CN100427336C - Seat system and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a seat system comprising a seat back (20) on which one or more plastic bottom plates (22) extend for a distance along the transverse direction of the seat back. The seat back (20) includes one or more reinforcements (30) attached to the plastic base (22).

Description

Seat system and manufacturing method thereof

Claims on filing date

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Serial No. 60/447,118, filed February 13, 2003, and U.S. Application Serial No. 10/755,897, filed January 13, 2004. Both are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

technical field

The present invention relates to an improved seating system, and more particularly to an improved seating system for motor vehicles. The invention also relates to improved automotive interior systems.

Background technique

There is an increasing need for improved motor vehicle seating systems. In today's ever-increasing popularity of hatchback cars, sport utility vehicles and small vans, adjustable seats and, in most cases, the need to restrain cargo from moving to the rear of the vehicle, have placed a premium on motor vehicle seats. Chair systems present unique design challenges. Considering that these vehicles are mainly used for loading and transporting cargo together with passengers, especially those in the rear seats, manufacturers have turned their attention to improving the performance of seating systems with higher load-bearing capacity.

In order to increase the weight bearing capacity, one or more reinforcement members may be used in the seating system. In addition to load-bearing performance, it is necessary to use low-cost materials and an assembly line production process to keep costs low. Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention will seek seat reinforcement using low cost components. The fabrication of components can adopt technologies with low assembly cycle, equipment cost and labor cost.

There are multiple suitable improved seat systems to be disclosed, such as: USP6,491,346 and U.S. application serial numbers are respectively: 09/766,792 (applied on January 22, 2001), 60/312,874 (applied on August 15, 2001 ), 60/329,187 (filed October 12, 2001), 09/766,792 (filed January 22, 2001), 10/216,970 (filed August 12, 2002), 60/414,040 (filed September 27, 2002 Japan application) and other patents, these related technologies will be referred to in this patent.

Contents of the invention

The needs of the prior art are met by the present invention providing a motor vehicle seating system comprising: a plastic seat back having at least one floor defined by a peripheral boundary and having a The main wall that spans substantially continuously. The at least one floor includes one or more reinforcement members to enhance the strength of the seat back. According to a particularly preferred embodiment, the reinforcing element of the base plate comprises a reinforcing element made of another material. Although the reinforcing element can be made from a variety of other materials, the preferred material is metal, and the particularly preferred material is steel.

A molding process is preferably used to form the seat back pan, although other methods may be used. Furthermore, in a particularly preferred embodiment, the reinforcement is attached to the seat back using an adhesive. In this particularly preferred embodiment, the seat back can be made of a variety of materials, but is preferably plastic, more preferably polypropylene, and still more preferably glass-fibre-filled polypropylene.

When a heavy object of at least 36kg is placed on the back of the seat and the acceleration is as high as 20 to 30g, the seat system of the present invention will not be broken. The system is easy to produce and includes an easy-to-attach reinforcement, which reduces the manufacturing cost of the seat back.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a seat back during application of a reinforcement;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 during application of a stiffener;

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 after the reinforcement is applied;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the seat back during another process of applying a reinforcement member.

Detailed ways

The present invention provides a seat back system comprising at least one reinforcement member, especially a seat back system comprising one or more reinforcement members made of auxiliary materials. Preferably, the reinforcement extends along a major wall of the seat back pan. According to the invention, a reinforcement made of a suitable material, such as metal, is easily attached (eg, glued) to a seat back made of another suitable material, which was previously quite difficult to join.

Illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B is a modified seat back system 20 that typically includes one or more bottom panels 22 (e.g., 60/40 split, entire seat, etc.) , which spans the lateral distance of the seat back system. Preferably, each bottom plate 22 includes one main wall 26, only one main wall 26 being described in detail below.

The seat back pan includes one or more reinforcement members (eg, reinforcements, ribs, a combination of the two, etc.) attached to and at least partially projecting from the main wall. Preferably, the main wall of each base plate is substantially continuous across the periphery of the base plate, with stiffening members extending substantially along the main wall. Preferably, the reinforcing member includes at least one reinforcing member made of another material than the main wall. However, the reinforcing member may also be made of a material similar to or the same as that of the main wall or the seat back. Another material as used herein means a material or composition of material that differs at least slightly from the chemical composition of the seat back material.

The seat back bottom can be made of any suitable material, including but not limited to metal, plastic (reinforced or non-reinforced), other composite materials, and the like. Preferably, at least one base plate is plastic. More preferably, all base plates are plastic (eg thermoplastic, thermoset or combinations thereof).

According to the invention, the reinforcing elements comprise one or more reinforcing elements made of a material different in composition or structure from the base plate.

The use of microcellular foams also falls within the scope of the present invention. In contrast, a prefabricated gas/polymer solution is refined under non-steady-state thermodynamic conditions to nucleate micropores. The growth of nuclei can be controlled as desired.

The production of the seat back bottom plate can adopt the existing production technology of the selected material, such as forming, molding, lathe processing or other methods, so that the bottom plate can be processed into the desired shape. Where the base plate is made of plastic, any suitable plastic manufacturing technique may be used, including but not limited to: injection molding (including but not limited to external or internal gas injection molding), blow molding, compression molding, rotational molding method, thermoforming method, extrusion, vacuum forming, foaming method and so on. One or more other fabrication techniques may also be used, such as insert molding, over-molding, or combinations thereof. Therefore, as mentioned above, in one embodiment, taking advantage of different materials and different manufacturing techniques, as well as facilitating the design of additional features, a hybrid seat device can be manufactured.

The present invention proposes the use of reinforcing members to enhance the rigidity, toughness and impact resistance of the seat back device, or locally improve the bending moment of the members.

Structures or patterns of reinforcement members include "C" shape, "D" shape, "H" shape, "I" shape, "J" shape, "L" shape, "M" shape, "N" shape, "O" shape Sex, "S" shape, "T" shape, "U" shape, "V" shape, "W" shape, "X" shape, "Y" shape, "Z" shape, curved shape (such as a sinusoidal curve), Zigzag, "+" and more.

In one embodiment, the floor reinforcement is made of another material and is connected to the reinforcement on the seat back. The reinforcement member of the seat back bottom plate should be processed according to the reinforcement requirements of the main wall, and the processing method depends on the design of the seat back of the specific motor vehicle (such as shape, size, strength requirements, etc.). Depending on the design requirements of the seat back, the reinforcing member can be flat, curved, large, small, short, or long. Furthermore, the number of reinforcement members depends on specific needs or requirements.

In a highly preferred embodiment, the stiffening member comprises one or more stiffening members, such as ribs made of a unitary material. As an example, the ribs may be solid or grooved structures and attached to the main wall of the seat back. Preferably, for grooved ribs, it is made by injection molding as described in patent 60/414,040 (filed September 27, 2002)

Illustrated in FIGS. 1 , 2A and 2B is a seat back system 20 including at least one reinforcement member 30 having a reinforcement member 32 attached to the floor 22 . Preferably, the reinforcing element 32 is formed at least partially from another material.

The stiffener 32 can be made in various shapes and configurations. For example, depending on the application and reinforcement method of the reinforcement device 32 in the backrest system 20, the reinforcement member may be flat, or curved, or slender, or short and thick, or geometric, or other shapes. In a particular embodiment, the stiffener 32 is a thin curved strip having a length L, a width W, and a thickness T. Where length, width and thickness are constant values, these dimensions vary from reinforcement member to reinforcement member, and the dimensions may also vary from individual reinforcement keys.

In general, the size of the reinforcing member 32 is not strictly limited and may depend on the distance or area that the reinforcing member 32 is required to span. However, it is generally desirable to keep the reinforcement 32 small in size, especially in thickness, as small as possible in order to reduce its weight. The preferred thickness should be less than about 5 mm, more preferably less than about 2 mm, most preferably less than about 1 mm. In order to reduce the weight of the reinforcing member 32, there are preferably one or more voids (eg, through holes) thereon. In this embodiment, in order to make the hollow part of the reinforcement 32 occupy a larger volume, the reinforcement is basically a skeleton structure.

Preferably, but not required, reinforcement member 32 includes a surface 36 thereon that mates with surface 40 on bottom panel 22 of seat back system 20 . The stiffener 22 shown in FIGS. 1-2B includes a pair of ribs 50 of length L and a web 52 connecting the ribs 50 to form a surface 36 that includes a flat portion 54 and a pair of grooves. 56. Correspondingly, a pair of stiffeners 60 defined by the mating surface 40 on the chassis 22 of the seat back system 20 is inserted into the slot 52 and the flat portion 64 substantially mates with the flat portion 54 of the stiffener 32 .

Another material of the reinforcing member 32 can be selected from various materials, such as polymer, glass, metal, fiber (such as glass, carbon fiber, aramid metal, etc.), woven material, non-woven material , and their complexes, etc. In a preferred embodiment, the other material is at least a part or substantially all of one or more metals, such as aluminum, iron, tungsten, magnesium, steel, tin, copper, titanium, alloys and the like. According to a preferred embodiment the other material is substantially entirely low carbon steel.

The reinforcement 32 can be manufactured using various manufacturing techniques, such as rolling, casting, stamping and the like. It can also be made by casting, extrusion and other techniques.

A suitable base plate may comprise a plastic moulding. The plastic material preferably comprises a homopolymer such as polyolefin, polyamide, polyphenylene oxide and polystyrene, or a copolymer with low surface energy such as polyalkylene terephthalmic Polyalkylene terephthalate, copolymers may also have high surface energies.

Preferred plastic materials include polypropylene, polyamide, polyamide alloys, polyphenylene ether polymers, polyphenylene ether alloys, polystyrene polymers, polystyrene alloys, polybutylene terephthalate polymers, and poly Butylene terephthalate alloy. The plastic material may contain fibers such as short glass fibers, long glass fibers, short natural fibers or long natural fibers.

Particularly preferred plastic materials include short glass filled polypropylene, long glass filled polypropylene, glass filled polyamide and glass filled polyamide alloys. Particularly preferred plastic materials for cushioning systems such as EAU include unfilled polypropylene, mica-filled polypropylene, mineral-filled polypropylene.

In some preferred embodiments, the polymer material may be filled with fibers to increase strength. While fibers of various sizes (eg, lengths) can be used, studies have found that the longer the fibers, the greater the relative increase in strength. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, a polymeric material such as ABS, PCABS, polypropylene, SMA (styrene-maleic anhydride), PPO (polyphenylene oxide) or other suitable plastic is filled with glass fibers, the average The length is about more than 2mm, more preferably about more than 4mm, more preferably about more than 6mm, and most preferably about between 8-20mm.

To form the reinforcement member 30, the reinforcement member 32 can be connected or integrated with other parts of the seat back system 20, various connection or integration techniques can be used, such as screws, clasps, rivets, combinations thereof and other mechanical fasteners. In addition, the two can be integrated together by molding the reinforcement 32 at least at the corresponding position on the seat back system 20 by using the manufacturing technology mentioned above. The connection between the reinforcing member 32 and the bottom plate 22 may also adopt techniques such as heat staking, vibration welding, sonic welding, or combinations thereof.

In one embodiment, the reinforcement member 32 is adhered to the bottom panel 22 of the seat back system 20 using an adhesive 66 . Preferably, the adhesive 66 is applied to one or both of the mating surfaces 40, 36 of the chassis 22 and stiffener 32, respectively. The surfaces 40 and 36 are then pressed against each other, ie the stiffener 32 and the base plate 22 are joined together. It is of course possible to apply the adhesive 66 to any surface of the reinforcement member 32 or the seat back system 20, thereby bonding the two together.

Any suitable binder may be employed in the present invention. The preferred adhesive 66 is compatible with (ie, readily adheres to) the materials of the base plate 22 and stiffener 32 . If the adhesive 66 is incompatible with one of the materials, it is necessary to treat the surface of the base plate 22 or the reinforcing member 32 made of the incompatible material. Typical treatments include application of a primer, plasma radiation, a combination of the two, etc.

In one embodiment, the adhesive is a urethane based adhesive, preferably a urethane adhesive (eg polyurethane adhesive). Alternatively, the adhesive may include a functional component selected from methyl methacrylate (MMA), acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC), or Their mixtures (eg PC-ABS). In a further alternative embodiment, the adhesive is a silane adhesive, a silicone adhesive or a mixture thereof. In another embodiment, the adhesive is an acrylic adhesive. The adhesive may also be epoxy based and may include polyolefins, styrenics, acrylics or mixtures thereof. In yet another embodiment, preferred binders include alkylboranes. Examples of suitable adhesives are disclosed in USP 09/466,321 (filed December 17, 1999) and in Patent Publication Nos. 20020058764 and 20030001410, respectively. These adhesives contain suitable modifiers, including tackifiers, elastomers, impact modifiers, etc.

In a particularly preferred embodiment, a two-part organoborane/amine complex adhesive or other adhesive is used to securely bond reinforcement member 32 to base plate 22 . The adhesive has been found to be compatible with metals (eg steel) and plastics, especially polypropylene. As such, the adhesive can be used directly to join the reinforcement 32 made of metal and the seat back system 20 made of plastic or polypropylene without pre-treating the surface of the reinforcement 32 or the seat back system 20 .

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a base plate made of molded glass-filled polypropylene and/or glass-filled polyamide having a surface energy below 45 mJ/m ² ; and a Reinforcements made of steel, zinc and/or aluminium. As such, the preferred adhesive is one suitable for joining substrates with a surface energy below 45 mJ/ ^m2 , which can be applied to a mating surface to bond the two together. The adhesive is produced with the following polymerizable ingredients, which include:

i) an organoborane/amine complex;

ii) one or more monomers, oligomers or polymers having ethylenic unsaturation, which can be polymerized by free radical polymerization; and optionally

iii) A compound capable of dissociating said complex to release borane to initiate polymerization of one or more monomers, oligomers or polymers having ethylenic unsaturation.

A particularly particularly preferred aspect of the invention is the method of manufacturing a motor vehicle assembly and the use of adhesives in the assembly process as described above.

Adhesives and polymerizable compositions as taught in patent PCT/US00/33806 are well suited for use in the present invention to bond structural and reinforcing members together.

The amine that complexes the organoborane compound is any amine that both complexes with the organoborane and dissociates in the presence of a disassociation medium. Preferred amines include lines 41-53, column 5, USP 5,539,070 by Zharov, lines 29-58, column 2, USP 5,106,928 by Skoultchi, and 29, column 7, column 7, USP 5,686,544 by Pocius. Primary amines, secondary amines, polyamines containing primary or secondary amine groups, or ammonia as set forth in lines 36 through column 10; monthanolamine, secondary dialkyldiamine or polyoxyalkylene polyamine; Deviny An amine-terminated reaction product of a diamine and a compound having two or more groups capable of reacting with amines proposed in the patent USP 5,883,208 from column 7, line 30 to column 8, line 56. Regarding the reaction product described by Deviny, preferred diprimary amines include alkyl diprimary amines, aryl diprimary amines, alkylaryl diprimary amines and polyoxyalkylene diamines; Compounds that react with amines include compounds containing two or more carboxylic acid, carboxylic acid ester, carboxylic acid halide, aldehyde, epoxide, alcohol and acrylate groups. Preferred amines include n-octylamine, 1,6-diaminohexane (1,6-hexanediamine), diethylamine, dibutylamine, diethylenetriamine, dipropylenediamine, 1, 3-propylenediamine (1,3-propylenediamine), 1,2-propylenediamine, 1,2-ethylenediamine, 1,5-pentanediamine, 1,12-dodecane Diamine, 2-methyl-1,5-pentanediamine, 3-methyl-1,5-pentanediamine, triethylenetetramine, diethylenetriamine. Preferred polyoxyalkylene polyamines include polyethylene oxide diamine, polypropylene oxide diamine, triethylene glycol propylene diamine, polytetrahydrofuran diamine and poly

Ethylene oxide copolymerized propylene oxide diamine.

In particular, the amine in the organoborane/amine complex can be selected from amines having an amidine structural component; an aliphatic heterocycle having at least one nitrogen in the heterocycle, wherein the heterocycle compound can also have One or more nitrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, sulfur atoms or double bonds; primary amines appended with one or more hydrogen bond accepting groups, wherein there are at least two carbon atoms between the primary amine and the hydrogen bond accepting group , preferably at least three carbon atoms, the intermolecular or intramolecular interaction in the complex can increase the strength of the B--N bond; or a conjugated imine.

Preferred hydrogen bond accepting groups include: primary amines, secondary amines, tertiary amines, ethers, halogens, polyethers or polyamines. The heterocycle is a compound containing one or more alicyclic rings, one of which contains nitrogen. The amidine or conjugated imine can be linear, branched or cyclic.

Preferred organoboranes in the complex are trialkylboranes or alkylcycloalkylboranes. The borane preferably has the formula 1:

B--(R ₁ ) ₃ molecular formula 1

Where: B is boron; R ₁ is a C _1-10 alkyl group, C _3-10 cycloalkyl group, or an alicyclic ring formed by combining two or more R _1s .

Preferred R ₁ is C _1-4 alkyl, more preferably C _2-4 alkyl, most preferably C _3-4 alkyl. Preferred organoboranes include triethylborane, triisopropylborane and tri-n-butylborane.

In a preferred embodiment, the amine in the complex consists of a compound containing a primary amine and one or more hydrogen bond accepting groups, wherein there are at least two carbon atoms between the primary amine and the hydrogen bond accepting group , preferably at least three carbon atoms.

Preferably, the amine has the formula 2:

NH ₂ (CH ₂ ) _b (C(R ₂ ) ₂ ) _a X Formula 2

Wherein: R ₂ is hydrogen, C _1-4 alkyl or C _3-10 cycloalkyl; X is half a hydrogen bond accepting group; a is an integer between 1 and 10; b is 0 or 1 , and the sum of a and b is between 2 and 10.

Preferred _R2 is hydrogen or methyl.

Preferably X is half a hydrogen bond accepting group, and when the hydrogen bond accepting group is an amine, preferably X is a tertiary or secondary amine. More preferred X is --N(R ₈ )e, --OR ₁₀ , or halogen, wherein: R ₈ is C _1-10 alkyl, C _3-10 cycloalkyl or -(C(R ₂ ) ₂ ) _d --W; R10 is C _1-10 alkyl, C _3-10 cycloalkyl or -(C(R ₂ ) ₂ ) _d --W; e is equal to 0, 1 or 2. More preferably X is --N(R ₈ ) ₂ or --OR ₁₀ .

Preferred R ₈ and R ₁₀ are C _1-4 alkyl or --(C(R ₂ ) ₂ ) _d -W, more preferably C _1-4 alkyl, most preferably methyl. W is hydrogen, C _1-10 alkyl or X, more preferably hydrogen or C _1-4 alkyl.

Preferably, the value of a is about 1 or greater than 1, more preferably 2 or greater. Preferably a is about 6 or less, most preferably about 4 or less. A preferred value of b is about 1. Preferably the sum of a and b is an integer of 2 or about 2, more preferably about 3 or more. Preferably the sum of a and b is about 6 or less, more preferably about 4 or less. Preferably d is an integer between 1 and 4, more preferably between 2 and 4, more preferably between 2 and 3.

Preferred amines of formula 2 are dimethylaminopropylamine, methoxypropylamine, dimethylaminoethylamine, dimethylaminobutylamine, methoxybutylamine, methoxyethylamine, ethoxypropylamine, propylamine Oxypropylamines, amine-terminated polyalkylene ethers (such as trimethylolpropane-tris(polypropylene glycol, amine-terminated) ether), aminopropylmorpholine, isophoronediamine, and aminopropylpropyl diamine.

In another embodiment, the amine can be an aliphatic heterocycle having at least one nitrogen atom on the heterocycle. The heterocyclic compound may also contain one or more nitrogen atoms, oxygen atoms, sulfur atoms or double bonds. In addition, the heterocycle may comprise multiple rings, at least one of which contains nitrogen. Preferred compounds of this class include morpholine, piperidine, pyrolidine, piperazine, 1,3,3 trimethyl 6-(azabicyclo)[3,2,1]octane, thiazolidine, homopiperazine ( homopiperazine), aziridine, 1,4-(diazabicyclo)[2,2,2]octane (DABCO), 1-amino-4-methylpiperazine, and 3-pyrroline.

In another embodiment, the amine capable of properly coordinating with the organoborane is an amidine, which can be any compound with an amidine structure. In order to coordinate with the organoborane, the amidine must have sufficient bond energy. Suitable amidines include 1,8-(diazabicyclo)[5,4]undec-7-ene; tetrahydropyrimidine; 2-methyl-2-imidazoline; and 1,1,3,3 - Tetramethylguanidine.

In a further embodiment, the amine that can be properly coordinated with the organoborane is a conjugated imine, which can be various compounds with a conjugated imine structure, as described in the patent PCT/US00/33806. For borane to complex, the imine must have sufficient bond energy. The conjugated imine can be straight chain, branched imine or cyclic imine. Preferred conjugated imines are 4-dimethylaminopyridine; 2,3-bis(dimethylamino)cyclo-propyleneimine; 3-(dimethylamine)acrylimine; 3-(dimethylamino) Methacryl aldimine (3-(dimethylamino)methacrole-inimine).

A preferred molar ratio of amine compound to organoborane compound is 1.0:1.0-3.0:1.0. When the molar ratio is lower than 1.0:1.0, there are problems in polymerization, complex stability and viscosity. Although molar ratios higher than 3.0:1.0 do not confer any additional advantages, they can still be used. Too much amine can negatively affect the stability of the adhesive or polymer mixture. A more preferred molar ratio of amine compound to organoborane compound is 1.0:1.0-2.0:1.0.

Organoborane/amine complexes are readily formulated using techniques such as those provided in patent PCT/US00/33806.

Preferably, the polymer material comprises acrylate and/or methacrylate compounds. Especially preferred are acrylate and methacrylate compounds, which include methyl methacrylate, butyl methacrylate, ethylhexyl methacrylate, isobornyl methacrylate, tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate and methyl Cyclohexyl methyl acrylate.

The polymerizable component may further include an appropriate amount of a compound capable of reacting with an amine (a disassociation medium), the liberated borane allowing polymerization to occur. The desired amine reactive compound is a material that readily forms a reaction product at or below room temperature, preferably at room temperature, thereby providing a mixture that is easy to use and cure at ambient conditions. Typically such compounds include acids, aldehydes, isocyanates, acid chlorides, sulfuryl chlorides, mixtures thereof, and the like. Preferred amine reaction mixtures are acids, especially Bronsted and Lewis acids, and the compounds described in USP 5,718,977, more preferably acrylic acid and methacrylic acid.

Among the polymerizable components, suitable polymeric components account for at least 20% by mass, preferably at least 30%, more preferably at least 40%. Individually, the suitable polymerizable component mass fraction is not more than 95%, preferably not more than 90%, especially preferably not more than 85%.

The mass fraction of suitable organoborane/amine complex is at least 0.2%, preferably at least 1%, more preferably at least 2%. In addition, the suitable mass fraction of the complex should not exceed 8%, preferably not exceed 6%, even better if not exceed 4%.

If a disassociation compound is present, it suitably accounts for at least 1%, preferably at least 1.5%, and most preferably at least 2%. Individually, the mass fraction of suitable disassociated compounds does not exceed 8%, preferably does not exceed 6%, and especially preferably does not exceed 4%.

The test of the ASTM D1002 system shows that the adhesive provided by the invention can firmly bond the polypropylene component filled with 30% glass and the reinforcement component together without pretreatment on the surface of any component. Additionally, the adhesive can withstand thermal cycling and high humidity conditions. The suitable thermal cycle temperature is above -40-120°C. Humidity can vary from dry to fully saturated.

The adhesive can be used in the manner mentioned in the patent PCT/US00/33806. In addition, other additives can also be added to the mixture. Suitable additives are given in patent PCT/US00/33806.

A suitable assembly can withstand heat radiation at 100-120°C, or even higher. In addition, the assembly can withstand the heavy loads imposed during production and use, such as: slamming the hood, placing heavy objects on the hood handle, vibration and aging during road driving. In practice, the amount and location of the adhesive is selected according to the design and construction of the vehicle.

Once adhesive 66 and reinforcement 32 have been applied to seat back system 20, sufficient time must be allowed to cure (e.g., partial cure, full cure, on-demand cure, air cure, heat cure, moisture cure, chemical curing, photocuring, etc.) adhesive 66 to secure reinforcement 32 to base plate 26. The adhesive is best cured at room temperature (approximately 20-30°C), but can be cured at higher or lower temperatures to speed up or slow down the curing time. To secure the reinforcement member 32 to the seat back system 20, fasteners (eg, push pins, clips, etc.) may be used during the curing process. During use of the seat back system 20, these fasteners may be removable and may facilitate attachment of the reinforcement member 32 thereto.

In general, it is desirable for the adhesive to exhibit moderate ductility after cure. The ductility of the adhesive is preferably as high as the ductility of the material of the reinforcement member 32 or the ductility of the material comprising the seat back system 20 or the bottom panel 22 , whichever is lower. More preferably, however, the ductility of the adhesive is as high as the ductility of the material of the reinforcement member 32, or the ductility of the material comprising the seat back system 20 or the bottom panel 22, whichever is higher.

The favorable results show that according to the invention a relatively low production cycle can be achieved for the production of a seat back with a reinforcement element made of another material. For example, the manufacturing cycle of the seat back system may not exceed one minute, preferably not exceed 40 seconds, more preferably not exceed 30 seconds, and still more preferably not exceed 20 seconds.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-2B , the reinforcement member 32 is attached to the back of the seat back system 20 (ie, the side opposite the occupant of the seat back). In addition, the components as shown may also be provided at various locations on or within the seat back system. One or more reinforcement members may be provided on the back of the seat back pan, one or more may be provided on the front, or integrated into the interior of the seat back pan. One or more reinforcement members may also be disposed along the outer boundary of the seat back pan. It is also conceivable to arrange these reinforcing members along the seat back floor laterally, longitudinally, horizontally, vertically, obliquely or a combination thereof.

In this embodiment, the reinforcement 32 is connected to an integrated reinforcement member of the seat back system 20 . The reinforcement 32 can also be disposed in the gap (such as a mold cavity or a through hole) or on a plane.

According to the present invention, both the seat back bottom and the reinforcement member may include one or more protrusions to assist the reinforcement member to be positioned and connected to the seat back bottom. Preferably, the protrusions can be inserted into corresponding voids (such as molded grooves or through holes), which can be in the form of reinforcements, seat back pans or both. Illustrated in FIG. 3 are a plurality of protrusions 70 protruding from the ribs 60 , and these protrusions 70 can be inserted into the through holes 72 on the stiffener 32 .

For specific applications, the design and location of each reinforcement member, or its mode of fabrication in the seat back, should be optimized according to some or all of the following criteria. For each application, skilled artisans will appreciate that the use of the specific reinforcement member can help reduce the risk of damage caused by rapid acceleration or deceleration of the motor vehicle or passengers or cargo behind the seat (e.g., top-loaded center belt, top-loaded center belt, installed child safety seat and the peak of the luggage) caused by the bending effect. For example, in a preferred embodiment, the generally selected reinforcement structure or mode is to vertically arrange the reinforcement member with a relatively high bending moment on the twistable curved slope.

The seat back system provided by the invention can be applied to front seats, rear seats, folding chairs and the like. It can also be considered to be processed into a seat back system suitable for child safety seat tethers and middle and rear seat belts. The system should also meet pre-established standards (such as strength standards). Seats, tethers, safety belts and standards are discussed in detail in USP 60/414,040.

Although the present invention relates only to automotive seating systems, skilled artisans will appreciate that the system is applicable to other seating, such as airplane and bus seating or auditorium and stadium seating.

The above are merely exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can appreciate from the above description, the accompanying drawings and the claims that, as defined in the following claims, various changes, improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the nature and scope of the present invention. out of shape. Especially for the various functions exhibited by the mixture, assembly, device, component, etc., in the absence of specific instructions, even if the item with a specific function is not equivalent to the structure described by the term, the term is used to describe the corresponding item . Additionally, specific features referred to in one embodiment may be combined with features in other illustrative embodiments.

Claims (20)

1. motor vehicle seat chair back system method for making comprises:

Provide one at least at first base plate of self-propelled vehicle part lateral extent, this first base plate is limited and is provided with the main wall of crossing over continuously basically between whole peripheral boundary by peripheral boundary;

Provide one to be arranged at reinforcing member on this first base plate, wherein:

I) this first base plate is made by plastic material, has a match surface on it at least;

Ii) reinforcing member is made by the another kind of material that is different from the first base plate plastic material, has a match surface on it at least; And

Adopt a kind of adhesives that the match surface of the match surface of reinforcing member and first base plate is bonding, thus, reinforcing member substantial lateral ground, end wise or two to stretching along main wall with having concurrently.

2. method according to claim 1, wherein, at least one match surface of described reinforcing member or at least one match surface of described first base plate are low-yield surfaces, and adhesives can be bonded on the low-yield surface.

3. method according to claim 2, wherein, the surface energy on the low-yield surface of being made by plastic material is lower than 45mJ/m ²

4. method according to claim 1 and 2, wherein, described plastic material comprises a kind of poly-mer, this poly-mer is selected from polyolefin, polystyrene, polyamide, polybutylene terephthalate, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene, polycarbonate or their combination.

5. method according to claim 4, wherein, plastic material comprises a kind of filler.

6. method according to claim 5, wherein, filler is selected from short glass fiber, long glass fibres, short natural fiber or the right fiber of the vast of heaven.

7. according to the described method of claim 1,2 or 3, wherein, described plastic material is selected from the polypropylene of having filled short glass fiber, has filled the polypropylene of long glass fibres, has filled the polyamide and the polyamide alloy of having filled glass of glass.

8. according to any described method among the claim 1-3,5,6, wherein, reinforcing member and match surface thereof are made of metal, and described metal is selected from steel, aluminium or their combination.

9. according to any described method among the claim 1-3,5,6, it further comprises, adhesives is applied directly on the match surface of base plate, and described base plate match surface is not carried out pretreatment.

10. according to any described method among the claim 1-3,5,6, wherein, adhesives comprises: a kind of organo-borane/amine complex and can be by the free radical polymerization polymerization have undersaturated one or more monomers of ethylene linkage, oligomer or a poly-mer.

11. method according to claim 10, wherein, adhesives further comprises a kind of cmpd, and this cmpd can cause complex to separate to discharge organo-borane, has the polymerization of undersaturated one or more monomers of ethylene linkage, oligomer or poly-mer with initiation.

12. method according to claim 10, wherein, the amine moiety in organo-borane/amine complex is selected from: the amine with amidine structural constituent; The aliphatics heterocycle that in heterocycle, has at least one nitrogen; Additional have one or more hydrogen bonds to accept the primary amine of group, wherein accepts to have at least two carbon atoms between the group at primary amine and hydrogen bond; Or conjugated imines.

13. method according to claim 10, wherein, amine is selected from: dimethylaminopropylamine, methoxy propanamine, dimethylaminoethylam,ne, dimethylaminobutylam,ne, methoxybutyl amine, methoxyethyl amine, ethoxy propylamine, propoxypropylamine, the polyalkylene ether of amine end-blocking, aminopropyl morpholine, IPD and aminopropyl propane diamine.

14. method according to claim 13, wherein, amine end-blocking polyalkylene ether is trimethylolpropane-three (polypropylene glycol-amine end-blocking) ether.

15. method according to claim 10, wherein, the organo-borane in organic boron/amine complex partly is selected from trialkylborane or alkyl-cycloalkyl borine.

16. according to any described method among claim 1-3,5,6, the 11-15, wherein, one or more profile phases that at least one match surface limited on one or more profiles that at least one match surface limited on the reinforcing member and the base plate are corresponding.

17. method according to claim 16, wherein, described one or more profiles of reinforcing member are limited by timber or groove at least in part, and described one or more profiles of base plate are limited by timber or groove at least in part.

18. according to any described method among claim 1-3,5,6, the 11-15,17, wherein, the method for making of base plate is selected from compression molding, injection moulding or blow moulding.

19. according to any described method among claim 1-3,5,6, the 11-15,17, wherein, the fabrication cycle of seat back system was no more than for 40 seconds.

20. according to any described method among claim 1-3,5,6, the 11-15,17, wherein, the fabrication cycle of seat back system was no more than for 30 seconds.

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