Abstract:
A securable protective seat cover, system and method. For a manually adjustable vehicle seat, a securable protective seat cover apparatus includes a seat cushion and an adjustor bar. The apparatus also includes a plastic film shaped to cover the vehicle seat. The film includes a front portion that includes a first seal portion, a second seal portion, and a surrounding portion. The first and second seal portions are directly secured to one another at a side of the adjustor bar so as to attach the surrounding portion to the adjustor bar. For a power adjustable vehicle seat, a temporary plastic protective seat cover system includes a front cover mounted below the power adjustable vehicle seat. The front cover includes a hook. The system also includes a plastic film that is shaped to cover the vehicle seat and is adapted to be secured to the hook.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates generally to a protective cover for a vehicle seat. In particular, the invention relates to a temporary plastic cover that is secured to an automobile seat.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    A temporary seat cover can protect a vehicle seat from, for example, soil and moisture. Thus, installing a protective cover over a seat during the manufacture and installation of the seat can protect the seat while it is an inventory item, during its installation in a vehicle, during subsequent manufacture/assembly of the vehicle, and during shipment of the vehicle.  
           [0005]    Unfortunately, the protective cover is often dislodged from the seat during manufacture of the vehicle, especially the portion covering the seat cushion portion of the vehicle seat. A dislodged cover can leave the seat or a portion of the seat exposed, unprotected, and susceptible to staining or soiling. Therefore, it is desirable to secure the cover to the seat, and to thereby minimize the chance of dislodging of the seat cover during manufacture of the vehicle.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The present invention provides a securable protective seat cover for use with a manually adjustable vehicle seat. The seat cover includes a plastic film shaped to cover the vehicle seat. The film has a seam to secure the film to an adjustor bar of the seat so as to protect the seat. The invention also provides a method of covering the manually adjustable vehicle seat with the plastic film, and securing the film about the adjustor bar.  
           [0007]    Additionally, the invention provides a temporary plastic protective seat cover system for use with a power adjustable vehicle seat. The system includes a plastic film shaped to cover the vehicle seat. The seat includes a hook to secure the film to the vehicle seat. The invention further provides a method of protecting the power adjustable vehicle seat. The method includes covering the power adjustable vehicle seat with the plastic film, and securing the film to the hook on the seat. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an article comprising a first embodiment of the invention;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of part of the article shown in FIG. 1;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a system comprising a second embodiment of the invention;  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the system shown in FIG. 3 along the line  4 - 4 ; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 5 is a perspective reverse angle view of part of the system shown in FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]    A protective cover article  100  comprising a first embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG. 1. The cover  100  is placed over a vehicle seat  102  to protect the seat  102  from, for example, soil and moisture, and is secured to the seat  102  until it is desired to remove the cover  100 .  
         [0014]    With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle seat  102  is a manually adjustable automobile seat assembly, which includes a seat back  104 , a seat cushion  106  and a headrest  108 . The vehicle seat  102  also includes an adjustor bar  110  for allowing the seat  102  to be moved forward and rearward as desired by a vehicle occupant. The bar  110  is located on the front of the seat  102  below the seat cushion  106 , and is shaped like a squared-off letter U. It is submitted that numerous seat assemblies are known in the art and are generally interchangeable with the illustrated seat  102 .  
         [0015]    The cover  100  is a heat-sealable, transparent, thermoplastic, polyethylene film. Preferably, the film has three layers of about 0.025 millimeter (mm) (1 mil) each, for a total thickness of about 0.076 (3 mil). The first layer is an outside layer with slip properties. The second layer is a post consumer recycled (PCR) content layer with about 25 percent PCR. The inside layer has grip properties to allow the film to grip the seat  102 . Forming the outside layer with slip properties and the inside layer with grip properties provides a more functional temporary cover. Namely, the slippery outside layer facilitates the user or occupant moving across the seat while the grip afforded by the inside layer retains the cover in place relative to the seat  102 . The film preferably has the mechanical properties shown in TABLE 1. Values for machine direction (MD) and for transverse direction (TD) are shown for tensile strength, elongation and tear strength in TABLE 1. The MD and TD values relate to manufacture of the film as known to one skilled in the art of film manufacture.  
                             TABLE 1                           Film Properties                Property   Value                       Tensile Strength (psi)   1800 MD               1600 TD           Elongation (%)    550 MD                625 TD           Tear Strength (grams)    450 MD                750 TD           Coefficient of Friction   Outside &lt;0.375               Inside &gt;0.475           Seam strength   70 percent of MD               tensile strength                      
 
         [0016]    The cover  100  fits over and conforms to the different parts of the seat  102 . In particular, the cover  100  has several different portions that correspond to the different parts of the seat  102 . A back portion  120  is pocket-shaped and fits over the seat back  104 . A tapered upper part  122  of the back portion  120  fits over the headrest  108 . A seat portion  130  fits over the seat cushion  106  to include the upper-part, the sides and the front of the seat cushion  106 . In particular, the seat portion  130  has an extended front portion  132  that extends around and under the seat cushion  106 .  
         [0017]    A heat-sealing crimper  150  is shown in FIG. 2. The crimper  150  is a scissors-type heat sealer that can extend around the adjustor bar  110 . Suitable crimpers are commercially available from, for example, Abbeon Cal, Inc. (Santa Barbara, Calif.). The crimper  150  can articulate in the direction indicated by the directional arrows labeled CRIMP. During use, a heating element  152  at an end of the crimper  152  is heated to a temperature that will melt the film to seal the film to itself and create a heat-sealed seam  160 . Preferably, the heating element has a length dimension that is substantially equal to the length of the adjustor bar  110 . In this embodiment, the seam  160  is a single, solid bar line seal. Alternatively, a suitable seam can be an array of small, alternating sealed and unsealed sections.  
         [0018]    During assembly, the back portion  120  of the cover  100  slides over the seat back  104 . The headrest  108  nests in the tapered upper part  122  of the back portion  120 . The seat portion  130  drapes over the seat cushion  106 . Preferably, a seat belt (not shown) crosses the seat  102  and the cover  100  at the juncture of the back and seat cushions  104 ,  106 . The seat belt aids in that the cover  100  can be pulled across the seat cushion  106  without pulling the cover  100  away from the seat back  104 .  
         [0019]    The front portion  132  is pulled around the front of the seat cushion  106  and further to the adjustor bar  110 . The front portion  132  is folded or wrapped around the adjustor bar  110  to define a first seal portion, a surrounding portion, and a second seal portion. The surrounding portion is disposed between the first and second seal portions and extends around the adjustor bar  110 . The first and second seal portion are engaged with one another, relatively above the adjustor bar  110  and are brought into engagement by the crimper  150 , which crimps and melts the first and second seal portions of the front portion  132  to one another, securing the surrounding portion around the adjustor bar  110 , and thereby creating the heat-sealed seam  160  in the film. The seam  160  positively secures the cover  100  to the seat  102  and maintains the cover  100 , the seat portion  130 , and the extended portion  132  in position relative to the seat cushion  106 .  
         [0020]    With the seal  160  in place, the cover  100  resists being dislodged during the handling, shipping and installation of the seat  102 . Because the cover  100  is in proper placement with respect to the seat  102 , exposure of the seat  102  to soil and moisture is minimized and the seat  102  is thus protected.  
         [0021]    A system  200  comprising a second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS.  3 - 5 . The system  200  includes a cover  202  for a power vehicle seat  204 .  
         [0022]    In many respects the power vehicle seat  204  is similar to the manual seat  102  described above. In particular, the seat  204  has a seat cushion  210 , a seat back  212 , and a headrest  214  mounted on the upper part of the seat back  214 . However, because the seat  204  is a power adjustable seat, it has a front shield  216  where the manual adjustor bar  110  would otherwise be located. In the power seat  204  according to the preferred and illustrated embodiment, the front shield  216  has a hook  218  (FIG. 4) for securing the cover  202  to the seat  204 . The hook  218  is molded as part of the front shield  216 .  
         [0023]    The cover  202  is like the cover  100 , in that it fits over the seat  204  and has several portions. In particular, the cover  202  has a back portion  220  that is pocket-shaped and fits over the seat back  212 . A tapered upper part  222  of the back portion  220  fits the headrest  214 . A seat portion  230  fits over the seat cushion  210  to include the upper-part, the sides and the front of the seat cushion  210 . In particular, the seat portion  230  has an extended front portion  232  that extends around and under the seat cushion  210 .  
         [0024]    The cover  202  has an aperture  244  defined by the extended portion  232  of the cover  202 . The aperture  244  has a diameter slightly larger than the width of the hook  218 . The aperture  244  is arranged on the extended portion  232  so as to align with the hook  218  during assembly.  
         [0025]    During assembly, the back portion  220  slides over the seat back  212  of the seat  204 . A seat belt (not shown) may or may not be strapped across the seat  204  at the junction of the seat cushion  210  and the seat back  212  to hold the cover  202  snugly against the seat  204 . The cover  202  is tight to the seat  204  preventing the cover  202  from being easily removed. Some cars are shipped with strapped seat belts, some are not.  
         [0026]    The seat portion  230  drapes over the seat cushion  210 . The front portion  232  is pulled down and around the front of the seat  204  and further around the front shield  216 . The aperture  244  aligns with the hook  218  and the hook  218  extends through the aperture  244 , and thereby secures the cover  202  to the seat  204 .  
         [0027]    With the hook  218  extending through the aperture  244  to secure the cover  202  to the seat  204 , the cover  202  resists being dislodged during the handling, shipping and installation of the seat  204  and during subsequent manufacture of the vehicle. Because the cover  202  is in proper placement with respect to the seat  204 , exposure of the seat  204  to soil and moisture is minimized and the seat  204  is thus protected.  
         [0028]    In an alternative embodiment, a separate or folded reinforcing layer is heat-sealed around the periphery of an aperture similar to the aperture  244  so as to reinforce the aperture. In yet another alternative embodiment, a cover similar to the cover  202  secures to a hook similar to the hook  218  by pulling the film up and over the hook, and thereby to allow a resilient, elastic property of the film to secure the film to the hook. Alternatively, the film can be pulled up and over the hook, and the hook can be pushed through the film to create an aperture, thus securing the film to the hook.  
         [0029]    If desired, alternative covers can be tinted and opaque. In addition, the film can contain additives that impart various properties to the film. Envisioned additives include an anti-mildewing agent to protect against mildew, an odorant to scent the seat and vehicle, and an ultraviolet absorber to protect against UV damage, any and all of which can help to further protect the seat  204 . In another embodiment, the cover  202  is screen printed with a desired message or indicia. In yet other alternative embodiments, a seam securing a cover to a manual adjustor bar is formed by an adhesive, radiant energy or double sided tape.  
         [0030]    The embodiments described herein are examples of structures, systems and methods having elements corresponding to the elements of the invention recited in the claims. This written description may enable those skilled in the art to make and use embodiments having alternative elements that likewise correspond to the elements of the invention recited in the claims. The intended scope of the invention thus includes other structures, systems and methods that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, and further includes other structures, systems and methods with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.