The present application relates to the field of molded articles having soft portions with stitching, embroidery and/or other sewn portions (which will collectively be referred to as “stitching”). More specifically, the present application further relates to interior trim panels or structures for vehicles (e.g., automobiles such as cars, trucks, and the like; airplanes; boats; etc.) or other applications that include at least one relatively soft (e.g., padded or cushioned) portion formed by a partial-mold-behind (PMB) process that also has stitching (decorative or functional).
It is generally known to provide padded or cushioned vehicle interior components with stitching. Such stitching may be decorative/ornamental and/or functional. The padded or cushioned vehicle interior components may take the form of a trim panel (e.g., instrument panel, door panel, etc.). Such panels typically include a substrate made of a relatively rigid material, a relatively soft core (e.g., a foam layer), and an outer surface or skin. Various methods of providing such cushioning and stitching are known in the art, although such known methods do not provide certain advantageous features and/or combination of features. For example, it is known to add stitching to interior components to the skin (or skin and foam laminate) and then attach the skin to the substrate by a hand or manually wrapping technique. It is also known to apply the stitching after the interior component has been formed (e.g., after the skin, foam, and substrate have been joined). However, such known methods of applying decorative stitching are labor-intensive or do not provide the desired visual effect of depth that would be provided by a recessed stitch (e.g., “quilting” or cushioning effect that provides contour change in the soft surface). Therefore, such recessed stitching provided by known costly manufacturing processes are typically only available on premium or luxury class vehicles.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide a method for producing components such as panels or other structures for use in vehicles that includes a relatively soft portion or section with decorative stitching. There is also a need to provide a component that has regions of localized cushioning with decorative stitching that has a recessed stitch. There is also a need to provide an economical process of manufacturing trim panels with recessed stitching for less expensive vehicles. There is also a need to provide components and a method for making components that may be manufactured in a relatively simple and efficient manner with reduced manufacturing and material costs.
The present invention further relates to various features and combinations of features shown and described in the disclosed embodiments.