Claims
- 1. A method for manufacturing automotive seat assemblies including a cushion pad and a trim cover assembly made from fabric with a front surface and a back surface, the method comprising the steps of:
- pre-bonding heat-activatable adhesive to said back surface of said fabric to produce fabric with pre-bonded adhesive;
- cutting said fabric with pre-bonded adhesive to produce a first piece of fabric with pre-bonded adhesive;
- joining said first piece of fabric with pre-bonded adhesive to a second piece of fabric which is free of adhesive to form said trim cover assembly;
- placing said back surface of said first piece of fabric with pre-bonded adhesive forming said trim cover assembly adjacent to said cushion pad; and
- applying heat to activate said adhesive and intrude a portion of said adhesive into said cushion pad, thereby attaching said first piece of fabric and thus said trim cover assembly to said cushion pad.
- 2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step of pre-bonding heat-activatable adhesive is performed on one of a continuous lamination machine, porous coating machine, rotogravure process machine, and roll coating machine.
- 3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said adhesive is pre-bonded to said fabric as a continuous film.
- 4. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said adhesive is pre-bonded to said fabric as a pattern.
- 5. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said adhesive is pre-bonded to said fabric as part of a backcoat layer.
- 6. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said back surface of said fabric is free of a backcoat layer prior to said step of pre-bonding heat-activatable adhesive to said back surface of said fabric.
- 7. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said step of joining said first piece of fabric with pre-bonded adhesive to said second piece of fabric comprises sewing said first piece of fabric with pre-bonded adhesive to said second piece of fabric.
- 8. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said second piece of fabric comprises a different fabric than said first piece of fabric with pre-bonded adhesive.
- 9. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said applying heat step comprises passing saturated steam through said first piece of fabric into said cushion pad.
- 10. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein said applying heat step comprises passing superheated stream through said first piece of fabric into said cushion pad.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/427,765, filed Apr. 25, 1995, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (19)
Non-Patent Literature Citations (1)
Entry |
Nordson Corporation Website, Products: Converting Systems, http://www.nordson.com/converti.htm, Feb. 10, 1998. |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
427765 |
Apr 1995 |
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