US 6,592,181 B2Granted

Tunnel cord trim retainer

AssigneeIntier Automotive Inc.

InventorsEdwin L. Stiller, Robert Powell, Sharon St. Pierre

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Abstract

A tunnel cord assembly for removably attaching a trim cover to a contoured, cellular foam pad is comprised of a selvedge strip slidably encasing the cord and a bayonet-type fixture at the ends of the cord. The selvedge strip is sewn to the trim cover, which attaches to the foam pad. The foam pad includes a front surface, an opposite back surface, a plurality of trenches and a plurality of holes within the trenches. Each end of the tunnel cord is pulled through a hole that extends through the foam pad from the front surface, which is covered by the trim cover, to the back surface. A locking device is then removably coupled between the back surface of the foam and the bayonet-type fixture, preventing the cord from retracting through the hole back to the front surface of the pad, and thereby securing the trim cover to the foam pad.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A cushion assembly for an automobile including:

a contoured, cellular foam pad having a front surface and an opposite back surface, with a plurality of holes extending therebetween;
a trim cover for covering said front surface of said foam pad;
at least one tunnel cord extending longitudinally between opposite first and second ends, a portion of said tunnel cord passes through a pair of said holes in said foam pad wherein a portion of said cord is secured to said trim cover arid each of said first and second ends is anchored to said back surface of said foam pad to secure said trim cover against said front surface;
said trim cover includes an elongated selvedge strip fixedly secured thereto for slidably encasing and securing at least a portion of said tunnel cord to said trim cover;
and
said cord is longitudinally secured to said trim cover by said elongated selvedge strip whereby each of said first and second ends extends substantially perpendicularly away from said trim cover through said holes in said foam pad to provide a taught and substantially wrinkle-free attachment of said trim cover to said front surface of said foam pad.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.