Metal working – Upholstered article making – Cover stretching
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-06
2001-07-03
Hughes, S. Thomas (Department: 3726)
Metal working
Upholstered article making
Cover stretching
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253435
ABSTRACT:
I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for inserting an insert into a cover. More particularly, the present invention relates to the stuffing of a cover, such as a vehicle seat cover, with an insert, such as a vehicle seat bun. The vehicle may be a car, a truck, a boat, or a plane. Other possible applications of the present invention are for use with home or office furniture. The apparatus comprises a bench having a material holding assembly and a movable stuffing bracket. The holding assembly comprises four self-adjusting blades that move to expand within the covering material prior to insertion of the bun.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELEVANT ART
Construction and installation of interior components of vehicles is one of the more difficult and awkward stages of vehicle assembly. Interior fittings and accessories such as arm rests, head rests, visors, compartment covers as well as vehicle seat backs and bases are composed of an insert or “bun” and a cover. The cover is typically assembled to form essentially an open-bottomed box having a base, two end pieces, a front piece, and a back piece. One end of each end piece is stitched to one end of the front piece, while the other end of each end piece is stitched to one end of the back piece. Each of the end, front and back pieces is stitched to the base thereby forming the open-bottomed box.
Methods of attaching the cover to the insert vary. In some instances, such as for assembly of seat backs, arm or head rests, the open end of the cover includes a material that is often elastic, a zipper, hook-and-loop fasteners, staples, hog rings, or a tie string. For these assemblies, the insert is placed into the cover and the open end is closed by retraction of the elastic material, zipping of the zipper, fastening of the hook-and-loop fasteners, or tying of the string. These methods of assembly comprise conventional assembly techniques.
In other assemblies, such as for seat bases, the open end of the cover is commonly fitted with a welting. The bottom of the seat base spring includes a peripheral channel. To assemble the seat base cover and seat base spring, the worker first rests the seat base spring on a support. The spring is either fixed in relation to the support, or is allowed to pivot on the support, thus allowing the worker to go from point to point during assembly without changing his position. The worker then places one comer of the cover over one comer of the spring, and, by pulling, places another corner of the cover over another comer of the spring and so on until all of the comers of the cover are over all of the comers of the spring. The worker then compresses the seat base spring so as to bring the top of the seat base spring closer to the bottom of the seat base spring, and, while working his way around the seat base, inserts the welt into the channel. A pair of pliers or a similar crimping tool is then used to crimp the channel, thereby locking the welt therein. The entire channel is not crimped at one time, but the worker instead “walks around” the base, crimping little by little as he goes, until the channel is completely crimped. The seat is then ready for use as a piece of furniture or, if used in a vehicle, for installation into the vehicle or for attachment to other seat parts.
As may be understood from this operation, most of the work of the actual installation of the seat cover is done by hand. The same is true for assembly of the other components. The most difficult part of the assembly maneuver is the fitting of the insert within the cover and fastening the cover to the insert. In any known method of assembly of any interior component, this step requires considerable pulling, stretching, and adjusting to be accomplished properly. However, the results are not always desirable. The product is often crooked, unevenly stretched, or torn. At best, the resultant seats assembled according to this procedure are of inconsistent quality. In addition to a comprised product, the worker himself often acquires bruised knuckles, scratched hands, and wrist disorders caused by repetitive movement, all signs of his trade.
While improvements related to these components exist, these relate generally to the insert or the cover, and not to the method of assembly. For example, covering materials with improved elastic qualities have appeared because of developments in polymer technology. Improvements also involve the use of different, more resilient foamed plastics for use as inserts, such as seat “buns.”
But even with such improvements, the lot of the worker is little improved. Much of the stuffing, stretching, fitting, and fastening is done by hand, and the resulting bruised knuckles, scratched hands, and bandaged wrists still characterize the vehicle seat fitter. Beyond problems of human discomfort, known machines for fitting inserts into covers are not adjustable. Each machine is customized for use with a particularly styled seat or part. This lack of adjustability has severely limited the possible seat varieties and requires the manufacturer to have a different machine for each style of seat.
Accordingly, prior inventions have failed to overcome the problems that have long been associated with the fitting of a supporting insert, such as a seat base spring assembly, into a cover, such as a seat cover.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention overcomes the problems commonly associated with conventional methods and machines for stuffing vehicle seats and interior accessories. The present invention discloses a method and apparatus for conveniently and efficiently inserting an insert, such as a seat bun for a vehicle, into a cover, such as a seat cover for a vehicle. The present invention may be used with a variety of insert-cover combinations. For example, and with specific reference to automobile seats and other interior parts, the invention may be used to fit a cover over an insert comprising a conventional foam pad or bun provided over a frame. Alternatively, the invention may be used to fit a cover-bun combination over the frame. The cover-bun combination is a product of “foam-in-place” technology (for example, polyurethane integral skin foams) wherein the foam pad or bun is formed on or bonded to the inside of a cover that is turned inside-out.
The apparatus of the present invention includes a bench upon which a covering material holding assembly and a stuffing bracket are operatively provided. Further provided on the bench is a control board. The control board is either manually operated or computer programmed.
The holding assembly comprises four blades that are selectively movable from a first, centrally-grouped “rest” position to a second, expanded-from-center position. The first position is used for fitting the open end of a covering material thereto. The second position is used for expanding the cover by the blades that each seek out a respective corner of the cover. The blades are fitted with sensors that automatically expand the blade to their maximum positions according to the interior dimensions of the cover, but do not allow the blade to expand further, thus preventing tearing without the need for continuous adjustment by the operator.
The blades are composed from a low friction material so that the covering material may more readily slide thereover. The material may be plastic, preferably polyethylene, or a metal, such as aluminum. The selected material has great tensile strength and also has a smooth and glossy finish that allows the covering material to easily slide along the blade surface without meaning the covering material. The holding assembly is pivotably mounted upon the bench so that it may be pivoted as a whole from an operator-accessible position where the blades face the worker to a cycling position where the blades face the stuffing bracket.
The stuffing bracket is movable in a back-and-forth direction for pushing the insert into the cover while the latter is held on the blades of the holding assembly. The bracket may also be adjusted up or d
Mintz David
Mintz Neil
Tremblay Pierre
Gifford, Krass, Groh Sprinkle, Anderson & Citkowski, P.C.
Hughes S. Thomas
Machine Design Systems, Inc.
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