and 4D show the arms and adhesive or weld bands as linear shapes, it should be understood that the arms and the applied adhesive patterns can take different patterns and shapes. Figure 6B shows a non-limiting example of a non-linear arm where arms 34L' and 34R' have a wave-like shape and form a double-arm suspension 50 in a top view. Other configurations of non-linear arms that can be used herein include sinusoidal, triangular, square, and combinations thereof. Note that the wave-like arm variant of the present invention is particularly well-suited to conforming to curved paths and has limited buckling.

[0037] Figure 5A is a side view of the suspension member 42 connected to the seat frame 10. In a manner similar to the double-arm suspension member 40 shown in Figures 4A to 4E, a heat-activated adhesive 36 is applied to the two arms 34L and 34R, both of which are attached to the inner surface 26I or underside of the seat trim 26. However, unlike the suspension band 32, whose distal end terminates at the connector 38, the distal end of the suspension band 32 is bonded to an engagement retention feature or slot 39 in the support frame 10.

[0038] In one embodiment, as shown in FIG5B, the suspension member 42 is punched or cut from a single piece of nonwoven material, wherein the suspension strap 32 and arms 34L and 34R are punched or cut from a sheet of nonwoven material. After punching or cutting, the nonwoven material is folded along fold line FL1, and arms 34L and 34R are unfolded outward along fold lines FL2 and FL3, respectively. In one embodiment, the area 44 of the suspension strap 32 along fold line FL1 is fused or sewn together during folding. Alternatively, as shown in FIG5C, arms 34L and the strap portion 32 extending into arms 34R are formed from two separate pieces of nonwoven material, which are fused or sewn together in area 44 below fold lines FL2 and FL3. Adhesive 36 is applied to arms 34L and 34R and the distal end of the strap portion 32 fixed to the seat frame 10.

[0039] The top view of the double-arm suspension 40' in Figure 6A shows the adhesive 36 applied with a series of horizontal strips. The top view of the double-arm suspension 40” in Figure 6C shows the adhesive 36 applied with a series of angled strips. The top view of the double-arm suspension 40''' in Figure 6D shows the adhesive 36 applied with a series of arrow-shaped strips. Without intending to be limited to any particular theory, breaks in the adhesive can help prevent any possible peeling action.

[0040] Figure 7A shows a partial cross-sectional view of the seat portion 24 of the vehicle seat 60, illustrating an embodiment of the double-arm suspension 40. As shown in more detail in Figure 7B, the suspension is secured to the seat cushion foam 16 via connectors 38 and adhered to the seat portion 24 of the trim 26 via arms (34L, 34R).

[0041] Figure 9 shows the balance between shear forces experienced by the dual-arm suspension 40 under the conditions shown in Figures 8A and 8B. Since both arms (34L, 34R) are attached to the trim 26 of the seat portion 24, one of the attached connections is always in a tensile state to cope with the peeling action acting on the opposing arms during entry into and exit from the seat.

[0042] Figure 10 is a graph showing the relationship between the joint strength and the applied force of the double-arm suspension according to an embodiment of the present invention. It can be seen that there are two peak regions corresponding to the joint strength of the two arms (34L, 34R), which is equivalent to an increase in the strength of the double-arm suspension.

[0043] While at least one exemplary embodiment has been described in the foregoing detailed description, it should be understood that numerous variations exist. It should also be understood that the one or more exemplary embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the described embodiments in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient roadmap for implementing one or more exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made to the function and arrangement of the elements without departing from the scope set forth in the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A suspension member for attaching seat trim, the suspension member comprising: A suspension belt having a distal end and a proximal end, the distal end of the suspension belt having a connector end, and the proximal end of the suspension belt having a pair of outwardly extending opposing arms. and Each of the pair of opposing arms is adapted to receive an adhesive on the surface of each arm to facilitate adhesion to the seat trim.

2. The suspension member according to claim 1, wherein the end of the connector is a press-fit structure or a barb structure.

3. The suspension member according to claim 1, wherein the connector is made of resin material.

4. The suspension according to claim 1, wherein the pair of arms bends relative to the distal end when subjected to a tensile force between 1 Newton and 1000 Newtons.

5. The suspension member according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the suspension belt is made of folded nonwoven material.

6. The suspension member according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the suspension belt varies in length along the length direction of the suspension belt.

7. The suspension member according to claim 1, further comprising the adhesive member.

8. The suspension member according to claim 7, wherein the adhesive is a heat-activated adhesive.

9. The suspension member according to claim 7, wherein the adhesive member is in the form of a welded strip.

10. The suspension according to claim 7, wherein the adhesive is applied to each arm in a linear pattern.

11. The suspension according to claim 7, wherein the adhesive is applied to each arm in a series of strips.

12. The suspension according to claim 7, wherein the adhesive is applied to each arm in the form of a series of angled strips.

13. The suspension according to claim 7, wherein the adhesive is applied to each arm in the form of a series of arrow-shaped strips.

14. The suspension according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein both of the arms are linear.

15. The suspension according to claim 1, wherein the pair of arms form a wave pattern.

16. The suspension member according to claim 15, wherein the waveform pattern is a sine wave, a triangular wave, a square wave, or a combination thereof.

17. A suspension member for attaching a seat trim piece, the suspension member comprising: A suspension belt, the proximal end of which has a pair of opposing arms extending outward; and Each of the pair of opposing arms is adapted to receive an adhesive on the surface of each arm to facilitate adhesion to the seat trim, and the distal end of the strap is adapted to receive the adhesive to be secured in an engagement retention feature or slot in the seat support frame.

18. The suspension member of claim 17, wherein the suspension belt is made of a nonwoven material.

19. The suspension member according to claim 17, wherein the suspension belt is punched or cut from a single piece of nonwoven material, or the suspension belt is formed by connecting two separate pieces of nonwoven material.

20. A seat comprising: Seat support frame; A cushioning material assembled to fit snugly against the seat support frame; A decorative cover fitted onto the cushioning material; Internal framework structure; and The suspension member according to any one of claims 1 to 5 connects the trim cover to the internal frame structure, the cushioning material, or a combination thereof.

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