Vehicle seat, a skin material for a vehicle seat and a method of manufacturing the vehicle seat

• US 6,345,865 B1
• Filed: 04/30/1999
• Issued: 02/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Akira, Miyajima, Iwao, Ashida, Nobukatsu
• Primary Examiner(s): Cranmer, Laurie K.
• Application Number:
  US09/303,498
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 297/195.1, 297/214, 297/452.58, 297/452.61, 297/452.62, 569/9, 565/3, 565/59, 573/7
• US Class Current: 297/195.1
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 1/00 Saddles or other seats for cycles; Arrangement thereof; Component parts
• CPC Class Codes: B62J 1/12 Box-shaped seats; Bench-type seats, e.g. dual or twin seats
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1028 by bending, drawing or stretch forming sheet to assume shape of configured lamina while in contact therewith
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/103 Encasing or enveloping the configured lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1031 with preshaping of lamina
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/1062 Prior to assembly
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/108 Flash, trim or excess removal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/481 Method
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/486 Cover stretching

Abstract

The vehicle seat of the invention includes a cushioning material having a ridge surrounding and defining a seating area on the cushioning material and a skin material covering the cushioning material. The skin material and cushioning material are bonded together only within the seating area. The skin material is a laminate including, in succession, a PVC layer, a knitted fabric and a closed-cell synthetic resin foam. A water proof film may be interposed between the cushioning material and the skin material outside of the seating area.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising:

a cushioning material having a ridge defining a seating area on said cushioning material;

a skin material covering said cushioning material and bonded to said cushioning material only within said seating area, said skin material comprising, as successive layers in a laminate, a PVC layer, a substrate fabric made of a knitted material and a closed-cell cellular synthetic resin material.

2. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the bonding is by an adhesive coated on one or both of the skin material and the cushioning material.

3. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the skin material comprises a first skin portion including a region of the seating area and a second skin portion, different from said first skin portion, covering seat portions outside of the seating area and joined to said first skin portion along a joining line.

4. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 3:

wherein a concave groove is formed in the cushioning material on the seating area side of the ridge, at a predetermined position including the joining line; and

further comprising;

a water proof film disposed between the second skin portion and the cushioning material, but not between the cushioning material and the first skin portion covering the seating area, with an inner peripheral edge located at the concave groove.

5. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the PVC layer is overlaid with an acrylic or vinyl chloride surface material.

6. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the surface material comprises a vinyl chloride-acrylic ester copolymer resin or a vinyl chloride-methacrylate copolymer resin.

7. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the substrate fabric is a knitted material comprising nylon yarns, polyester yarns or rayon yarns.

8. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the closed-cell cellular synthetic resin material is a crosslinked cellular material.

9. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the closed-cell cellular synthetic resin material is a PVC cellular material.

10. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the skin material contains a protein.

11. A vehicle seat as defined in claim 1, wherein the PVC layer, the substrate fabric and the closed-cell cellular synthetic resin material are laminated and bonded by a urethane type adhesive.