Ford Motor Company Limited

Lear Corporation

International Automotive Components Group North America, Inc.

Charles D Bailey

John David Youngs

Mark Heinze

David Matthew Veit

Richard Blue

Tom Kopcha

Jay Murdock

Jerry DiNello

An armrest is provided including a flexible skin overlying at least a portion of a substrate member, the skin coupled to substrate member, the flexible skin and the substrate member defining a cavity there between and an opening along one edge, and a foam bun insertable in the cavity to form the armrest, wherein the foam bun comprises a first foam portion which the flexible skin overlies and a second foam carrier portion which closes off the opening. The first foam portion has a hardness that is less than the hardness of said second foam carrier portion, the foam bun further including an integrally formed locking flange to engage with an edge of the substrate and an integrally formed skin lock to engage with an edge of the skin.

Armrest foam bun insert

A trim assembly comprises a substrate member including a moveable panel integrally formed in the substrate and moveable between an open and closed position. A flexible skin overlies at least a portion of the substrate member and is integrally coupled to the substrate. The substrate and flexible skin are configured to define a cavity having an opening. The cavity opening is accessible when the moveable panel is in the open position. A resilient foam pad is positioned within the cavity to provide a soft feel to the trim assembly. The foam pad is inserted into the cavity using a tool that pulls a vacuum and compresses the foam pad. The foam pad is inserted into the cavity and the vacuum is released thereby expanding the foam pad to fill the cavity. The tool is removed and the moveable panel is moved to and secured in the closed position.

Automotive interior trim assembly and pad insertion

A trim panel mounting assembly for a motor vehicle includes a trim panel bracket mounted to one side of a trim panel opposite an interior of the motor vehicle and a support bracket mounted to an inner door panel opposite the trim panel bracket. The trim panel mounting assembly also includes a structure for allowing the trim panel bracket and the support bracket to self-align when the trim panel bracket and the support bracket are brought into proximate position for installation.

Trim panel mounting assembly

Growing community of inventors

Shelby Township, MI, United States of America

Charles D Bailey