Trim-cover fastener for vehicle seat

• US 10,493,880 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2015
• Issued: 12/03/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Faurecia Automotive Seating, LLC (Forvia SE)
• Original Assignee: Faurecia Automotive Seating, LLC (Forvia SE)
• Inventors: Lafferty, Lola, Gazaniol, Benoit, Boinais, Olivier
• Primary Examiner(s): Walraed-Sullivan, Kyle J.
• Application Number:
  US15/507,857
• Publication Number:
  US 20170305316A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,544 Days
• Field of Search: 527161, 527163, 527164, 5271703, 5271705, 2974526
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/5816 attachments thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/5825 by hooks, staples, clips, snap fasteners or the like

Abstract

A trim-cover fastener is provided to couple a trim cover to a seat pan to form a seat bottom or a seat back of a passenger seat. Trim-cover fastener includes one piece coupled to the trim cover and another piece coupled to the seat pan.

Claims

1. A trim-cover fastener comprising

a deformable key including a flange-support strip adapted to mate with a trim cover that is configured to cover a seat pan and cooperate with the seat pan to form an occupant-support base of a vehicle seat, the deformable key further including an elastic flange coupled to the flange-support strip, and

a key retainer comprising an open-sided sleeve configured to have a J-shaped profile and mate with the elastic flange of the deformable key and a sleeve rigidifier encapsulated in the open-sided sleeve and defined by a series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts that are configured and arranged to rigidify the open-sided sleeve, wherein the open-sided sleeve is made of a first material and the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts are made of a second material that is more rigid than the first material,

wherein the open-sided sleeve includes a bight formed to include a key-receiver channel and a motion-blocker ridge coupled to an interior surface of the bight and arranged to extend into the key-receiver channel to mate with the elastic flange of the deformable key located in the key-receiver channel to retain the deformable key in mating engagement with the key retainer, and

wherein each coil insert of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts includes a first leg, a second leg, and a leg connector arranged to interconnect the first and second legs, and the first and second legs are spaced-apart in relation to one another to locate the motion-blocker ridge therebetween,

wherein the motion-blocker ridge and the first leg, second leg, and leg connector of the coil insert lie in a first plane.

2. The trim-cover fastener of claim 1, wherein the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts are encapsulated in the bight.

3. The trim-cover fastener of claim 2, wherein the bight is made of a plastic material and each coil insert of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts is made of a metal material.

4. The trim-cover fastener of claim 2, wherein each of the bight and the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts is U-shaped in cross-section.

5. The trim-cover fastener of claim 1, wherein a channel portion of the flange-support strip of the deformable key is arranged to lie in the key-receiver channel between the motion-blocker ridge and the second leg of each coil insert of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts when a portion of the deformable key is located in the key-receiver channel formed in the bight to cause the elastic flange to mate with the motion-blocker ridge.

6. The trim-cover fastener of claim 5, wherein the channel portion of the flange-support strip is positioned to lie between the first and second legs of each coil insert of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts.

7. The trim-cover fastener of claim 6, wherein the bight is made of a plastic material and each coil insert of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts is made of a metal material.

8. The trim-cover fastener of claim 6, wherein each of the bight and the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts is U-shaped in cross-section.

9. The trim-cover fastener of claim 2, wherein the bight includes an upper leg, a lower leg arranged to lie in spaced-apart relation to the upper leg, and a middle leg arranged to interconnect the upper and lower legs and the motion-blocker ridge of the open-sided sleeve is arranged to extend downwardly from the upper leg of the bight toward the lower leg of the bight to define a flange-retainer cavity between the middle leg of the bight and the motion-blocker ridge and the elastic flange of the deformable key is located in the flange-retainer cavity to mate with the motion-blocker ridge when the deformable key is located in the key-receiver channel formed in the bight.

10. The trim-cover fastener of claim 9, wherein the motion-blocker ridge includes a sloped cam surface facing away from the middle leg of the bight and a flat stop surface facing toward the middle leg of the bight and engaged to a free end of the elastic flange to block withdrawal of the deformable key from the key-receiving channel formed in the bight.

11. The trim-cover fastener of claim 1, wherein the open-sided sleeve includes, in series, a vertically extending left-side segment, a horizontally extending top segment, and a vertically extending right-side segment, the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts comprises a first group of coil inserts encapsulated in the vertically extending left-side segment of the open-sided sleeve and arranged to establish a first vertically extending array of encapsulated coil inserts, a second group of coil inserts encapsulated in the horizontally extending top segment of the open-sided sleeve and arranged to establish a horizontally extending array of encapsulated coil inserts, and a third group of coil inserts encapsulated in the vertically extending right-side segment of the open-sided sleeve and arranged to establish a second vertically extending array of encapsulated coil inserts.

12. The trim-cover fastener of claim 11, wherein the bight encapsulates each of the groups of coil inserts and is formed to include side aperture opening into the key-receiver channel and the key-receiver channel formed in the bight included in the vertically extending left-side segment is arranged to open through the side aperture toward a side aperture associated with the key-receiver channel formed in the bight associated with the vertically extending right-side segment.

13. The trim-cover fastener of claim 12, wherein each segment of the open-sided sleeve includes the motion-blocker ridge coupled to the bight associated with such segment and arranged to extend into the key-receiver channel formed therein to mate with the elastic flange of the deformable key located in such key-receiver channel.

14. The trim-cover fastener of claim 11, wherein each of the bights is U-shaped in cross-section.

15. The trim-cover fastener of claim 11, wherein each of the coil inserts of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts is U-shaped in cross-section.

16. The trim-cover fastener of claim 1, in combination with a seat pan and a trim cover for the seat pan, and wherein the trim-cover fastener is coupled to the trim cover and to the seat pan to form an occupant-support base of a vehicle seat, the flange-support strip of the deformable key is arranged to extend along and is coupled to a generally U-shaped rear perimeter edge of the trim cover, and the key retainer includes a pan-mount portion coupled to the bight and the seat pan to hold the trim cover in place on the seat pan.

17. The trim-cover fastener of claim 16, wherein the bight of the open-sided sleeve encapsulates the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts and has a U-shaped cross-section, the key-receiver channel is arranged to open in a direction facing toward the pan-mount portion of the key retainer and the elastic flange extends into the key-receiver channel of the key retainer when the deformable key is mated to the key retainer.

18. The trim-cover-fastener of claim 17, wherein the key-receiver channel is arranged to extend along the entire length of the bight.

19. The trim-cover fastener of claim 17, wherein the motion-blocker ridge is arranged to extend downwardly from an upper leg of the bight toward a lower leg of the bight to define a flange-retainer cavity between a middle leg of the bight and the motion-blocker ridge and the middle leg is arranged to interconnect the upper and lower legs.

20. A trim-cover fastener comprising

a deformable key including a flange-support strip adapted to mate with a trim cover that is configured to cover a seat pan and cooperate with the seat pan to form an occupant-support base of a vehicle seat, the deformable key further including an elastic flange coupled to the flange-support strip, and

a key retainer comprising an open-sided sleeve configured to have a J-shaped profile and mate with the elastic flange of the deformable key and a sleeve rigidifier encapsulated in the open-sided sleeve and defined by a series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts that are configured and arranged to rigidify the open-sided sleeve, wherein the open-sided sleeve is made of a first material and the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts are made of a second material that is more rigid than the first material,

wherein the key retainer includes a bight formed to encapsulate each of the coil inserts of the series of laterally spaced-apart coil inserts and mate with the deformable key and a motion-blocker ridge that is arranged to extend downwardly from an upper leg of the bight toward a lower leg of the bight to define a flange-retainer cavity between a middle leg of the bight and the motion-blocker ridge and the middle leg is arranged to interconnect the upper and lower legs,

wherein the coil insert, the motion-blocker ridge, and the upper leg, the middle leg, and the lower leg of the bight all lie in a first plane, and

wherein each of the upper, middle, and lower legs of the bight extends along the entire length of the bight.