Grain-coordinated airbag tear seam
AssigneeFaurecia Interior Systems, Inc.
InventorMathew Barr
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag includes a decorative covering with a grain-coordinated tear seam. The decorative covering includes a visible surface with a grain pattern formed therein, and individual stress risers of the tear seam a located at valleys of the grain pattern. Holes cut through a skin layer of the decorative covering in this manner have reduced visibility, due in part to light reflection characteristics at the grained surface that tend to form shadowed areas in the grain valleys. A method for forming a grain-coordinated tear seam includes determining the location of peaks and/or valleys of the grain pattern and forming a majority of the stress risers at determined valley locations.
Claims15
A method of forming a tear seam in a decorative covering for use over an airbag, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a decorative covering having a grain pattern formed in a surface of the covering, the grain pattern having a topography comprising a plurality of peaks and valleys;
- (b) determining the location of at least some of the peaks or valleys or both;
- and
- (c) forming a plurality of stress risers in the decorative covering along a desired tear seam location, wherein a majority of the stress risers are formed at valley locations determined in step (b).
A vehicle interior panel for use over an airbag, comprising:
- a substrate configured to have a deployment opening formed through the substrate at a pre-determined location during airbag deployment;
- a decorative covering disposed over the substrate, wherein the decorative covering has a grain pattern comprising a plurality of peaks and valleys formed in a visible outer surface of the covering;
- and
- a tear seam comprising a plurality of stress risers formed in the decorative covering, wherein a majority of the stress risers are located at valleys of the grain pattern.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.