Abstract:
The device is a seat trim heater. It employs electric infrared lamps to heat the seat trim before the trim is placed over the frame and cushion material of the seat. The device consists of a basic frame on which the trim is placed. The frame is made from a series of adjustable fabricated parts. Within this frame are infrared heaters and reflectors. The reflectors can direct the infrared heat both to the front and back so that the whole seat trim can be heated. Integral to the system is the control box that controls the heating of the seat trim. The seat trim heater uses instant on/off T-3 quartz lamps. The control box consists of a control panel that is NEMA rated, a disconnect switch, appropriate fusing, a SCR and appropriate circuitry. Further, the control panel allows the heat to be infinitely variable.

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
   This invention relates to the field of seat trim heaters and more particularly to infrared seat trim heaters. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Most seat trims produced can be extremely hard to work with, especially if cold or even at room temperature. The trim is difficult to properly locate when worked into or over the seat frame and cushion material. In addition, many seat materials are cloth, vinyl or leather and contain wrinkles. The manufacturers of seats in the automobile industry have used heat, steam or a combination of both to relax the trim and make it more pliable and therefore make the seat trim much easier to work with during the installation over the seat frame, cushion or back. Manufacturers have also employed heat to de-wrinkle the material once it is placed in the seat frame, thereby making it more aesthetically pleasing and professional in appearance. The heating of the seat trim also allows for the trim to better conform to the frame and cushion. The method most often used in the automobile industry during the manufacture of seats is to employ large ovens in the final stage of production to de-wrinkle and relax the fabric after installation. One of the objectives of this invention is, however, to heat the seat trim before it is placed over the frame and cushion material to allow the individual installer to have a more relaxed and pliable trim, making his job much easier. Another object of this invention is to not use large ovens that heat the seat material before it goes to the individual workers for placing it on the cushion and frame material, but to heat the material right at the individual work station. This allows for the infrared heater to be much smaller and less expensive to make, use and maintain. This smaller seat trim heater also saves energy and time. If the heater is right at the workstation, the individual worker can place the seat trim over the heater, heat it and place it directly on the seat. If the seat trim has to be heated in a large oven before it is delivered to the workstation, there is the extra requirement of time to move the seating material from the ovens to the worker and back to the ovens. Also, the small trim heater will use less energy since the energy is focused directly at the seat trim, whereas in a large oven several seat trims must be heated together. This smaller seat trim heater is also the most practical, since seat trims cannot be heated prior to shipping to the work station, and since the seat trims cannot be heated after they have been placed over the frame and cushion material. The small seat trim heater at the workstation also saves space versus the large ovens. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The invention is a seat trim heater. It employs electric infrared lamps to heat the seat trim before the trim is placed over the frame and cushion material of the seat. The invention consists of a basic frame on which the trim is placed. The frame is made from a series of adjustable fabricated parts. Within this frame are infrared heaters and reflectors. The reflectors can direct the infrared heat both to the front and back so that the whole seat trim can be heated. Integral to the system is the control box that controls the heating of the seat trim. The seat trim heater uses instant off/on T-3 quartz lamps. The control box consists of a control panel that is NEMA rated, a disconnect switch, appropriate fusing, a SCR and appropriate circuitry. Further, the control panel allows the heat to be infinitely variable. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the invention with the seat trim placed over the invention. 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the invention with the seat trim exploded off. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the invention with the guard and lamps removed showing the airflow. 
       FIG. 6A  is a front view of the invention with the seat trim placed over the invention. 
       FIG. 6B  is a sectional view of the invention along line a-a of  FIG. 6A . 
       FIG. 7  is a wiring diagram of the invention 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     FIG. 1  shows the control box  10 , the base housing  11 , the guard structure  12  and the frame units  14 . In  FIG. 1  there are two frame units  14 . These frame units  14  are U-shaped in a smoothly curved U. In  FIG. 1  the frame units  14  are attached to the base housing  11  at each end of the base housing  11 . This design is for a smaller or bucket type seat. For larger or bench type seats there would be a larger heater and more frame units  14  as shown in  FIG. 2 . Also, the frame units  14  could have frame supports  15  between the different U-shaped frame units  14  to make the structure more solid as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The frame units  14  are placed such that the seat trim  20  can be stretched over them as shown in  FIG. 3 . The frame units  14  are of sufficient strength to support the seat trim. 
   Frame unit  14  is also adjustable. In the preferred embodiment frame unit  14  is attached to base housing  11  by a set of conductors  44 . From  FIG. 5  one can see that this set of connectors  44  contains two connectors on each end for the two legs of frame unit  14 .  FIG. 5  also shows that in this embodiment there are a number of openings  46  for connectors  44  on each end of the base housing  11 . The frame units&#39;  14  legs can be placed in any one of these sets of openings  46  and thus the seat trim heater is adapted to take many sizes of seat trims. In addition, it is shown in  FIG. 5  that the frame support  15  can be made adjustable. In this figure, frame unit  15  is shown as a tube  45  and a rod or tube  47  designed such that tube or rod  47  fits within tube  45 . Thus, frame support  15  can be lengthened or shortened by moving tube or rod  47  in or out of tube  45 . Connector  48  holds tube  45  and tube or rod  47  tightly in place. 
     FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the seat trim heater with the seat trim  20  exploded from the seat trim heater. As you can see from  FIG. 4 , the seat trim  20  covers most of the frame unit  14 . Within the area created by the frame unit  14  lies the guard structure  12 , the infrared lamps  22  and  23 , and the reflector  24 . The reflector  24  best seen in  FIG. 5 , is attached to the base housing  11  and is a structure that lies in the center of the area marked out by the frame units  14 . The reflectors  24  are made out of highly reflective aluminum. The reflectors direct the infrared heat from the infrared lamps  22  and  23 . The reflector unit  24  also provides support for the infrared lamps  22  and  23 . An infrared lamp  23  can be placed at the top of the reflector unit  24  and radiate its heat out toward the top of the seat trim  20 . Other infrared lamps  22  in the preferred embodiment can be placed near the end of the area framed out by frame unit  14  and their heat is radiated out towards the front, back and sides of the seat trim  20 . In the preferred embodiment, the infrared lamps  22  and  23  are quartz T-3 instant on/off lamps. These infrared lamps  22  and  23  were picked since they go on and off instantly, thus saving time for the operator since there is no warm up time required. A top piece  30  holds the top infrared lamp  23  and the reflector unit  24  in place. The other infrared lamps  22  run from the base housing  11  up to the top piece  30  and they are held in place by both the base housing  11  and the top piece  30 . Around this whole structure of infrared lamps  22  and  23 , reflector  24 , and top piece  30  is placed a guard structure  12 . The guard structure  12  is designed to protect the infrared lamps  22  and  23  and the operator of the heater. The guard structure  12  ensures that the operator does not make contact with the infrared lamps  22  and  23 . The guard structure fits within the area framed out by the frame units  14 . 
     FIG. 4  and  FIG. 1  show the steam ports  60  and  62 . Both steam ports  60  and  62  extend out from the base unit. Steam ports  60  extend from the side end of the base housing  11 . Steam port  60  is a small pipe that extend out from the end of the base housing  11 . Steam port  62  is a small perforated pipe that extends out of the top of the base housing  11  in front of the guard structure  14 . These steam ports  60  and  62  allow steam to be used to heat the outside or the seat trim  20  and make it more pliable The steam for the steam ports is provided by a source outside the unite. 
   The control box  10  controls the heat output of the lamp. The control box  10  is NEMA rated. Control box  10  contains appropriate fusing, circuitry and an SCR and allows for heat from the lamps to be infinitely variable.  FIG. 7  shows the circuitry within the control box  10  in the preferred embodiment. In this embodiment the seat trim heater can be wired to an electrical source that is either 240, 480 or 577 volts at 60 cycles AC. A main disconnect switch  52  is designed into the circuit to ensure that the seat trim heater can be turned off immediately for safety reasons. Fuses  54  are also added for safety precautions. Electricity flows to the infrared lamps through a silicon controlled rectifier  56 . Electric also flows to the control circuits that time the heater and control the amount of power that reaches the lamps, by controlling the silicon controlled rectifier  56 . Also, the circuitry can be designed for a timer, or a more sophisticated PLC system that fully regulates the heat output and time. Beside the control box  10  sits the on/off push button safety switch  36 . 
   As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the control box  10  with on/off push button safety switch  36  and the heat unit  5 , which contains the housing  11 , the guard structure  12 , and frame units  14 , the infrared lamps  22  and the reflectors  24 ; are attached to a stand  8 . The control box  10  is attached to the stand  8  and the heat unit  5  is pivotally attached to the top of the stand  8 . The heat unit  5  is pivotally attached to the top of stand  8  so that the worker at the work station can choose the most convenient angle to place the seat trim on the unit and subsequently remove the trim. In  FIG. 2  it is shown that on top of the stand  8  are two wings  40 . These wings  40  are attached to the top of the stand  8 . On the front side of the wing  40  there is a set of holes  42  that curve towards the back of the stand  8 . The heat unit  5  is pivotally attached to the stand  8  at the bottom back corners of the heat unit  5 . This allows the heat unit to be angled. The worker at the seat trim heater can pivot the heat unit  5  to the desired position. Then he places a pin through one of the holes in the set of holes  42  which lines up with opening on the side of the heat unit  5  at the bottom front corner. Another pin is placed through one of the holes in the set of holes  44 , which lines up with opening on the other side of the heat unit  5 . This holds the heat unit  5  securely in place at the most convenient angle. 
   The legs  70  of the stand  8  are also adjustable.  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 , and  4  show the adjustable legs  70 . The worker thus can adjust the heights of stand  8  and choose the most convenient height to place the seat trim on the unit and subsequently remove the trim. An adjustable piece is placed on each leg  70 . This adjustment piece  72  has a slot  74 . In leg  70  there is an treated opening in which a bolt fits. The bolt is designed to fit through the slot. The worker moves the stand  8  to the best height and tightens the bolt on each leg  70  against the adjustment piece  72 . This holds the stand  8  a the selected height. 
     FIGS. 6A and 6B  shows a cutaway view of the seat trim heater.  FIG. 6B  shows that in base housing  11 , a fan  49  is placed to blow air up through reflector unit  24 . Reflector unit  24  is shown in  FIG. 6   a  to be hollow and fan  49  blows air up through reflector unit  24 . Reflector unit  24  also has perforations  51  which allows the air to escape as shown in  FIG. 5 . The air returns to the base unit  11  through perforations  52 . Reflector unit becomes hot when the infrared lights are turned on. Thus, the air flowing from the fan  49  is warmed by moving up through the hollow of reflector unit  24  and it escapes through the perforations  51  heats the seat trim  10 .  FIG. 5  shows how the air flows out from the reflector unit  24  through perforations  52  and returns through perforations  52  in the base unite  11 . 
   The seat trim heater is placed at the operator&#39;s workstation. To use the seat trim heater, the operator takes a seat trim  20  and stretches it over the frame unit  14 . The operator then switches the on/off switch  36  which turns on the infrared lamps  22  which immediately begin heating the seat trim  20  and sets the timer  34 . When the timer  34  turns off the infrared lamps  22 , the operator removes the heated seat trim from the frame unit  14  and begins to place the seat trim  20  over the frame and cushion of the seat. Since the seat trim  20  is heated, the operator can stretch the seat trim  20  more easily over the seat. Also the seat trim  20  will fit better and with fewer wrinkles. Heating the seat trim allows the operator to make a better product. 
   Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention which is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appending claims.