US2750710A - Sewing welt and trim strip - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1956 s. D. BRADLEY 2,750,710

SEWING WELT AND TRIM STRIP Filed Dec. 5, 1950 Ila-Jul.

Ill i=3 IN VEN TOR. S TEPHN D. Bun/.5!

United States This invention relates to a sewing welt, and more particularly but not exclusively, to a sewing welt especially adapted for use adjacent the joints between separate panels of material. One use for such a sewing welt is to provide an ornamental trim or decorative bead for finishing the interior trim panels of a vehicle body. This application also relates to the general type of sewing welt disclosed in my copending application, Serial No. 186,869, filed September 26, 1950.

Trim panels covered with various types of materials are used invarious interior decorating schemes, as well as for finishing the interior of vehicle bodies. It is customary in fabricating such panels to provide a backing sheet which may be padded or upholstered, and then covered with a flexible covering of fabric, sheet plastic,

leather, or the like. The ornamental, as well as the utilitarian uses of such panels frequently require the joining of separate pieces of the covering material. At the present time, a conventional practice is to join the separate pieces of the covering, and then mask the joini'rig lines by use of a separate rigid trim strip, which strip is applied after the covering pieces are joined and mounted on the backing'sheets. Such separate, rigid, trim strips frequently are secured to the panels by metal clips or the like. In many instances, the seam line may be a curved line for which it is desired to provide an ornamentalbead or trim. Because of the high cost, and the difficulty in bending the rigid trim strip, their use on such curved seam lines is not considered commercially feasible in many instances.

It is, therefore, highly desirable to eliminate such special costly trim, particularly in the interior trim panels for vehicle bodies, by the provision of a suitable flexible, or elastic welt, which may be secured directly to the trim panels during the fabrication thereof, either in connection with a straight seam line, or a curved seam line, and which will provide an ornamental bead that will follow the seam line and be held firmly against the surface of the completed panel.

In addition, the metallic trim strips discussed above, frequently tarnish or become corroded after relatively short periods of time. Fabrics frequently used in trim panels are easily and permanently discolored or otherwise damaged by metal polishes, and the like. Accordingly, due to the relatively narrow widths of stock used for such trim strips, it has not been possible to maintain the desired high polish on such trim strips without doing irreparable damage to the adjoining fabric panels. It is, accordingly, desirable to provide a trim strip having the desirable pleasing appearance of a highly polished metallic trim strip, but which is protected from corrosive influences so as to retain its highly polished surface over relatively long periods of time, and preferably, throughout its entire life.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a welt particularly adapted for use in fabricating trim panels, and which may be readily secured to such panels during the assembly thereof.

atent 2,750,710 Patented June 19, 1956 ice Another object of this invention is to provide a welt of the above type which maybe sewed, or otherwise secured, to the panels of material in a single operation, thus eliminating the additional cost and labor involved in covering the panel seam with a separate trim strip after assembly of the panels within a vehicle body or the like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a welt having a decorative bead possessing all of the desired appearance characteristics of a metal trim strip, which may be readily formed to any desired contour during assembly thereof without requiring a special preforrning operation thereon.

Another object of this invention is to provide a welt of the above type, which includes the use of a relatively inexpensive metallic foil having a highly polished reflecting surface, which surface is protected from dulling and corrosive influences by a translucent or transparent covering so as to retain its highly polished surface throughout its normal life.

Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claim, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the several views.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the translucent-or transparent 'body'forming a part of the present welt, and embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the sewing welt of the present invention shown in assembled relation with a pair of panels of material to be joined.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the'welt shown in Fig. 2 after assembly with apair of panels of material, and shown in assembled relation with a foundation and subfoundation forming a backing for the trim panel unit.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in itshpplication to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, since the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or carried out in various ways. Also itis to be-understood that the phraseology or terminolo'gy employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of'limit a'tion.

The sewing welt 10 embodying the features of the present invention is shown in the drawings including a translucent or transparent body member 1 2, which may be extruded or otherwise formed in an elongated strip, as shown fragmentarily in Fig. 1. The body member 12 is provided with a longitudinal recess or slot 16 therein. The member 12 may be formed with the slot 16 therein or it may be formed as a flat strip and folded at the fold line 14 to form the slot 16. The sewing Welt also includes a reflecting portion or insert 36 (Figs. 2 and 3), which is disposed within the longitudinal recess, and has a highly polished reflecting surface 32, such for example as a metal foil or the like, which is adapted to reflect light through the translucent or transparent body member 12 to give the entire welt a metallic appearance.

A relatively short length of the translucent body member 12 is shown in Fig. 1 prior to its assembly with the reflecting insert 3%. The same body member 12 is shown in Fig. 2 after assembly with the reflecting insert 34), and during the operation of assembling the welt 10 with the panels of material 40 and 42. The welt It} is shown in Fig. 3 after assembly with the panels of material, and with the trim panel unit in assembled relation with a foundation 5t) and a subfoundation 52. The trim panel unit may be secured directly to the foundation 3 50 by stitching or any other suitable means, or instead, the trim panel unit may be held in its assembled position by the sub-foundation 52, which is normally glued or otherwise secured to the foundation 50.

The translucent body member 12 of the sewing welt illustrated in the drawings is formed of an elastomeric plastic or similar material. It is preferably transparent if used with a metallic insert, and may be either clear or provided with any desired transparent color. As shown, the body member 12 is provided adjacent its folded edge 14 with an outer trim or bead portion 18. This outer trim portion of the welt is exposed in the final assembled position of the unit to provide an attractive trim having the appearance of a metallic trim strip for the assembly along the seam line of the panels of material. The trim bead 18 is shown having a plurality of corrugations for decorative purposes. Any suitable surface contour may be provided on the trim bead with out departing from the present invention.

In manufacture, the body member 12 is preferably extruded, or otherwise formed in continuous strips, which may be readily and easily cut to the desired length during assembly of the trim panel.

The reflecting portion or insert 30 of the welt 10 preferably comprises a metallic foil or sheet having a highly polished surface 32. This foil may be provided, if desired, with a paper backing or other rigid backing, and may have a slight curvature prior to assembly so as to resiliently hold the trim bead 18 firmly against the panel 42 in its assembled position. In practice, the metallic foil is preferably used in relatively long continuous strips, which may be readily and easily cut to conform to the length of the translucent body member 12 with which it is to be assembled, and is provided with a Width and thickness corresponding generally to the dimensions of the recess 16.

In the assembly of the trim panel unit, the metal foil is first placed within the recess provided in the elastomeric, translucent body 12, having its inner portion disposed within the trim bead 18 of the body. The welt 10 is then positioned between the two edges of the panels to be joined, as shown in Fig. 2, and the entire unit, including the five layers of material, are secured together along a common line, indicated generally by the arrow 60. Preferably, the trim panel unit is sewed with thread 62, as shown in Fig. 3, and the upper panel of the material 40 is doubled back, and subsequently assembled in a well-known manner. The panel unit may be secured to the foundation 50, or the sub-foundation 52 as described in detail above.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that the sewing welt disclosed above may be readily and easily secured to separate panels of covering materials, simultaneously with the sewing of the panels. As pointed out above, the body of the welt is formed of a translucent material and preferably of a transparent elastomeric material, and is provided with a recess or slot therein for receiving a reflecting insert, such as a sheet of metal foil. The entire welt may be sewed or otherwise secured to the panels of material in a single operation, thus eliminating the additional cost and labor involved in covering the panel seam with a separate trim strip after assembly of the panel within a vehicle body or the like. The present welt is provided with a decorative bead, which extends along the seam line of the trim panel unit, and possesses all the desired appearance characteristics of a metal trim strip. However, due to the flexibility of the elastomeric body and the metal foil, the welts may be readily formed to any desired contour during assembly thereof, without requiring a special preforming operation thereon. In addition, the welt disclosed herein utilizes a relatively inexpensive metallic foil having a highly polished reflecting surface, and this surface is protected against dulling or corroding influences by a translucent or transparent covering so as to retain its high polish throughout the normal life of the sewing welt.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A trim panel unit comprising a plurality of panels of material joined adjacent the edges thereof and adapted to form a covering for a backing sheet and a welt extending between and secured along the joined edges of said panels of material, said welt comprising a translucent body formed of strip material and having a fold along a longitudinal line to provide a longitudinal recess therein and a reflecting insert member disposed within said recess, said panels of material having their edges joined to said translucent body member and reflecting insert member adjacent the open edge formed by the longitudinal fold in said body member so that the portion of the body member and reflecting insert adjacent the longi tudinal fold forms an exposed decorative bead along the edges of said panels of material.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,936,087 Howard Nov. 21, 1933 1,955,187 Howard Apr. 17, 1934 2,164,036 Lane June 27, 1939 2,181,926 Tiger Dec. 5, 1939 2,290,007 Valentine July 14, 1942 2,334,811 Detrick Nov. 23, 1943 2,349,140 Bolen et al. May 16, 1944 2,378,000 Detrick June 12, 1945

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