Support for seat pad

A seat pad support (12) disclosed includes at least one strip (22,24) of generally flexible tape which is preferably of the pressure sensitive type extending laterally between elongated supports preferably embodied by wire torsion bar springs (16) that cooperatively support a foam pad on a seat frame (14), whereby the tape connection of the springs facilitates storage, handling, and assembly. In the preferred construction, two end strips (22,24) of the tape respectively connect end torsion bars (28,30) of the springs (16). Each end tape strip (22,24) is folded and bonded to itself and preferably includes recesses (46) associated with the torsion bars (28,30) connected thereby so as to facilitate connection of the springs to the frame. The pad support (12) has particular utility for supporting a foam cushion pad (52) and its springs (16) incorporate forward and rearward intermediate torsion bars (32',32") respectively positioned above and below the tape connected front and rear end torsion bars (28,30) to provide support for the cushion pad (52 ) at an upwardly extending front pad recess (56) and a downwardly extending rear pad projection (58). In an alternate embodiment, two intermediate tape springs (39) connect central intermediate torsion bars (32) of the springs (16).

TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to a support for seat pads and has particular 
utility when used with foam seat pads of vehicle seats. 
BACKGROUND ART 
Approximately ten years ago, United States vehicle manufacturers began 
using all foam seat pads to replace the cloth pads, burlap, and cloth 
ticking, etc. previously utilized. Introduction of the foam seat pads 
provided cost reduction, reduced the number of components that had to be 
inventoried, and facilitated assembly of the seats. Conventionally, such 
foam seat pads have been mounted on a frame pan stamped from sheet metal 
with the required shape for supporting the pad. Such sheet metal pans are 
continuous over the extent of the foam pads and despite the relatively 
thin thickness thereof have considerable weight when taking into account 
the total number of seats in each vehicle. Of course, with the 
ever-increasing scarcity of available fossil fuels for powering 
conventional vehicle engines, weight reduction of vehicles is highly 
desirable. 
Torsion bar type wire springs have previously been considered for 
supporting foam seat pads so as to, among other things, reduce the weight 
of the seat in comparison to those incorporating the stamped pans. These 
springs are either of the "sinuous" type wherein torsion bars thereof are 
connected by curved connecting loops that open in opposite directions or 
are of the "formed wire" type wherein the ends of the torsion bars are 
connected by abrupt bends to straight connecting portions so as to define 
either U or Z shapes. However, such springs have to be individually 
handled for assembly and can become entangled with each other prior to 
assembly so as to present a manufacturing problem. Also, if the ends of 
such springs are to be directly connected to an associated metal seat 
frame, noise problems can result from the metal-to-metal contact between 
the springs and the frame. To overcome these problems, consideration has 
previously been given to connecting the ends of torsion bar springs to 
paper or plastic covered wires which extend transversely between the 
springs and are in turn connected to the seat frame. However, such 
transverse wires limit the independent resilient action of the individual 
springs. Additionally, the extra weight of the transverse wires as well as 
the necessity of connecting each spring end thereto as well as connecting 
the transverse wires to the frame resulted in too many undesirable 
features to make a commercially feasible product. 
Furthermore, consideration has also been given to interconnecting closely 
spaced wires by paper or plastic covered wire to essentially form a wire 
mat for supporting a foam seat pad. However, such a construction does not 
provide the proper feel to a seated occupant and thus has never become a 
commercial product. 
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved seat pad 
support having a construction that facilitates storage, handling, and 
assembly of the support to an associated seat frame. 
In carrying out the object, a seat pad support constructed in accordance 
with the present invention includes at least one strip of generally 
flexible tape extending laterally between elongated support members on 
which the pad is mounted such that the tape provides a connection between 
the support members in order to facilitate the storage, handling, and 
assembly of the support to the seat frame. Each of the elongated support 
members is fabricated from a rigid material and has opposite ends adapted 
to be respectively connected to spaced portions of the seat frame so as to 
extend therebetween in a spaced relationship to each other in order to 
cooperatively permit the mounting of the seat pad on the frame. 
In the preferred construction, the support members comprise torsion bar 
springs including torsion bars with opposite ends and including connecting 
portions extending between the ends of the torsion bars. These torsion bar 
springs are most preferably of the "formed wire" type with abrupt bends 
connecting the ends of the torsion bars with the connecting portions which 
have straight configurations such that the springs have U and/or Z shapes. 
Each spring has a pair of end torsion bars adapted to be respectively 
connected to the spaced portions of the seat frame which is disclosed as 
being of the conventional metal type, and each spring also has at least 
one intermediate torsion bar located between the end torsion bars. 
Preferably, the generally flexible tape utilized is of the pressure 
sensitive type. Two strips of the generally flexible tape are each folded 
to connect associated sets of end torsion bars of the springs. A recess at 
each end torsion bar is provided in each folded strip of tape by a pair of 
cuts so as to facilitate connected of the end torsion bars to the seat 
frame. 
In an alternate embodiment, two intermediate strips of tape connect 
intermediate torsion bars of the springs and are bonded to each other from 
opposite sides of the springs in a spaced relationship to the end torsion 
bars. Such intermediate tape strips can be utilized alone or in 
cooperation with the folded strips that connect the end torsion bars. 
Prior to assembly to the seat frame, the torsion bar springs connected by 
the strips of tape can be stored with the tape strips folded such that the 
springs are arranged in a stacked relationship or with the support laid 
out in its use shape such that the tape strips extend between the springs 
in a generally straight condition. In either case, the endmost springs can 
be conveniently grasped to position the support in alignment with an 
associated seat frame for connection to spaced frame portions. Of course, 
the tape strips are unfolded upon such assembly if stored in the folded 
condition but remain straight if stored in the straight condition. With 
the end torsion bars of the springs connected to the spaced metal portions 
of the seat frame, the strips of tape connecting the end torsion bars are 
interposed between the metal frame and the metal springs and thereby 
mitigate noise upon loading of a seat pad supported by the springs. 
Also, as disclosed, the tape connected torsion bar springs are designed for 
use with a foam seat cushion pad and have forward and rearward 
intermediate torsion bars respectively positioned above and below the 
adjacent front and rear end torsion bars connected to the spaced seat 
frame portions. As such, a foam cushion pad supported by the tape 
connected torsion bar springs of the support can have a greater thickness 
in the rear buttock support area and a thinner thickness in the front 
thigh support area so that the pad thickness corresponds to the seating 
load normally applied in each of these areas. A lower surface of the pad 
has an upwardly extending front recess and a downwardly extending rear 
projection respectively supported by the springs adjacent the forward and 
rearward intermediate torsion bars. 
The above object and other objects, features and advantages of the present 
invention are readily apparent from the following detailed description of 
the best mode for carrying out the invention when taken in connection with 
the accompanying drawings.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a vehicle seat indicated collectively 
by 10 includes a foam seat pad support that is constructed in accordance 
with the present invention and indicated generally by 12. As disclosed, 
the foam pad support 12 provides support for a foam cushion type seat pad 
on a stamped metal cushion type seat frame 14 whose rear end is connected 
in a suitable manner to a schematically indicated seat back 15. A 
plurality of elongated support members of the support 12 are fabricated 
from a rigid material and preferably are embodied by metal wire torsion 
bar springs 16. Front and rear opposite ends of the springs 16 are 
respectively connected to front and rear spaced portions 18 and 20 of the 
seat frame 14 such that the springs extend therebetween in a spaced 
relationship to each other in order to cooperatively provide mounting of 
the foam cushion pad on the seat frame. At least one strip of generally 
flexible tape, as illustrated by front and rear strips 22 and 24, extends 
laterally between the elongated torsion bar springs 16 to provide a 
connection therebetween in order to facilitate storage, handling, and 
assembly of the support 12 to the seat frame 14. 
Prior to assembly to the seat frame 14 as illustrated in FIG. 1, the foam 
pad support 12 can be stored in its laid out use position with the strips 
of tape 22 and 24 extending in a straight condition between the springs 16 
or can be stored with the tape strips folded as illustrated in FIG. 2 so 
that the springs are in a stacked relationship. In either case, upon 
assembly, the endmost springs 16 can be manually grasped to position the 
front and rear ends of the springs respectively adjacent the front and 
rear seat frame portions 18 and 20 for attachment by any suitable typed of 
connection. If the seat pad support 12 is stored in the folded condition 
of FIG. 2, the assembler can initially grasp the support with a single 
hand and thereafter grasp the endmost springs 16 to unfold the strips of 
tape for positioning of the springs in the laid out use position. 
As illustrated in both FIGS. 1 and 2, each of the elongated springs 16 
includes front and rear end torsion bars 28 and 30 as well as intermediate 
torsion bars 32 which are loaded torsionally to provide the required 
resilient flexing that gives the seat the desired feel. Each torsion bars 
28, 30, and 32 has opposite ends which are connected by spring connecting 
portions preferably in the form of both straight wire sections 34 
extending between adjacent torsion bar ends to define U shapes and 
straight wire sections 36 extending between opposite torsion bar ends to 
define Z shapes. Each of the straight wire sections 34 and 36 has 
generally abrupt bends connecting the ends thereof with the associated 
torsion bar ends such that the springs are of the "formed wire" type as 
conventionally referred to in the spring industry. 
The tape utilized is preferably of the pressure sensitive type whose 
adhesive is bonded by pressure between the tape and the spring torsion 
bars. Of course, the tape utilized should conform to applicable 
governmental regulations such as in regard to flammability. 
As seen in FIG. 1, the front end tape strip 22 extends between the front 
end torsion bars 28 of the springs 16 and the rear end tape strip 24 
extends between the rear end torsion bars 30 of the springs in order to 
provide connection of the springs to each other. Each of these end tape 
strips is folded, as illustrated by the front end strip 22 shown in FIG. 
5, so as to extend around the associated end torsion bar such that flaps 
38 thereof can be bonded to each other by squeezing of the flaps against 
each other to actuate the pressure sensitive adhesive of the tape which is 
also likewise bonded to the associated end torsion bars. 
As seen in FIG. 2, the front and rear end tape strips 22 and 24 have pairs 
of cuts 42 defining tabs 44 that can each be wrapped around the associated 
end torsion bar 28 or 30 to provide a recess 46 as illustrated in FIG. 4. 
Both the front and rear torsion bars are connected to the seat frame 14 
with any suitably type of connection such as the one illustrated by the 
front end torsion bar 28 shown in FIG. 4. After the tape tab 44 is wrapped 
in the manner illustrated, the front torsion bar 28 is positioned below an 
upwardly stamped frame tab 48 at the tape recess 46. The tab 48 can then 
be bent downwardly to secure the spring to the frame or, alternatively, 
the spacing of the front and rear frame tabs can be such that the bias of 
the springs maintains the end torsion bars beneath the tabs without any 
bending operation. In either case, the tape is interposed between the 
metal spring 16 and the metal seat frame 14 so as to eliminate any 
metal-to-metal contact and thereby eliminated noise as the spring is 
loaded during use. 
Referring now to FIG. 3, a seat pad mounted on the support 12 is embodied 
by a schematically illustrated foam cushion pad 52 having a lower surface 
54 which is supported by the tape connected springs 16 of the support 12. 
A forward intermediate torsion bar 32' of each spring 16 is positioned 
above the adjacent front end torsion bar 28 of the spring and is received 
within an upwardly extending front recess 56 defined by the lower pad 
surface 54 so as to permit the pad to have a somewhat thinner thickness in 
the front thigh support area where the loading is not particularly large. 
Each spring 16 also includes a rearward intermediate torsion bar 32" 
positioned below the adjacent rear end torsion bar 30 such that a 
downwardly extending rear projection 58 of the lower pad surface 54 can be 
provided to give the pad a greater thickness in the rear buttock support 
area where a relatively greater load is applied. This preferred 
construction of the tape connected spring support not only facilitates 
assembly in the manner previously described but also allows the cushion 
pad 52 to be constructed with a minimum amount of foam while still 
providing the required resilient resistance to deflection. Between, the 
torsion bars 32' and 32", a central intermediate torsion bar 32'" to 
provided to give the spring the required resilient performance. 
An alternate embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 includes two intermediate 
strips 39 of the generally flexible pressure sensitive tape. These 
intermediate tape strips 39 extend laterally between the adjacent springs 
and have flaps 40 that are bonded to each other from opposite sides of the 
springs. The torsion bars 32 are located between tape strips 39 and are 
bonded by the pressure sensitive adhesive of the tape strips between the 
flaps 40. Such intermediate tape strips 39 can be used independently of or 
in cooperation with the end tape strips. 
While the preferred constructions for carrying out the invention have been 
described in detail, those familiar with the art to which the invention 
relates will recognize various alternative designs and embodiments for 
practicing the invention as defined by the following claims.