Transparent/translucent flexible component for a vehicle interior
AssigneeJohnson Controls Technology Company
InventorJason M. Hipshier
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A storage component 20 for a vehicle includes a flexible component 22, such as a tambour door, formed of a plurality of slats 26 supported by and chemically bonded to a substrate 24. The flexible component 22 is translucent or transparent, allowing light to pass therethrough. The slats 26 are formed of a slat polymer, such as polypropylene (PP), and the substrate 24 is formed of a substrate polymer, such as thermoplastic elastomer (TPE). The slats 26 also have a tensile strength of at least 5 MPa so that the flexible component 22 can support objects disposed on the flexible component 22, such as an arm of a passenger or a purse.
Claims20
A flexible component for a storage component of a vehicle, comprising:
- a substrate including at least one substrate polymer and having a surface tension,
- a plurality of slats including at least one slat polymer and having a surface tension differing from said surface tension of said substrate by no greater than 19 dynes per centimeter,
- said slats being chemically coupled to said substrate, and
- at least a portion of said chemically coupled slats and substrate allowing light to pass therethrough.
A flexible component for a storage component of a vehicle, comprising:
- a substrate including at least one substrate polymer selected from the group consisting of:
- thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), thermoplastic elastomeric olefin (TPO), thermoplastic polyolefin elastomer (TEO), silicon, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane, and urethane,
- a plurality of slats chemically coupled to said substrate,
- said slats including at least one slat polymer selected from the group consisting of:
- polypropylene (PP), polycarbonate (PC), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (PC/ABS), nylon, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), silicon, and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and
- at least a portion of said chemically coupled slats and substrate allowing light to pass therethrough.
A storage component of a vehicle comprising:
- side walls presenting an interior space therebetween,
- said side walls defining an opening to said interior space,
- a flexible component disposed along said opening,
- said flexible component including a substrate and a plurality of slats chemically coupled to said substrate,
- said slats and said substrate each having a having a surface tension, wherein said surface tension of said slats differs from said surface tension of said substrate by not greater than 19 dynes per centimeters, and
- at least a portion of said flexible component allowing light to pass therethrough.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.