FASTENING STRIP FOR FIXING A SEAT COVERING TO A SEAT CUSHION OF A CAR

Abstract

One aspect of the present invention provides a fastening strap for fixing a seat covering to a seat cushion of a car. The fastening strap includes a plurality of fastening sections connected in series and each of the fastening section comprises: a substrate having a plurality of hooks formed on a surface thereof; at least one magnetic member disposed on the surface of the substrate; a protective member disposed along a periphery of the substrate to encircle the plurality of hooks; and a flexible connecting portion integrally extending from one end of the substrate in a longitudinal direction of the fastening section to connect to an adjacent fastening section in a spaced apart manner.

Claims

1. A fastening strap for fixing a seat covering to a seat cushion of a car, comprising: a plurality of fastening sections connected in series, each of the fastening section comprising: a substrate having a plurality of hooks formed on a surface thereof; at least one magnetic member disposed on the surface of the substrate; a protective member disposed along a periphery of the substrate to encircle the plurality of hooks; and a flexible connecting portion integrally extending from one end of the substrate in a longitudinal direction of the fastening section to connect to an adjacent fastening section in a spaced apart manner.

2. A fastening strap according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion has a height t and a width w and the height is greater than the width, i.e., t≧w.

3. A fastening strap according to claim 1, wherein the protecting member has a height measured from the surface of the substrate which is greater than a height of the hook that is measured from the surface of the substrate.

4. A fastening strap according to claim 1, wherein the fastening section further comprises wing portions that extend outwardly from lateral sides of the substrate.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] For a more complete understanding of the present invention and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0018] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a prior art fastening strap structure used in a seat cushion of a car;

[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another prior art fastening strap structure used in a seat cushion of a car;

[0020] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a fastening strap for fixing a seat covering to a seat cushion of a car according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] FIG. 4 is a top plane view of the fastening strap shown in FIG. 3;

[0022] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taking along line A-A of FIG. 4; and

[0023] FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a fastening strap according to another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Referring now to FIGS. 3-6 in which preferred embodiments of the fastening strap of the present invention are illustrated to describe the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a fastening strap 10 for fixing a seat covering to a seat cushion of a car according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a top plane view of the fastening strap 10 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view taking along line A-A of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a fastening strap 10′ according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fastening strap 10 of the present invention includes a plurality of fastening sections 20 connected in series. Each of the fastening section 20 comprises a substrate 21 having a plurality of hooks 22 formed on a surface thereof; at least one magnetic member 23 disposed on the surface of the substrate 21; a protective member 24 disposed along a periphery of the substrate 21 to encircle the plurality of hooks 22; and a flexible connecting portion 25 integrally extending from one end of the substrate 21 in a longitudinal direction of the fastening section 20 to connect to an adjacent fastening section 20 in series so that adjacent fastening sections 20 are spaced apart at a distance S.

[0027] In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, the at least one magnetic member 23 comprise two steel wires. However, it should be understood that the magnetic member 23 is not limited to this. For instance, the magnetic member 23 may comprises a magnetic coating or other magnetic element that is applied to the substrate 21.

[0028] Additionally, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3-5, the protective member 24 is made of a foam material and is adhered to the substrate 21 along a periphery thereof. However, it should be understood that the protective member 24 is not limited to this. For instance, the protective member 24 may comprises a wall (not illustrated) that extends upwardly from the surface of the substrate 21 along the periphery thereof to encircle the hooks 22. Additionally, the protective member 24 has a height H which is greater than a height h of the hooks 22 in order to prevent the foam material from entering the space among the hooks 22. Moreover, as seen from the drawings, the connecting portion 25 has height t and a width w and the height is greater than the width, i.e., t≧w, to ensure both the robustness and the flexibility of the connecting portion 25.

[0029] Next, reference is made to FIG. 6, in which a fastening strap 10′ for fixing a seat covering to a seat cushion of a car according to another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. The fastening strap 10′, similar to the fastening strap 10 of FIGS. 3-5, includes a plurality of fastening sections 20′ connected in series, wherein each of the fastening section 20′ comprises a substrate 21, a plurality of hooks 22 formed on the substrate 21, at least one magnetic member 23, a protective member 24 and a connecting portion 25. The fastening strap 10′ further comprises side wings 26 extending outwardly from lateral sides of the substrate 21 which allow the foam material to cover these side wings 26 during the foaming process of the seat cushion so as to provide additional mechanical bonding force between the fastening strap 10′ and the seat cushion and to enhance the bonding between the fastening strap 10′ and the seat cushion. Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 6, in addition to a continuous configuration (e.g., side wings 26), the side wings may has a discontinuous protrusion configuration (e.g., side wings 26′).

[0030] Because the fastening strap of the present invention comprises the unique structural features described above, the fastening strap of the present invention possesses a function/advantage that existing prior art fastening straps do not have (that is, the fastening strap of the present invention can be arbitrarily bent/curved sideway). Therefore, the fastening strap of the present invention is not only applicable to seat cushions having straight bonding grooves, but also applicable to seat cushions having curved bonding grooves with different curvatures and different curving orientations directly and without any additional processing. Therefore, the fastening strap of the present invention is a creation that has a great industrial applicability.

[0031] Although the present invention has been described above according to the preferred embodiments thereof, it does not intend to limit the scope of the present invention to specific structural features described above. In fact, there exist various modifications and variations under the principle and spirit disclosed above. For instance, in the above described embodiments, the fastening sections are illustrated in a form with a rectangular shape, however, the fastening sections may have other shapes, for example, the fastening sections may have a semi-circular shape.

[0032] It will be apparent to people skilled in this art that many modifications can be made to the disclosed structures without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, it is the intent of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the sprit and scope of this invention.