Seam fillers for use with decorative stitching of vehicle interior components

Abstract

A vehicle interior component including decorative stitching along a stitch path includes a seam filler located between a component substrate and an overlying decorative covering. The seam filler lies along the stitch path and supports the decorative covering directly beneath at least a portion of a line of decorative stitching, where the covering may include a reduced thickness portion. The seam filler can have any number of configurations to prevent visual defects along the stitch path and/or to cause the appearance of simulated seams to be more realistic. The seam filler may be deposited along the stitch path as a curable filler material that cures, or it may be provided as a pre-formed piece for attachment to the decorative covering.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.