Magna Seating Inc

Magna Interior Systems Inc.

Gary Kopec

Timothy Jon Brush

Alan Proulx

Manoj Srivastava

Philip W Hadley

Whitney Jones

Tyler Bandurski

Scott Fileccia

Sean Persha

A flex shield operatively coupled to a seat assembly of an automotive vehicle for concealing a portion of the seat assembly. The flex shield comprising a flexible planar body portion extending laterally between a front edge and a rear edge and vertically between an upper edge and a lower edge. A plurality of elastic straps are fixedly secured to the body portion and adapted to be coupled to the seat assembly for maintaining tension on the flexible body portion. A plurality of pre-formed fold lines are formed in the body portion and extend between at least one of the front edge and rear edge for consistently controlling folding motion of the body portion between an unfolded position defining a generally planar body portion and a folded position wherein the body portion is collapsed along the fold lines.

Flex shield for seat assembly

An automotive seat assembly is provided with an integrated side impact airbag. The seat assembly comprises a seat cushion and a seat back mounted to the seat cushion. A seat cushion trim cover material covers the seat cushion and a seat back trim a cover material covers the seat back. The seat assembly is characterized by a tear seam integrally formed within a bolster section of the seat back trim cover material. The tear seam defines a frangible line of weakness within the trim cover material wherein the airbag will tear through the tear seam when the airbag is deployed and inflated to a position outside of the seat assembly. The subject invention also includes a manufacturing apparatus for forming the tear seam in the trim cover material. The apparatus comprises a template ( ) supporting the trim cover material ( ). A C-shaped raised ridge ( ) extends upwardly from the template to abut the inside surface of the trim cover material ( ). A welder ( ) is disposed adjacent the outside surface of the trim cover material ( ) such that the trim cover material is wedged between the template ( ) and the welder ( ). The welder is aligned with the raised ridge to form the tear seam within the trim cover material.

Automotive seat assembly having an integral tear seam

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Harrison Township, MI, United States of America

Gary Kopec