Textiles: knitting – Fabrics or articles – Articles
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-10
2002-06-04
Worrell, Danny (Department: 3765)
Textiles: knitting
Fabrics or articles
Articles
C066S196000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06397641
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a seat cover knit and to a method of producing same and to a seat cover.
Fully fabricating seat covers as a knitted, three-dimensionally contoured part is well known in prior art, one such seat cover being described, for example, in European patent 0 361 855. The method as disclosed thereby permits knitting conventional seat covers. However, it is particularly in the field of individualized seat production that there is a requirement for incorporating individual function elements in the seat cover, more particularly by retrofitting sets. Prior art techniques have hitherto failed to make this possible.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is thus the object of the invention to provide a knit satisfying individual requirements as to patterning, configuration or function elements.
Seats, especially vehicular seats, i.e. in aircraft, motor vehicles, speed boats or trains, nowadays often make it possible to elongate the seating surface area forwards to make for added seating comfort. This is why a front portion of such a seat permits forwards adjustment to enable the length of the seating portion to be set. Hitherto this problem was solved, as far as the seat cover is concerned, by providing the adjustment part with a separate cover. This, however, results in dirt being able to collect between the adjustment part and the remainder of the seat which not only spoils the visual appeal but could also possibly obstruct the adjustment function. In accordance with the invention this adjustable part is now included in the covering afforded by the seat cover, a concertina- or bellows-type folded structure being provided therein in the region of the arrangement of the adjustable part, i.e. as a rule parallel to an outer edge of the seat cover, which is automatically pretensioned in a contracted position to thus concertina-extend to permit covering added seating length when the adjustment part is extended. For this purpose, depending on the production direction of the seat cover, knitting is omitted alternatingly on either the front and rear needle bed, whilst between these linear portions knitting is done with both needle beds over several, i.e. for example five to one hundred courses. This technique results in a concertina structure parallel to the courses due to more courses existing in the knitted portions of the face/back ply than in the back/face ply, producing portions opposingly curved. If the concertina-type configuration is required to run parallel to the wales, knitting is done at the corresponding wales so that on the front and rear needle bed the knitting is alternatingly loose or close or knitted
on-knitted and vice-versa. This is achievable by the differingly loop-sinking the needles of the flat bed machine. Here too, a portion over several, e.g. five to a hundred wales is provided between the curved portions in which knitting is done uniformly with both needle beds to thus produce a concertina-type structure parallel to the wales. The structure can thus be knitted integrated in the portion of especially optional outer edges of a seat, thus eliminating the need to produce separate covers for moving parts of the seat.
In producing the concertina-type structure parallel to the wales it is also possible—in addition to alternatingly close/loose knitting in the ballooned (loose knitted) ply—to transfer additional loops from the rear needle bed or to divide loops or, where necessary, to insert a weft, warp or pile thread for added volume.
A further problem in seat production, especially vehicular seats, is ensuring proper climate control of the seat cover by airing it to remove heat and moisture. For this purpose a seat cover is provided in accordance with the invention as a dual or multi-ply knit, the plies of which are joined together by a least one pile thread. The threads on the exposed side of the knit are formulated to absorb no water to thus ensure that the exposed side of the cover remains dry. The pile thread and/or the backing knitting ply contain, however, microfibers, which due to their high capillary effect have a high moisturizing capacity, this thus being very effective in directing moisture from the exposed side to the backing side of the cover where it can be removed, for example, by providing suitable airing means. This results in the exposed side of the knit never “sweating” even under prolonged seating in unfavorable climatic conditions, e.g. in summer.
It is likewise usual nowadays in engineering comfort vehicular seating, in motor vehicles, aircraft or trains, to provide tray and retaining structures to safely accommodate oddments such as e.g. beakers or pens and pencils. In tailoring seats to occupant stature it may also be desirable to cushion the cover at defined locations, e.g. for lumbar support. This is why in accordance with the invention a cylindrical loop or pocket-shaped retaining structure, e.g. for a beaker holder or a pad pocket can be produced in the knitted cover on a flat bed machine by the retaining structure, e.g. the pocket or a cylinder, being transferred as a prefabricated part, e.g. by a comb into the knitted portion or knitted in a separate portion, e.g. on a separate bed of the flat bed machine in knitting the seat cover for subsequent transfer to the desired location on the needles of the knitted portion of the seat cover for knitting into the cover. The retaining structure can also be produced directly together with the seat cover, whilst the action of the other needles knitting the cover is disabled. It is in this way that by prefabricating or simultaneously knitting the retaining structure that the running time of the knitter is extended only unsubstantially whilst still making it possible to additionally knit complex retaining structures such as pockets, cylinders or loops in the cover without requiring any subsequent textile finishing (e.g. stitching) or tailoring, thus making the method of production extremely cost-effective by being automatable.
When the retaining structure is required to feature a certain degree of stability, the entire retaining structure may be knitted, for example, with a thermal curing thread, i.e. which is thermally treated to cure after production of the cover.
By means of the aforementioned method, pockets for optional incorporating in seat covers, e.g. in the lumbar region of the backrest can be produced, into which a foamed pad or the like can be inserted to adapt the seat geometry to individual requirements.
Automotive engineering is tending more and more to assign functions to the seat, this having started with securing seat belt buckles to the seat. Nowadays, seats must also be capable of accommodating further safely means such as e.g. the complete seat belt system. Side air bags are also now being integrated in the seat. The present invention provides a knitted seat cover for this purpose which features a covering portion for an air bag integrated in the seat. For this purpose a course and/or a wale is knitted centrally, where possible, in the covering portion of the air bag using threads having a defined burst strength, i.e. the burst strength of this thread being less than that of the thread used in the remaining portion of the seat cover. On the one hand, this engineers the seat cover to precisely burst at the predefined course or wale, on deployment of the air bag, since it is in this portion that the burst strength of the knitted cover is significantly diminished as compared to that of the remaining portion of the cover. On the other, precisely defining the burst strength of the thread ensures that the knitted cover reliably bursts on deployment of the air bag. This effect can be further enhanced by knitting portions of the knit surrounding the defined burst course or corresponding wale with a thread having a higher burst strength and/or less elasticity. Preferably the knit is knitted in the covering portion of the air bag also with a lower absolute elasticity, e.g. smaller than 15%. This prevents the knitted cover from de
Achter Stefan
Smith-Hill and Bedell
Worrell Danny
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