MXPA97006441A - A cover tej - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for forming an upholstery cover of woven weft fabric having a flap extending in the direction of the relief on its reverse side in which method the excess fabric is woven in the direction of the race inside the cover and It is collected on a flap on the reverse side of the fabric and stitched along its length. The length in the direction of the stroke of the cover is sufficient so that after being collected to form the fin, the cover is essentially an exact notch on the nose.

Description

A WOVEN COVER Technical Field This invention relates to woven fabric upholstery covers and in particular to covers for use on seats.

Background of the Invention It has recently been found that it is possible to weave one-piece upholstery covers to cover three-dimensional objects. U.S. Patent Nos. 5,308,141 and 5,326,150 describe a method for weaving one-piece covers for base and / or seat back cushions for motor vehicles.

In the aforementioned United States patents, a method is disclosed for forming integral tubular fins which are woven into the cover to serve as anchoring devices. The tubular fins described in that document generally extend in a transverse direction in the woven fabric.

The United States patent application of North American series number 08 / 619,052, filed on March 20, 1996 and assigned to the assignee of this application, describes how a tube extending in the direction of relief can be woven into a fine woven fabric of double weft weaving. A fine woven fabric of double weft weaving can be machine woven on a weft knitting machine having the operable needles independently arranged in two needle beds, for example, a flat "V" bed machine. A tubular part extending in the direction of the relief can be formed between the two layers of the double fine worsted fabric by sliding stitches over selected needles so that there are no stitches of between two layers of double fine stamen over the lines of particular needles, thus forming a tube that extends in the direction of the relief.

However, to date there is no convenient means to produce a fin extending in the direction of relief at a central location in a woven material. This is especially true for the three-dimensional woven cover in which the cover is dimensioned so as to be an essentially exact notch on the object to be covered.

Synthesis of the Invention Thus, a method is provided for forming a woven fabric upholstery cover for a core having a flap extending in the direction of relief on the obverse side of the fabric to one side of the core and a corresponding decorative seam on the outer face of the cover, where the cover is woven with excess material in a direction in the direction of the fabric stroke, and the excess material is picked up in a flap on the front side of the cover, which is sewn as along its length to one side of the root of it. The material to form the fin can be delineated in the woven stitches on the cover.

Conveniently where the upholstery cover is a woven fabric of double fine weft yarn, the fabric on a weft knitting machine having needles arranged on two independently operating needle beds, a front needle bed and a rear needle bed , the fabric has a front layer woven on a bed of needles and a back layer woven on the other bed of needles and the two layers are interconnected by the woven seams. The contour of the excess material to form the fin is formed in the back layer only by weaving said contour in a contrasting manner.

The contrasting way includes using a contrasting thread and a different stitch structure which is visible on the back face. Such a method is similar to that described in the United States assignee's patent of North America number 5,213,863.

Preferably, the fold lines are formed in a respective layer to aid in the formation of the fin, the fin lines being formed by stitches omitted on the particular needles on at least one of the respective needle beds.

These doubles lines may comprise a groove in a respective layer of the double fine yarn structure formed by omitting the stitches in said layer using the stitch transfer techniques, or pressing from particular needles.

Preferably, the double woven fine worsted fabric has its front layer formed of a chenille yarn and its back layer formed of at least one non-chenille polyester yarn. The chenille thread may be of the type described in U.S. Patent No. 5,428,969 of the assignee. The chenille yarn can have a decitex in the range of 1,500 to 3,000. Conveniently, the fabric has from 8 to 16 relieves per inch (2.54 centimeters) in a direction in the direction of the stroke, and in the range from 8 to 30 strokes per inch in the direction in the direction of relief, the chenille thread being woven into the fabric like woven stitching stitches.

The polyester yarn is preferably an air textured polyester yarn having a decitex in the region of 550 to 900, or 600 to 800, or 600 to 750, or 650 to 700 decitex. The chenille yarn may be formed from a pair of twisted polyester and / or nylon yarns, for example, and may contain one or more knitted melting nylon yarns under which they must be heated, or the pile may be moved relative to the threads. The chenille thread may have an account in the range of 1,500 to 3,000 decitex. The chenille thread is preferably one having a movable stack and / or an extendable core.

Preferably, air textured polyester yarns are continuous filament yarns having an account, in the non-relaxed state of 680-750 decitex.

Preferably, the weaving method is such that in the relaxed state, the fabric has from 4 to 6 embossments per centimeter.

The fabric can be woven on a flat bedding machine having a pair of beds of opposite needles. The machine can have a meter in the range of 10 to 16, preferably 10 to 14, preferably 12. The machine can be a double system machine or a triple system machine or a quad system machine.

The present invention provides a method for weaving a cover, preferably an upholstery fabric, in which the fabric is carried on a machine having a pair of independently operable and opposing needle beds, and in which the needles in each bed they can move independently of one another in the bed inside the path of an operating cam box reciprocating along the needle beds.

A fabric for upholstery for a vehicle seat preferably has a weight in a relaxed state ready to be used in excess of 500 g / m2, preferably 500 to 900 g / m2. This compares to traditional woven products which have a weight of 300 to 350 g / n ^.

Preferably, the upholstery fabric is a weft woven tapestry fabric formed of yarn having a decitex in the ranges of 625 to 850 and having been woven on a machine having a machine measurement in the range of 10 to 18, the fabric being of a generally double fine worsted construction.

Also according to the invention there is provided a machine-woven cover for a core which has a back face which in use lies on one side of the core, a part of the cover has a flap extending in the direction of the relief on its rear face formed of woven fabric gathered together to form the fin which is sewn along its length adjacent to the fin root. The length in the direction of the stroke of the cover is a sufficient length of the fabric to form the flap without requiring stretching to cover in the direction of the stroke beyond its predetermined length to serve the part of the core covered by said part. Of the cover.

The woven fabric that is going to be collected in the delineated fin is a fabric woven on the cover. Preferably, the fabric is a double fine worsted fabric and the fabric material to be collected within the fin is marked on the back layer of the double thin worsted layer in contrasting stitches which can be formed from a yarn or yarns. contrasting or they can be of a construction of different threads.

The formation of the fin can be aided by the fold lines which are formed in at least one of the respective layers of the double thin worsted fabric, said fold lines comprising grooves.

The fin may have its ends closed and have openings or slots near the closed ends for the insertion of the wire sections within the fin. The wires are used as anchoring means to help secure the cover to the core, for example, a car seat cushion cover to a molded cushion.

The distance between the slots will be smaller than the overall length of the fin and the length of the wire to be placed on the fin. The end of the wire can be turned in a seam to prevent the wires from piercing the closed ends of the fin.

The flap also has openings, preferably square shaped openings, spaced along its length to provide access to the securing means for example the reinforcing ring, to engage the wire located on the flap to secure the cover to the core.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an isometric view of an upholstered car seat cushion.

Figure 2 is a woven pattern of a car seat cover according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a cross section taken through an opening 56 of the flap shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 is an expanded view of a part of the pattern for the fabric to be collected on a flap extending in the direction of the relief, and Figures 5, 6, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 9A and 9B are fabric diagrams illustrating various techniques employed to weave the fin material.

Description of the Preferred Modality Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a seat base 11 for a seat. The seat base 11 incorporates a three-dimensional foam core structure 12 on which a fabric cover 13 is stretched. The shape of the core structure can be of any desired shape, and as shown in the present example has the wings 14. The fabric cover 13 is a three-dimensional woven cover incorporating a central panel 15, the side wings 16, 17, the integrally woven and base edge members 18 and 19 which are secured to the seat base in a manner known The seat cover 13 may include the decorative seams 20. Such seat bases are typically used in automobiles.

In order for the invention to be fully understood, reference will now be made to a V-bed weaving machine. More details of such weaving machines can be found in the publication "Manual of Dubied Fabric" published by Edouard Dubied y Compañía, SA , from Neu Chatel, from Switzerland 1967. The flat V bedding machines are well known and many such machines are now controlled by computer. It has recently been proposed to manufacture an upholstery fabric on such flat V-bedding machines and proposals have been made, see for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 5,308,141 and 5,326,150 to weave a suitable upholstery fabric for used in vehicles.

The fabric of a fabric by the method according to the invention employs a Stoll CMS machine with 12 measuring needles. This machine is a flat V-bed machine of the type provided with a sewing retainer, such as a sinker or presser foot, to assist in taking the woven fabric. The machine can operate with a plurality of yarn supplies, each of which is associated with a respective cam box.

The cam box traverses the needle beds with thread carriers by supplying the thread to the needles as desired in each direction of travel.

The fabric cover 13 is a woven structure of double fine yarn weft. Essentially such a double thin yarn structure comprises a pair of layers of single fine yarn fabric formed of interconnected seams or yarn stitches wherein the opposite pairs of the layers are interconnected by additional yarn seams. It is possible to produce highly complex designs on the fabric structure by automatically controlling the operation of the knitting needles and particularly where two or more yarn colors are used. Usually, such fabrics will be woven with a jacquard weaving machine in which the colors of the fabric face can be determined by a suitable selection of needles.

Conveniently it is only the technical face of the fabric which has to have the attractive appearance. The technical reverse of the fabric, whether covered with a reinforcing or quilting layer or directly in contact with the core 12 of the upholstered product, is of particular interest to the eventual consumer.

The fabric cover 13 is a woven structure of double fine yarn weft having a technical face effectively comprising a series of seams in the front layer of the fabric formed on a needle bed of a weaving machine and a technical reverse, or face back 23 (Figure 3) formed on the series of seams in the back layer of the fabric formed on the second needle bed of the weaving machine.

Referring to Figures 5-9B, there are shown the stitch diagrams in which each row represents a row of fabrics over one pass of the yarn carrier. In each row the upper line of small dots represent individual needles on the rear needle bed (R) of a knitting machine, and the lower row of dots represents the needles of the front needle bed (F) of the fabric machine . In the terminology used here, the front layer 21 of the fabric 13 is woven on the front needle bed and the back bed 23 of the fabric is woven on the back needle bed. The thread is represented by the seams and interconnected cross links. It will be appreciated that the stitch diagrams represent only a small part of the cover as required for the illustration of the invention.

Referring to Figure 2, a knitted pattern is shown for a woven cloth cushion cover 13 which is woven in the direction of arrow X which is from the bottom to the top.

The two lines A-E represent the working length of the two opposite needle beds of the machine on which the cover is woven. The needles operate to form the fabric along the lines of vertical needles, which is in reliefs, race by race.

The tissue of the complex three-dimensional seat cover is described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 5,308,141 and in its continuing part-patent of U.S. Patent No. 5,326,150, the contents of which are incorporated herein by the present application. The fabric of the fabric cover will be described herein only as necessary for an understanding of the present invention. The fabric begins on all the needles between AE on the needle beds to form the double fine yarn establishment races 32. The two needle beds then each separately weave a single thin layer of yarn to form a tube extending in the direction of the race 33 with the needles being progressively activated or deactivated or stopped to achieve the desired shape.

After completing the tube that extends in the direction of the race 33, the needles between the lines of needles B and C begin to weave a double fine yarn area 34. Upon completion of this area, the yarn carrier moves to the needle line C and begins to weave the Jacquard area 35.

During continuous weaving operation from the bottom to the upper part of the fabric, the edges of the fabric between which the double-ended arrows are located are woven together. Taking the two edges indicated by the double-headed arrows M, for example, this requires that the needles become inactive between the point C and E, during the weaving of the area 34 they are reactivated progressively from the direction of the stroke E to C for "join" the two indicated edges along the vertical lines M.

The double fine yarn jacquard areas 35, 34 and 37 are formed by weaving on both needle beds until stroke 38. The needles on the front needle bed are stopped while the tissue continues on the rear needle bed to form an integral single fine stamen anchor tube 39 of the type described in U.S. Patent Nos. 5,308,141 and 5,326,150.

The anchoring tube 39 has the openings formed therein for securing the securing means, for example, the reinforcing rings, and is thus formed by the tissue on adjacent needle blocks on the rear needle bed while the other The back bed needles stop.

As shown, all the needles on the back bed between the F and K lines weave several runs of single fine yarn fabric. The needles between F and I stop while the fabric continues on the needles between the lines J and K for several runs, preferably four or five runs, to form the block 39a. The needles between the lines J and K and F and G are then stopped, and the fabric starts again on the needles between H and I by several runs to form the block 39b. The needles between H and K are then stopped while the tissue begins again between the lines F and G by several runs to form the block 39c. Then, the fabric begins on the needles between G and K to run 40 to complete the tube 39. The single thin yarn tube is shown by the dark areas between runs 38 and 40.

From run 40 onwards, the fabric begins again on both needle beds between the lines L and P to form a jacquard area of double fine yarn 41 joining the area 37. The area 37 forms a wing 16 or 17 of the cover of seat 13 and the area of double fine yarn 41 forms the central panel 15 of cover 13.

The central panel 41 is woven between the races 40 and 42 and includes an excess cloth area 43 which in use is for forming a flap extending in the direction of relief 50 (see Figure 3) on the back face of cover 13. The length in the The direction of travel of the central panel 41 between the needle lines AE is longer than the corresponding surface length of the seat cushion core 12 to be covered so that the woven material can be collected to form the fin 50 and leave a length of fabric in the direction of the stroke sufficient to cover the core of the cushion without stretching the central panel 15 of the fabric cover beyond its predetermined length to cover the core.

The formation of the fabric 50 inside the cover should not impair the overall appearance and the unit of the cover. This is particularly true when the fin is located in the center of a panel.

A tube in the direction of the relief 44 is formed at the front edge of the panel 41 by removing the stitches between the closure between the two layers of double fine yarn.

After the weaving of the central panel 41, the woven process continues in the reverse mode to that described between the races 32 and 40, eventually ending in the tube extending in the direction of the stroke 45 at the upper end of the cover. The few final strokes are woven in double thin yarn construction and include a fusible yarn to prevent subsequent fraying after weaving.

Referring to Figure 4, there is shown an enlarged view of the excess cloth fin area 43 which is formed in the central panel 41 for the formation of the fin 50. The fabric diagrams shown in Figure 5-9 illustrate how particular characteristics can be incorporated within fin area 43.

In general, each diagram is divided into four zones, I, II, III and IV. The zones I and IV which lie outside the needle lines X and Z are the jacquard regions of the panel 41, and the zones II and III which lie respectively between the needle lines X and Y and the needles Y and Z correspond to the fin area material 43. The lines X, Y and Z correspond to the contrast lines 51, 52 and 53 formed on the central panel 41 to highlight the fold lines in the fabric when the fin 50 is formed. The arrows show the direction of travel of the thread carrier in each stroke.

As the fabric is woven, Figure 5 illustrates the method of forming the contrast lines 51, 52 and 53. The yarn carrier moves from the right to the left to weave a fabric stroke. The upper row of dots represents the rear needle bed R, and the lower row of dots represents the front needle bed F. For each pass of the yarn carrier, three yarns are woven on the needles; a first contrast yarn 61, a chenille yarn 62 and a second contrast yarn 63. The first contrast yarn 61 is woven on all needles on the rear needle bed except that three needles on the needle lines X, Y and Z with some stitches being made on the front needle bed to provide some between closure between the double fine yarn layers. The chenille yarn 62 is woven on all needles on only the front needle bed. The second contrast thread is on all the needles on the back needle bed with some stitches made on the front needle bed again to fix together with two layers of double fine yarn. This forms a repeating unit U ,. The next pass of the thread carriers from right to left will weave the next repeat unit U,, and others.

The back layer of the fabric will be formed with the contrast lines 51, 52, 53 visible as a unique relief of the second contrast yarn 63 on the back face of the woven fabric.

When the fabric is woven, the width of zone II and zone III can be varied to suit the desired location of the contrast lines 51, 53.

Referring to Figure 6, a slit extending in the direction of the stroke 55 can be formed at each closed end of the tab 50 by depressurizing a select group of needles, preferably five needles on the front and rear needle beds, as shown , for a single fabric race. In this case, the selected needles straddle the central needle line Y. The repeat unit Uj will again be subsequently woven on the next successive stroke.

If it is desired not to form a slit 55, but to form a separate opening 56 of which three spaced apart in the direction of the relief along the fin area 43 are shown, then as before a selected group of needles is released and they straddle the front and rear needle beds on the center line of the needle line Y. The fabric is then woven on only one side of the needles released by four runs in zones I and II on both needle beds (see Figures 7A and 7B) with the needles in zones III and IV stopped. The needles in zones I and II are then stopped while the fabric then recommences on the needles in zones III and IV on the other side of the needles released by four runs (see Figures 8A and 8B). The next stroke is then a repeat unit U, of the type shown in Figure 5 which describes the opening by forming its upper side.

Referring to Figure 9, there is illustrated a means for providing a fold line 91 (see Figure 3) in a layer of the double fine yarn woven fabric.

The woven career repeat unit U2 formed by the yarn carrier moving from right to left is very similar to the repeating unit U, except that the first contrast yarn 61 is also woven on the needle Y on the rear bed and not on the front bed, the chenille yarn 62 is woven on the needles on the front bed except for the needle Y where it is woven on the back needle bed, and the second contrast yarn 63 is woven on the needles of the needle. rear needle bed. Therefore, the needle Y of the first layer remains empty.

The next pass of the thread carrier from left to right repeats the repeat unit U2 except that the interlock stitches 64 between the two layers of double thin yarn are formed on the adjacent needles of the front bed.

The resulting build-up of a number of strokes will cause a groove line 91 to form along the front face of the fabric, allowing the fabric to fold easily along the fold, thereby forming the flap 50. This is shown in Figure 3.

Therefore, the area 43 is constructed using the techniques indicated above, and the excess fabric is collected in a flap extending in the direction of the relief 50, which is stitched at its root along a sewing line 57 forming a visible seam 20 on the outer face of the cover.

An anchor wire 58 can be inserted into the fin 50 through a slit 55. The opening 56 can accommodate the passage of the anchor rings 59, sometimes called reinforcement rings.

Claims (15)

R E I V I N D I C A C I O N S

1. A method for forming a woven fabric upholstery cover for a core, the cover has a flap extending in the direction of the relief on the reverse side of the fabric adjacent to the core and a corresponding decorative seam on the outer face of the fabric. cover, characterized in that the cover is woven with an excess fabric in a direction in the direction of the fabric stroke, the excess fabric is collected in a flap on the reverse side of the cover, and is sewn along the length of the cover. its length adjacent to the root of it.

2. A method as claimed in clause 1 characterized in that the excess fabric forming the fin is delineated in the woven stitches of the cover.

3. A method as claimed in clause 2 characterized in that the upholstery cover is a woven cloth of fine woven yarn woven on a weft knitting machine having needles arranged in independently operating needle beds, a front needle bed and a back needle bed and the fabric has a woven front layer on a needle bed and a woven back layer on the other needle bed and the two layers are interconnected by woven seams, and the contour of the excess material to form the Flap is made in the back layer only by weaving said outline in a contrasting manner.

4. A method as claimed in clause 3 characterized in that the fold lines are formed in a respective layer to assist the formation of the fin, the fold lines are formed by omitting stitches on particular needles on at least one of the respective needle beds.

5. A method as claimed in clause 4 characterized in that the omitted stitches are transferred to an adjacent needle during the weaving process.

6. A method for anchoring a woven tapestry cover to a core in which method the cover is provided with a flap having the ends closed, by means of a method as claimed in any one of clauses 1 to 5, characterized in that the flap is further formed with slits or openings there near the closed ends for the insertion of wire lengths used to hold the cover in the core, said lengths of wire extend between the closed ends.

7. A method as claimed in clause 6 characterized in that the flap is formed with additional openings therein providing access for securing the securing means to the wire for anchoring the cover to the core.

8. A method for attaching a woven fabric upholstery cover to a car seat cushion in which the cover is anchored to the cushion by a method as claimed in clause 7.

9. A motor vehicle seat having a woven cloth upholstery cover anchored in place by a method as claimed in clause 8.

10. A machine-woven cover for a core and which has a back face which in use lies on one side of the core, a part of the cover has a flap extending in the direction of the relief on its rear face formed of a woven fabric gathered together to form the fabric which is stitched along its length to one side of the fin root, characterized in that the length in the direction of the stroke of the cover is of a sufficient length of fabric to form the flap without needing to stretch the cover in the direction of the stroke beyond its predetermined length to suit the part of the core covered by said part of the cover.

11. A cover as claimed in clause 10 characterized in that the woven fabric to be folded into the fin is delineated in the woven stitches in the cover.

12. A cover as claimed in clause 11 characterized in that the cover comprises a woven fabric of double thin yarn structure having a front layer and a back layer, and the contour of the material to be folded in the fin is present in the back layer only and is produced by the woven stitches incorporating the contour in a contrasting manner.

13. A cover as claimed in any of clauses 1 to 12, characterized in that the cover comprises a woven fabric of double thin yarn structure and in order to assist in the folding of the woven fabric in said fin, the fold lines are formed in the respective layers of the double thin yarn structure, said fold lines comprise grooves in at least one of the respective layers of the double thin yarn structure formed by the omission of stitches in said respective layer.

14. A cover as claimed in any of Clause 10-13 characterized in that the fin has the opposite ends which are closed, and has a slit or opening near each closed end to allow the insertion of a length of wire to inside the fin, said openings or slits being spaced apart by a distance which is shorter than the length of the wire to be inserted into the fin.

15. A cover as claimed in clause 14 characterized in that the fin has additional openings spaced along its length in the direction of the relief to provide access to the securing means for hooking said section of wire to anchor the cover to the core . SUMMARIZES A method for forming an upholstery cover of woven weft fabric having a flap extending in the direction of the relief on its reverse side in which method the excess fabric is woven in the direction of the race inside the cover and It is collected on a flap on the reverse side of the fabric and stitched along its length. The length in the direction of the stroke of the cover is sufficient so that after being collected to form the fin, the cover is essentially an exact notch on the core.