Engineered leather for airbag, steering wheel, and seatbelt applications
AssigneeAutoliv ASP, Inc.
InventorsConrad C. Dumbrique, Adam T. Vile, Chandrakanth Siddharthan, Uriel P. Hernandez
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods of covering portions of an automobile interior with an engineered leather are provided. When a mold of the appropriate shape is provided, a cell paste can be placed therein and grown into a leather, which can be tanned and treated to produce a suitable covering for a portion of an automobile interior, such as a steering wheel, an airbag cover, or a seat belt assembly. A method of growing a seamless automobile component cover in situ is disclosed.
Claims20
A covering for an article, the article having an outer surface, the covering comprising at least one layer of at least one type of engineered leather, the engineered leather having been cultured on a surface of a preconstructed mold, the mold having similar dimensions to the article to be covered.
A method of covering an article with at least one layer of at least one type of engineered leather comprising the steps of:
- providing a mold having a top portion and a bottom portion;
- providing a cell aggregate and placing the cell aggregate on the bottom portion of the mold;
- providing a quantity of tissue culture medium to the cell aggregate;
- placing the top portion of the mold over the cell aggregate;
- placing the mold in a chamber adapted to allow for cell growth;
- allowing the cells to grow until they form an engineered leather within the mold;
- and
- processing the leather to form a covering for an article.
A method of forming a preshaped engineered leather for covering an article with at least one layer of at least one type of engineered leather comprising the steps of:
- providing an article having an outer surface;
- providing a mold having an inner surface for growing cells;
- providing a cell aggregate and placing the cell aggregate on the inner surface of the mold and on the outer surface of the article;
- providing a quantity of tissue culture medium to the cell aggregate;
- placing the article in a chamber adapted to allow for cell growth;
- allowing the cells to grow until they form an engineered leather within the mold and on the surface of the article;
- and
- removing the mold.
An engineered leather having a portion which is cylindrical in shape formed by the steps of placing a cell paste on a cell-growth surface of a substantially cylindrical mold, placing the mold in an incubator, permitting cell growth until a substantially cylindrical leather is formed, removing the substantially cylindrical leather from the mold, and treating the leather.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.