A vehicle structural element made of plastic has at least one carbon filler reinforced region and at least one fiberglass reinforced region. In a method for producing the vehicle structural element, a pre-heated carbon fiber reinforced region and a pre-heated fiberglass reinforced region are placed in a press and shaped.

A seating assembly includes a seatback having a frame and a cushion assembly. A cushion carrier includes a lower member defining a frame receiving cavity. A first set of ribs extend across the frame receiving cavity in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal extent of the lower member. The first set of ribs extend between the lower member and a lower brace of the frame. A second set of ribs are parallel with the first set of ribs. The second set of ribs are longer than the first set of ribs.

A vehicle seat (1) includes a seat frame (6), an elastic sheet (9) mounted to the seat frame in a tensioned state (6), and a trim (10) provided on the elastic sheet (9). The elastic sheet (9) includes a fastening section including a fastening plate (16) for the trim (10). The trim (10) includes a trim body (11) and a trim end (15) that is attached to the trim body (11) and fastened to the fastening plate (16) with the trim body (11) being stretched.

A vehicle seat includes a support structure, a seat surface (14) and a molded polymeric frame (18). The frame has an edge region and the seat surface (14) is mounted to the frame (18) and the frame is mounted to the support structure. At least a portion of the edge region is flexible.

A seatback support shell for a vehicle seat includes a shaped resinous sheet defining a top side, a bottom side, a first lateral side, and a second lateral side when the seatback support shell is positioned in a vehicle seat. The shaped resinous sheet has a convex section and a non-convex section with the convex section being positioned below the non-convex section when the seatback support shell is positioned in a vehicle seat.

A seat back assembly for a vehicle such as an automobile or an aircraft includes a foam support structure. The foam support structure panel is configured to provide a support structure against which the upper body and/or back of a user rests in use. The foam structure may include two or more regions having different foam density and/or firmness.

A method of upholstering a seat having a seating frame, and a corresponding attachment assembly, comprises providing a diaphragm generally having a weave of warp and weft yarns with an attachment member for installation of the diaphragm to the seat. The attachment member comprises an adapter strip and a coil member. The coil member is adapted to be intertwined with the weave of the diaphragm and thereafter inserted into and held by the channel in the seating frame. The adapter strip may be connected to the coil member to facilitate feeding the assembly through the channel in the seating frame. Alternately, the adapter strip can replace the channel in the seating frame and instead provide a mounting structure to which the diaphragm can be attached through the coil member's engagement with the adapter strip. A retainer sheet may also be used to maintain a desired tension of the diaphragm during installation.

A base net for a back is formed from a three-dimensional stereoscopic knit, and has a configuration in which seams for bringing a pair of ground knitted fabrics thereof to close to each other in a thickness direction are partially provided, predetermined preliminary compression is applied in the thickness direction by the seams, and thereby residual stress is generated in a surface direction (stretching direction). Therefore, stiffness is partially increased by partial improvement in residual stress, and consequently a human body with extreme roughness is supported by nearly uniform pressure. Thus, in spite of a simple configuration in which the seams are provided in desired regions, posture supportiveness and body pressure dispersiveness can be improved. Further, by arbitrarily adjusting the formation positions of the seams, the pressure distribution is adjusted, thereby making it possible to easily control the vibration mode to desired setting, and easily improve vibration absorbency.

A seat support mechanism including a lifter, and configured to perform a cushion frame suspension function no matter to what height a cushion frame is adjusted. Torsion bars extending in the width direction of a cushion frame and elastically supporting the cushion frame are supported by a link mechanism disposed between sliders and the cushion frame. Even if the attitude of the link mechanism is displaced when the lifter adjusts the height, the positions of the torsion bars are displaced so as to follow the displacement. The torsion bars elastically support the cushion frame no matter to what height the torsion bars are displaced. Thus, no matter to what height the cushion frame is adjusted, the torsion bars are able to support the cushion frame with predetermined elasticity and to exhibit predetermined vibration absorption characteristics.

A high-performance sports car having: a frame that supports a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels; a passenger compartment that is formed on the inside of the frame and is arranged between the front wheels and the rear wheels; at least one door, which is hinged to the frame to allow access to the passenger compartment; at least one seat, which is arranged inside the passenger compartment to the side of the door; and a rigid protection panel which is integral with the door and, when the door is closed, is arranged alongside the seat in line with the head of the occupant of the seat.