Vehicle interior panel with sealed perforations
AssigneeFaurecia Interior Systems, Inc.
InventorBradley KUSKY
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle interior panel includes a foam layer formed from a liquid foam precursor between a substrate and a visible decorative skin layer that has perforations formed therethrough. In some cases, the perforations are associated with a line of stitching sewn into and through the skin layer. A sealing film is located beneath the skin layer in the perforated region to prevent the liquid foam precursor from leaking through the perforations during foam formation. The sealing film extends beyond the perforated region and into a non-perforated region, in some cases extending substantially over the entire back side of the skin layer. In this manner, the edges of the sealing film do not cause visual blemishes on the visible surface of the decorative skin layer over time.
Claims15
A vehicle interior panel, comprising:
- a substrate;
- a skin layer having a decorative side that faces away from the substrate and is exposed to an interior of a passenger cabin when the panel is installed in a vehicle;
- a plurality of perforations formed through the skin layer at a perforated region of the skin layer;
- a foam layer formed between the substrate and the skin layer;
- and
- a sealing film disposed between the foam layer and the skin layer, the sealing film being continuous along the entire perforated region of the skin layer and extending beyond the perforated region and into a non-perforated region of the skin layer.
A method of making a vehicle interior panel, comprising the steps of:
- (a) disposing a liquid foam precursor material between a vehicle interior panel substrate and a decorative skin layer, wherein the decorative skin layer comprises a perforated region within which a plurality of perforations are formed through the skin layer;
- (b) sealing the perforations with a sealing film before step (a), wherein the sealing film is continuous along the entire perforated region and extends beyond the perforated region and into a non-perforated region of the decorative skin layer;
- and
- (c) forming a foam layer between the substrate and the skin layer from the foam precursor material, wherein the foam precursor material undergoes volumetric expansion and is prevented from passing through the perforations by the sealing film.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.