JP7700655B2 - Seat Covers - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seat cover.

Conventionally, seat covers, which are the covering material for seats in automobiles and the like, are formed into a bag-like shape by sewing together the edges of multiple cover pieces into an integrated body. In such seat covers, there are cases where it is desired to raise the design surface of the sewn parts to give a three-dimensional appearance. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such a seat cover. In the seat cover described in Patent Document 1, in the sewn parts corresponding to the corners of the seat cushion, a raised design surface is created by forming a recessed stitch in the seam allowance.

JP 2017-164165 A

In the seat cover disclosed in Patent Document 1, a design surface is raised by forming a sewn part in the seam of the first upholstery piece at the sewing part of the first upholstery piece. Specifically, the thickness of the overlapping seam of both upholstery pieces is increased by forming a sewn part in advance in the seam of the first upholstery piece and sewing it to the second upholstery piece, and the design surface of the first upholstery piece is partially raised by covering the seat pad with the first upholstery piece overlapping on the seam. Here, the greater the difference in circumference between the sewing part of the first upholstery piece and the second upholstery piece, the more skill is required for the sewn part, and there is a limit to the thickness that can be formed, so the design surface can only be raised to a certain extent and the need for a more three-dimensional effect cannot be met.

In view of these problems, the objective of the present invention is to provide a seat cover that has a more three-dimensional appearance by increasing the amount of raised design surface compared to the raised design surface achieved by forming an inset stitch in the seam allowance.

The first invention of the present invention is a seat cover in which multiple skin pieces that cover a seat pad, which is a cushion body, are integrated by sewing at the seam lines, and at least one of the seam lines has a gathering stitch sewn together with tape, and when the seat cover is placed over the seat pad, the seam is arranged in a planar shape between the seat cover and the seat pad, and pushes up the design surface of the skin piece that corresponds to the seam and bulges outward.

According to the first invention, the seam allowance is gathered with tape, allowing it to be sewn at a more stable interval than gather stitching that does not use tape, and the thickness of the seam allowance can be stably increased. As a result, when the seam allowance is arranged in a planar shape between the seat cover and the seat pad, the design surface of the cover piece corresponding to the seam allowance at at least one seam line of the seat is raised outward greatly, creating an external shape that is full of three-dimensionality. Here, gather stitching refers to a sewing method in which the fabric is sewn and sewn to form wavy pleats, and refers to a sewing method that sews and sews a greater amount of shrinkage than ise-komi stitching.

The second invention of the present invention is the first invention, characterized in that the seam is provided with a restricting member that restricts the surface that comes into contact with the seat cover to one side when the seat cover is placed over the seat pad.

According to the second invention, the surface that the seam falls to and abuts against the back surface of the seat cover is restricted to one side, so the design surface that rises along the stitching line is not uniform on one side of the stitching line and does not sag, further improving the appearance quality.

The third invention of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second invention, the fin portion of a bead having a cylindrical portion and a plate-shaped fin portion extending radially from the cylindrical portion is sewn together with the seam allowance, and the sewn skin piece is folded back so as to surround the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical portion of the bead, revealing a design surface that corresponds to a part of the outer surface of a cylinder that is concentric with the cylindrical portion and has a large diameter.

According to the third invention, it is possible to present a design surface that has a part of the cylindrical side surface at the corner along the seam of the seat cover and is raised significantly outward.

1 is a perspective view of an automobile seat to which a seat cover according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the outer skin piece before gathering.

Figures 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a seat back 3 of an automobile seat 1. In each figure, arrows indicate the various directions of the automobile seat 1 and the automobile when the automobile seat 1 is installed in the automobile. In the following description, descriptions of directions will be made based on these directions.

As shown in FIG. 1, an automobile seat 1 has a seat cushion 2 that supports the buttocks and thighs of a seated occupant from below, and a seat back 3 that supports the waist and back of the seated occupant from behind. The lower end of the seat back 3 is attached to the rear end of the seat cushion 2 via a reclining adjuster (not shown), which allows the angle of inclination of the seat back 3 relative to the seat cushion 2 to be adjusted.

As shown in FIG. 1, the seat back 3 has a back frame 3F that forms the skeleton, a back pad 3P that serves as a cushioning material placed over the back frame 3F, and a back cover 3C that serves as a skin material that covers the back pad 3P. The back pad 3P is an elastic body made of urethane foam resin, and its outer shape determines the outer shape of the seat back 3. Here, the back pad 3P and the back cover 3C correspond to the "seat pad" and "seat cover" in the claims, respectively.

The back cover 3C is formed by stitching together multiple skin pieces 10 at their edges to form a single piece in the shape of a bag that opens to the rear. The skin pieces 10 are cut into various shapes from skin materials such as fabric, genuine leather, and synthetic leather. The skin material may be a laminated material in which a thin urethane slab pad is laminated to the back side of the fabric, genuine leather, synthetic leather, etc.

As shown in FIG. 2, the back cover 3C at the side corner of the seat back 3 has a top panel main piece 11, a top panel side piece 12, a lining piece 13, and cotton cloth 14. The top panel main piece 11, the top panel side piece 12, and the lining piece 13 are all made of synthetic leather, and each corresponds to the skin piece 10. The left edge of the top panel side piece 12 and the cotton cloth 14 is connected to the upper edge of the lining piece 13 by a stitching line 15. The left edge of the top panel main piece 11 is connected to the right edge of the top panel side piece 12 and the cotton cloth 14 by a stitching line 16. Here, the cotton cloth 14 corresponds to the "regulating member" in the claims.

The stitching line portion 15 is formed by connecting the seam allowance 13a of the upper edge of the kamachi piece 13 and the seam allowance 14a of the left edge of the cotton cloth 14 with the first stitching line 15a, and connecting the seam allowance 12a of the left edge of the top board side piece 12 to the seam allowance 13a and seam allowance 14a with the second stitching line 15b. The first stitching line 15a is located closer to the edge of the seam allowance 12a, seam allowance 14a, and seam allowance 13a than the second stitching line 15b. The seam allowance 12a of the top board side piece 12 is thickened by providing a gathered stitching portion 12a1 before being connected with the second stitching line 15b. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the seam allowance 12a has multiple keyhole-shaped gaps 12a2 formed at equal intervals, and a thin resin tape T is placed on top of the gaps 12a2 and stitched to fill in the gaps 12a2 to form the gathered stitched portion 12a1. By sewing the tape T in an overlapped state, the wave height of the wavy gathered stitched portion 12a1 becomes larger and the seam allowance 12a can be made thicker than when the tape T is not overlapped. Here, the stitched line portion 15 and the seam allowance 12a correspond to "at least one stitched line portion" and "seam allowance portion" in the claims, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2, the stitching portion 16 is formed by connecting the seam allowance 12b of the right edge of the top side piece 12 and the seam allowance 14b of the right edge of the cotton cloth 14 with the third stitching line 16a, and connecting the seam allowance 11a of the left edge of the top main piece 11 and the hanging cotton cloth 17 with the seam allowance 12b and seam allowance 14b with the fourth stitching line 16b. The hanging cotton cloth 17 is a member for pulling and fixing the stitching portion 16 into the groove portion (not shown) of the back pad 3P. The third stitching line 16a is positioned closer to the edge of the seam allowance 12b, seam allowance 14b, and seam allowance 11a than the fourth stitching line 16b.

The sewing of the stitching lines 15 and 16 is performed in the following procedure. (1) A gathered stitch 12a1 is provided on the seam allowance 12a of the top side piece 12. (2) The seam allowance 13a of the hem piece 13 is connected to the seam allowance 14a of the cotton cloth 14 by a first stitching line 15a. (3) The seam allowance 12a of the top side piece 12 is connected to the seam allowance 13a and the seam allowance 14a by a second stitching line 15b. (4) The top side piece 12 is folded forward at the second stitching line 15b, the cotton cloth 14 is folded backward at the second stitching line 15b, and the seam allowance 12b of the top side piece 12 is connected to the seam allowance 14b of the cotton cloth 14 by a third stitching line 16a. (5) The seam allowance 11a of the top main piece 11 and the hanging cotton cloth 17 are connected to the seam allowance 12b and seam allowance 14b by the fourth sewing line 16b. Here, the order of steps (1) and (2) may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously. The cotton cloth 14 is connected to the top side piece 12 by the second sewing line 15b and the fourth sewing line 16b in order to position the seam allowance 12a and the seam allowance 13a so that the seam allowance 12a abuts and overlaps the rear surface of the top side piece 12.

When the back cover 3C thus formed is placed over the back pad 3P, the overlapping portion 14c, which is the portion overlapping the seam allowance 12a, seam allowance 13a, seam allowance 14a, and the seam allowance 14a of the cotton cloth 14 folded backward at the second sewing line 15b, comes into contact with the surface of the back pad 3P in a layered state, and pushes up the surface side of the overlapping portion 12c, which is the portion overlapping and corresponding to the seam allowance 12a of the top board side piece 12, in the forward direction. At this time, the seam allowance 12a of the top board side piece 12 is thickened by being provided with a gathered stitched portion 12a1 sewn with the tape T overlapping, so that the surface side of the overlapping portion 12c, which is the design surface along the second sewing line 15b, can be greatly raised forward to create an external shape full of three-dimensionality. In addition, the cotton cloth 14 restricts the surface where the seam allowance 12a and the seam allowance 13a fall and come into contact with the back surface of the back cover 3C to the surface on one side where the gathered stitching portion 12a1 of the seam allowance 12a is provided, so the design surface that rises along the stitching line portion 15 is unified to one side of the second stitching line 15b and does not crease, further improving the appearance quality.

Figure 3 shows a second and third embodiment. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a seat cushion 2 of an automobile seat 1. The second embodiment is for the left-side stitching line portion 27, and the third embodiment is for the right-side stitching line portion 28. Here, the stitching line portion 27 and the stitching line portion 28 each correspond to "at least one stitching line portion" in the claims.

The second embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the seat cushion 2 has a cushion frame 2F forming a skeleton, a cushion pad 2P as a cushion material placed on the cushion frame 2F, and a cushion cover 2C as a skin material covering the cushion pad 2P. The cushion pad 2P is an elastic body formed from urethane foam resin, and its outer shape determines the outer shape of the seat cushion 2. Here, the cushion pad 2P and the cushion cover 2C correspond to the "seat pad" and "seat cover" in the claims, respectively.

The cushion cover 2C is formed by stitching together multiple skin pieces 20 at their edges to form a single piece into a bag shape that opens downwards. The skin pieces 20 are cut into various shapes from skin materials such as fabric, genuine leather, and synthetic leather. The skin material may be a laminated material in which a thin urethane slab pad is laminated to the back side of the fabric, genuine leather, synthetic leather, etc.

As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the cushion cover 2C at the front side corner of the seat cushion 2 has a top panel main piece 21, a top panel side piece 22, a lining piece 23, a cotton cloth 24, a main inner piece 25, and a side inner piece 26. The top panel main piece 21, the top panel side piece 22, the lining piece 23, the main inner piece 25, and the side inner piece 26 are all made of synthetic leather and each corresponds to the skin piece 20. The front edge of the lining piece 23 and the front edge of the side inner piece 26 are connected by a stitching line 27. The left edge of the top panel main piece 21 and the cotton cloth 24 are connected to the front edge of the main inner piece 25 by a stitching line 28.

The stitching line portion 27 corresponding to the second embodiment is formed by connecting the seam allowance 26a of the front edge of the side inner piece 26 and the band-shaped resin plate 31 with the fifth stitching line 27a, and connecting the seam allowance 23a of the front edge of the kamachi piece 23 to the seam allowance 26a with the sixth stitching line 27b. The seam allowance 23a of the kamachi piece 23 is thickened by providing a gathered stitching portion 23a1 before being connected with the sixth stitching line 27b. The gathered stitching portion 23a1 is formed in the same manner as the gathered stitching portion 12a1 in the first embodiment, and by sewing the tape T in an overlapping state, the wave height of the wavy gathered stitching portion 23a1 becomes larger than when the tape T is not overlapped, and the seam allowance 23a is thickened. The resin plate 31 is a flexible plate material made of resin such as polypropylene that can be sewn, and has a substantially rectangular shape with the longitudinal direction extending vertically.

The sewing of the stitching line portion 27 is performed in the following procedure. (1) A gathered stitch portion 23a1 is provided on the seam allowance 23a of the hem piece 23. (2) The resin plate 31 is connected to the seam allowance 26a of the side inner piece 26 by the fifth stitching line 27a. (3) The seam allowance 26a is connected to the seam allowance 23a by the sixth stitching line 27b. Here, the order of steps (1) and (2) may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously. The resin plate 31 is connected to the seam allowance 26a in order to position the seam allowance 23a and the seam allowance 26a so that the seam allowance 23a abuts against and overlaps the rear surface of the hem piece 23. Here, the resin plate 31 corresponds to the "regulating member" in the claims.

When the cushion cover 2C thus formed is placed on the cushion pad 2P, with the seam allowance 23a, seam allowance 26a, and resin plate 31 stacked, the resin plate 31 comes into contact with the surface of the cushion pad 2P and pushes forward the surface side of the overlapping portion 23b, which is the portion that overlaps and corresponds to the seam allowance 23a of the kamachi piece 23. At this time, the seam allowance 23a of the kamachi piece 23 is thickened by being provided with a gathered stitched portion 23a1 sewn with the tape T overlapping, so that the surface side of the overlapping portion 23b, which is the design surface along the sixth stitching line 27b, can be greatly raised forward to create an external shape full of three-dimensionality. In addition, the resin plate 31 restricts the surface where the seam allowance 23a and the seam allowance 26a fall and come into contact with the back surface of the back cover 3C to the surface on one side where the gathered stitching portion 23a1 of the seam allowance 23a is provided, so the design surface that rises along the stitching line portion 27 is unified to one side of the sixth stitching line 27b and does not crease, further improving the appearance quality.

3, the seam portion 28 corresponding to the third embodiment is formed by connecting the seam allowance 25a of the front edge of the main inner piece 25 and the seam allowance 24a of the left edge of the cotton cloth 24 with the seventh seam line 28a, and connecting the seam allowance 21a of the left edge of the top main piece 21 to the seam allowance 25a and the seam allowance 24a with the eighth seam line 28b. Furthermore, the fin portion 32b of the welt 32 is connected to the seam allowance 24a, the seam allowance 25a, and the seam allowance 21a with the ninth seam line 28c. The welt 32 is made of resin and is flexible, and is an elongated member having a cylindrical portion 32a and a flat fin portion 32b extending radially therefrom, and the fin portion 32b can be sewn. The ninth sewing line 28c, the seventh sewing line 28a, and the eighth sewing line 28b are arranged in this order from the edge side of the seam allowance 24a, the seam allowance 25a, and the seam allowance 21a. The welt 32 is connected to the edge part of the fin part 32b opposite to the cylindrical part 32a by the ninth sewing line 28c, and the cylindrical part 32a is arranged near the eighth sewing line 28b. The seam allowance 21a of the top plate main piece 21 is thickened by providing a gathered stitching part 21a1 before being connected to the eighth sewing line 28b. The gathered stitching part 21a1 is formed in the same manner as the gathered stitching part 12a1 in the first embodiment, and by sewing the tape T in an overlapping state, the wave height of the wavy gathered stitching part 21a1 becomes larger than when the tape T is not overlapped, and the seam allowance 21a is thickened. Here, the cotton cloth 24 corresponds to the "regulating member" in the claims.

The sewing of the stitching line portion 28 is performed in the following procedure. (1) A gathered stitch portion 21a1 is provided in the seam allowance 21a of the top plate main piece 21. (2) The seam allowance 25a of the main inner piece 25 and the seam allowance 24a of the cotton cloth 24 are connected by the seventh stitching line 28a. (3) The seam allowance 21a of the top plate main piece 21 is connected to the seam allowance 25a and the seam allowance 24a by the eighth stitching line 28b. (4) The fin portion 32b of the welt 32 is connected to the seam allowance 24a, the seam allowance 25a, and the seam allowance 21a by the ninth stitching line 28c. (5) The top plate main piece 21 is folded forward along the cylindrical portion 32a of the welt 32, and the cotton cloth 24 is folded backward at the eighth stitching line 28b. Here, the order of steps (1) and (2) may be reversed, or they may be performed simultaneously. The cotton cloth 24 is connected to the top main piece 21 at the seventh stitching line 28a, the eighth stitching line 28b, and the ninth stitching line 28c in order to position the seam allowance 25a and the seam allowance 21a so that they overlap the top main piece 21 by connecting the right edge of the cotton cloth 24 to the top main piece 21 at a stitching line portion not shown. Here, the cotton cloth 24 corresponds to the "regulating member" in the claims.

When the cushion cover 2C thus formed is placed on the cushion pad 2P, the overlapping portion 24c, which is the portion overlapping the seam allowance 24a of the cotton cloth 24 folded backward at the seam allowance 21a, seam allowance 25a, seam allowance 24a, and the eighth sewing line 28b, is laminated, and the overlapping portion 24c abuts against the surface of the back pad 3P, pushing up the surface side of the overlapping portion 21b, which is the portion overlapping the seam allowance 21a of the top plate main piece 21, forward via the welt 32. At this time, the seam allowance 21a of the top plate main piece 21 is thickened by being provided with a gathered stitched portion 21a1 sewn with the tape T overlapping, so that the surface side of the overlapping portion 21b, which is the design surface along the eighth sewing line 28b, can be greatly raised forward via the welt 32 to create an external shape full of three-dimensionality. Additionally, the top plate main piece 21 is folded over to surround the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 32a of the bead 32, revealing a design surface that corresponds to a portion of the outer surface of a large-diameter cylinder that is concentric with the cylindrical portion 32a. This allows a raised design surface to be presented with a portion of the cylindrical side surface at the corner along the eighth stitching line 28b of the cushion cover 2C.

Although specific embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to those appearances and configurations, and various modifications, additions, and deletions are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the following can be mentioned:

1. In the above embodiment, the stitching 15 is disposed at a corner of the back cover 3C, and the stitching 27 and stitching 28 are disposed at a corner of the cushion cover 2C. However, this is not limited to the above, and at least one stitching can be provided on the seat surface. For example, by providing a gather stitch at the seam 12b or seam 11a in the stitching 16 and overlapping the seam 12b and seam 11a to place the back cover 3C between the back pad 3P, the surface side of the portion of the top panel main piece 11 or the portion of the top panel side piece 12 along the fourth stitching 16b can be significantly raised forward.

2. In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a seat cover for an automobile seat 1, but it may also be applied to a seat cover for a seat installed in an airplane, ship, train, etc.

1 Automobile seat 2 Seat cushion 2C Cushion cover 2P Cushion pad 3 Seat back 3C Back cover 3P Back pad 10 Cover piece 12 Top plate side piece 12a Seam allowance 12a1 Gathered stitching portion 12c Overlap portion 13 Kamichi piece 13a Seam allowance 14 Cotton cloth (regulating member)
14a: seam allowance 14c: overlapping portion 15: stitching portion (at least one stitching portion)
15a: First stitching line; 15b: Second stitching line; 16: Stitching line portion; 16a: Third stitching line; 16b: Fourth stitching line; 20: Cover piece; 21: Top plate main piece; 21a: Seam allowance; 21a1: Gathered stitching portion; 21b: Overlapped portion; 23: Kamashi piece; 23a: Seam allowance; 23a1: Gathered stitching portion; 23b: Overlapped portion; 24: Cotton cloth (regulating member);
24a seam allowance 25 main inner piece 25a seam allowance 26 side inner piece 26a seam allowance 27 sewing line portion (at least one sewing line portion)
27a fifth sewing line 27b sixth sewing line 28 sewing line portion (at least one sewing line portion)
28a Seventh stitching line 28b Eighth stitching line 28c Ninth stitching line 31 Resin plate (regulating member)
32 Bead 32a Cylindrical portion 32b Fin portion T Tape

Claims (3)

A seat cover is formed by integrating a plurality of cover pieces that cover a seat pad, which is a cushion body, by sewing them together at seam lines,
At least one of the skin pieces to be sewn together has a plurality of gaps formed at equal intervals in a seam allowance of at least one of the stitching lines, the gaps penetrating in a thickness direction and opening at an end of the skin piece,
Gather stitches are applied to close each of the gaps in a state where the tape is overlapped on the portion of the skin piece except for the terminal side ,
The seam allowance is disposed in a planar manner between the seat cover and the seat pad when the seat cover is placed over the seat pad, and pushes up the design surface of the skin piece corresponding to the seam allowance, causing it to bulge outward. The seat cover of claim 1,
The seat cover has a restricting member disposed in the seam for restricting the surface that comes into contact with the seat cover to one surface when the seat cover is placed over the seat pad. The seat cover according to claim 1 or 2,
The fin portion of the welt is sewn together with the seam allowance, the fin portion having a cylindrical portion and a plate-shaped fin portion extending in a radial direction of the cylindrical portion,
The co-sewn skin piece is folded back so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion of the bead, thereby revealing a design surface corresponding to a part of the outer surface of a large-diameter cylinder concentric with the cylindrical portion.

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