Skin material and vehicle sheet covered with the skin material

Abstract

To provide a skin material capable of suppressing peeling at a welded part between a back surface material for covering a wadding material and a seating surface skin material, and also to provide a vehicle sheet covered with the skin material.SOLUTION: A sheet skin material 10 is used for a motorcycle sheet 1. The sheet skin material 10 comprises: a back surface material 11; a wadding material 12 disposed on the back surface material 11; a seating surface skin material 13 disposed on the wadding material 12; and an intermediate skin material 14 disposed between the wadding material 12 and the seating surface skin material 13. The back surface material 11, the seating surface skin material 13, and the intermediate skin material 14 are welded to each other. The intermediate skin material 14 includes the same raw material as that of the back surface material 11 and the seating surface skin material 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a covering material and a vehicle seat covered with the covering material, and more particularly to a welding-treated covering material and a vehicle seat covered with the covering material. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, motorcycle seats are composed of a synthetic resin bottom plate and a seat covering material that covers the bottom plate. The seat covering material is a laminated structure consisting of a back surface material that contacts the bottom plate, a seating surface covering material that covers the seating surface, and a polyurethane foam wadding material that is covered by the back surface material and the seating surface covering material. The seating surface covering material and the back surface material are welded and fixed to each other using a high-frequency welding process known as welding. This prevents the wadding material from shifting laterally inside the back surface material and the seating surface covering material, thereby improving seating comfort, and the weld marks formed on the seating surface covering material improve the design of the seat.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a seat cover pad consisting of a vinyl chloride backing and seating surface covering material, and foamed polyurethane covered by the backing and seating surface covering materials. The backing and seating surface covering material are high-frequency welded together using a welding process. This prevents water from penetrating inside the seating surface covering and backing material, improving the water resistance and weather resistance of the seat, compared to when the two are joined by sewing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 56-25677 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] While the technology described in Patent Document 1 can improve the water resistance and weather resistance of seating seats, further improvements were needed. Specifically, because the backing material and seating surface covering material are made of vinyl chloride sheet material, there was a risk of the welded parts peeling off due to aging. In such cases, the wadding material would slip sideways relative to the backing material or seating surface covering material, reducing seating comfort. In addition, friction between the wadding material and the backing material or seating surface covering material could wear down the surface (friction surface) of the wadding material.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to provide a cover material and a vehicle seat covered with the cover material that can suppress separation of the welded portions between the backing material that covers the wadding material and the seating surface cover material. Another object of the present invention is to provide a covering material that can suppress wear of the surface of the wadding material, and a vehicle seat covered with the covering material. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The above-mentioned problems are solved by the upholstery material of the present invention, which is an upholstery material used for a vehicle seat, comprising a first upholstery material, a wadding material placed overlying the first upholstery material, a second upholstery material placed overlying the wadding material, and an intermediate upholstery material placed between the wadding material and the second upholstery material, wherein the first upholstery material, the second upholstery material, and the intermediate upholstery material are welded to one another, and the intermediate upholstery material contains the same material as the first upholstery material and the second upholstery material.

[0008] According to the above-described configuration, the intermediate skin is interposed between the first skin (back surface) and the second skin (seat surface skin), and the intermediate skin contains the same material as the back surface and the seat surface skin. Therefore, the back surface and the seat surface skin are more firmly welded via the intermediate skin. This makes it possible to prevent separation of the welded portions of the back surface and the seat surface skin. Furthermore, because the intermediate skin material is interposed between the wadding material and the seating surface skin material, the surface of the wadding material is covered by the intermediate skin material, protecting the wadding material from wear, which makes it possible to suppress wear on the surface of the cushion material (the surface that comes into contact with the backing material or the seating surface skin material).

[0009] The first skin material may be a back surface material, the second skin material may be a skin material placed on the seating surface side, and the intermediate skin material may have a base fabric on the side of the intermediate skin material, and the base fabric may have through holes that penetrate in the thickness direction. According to the above-mentioned configuration, the base fabric located between the second cover material (seat cover material) and the wadding material has through-holes, so that the seat cover material penetrates the through-holes and is firmly welded to the intermediate cover material and the back cover material, thereby ensuring the strength of the seat cover material and preventing separation of the welded portions between the back cover material and the seat cover material.

[0010] The through holes may be formed in a mesh pattern. According to the above-mentioned configuration, the base fabric between the seating surface cover material and the wadding material has a mesh-like through-holes formed therein. Therefore, the seating surface cover material passes through the through-holes and is uniformly welded to the intermediate cover material and the back surface material. This makes it possible to effectively prevent separation of the welded portions of the back surface material and the seating surface cover material.

[0011] The first skin material, the second skin material, and the intermediate skin material may be made of polyvinyl chloride. According to the above-described configuration, the first skin material (back surface material), the second skin material (seat surface skin material), and the intermediate skin material can be welded to one another by welding, which makes it possible to prevent peeling of the welded portions of the back surface material and the seat surface skin material.

[0012] In addition, the first skin material has a first contact surface that comes into surface contact with the wadding material and a first opposing surface that faces the first contact surface, and the surface roughness of the first contact surface is preferably smaller than the surface roughness of the first opposing surface. According to the above configuration, the surface roughness of the first contact surface where the first skin material (back surface material) comes into surface contact with the wadding material is small, so that it is possible to suppress wear of the wadding material that comes into contact with the first contact surface.

[0013] The intermediate skin material preferably has an intermediate contact surface that comes into surface contact with the wadding material and an intermediate opposing surface that faces the intermediate contact surface, and the surface roughness of the intermediate contact surface is preferably smaller than the surface roughness of the intermediate opposing surface. According to the above-mentioned configuration, the surface roughness of the intermediate contact surface where the intermediate cover material comes into surface contact with the wadding material is small, so that it is possible to suppress wear of the wadding material that comes into contact with the intermediate contact surface.

[0014] The above-mentioned problems are also solved by a vehicle seat covered with the above-mentioned covering material. The above-described configuration makes it possible to prevent separation of the welded portions of the backing material and the seating surface covering material, and also to prevent wear on the surface of the wadding material that comes into contact with the backing material or the seating surface covering material. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent separation of the welded portion between the backing material covering the wadding material and the seating surface covering material. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress wear on the surface of the wadding material. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic view of the appearance of a motorcycle equipped with a motorcycle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is an external view of a motorcycle seat. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a seat covering material. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a seat covering material before welding is performed. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional seat covering material. [Figure 6]1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a manufacturing process of a seat covering material. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Hereinafter, a motorcycle seat 1 as a vehicle seat according to an embodiment (present embodiment) of the present invention and a seat covering material 10 for the motorcycle seat 1 will be described. The motorcycle seat 1 according to this embodiment is a saddle-type seat that covers a storage space for storing a helmet from above and on which a seated occupant (driver, passenger) sits astride. The motorcycle seat 1 is detachably attached to the motorcycle V.

[0018] The embodiment described below is merely an example to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention. In other words, the shapes, dimensions, arrangements, etc. of the components described below may be changed or improved without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and the present invention naturally includes equivalents thereof.

[0019] <Main components of motorcycle seat 1> As shown in Fig. 1, a motorcycle seat 1 according to this embodiment (hereinafter referred to as motorcycle seat 1) is mounted on a motorcycle V by being attached to a vehicle body B (motorcycle main body). Motorcycle seat 1 is a two-seater seat having a front seating portion 2 for the rider at the front and a rear seating portion 3 for a passenger at the rear. The front seating section 2 and the rear seating section 3 are sections that support the buttocks and thighs of a person seated on the motorcycle V (i.e., the driver and passenger). In the motorcycle seat 1, a non-seating section 4 is provided between the front seating section 2 and the rear seating section 3, where the rider does not sit.

[0020] 2 is an external view of the motorcycle seat 1. The motorcycle seat 1 mainly comprises a bottom plate (not shown) that is a base substrate of the motorcycle seat 1, and a seat covering material 10 that covers the top of the bottom plate.

[0021] The bottom plate is formed as a rigid resin molded product using a resin material such as polypropylene or polyethylene as a raw material, but is not limited to this and may be formed from various materials.

[0022] The seat covering material 10 is a laminated sheet material having a wadding material 12 inside. The seat covering material 10 has a high-frequency welded portion 20 formed by welding. The seat covering material 10 will be described in detail below. The seat covering material 10 corresponds to the covering material of the present invention.

[0023] <Seat covering material 10> Next, the seat covering material 10 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the seat covering material 10. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the seat covering material 10 before welding. 3 and 4, the seat covering material 10 has a back surface material 11, a wadding material 12, an intermediate covering material 14, and a seating surface covering material 13. The seat covering material 10 is subjected to welding processing, whereby the back surface material 11, the intermediate covering material 14, and the seating surface covering material 13 are high-frequency welded to one another with the wadding material 12 sandwiched therebetween.

[0024] Here, we will briefly explain welding. Welding is a processing technique in which high-frequency electromagnetic waves or ultrasonic waves are applied to resin molded bodies that are already joined together to heat them internally, temporarily melting the joints and then solidifying them to weld them together. Since welding does not apply heat to the outer surfaces of the resin molded bodies, it is possible to weld them together without damaging their appearance. In other words, welding is used to weld multiple resin molded bodies together while suppressing damage to the outer surfaces due to heat.

[0025] The back surface material 11 is a stretchable sheet material that covers the wadding material 12 in cooperation with the seating surface cover material 13 described below. The back surface material 11 is a polyvinyl chloride sheet having a thickness of 0.25 mm. More specifically, the back surface material 11 is formed into a sheet by a calendaring method or a casting method. By making the back surface material 11 from polyvinyl chloride, the back surface material 11 can be easily melted by welding, thereby enabling it to be welded to the intermediate cover material 14 and the seating surface cover material 13. It goes without saying that the thickness of the back surface material 11 is not limited to 0.25 mm. The back surface material 11 corresponds to the first cover material of the present invention.

[0026] 3, the back surface material 11 is a sheet material having a wadding material contact surface 11a that comes into surface contact with the wadding material 12 and a bottom plate contact surface 11b that comes into contact with the bottom plate. The wadding material contact surface 11a and the bottom plate contact surface 11b face each other. The wadding material contact surface 11a corresponds to the first contact surface of the present invention, and the bottom plate contact surface 11b corresponds to the first opposing surface of the present invention.

[0027] The wadding material contact surface 11a and the bottom plate contact surface 11b are each textured. This allows the wadding material contact surface 11a to have a smaller surface roughness than the bottom plate contact surface 11b, making it possible to prevent the surface of the wadding material 12 from being worn down by contact with the wadding material contact surface 11a. Furthermore, the bottom plate contact surface 11b has a larger surface roughness than the wadding material contact surface 11a, making it possible to prevent the back surface material 11 from shifting position relative to the bottom plate.

[0028] The wadding material 12 is a flexible foamed resin molded body. The wadding material 12 is used to improve the seating comfort of a rider seated on the motorcycle seat 1 and reduce fatigue of the occupant. The wadding material 12 is a cushioning material made of foamed polyurethane with a thickness of 5 millimeters. However, the wadding material 12 is not limited to being made of polyurethane. The wadding material 12 may also be made of biomass urethane. By using a wadding material 12 made of biomass urethane, it is possible to increase compatibility with the global environment. The wadding material 12 is preferably a foamed resin molded body. This allows the back surface material 11, intermediate skin material 14, and seating surface skin material 13, which are melted by welding, to penetrate and be welded to each other.

[0029] The thickness of the wadding material 12 is not limited to 5 millimeters. The wadding material 12 may have a thickness of 10 millimeters. However, if the wadding material 12 is too thick, the welding strength between the back surface material 11, the intermediate cover material 14, and the seating surface cover material 13 decreases, and there is a risk of them peeling off from one another. Also, if the wadding material 12 is too thin, the seating comfort of the motorcycle seat 1 decreases. Therefore, it is preferable that the wadding material 12 has a thickness of 5 millimeters or more and 10 millimeters or less.

[0030] The seating surface cover material 13 is made of a stretchable synthetic leather material, and covers the wadding material 12 together with the back surface material 11. The seating surface cover material 13 is arranged on the seating surface side and serves as a surface protective layer that protects the motorcycle seat 1. The seating surface cover material 13 has a laminated structure and includes a cover material main body 131 and a base fabric 132. The cover material main body 131 and the base fabric 132 are bonded to each other. The seating surface cover material 13 corresponds to the second cover material of the present invention.

[0031] The cover material main body 131 is a polyvinyl chloride sheet having a thickness of 0.8 millimeters. By covering the seating surface side of the seating surface cover material 13 with the cover material main body 131, the design of the motorcycle seat 1 can be improved. The thickness of the cover material main body 131 is not limited to 0.8 millimeters. The cover material main body 131 only needs to have a thickness necessary to protect the motorcycle seat 1 from external influences.

[0032] The base fabric 132 is made of a water-absorbing material. More specifically, the base fabric 132 is made of a fabric formed by knitting polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers and has a knitted structure. As a result, the base fabric 132 has through-holes formed in a mesh pattern. The through-holes penetrate the base fabric 132 in the thickness direction. Therefore, the polyvinyl chloride skin main body 131 melts when weldered, passes through the through-holes of the base fabric 132 arranged on the intermediate skin material 14 side, and is welded to the back surface material 11 and the intermediate skin material 14.

[0033] An intermediate skin material 14 is provided between the wadding material 12 and the seating surface skin material 13. The intermediate skin material 14 improves the welding strength between the back surface material 11 and the seating surface skin material 13 and prevents them from peeling off. The intermediate skin material 14 is 0.25 mm thick and is made of the same material as the back surface material 11 and the seating surface skin material 13, i.e., a sheet of polyvinyl chloride. Therefore, when welding is performed, it melts together with the back surface material 11 and the seating surface skin material 13, forming a high-frequency welded part 20 and firmly welding them together.

[0034] Fig. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of a conventional seat covering material 110. As shown in Fig. 5, the conventional seat covering material 110 has a laminated structure of a back surface material 111, a wadding material 112, and a seating surface covering material 113. The wadding material 112 and the base fabric 1132 are disposed between the back surface material 111 and the covering material main body 1131 without an intermediate covering material 14 interposed therebetween. Therefore, although the back surface material 111 and the seating surface covering material 113 are fused by welding, the welding strength between the back surface material 111 and the seating surface covering material 113 decreases over time, which could lead to peeling.

[0035] In contrast, the seat cover material 10 of the present invention has an intermediate cover material 14 made of the same material (polyvinyl chloride) sandwiched between the base fabric 132 and the wadding material 12. Therefore, the back surface material 11 and the seating surface cover material 13 (cover material main body 131) can be firmly welded via the intermediate cover material 14. This makes it possible to prevent peeling between the back surface material 11 and the seating surface cover material 13.

[0036] The intermediate skin material 14 has a wadding material contact surface 14a that comes into surface contact with the wadding material 12, and a base fabric contact surface 14b that comes into contact with the base fabric 132. The wadding material contact surface 14a and the base fabric contact surface 14b face each other. The wadding material contact surface 14a corresponds to the intermediate contact surface of the present invention, and the base fabric contact surface 14b corresponds to the intermediate opposing surface of the present invention.

[0037] The wadding contact surface 14a and the base cloth contact surface 14b are each textured. This gives the wadding contact surface 14a a smaller surface roughness than the base cloth 132 and the base cloth contact surface 14b. In other words, the intermediate cover material 14 protects the wadding material 12 from the seating surface cover material 13, and can suppress wear on the surface of the wadding material 12.

[0038] <About peel strength> A test piece measuring 30 mm wide and 150 mm long was cut out from the resulting seat covering material 10. The seating surface covering material 13 was then peeled off from the test piece by 80 mm along the length. A peel test was then performed using a tensile tester on the remaining 70 mm portion of the test piece in the length direction where the back surface material 11 and the seating surface covering material 13 were welded together, and the peel strength (N / 30 mm) was measured. The same procedure was repeated multiple times to calculate the average peel strength, resulting in a peel strength of 26.1 N / 30 mm.

[0039] Similarly, a peel test was conducted to measure the peel strength by cutting out a test piece 30 mm wide and 150 mm long from the conventional seat covering material 110. The same procedure was repeated multiple times to calculate the average peel strength, resulting in a peel strength of 5.0 N / 30 mm. The above measurement results show that by providing the intermediate skin material 14 between the wadding material 12 and the seating surface skin material 13, the peel strength of the welded area is improved from 5.0 N / 30 mm to 26.1 N / mm, and peeling between the back surface material 11 and the seating surface skin material 13 can be suppressed.

[0040] <Method of manufacturing the seat covering material 10> Next, a method for manufacturing the seat covering material 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a flow chart showing the manufacturing process of the seat covering material 10. In the following, as an example, a case will be described in which the vibration energy of an ultrasonic vibrator is applied to the seat covering material 10 and the seat covering material 10 is pressed in the thickness direction to perform welding.

[0041] First, the seat cover material 10 is laminated (laminating step S1). Specifically, the back surface material 11, the wadding material 12, the intermediate cover material 14, and the seating surface cover material 13 that constitute the seat cover material 10 are laminated in this order.

[0042] Next, the seat covering material 10 is pressurized (pressurizing step S2). Specifically, the seat covering material 10 is pressurized by pressing an air cylinder or a hydraulic cylinder against the upper or lower surface of the seat covering material 10. This pressurization forms a depression in the seat covering material 10.

[0043] Next, the seat covering material 10 is welded (welding step S3). Specifically, ultrasonic vibration energy is applied to the upper or lower surface of the seat covering material 10. The vibration energy heats the seat covering material 10 from the inside, melting at least the back surface material 11, the intermediate cover material 14, and the seating surface cover material 13. Thereafter, the back surface material 11, the intermediate cover material 14, and the seating surface cover material 13 solidify and are welded to each other, forming a high-frequency welded portion 20.

[0044] Finally, the seat covering material 10 is cut to a desired size and shape (cutting step S4), whereby the seat covering material 10 can form the seating surface 2A of the motorcycle seat 1. This completes the manufacturing of the seat covering material 10. Furthermore, by covering the bottom plate with the seat covering material 10, the manufacturing of the motorcycle seat 1 is completed.

[0045] The seat covering material 10 and the motorcycle seat 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention have been described above, but the above-described embodiment is merely an example to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. In other words, the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit thereof, and of course, the present invention also includes equivalents thereof.

[0046] In the above-described embodiment, the seat covering material 10 is described as being welded by ultrasonic waves, but this is not limiting. The seat covering material 10 may also be welded by internal heating using high-frequency electromagnetic waves. Alternatively, the seat covering material 10 may be welded using laser light. In such a case, the seat covering material 10 can be internally heated, which makes it possible to improve the aesthetic appearance of the seat covering material 10 compared to when external heating is used.

[0047] In the above-described embodiment, the motorcycle seat 1 mounted on a motorcycle V has been given as an example of a vehicle seat, and an example of its configuration has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to seats mounted on ground vehicles having wheels such as automobiles and trains, and may also be applied to seats mounted on aircraft, ships, and other vehicles that move other than on land, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 Motorcycle seats (vehicle seats) 2 Front seating area 2A Seating surface 3 Rear seating area 4 Non-seating area 10 Seat covering material 11 Back material (first skin material) 11a Wadding material contact surface (first contact surface) 11b Bottom plate contact surface (first opposing surface) 12 Wadding material (cushioning material) 13 Seating surface skin material (second skin material) 131 Skin material body 132 Base fabric 14 Intermediate skin material 14a Wadding contact surface (intermediate contact surface) 14b Base fabric contact surface (middle opposing surface) 20 High frequency welding part 110 Seat covering material 111 Backing material 112 Wadding material 113 Seat surface material 1131 Skin material body 1132 Base fabric V Motorcycle B body

Claims

1. A skin material used in a vehicle seat, a first skin material; a wadding material disposed on the first skin material; A second skin material that is further placed on the wadding material; an intermediate skin material disposed between the wadding material and the second skin material, the first skin material, the second skin material, and the intermediate skin material are welded to one another; The intermediate skin material is characterized in that it contains the same material as the first skin material and the second skin material.

2. the first skin material is a back surface material, the second skin is a skin placed on the seating surface side and has a base fabric on the intermediate skin side; 2. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the base fabric has through holes that penetrate in the thickness direction.

3. 3. The skin material according to claim 2, wherein the through holes are formed in a mesh pattern.

4. 2. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the first skin material, the second skin material, and the intermediate skin material are made of polyvinyl chloride.

5. the first skin material has a first contact surface that comes into surface contact with the wadding material and a first opposing surface that faces the first contact surface, 2. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the surface roughness of the first contact surface is smaller than the surface roughness of the first opposing surface.

6. the intermediate skin material has an intermediate contact surface that comes into surface contact with the wadding material and an intermediate opposing surface that faces the intermediate contact surface, 2. The skin material according to claim 1, wherein the surface roughness of the intermediate contact surface is smaller than the surface roughness of the intermediate opposing surface.

7. A vehicle seat covered with the covering material according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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