AU605205B2 - Automotive seat - Google Patents

Description

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AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1952 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Form Short Title: Int. Cl: Application Number: Lodged:

(ORIGINAL)

FOR OFFICE USE -in'L 2.cctfor Complete Specification-Lodged: Accepted: Lapsed: Published: Priority: Related Art:

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t TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT Name of Applicant: Address of Applicant: TACHI-S CO., LTD.

2-12, MATSUBARACHO 3-CHOME

AKISHIMA-SHI

TOKYO

JAPAN

(5

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Actual Inventor: Address for Service: CLEMENT HACK CO., 601 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.

Complete Specification for the invention entitled: AUTOMOTIVE SEAT The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to me:- 11 W V 1WW ii t. A

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li'x C:I 1- AUTOMOTIVE SEAT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention o o Q A0 00 0 0 0 00 0 00 0 0 0 0* 0 0 0 0 00 The present invention relates to an automotive i- l>J.s -xc--cl-Ao.r but no e-xclos(ov -f-plKc4o.tor seat in p r.ti ;oats to an automotive seat having a single layer cushion structure and of a type giving such an appearance as if it had two separate layer cushion structure.

2. Description of the Prior Art 15 Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is illustrated 0 1 i!oowtl an example of a ccn ::nticn: l seat of a type giving 00 such an appearance as if it had two separate layer cushion structure. According to this i n t l n a seat, the seat back comprises a main cushion (al) and a sub cushion (a2) fixed thereon, and similarly, the seat cushion comprises a main cushion (bl) and a sub cushion (b2) fixed thereon, to thereby add to the aesthetic effect on the whole appearance of the seat. Those main cushions (al)(bl) include a foam pad (31) foamed in a mold and a covering member r t

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Takeshiro Kawakami, President This form may be completed and filed after the filing of a patent application but the form must not be signed until after it has been completely filled in as indicated by the marginal notes. The place and date of signing must be filled in. Company stamps or seals should not be used.

No legalisation is necessary PF/Mar/19/1981 id 2 (32) which covers the main pad and are fixedly secured to a supporting member such as a zigzag spring. The sub cushions (a2)(b2) are respectively of a substantially similar dimensions to those of the main cushions (In this respect, in the embodiment in Fig. 1, the upper portion of the sub cushion (a2) extends over that of the main cushion 0 1 S1 (al) to lie on the rear thereof, whereas the lower o portion of the sub cushion (b2) extends over the o 9 10 forward lateral portion of the main cushion The sub cushions (a2)(b2) include a sub pad (41) made of a foam material (for example, a slab material) oo softer than the main pad and a covering member 0 09 0° (42) which covers the sub pad The sub cushions o 15 (a2)(b2) are fixed integrally on the main cushions o (al)(bl) by adhesive or other fixing means.

In this type of conventional seat, the covering member (42) is not fixed to both right and left lateral walls of the sub pad expect that it is fixed to the top wall of the sub pad (41) by means of adhesive, sewing or the like, and similarly the covering member (42) is not fixed to both right and left lateral walls of the main pad expecting the top wall of the main pad (31).

Consequently, there are created a plurality of 'ATE T OFFIC1A.

-t 0000 0 0 o o a 000900 00 0 00 0 0 00 0 0 0 0000 0 0 0 00 00 Q 0 00 0 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 0 0 0 0 0o 0 00 3 undesired creases (la) at both right and left lateral portions of each of the seat back and seat cushion resulting in an unpleasing appearance of the seat. In particular, a number of creases are produced at the respective folded portions of the sub cushions (Specifically, the creases appear at the sub cushion (a2) where it is folded over the upper end portion of main cushion (al) to lie on the rear thereof, while at the sub 10 cushion (b2) the creases appear at its folded portion over the forward lateral portion of the main cushion All those creases impair the aesthetic appearance of the seat.

To avoid the above-mentioned drawbacks, there 15 has been known such a solution to bond each of the covering members (42)(32) to the respective right and left lateral walls of the sub pad (41) and main pad But, it is disadvantageous because of its involving a special additional equipments and complicated steps of assembling process.

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a a o a a 0 a a o o o 0 0 0004 o o 0000 0000 co o e 4 According to the present invention there is provided an automotive seat comprising: a seat back; a seat cushion body; a covering member which covers an upper surface as well as right and left lateral surfaces of said seat; a foam pad including a central pad portion disposed at said upper surface of said covering member and a pair of lateral pad portions each being disposed at the respective said right and left lateral surfaces, said central pad portion and said lateral pad portions being integrally formed together; and said covering member being integrally bonded to a substantial portion of the entire surface of said foam pad to thereby define said cushion body, wherein said cushion body is so arranged as to form outer surfaces of said seat, wherein a substantially U-shaped bendable portion is formed between said central pad portion and one of said lateral pad portion, thereby providing a pair of said bendable portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said covering member bonded thereto is folded into a three-dimensional shape of said seat, said pair of bendable portions is transformed into a recessed groove in each of right and left lateral surfaces of said seat.

According to the present invention there is further provided an automotive seat comprising: a seat back; a seat cushion body; a covering member including a central portion adapted to cover an upper surface of said seat back, a pair of lateral side portions adapted to cover right and left lateral surfaces of said seat back, respectively, and a folded-back portion adapted to cover an upper end surface as well as a rear surface of said seat back; a foam pad including a central pad portion disposed at said upper surface of said seat back, a pair of lateral portions disposed at the respective said right and left 9 5 lateral surfaces of said seat back, said central pad portion and said lateral portions being integrally formed together, and a folded-back pad portion disposed at said upper end surface as well as said rear surface of said seat back, said folded-back pad portion being integrally formed with an upper end portion of said central pad portion; said covering member being integrally bonded to entire surfaces of said foam pad to thereby define said cushion body, wherein said cushion body is so arranged as to form outer surfaces of said seat back, wherein a substantially U-shaped bendable portion is formed between said central pad portion and one of said lateral pad S. portion, thereby providing a pair of said bendable portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said o 00 covering member bonded thereto is folded into a three-dimensional shape of said seat back, said pair of oj o bendable portions are each transformed into a recessed groove in the respective right and left lateral surfaces of said seat back.

According to the present invention there is further o provided an automotive seat comprising: a seat back; a seat cushion; o o *a covering member including a central portion o adapted to cover an upper surface of said seat cushion, a pair of lateral side portions adapted to cover right and left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion, respectively, and a forward portion adapted to cover a forward surface of said seat cushion; a foam pad including a central pad portion disposed at said upper surface of said seat cushion, a pair of lateral pad portions disposed at the respective said right and left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion, said central pad portion and said lateral pad portions being integrally formed together, and a forward pad portion disposed at said forward surface of said seat cushion, said forward pad portion being integrally formed with a forward 6 portion of said seat cushion; and said covering member being integrally bonded to entire surfaces of said foam pad to thereby define a cushion body, wherein said cushion body is so arranged as to form outer surfaces of said seat cushion, wherein a substantially U-shaped bendable portion is formed between said central pad portion and one of said lateral pad portion, thereby providing a pair of said bendable portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said covering member bonded thereto is folded into a three-dimensional shape of said seat cushion, said pair of bendable portions are each transformed into a recessed t groove in the respective right and left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion.

4Ir, 4 4 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS o In order that the present invention may be more fully understood, embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying pl( drawings, in which: o Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a known seat; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line aoea a II II in the Fig. 1; tat' tFig. 3 is a perspective view of a seat in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing pad portions integrally bonded with a covering member in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention seat; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V V in the Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the process in which the covering member is bonded to the pad; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the cushion pad with covering member bonded thereto, which shows the state in which the pad portions of the pad is folded into a 0

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r -7 three-dimensional shape; and Fig. 8 is a partially cut-away exploded perspective view of a seat back in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DE1AILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION The following embodiments are advanced by way of example only and modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention.

7, An embodiment of the present invention comprises a t't~ foam central pad, a pair of foam lateral pads each being integrally formed with the respective right and left sides *0ea of the central pad, and a bendable portion formed between 0 the central and lateral pads, the bendable portion comprising a recessed groove. To the surfaces of thus-constructed pads, is bonded a covering member.

Accordingly, when assembling a seat seat cushion and seat back) with this basic form of seat, the lateral pads constitute the right and left lateral walls of resultant V, seat respectively, serving to retain the shape of the 0 a lateral walls of the seat as well, and further the covering o0"° member is uniformly affixed over the surfaces of the seat, *0&0 S whereupon there is no creation of undesired creases in the 00000I lateral portions of the seat, in contrast to the abovementioned known seat.

It is to be appreciated further that the recessed groove forming the bendable portion and the part of the covering member where it is inserted into the recessed groove cooperate to give such an appearance as if a resultant seat had two layers of cushion bodies therein, thereby aesthetically accentuating the outer figure of the seat.

The present embodiment also provides a seat which permits an easy and positive bonding of a covering member to the outer surfaces of seat cushion and seat back. The 7A 4*41 441 00 0# 0 uOOO do 0 o 0 O 0 04,44 0000 O 04 04 0 4000 0d 4 44 central pad and lateral pads are formed together integrally in a substantially flat plane with the bendable portion formed between the central and lateral pads. Thus, a plane sheet of the covering member can simply be placed upon those pads and subjected to a press forming and bonding processes, so that the covering member is bonded to the entire surfaces of the central and lateral pads. It is therefore to be noted that the covering member is positi f-y bonded to the entire surfaces of a resultant seat which is assembled by bending each of the lateral pads perpendicularly relative to the central pad.

Referring to Fig. 3, reference characters (ib) denote recessed grooves formed in both right and left lateral walls of a seat back as well as of a seat cushion As shown, the recessed grooves serve to simulate a two-layer cushion in the respective seat back and cushion as viewed from the outside.

Designations respectively denote a first cushion body for the seat back and a second cushion body for the seat cushion The first cushion body (a) has an integral folded-back extension which is folded over the upper end portion of the body in a backward direction thereof to lie on the rear side of the seat back The second cushion body has an integral bend portion which is bent downwardly to extend over the forward portion of the second cushion body The first cushion body comprises a foam pad (made of an urethane foam, for instance) and a covering member (10) integrally bonded to the foam pad by an adhesive.

The foam pad (20) is formed in a predetermined--- I x~a J i '1 Ir ~j~a i _i 8 shape of seat back by a foaming process with a mold, and, as illustrated in Fig. 4, the pad comprises a central pad portion a pair of lateral pad portions one of them being integrally formed with the right-side lateral portion of the central pad portion (21) and the other being likewise formed with the left-side lateral portion of the ceptral pad portion in a symmetrical relationship oo 0 ith respect to the pad portion a folded-back 10 pad portion (24) integrally, continuously formed with the upper end portion of the central pid and a bent pad portion (25) integrally, continuously extending from the lower portion of the central pad portion Further, in Fig. 4, a pair of substantially U-shaped bendable portions (23) are Sso arranged that one of them is formed at one boundary between one of the lateral pad portions (22) and the .44.

4°°4 central pad portion (21) whereas the other is formed at the other boundary between the other of the lateral pad portions (22) and the central pad portion (21).

As best shown in Fig. 5, each of the bendable portions (23) includes its own U-shaped recess, a first raised portion (23a) and a second raised portion (23b).

Along the respective outward peripheries of the 9 lateral pad portions formed are erected portions (26) of substantially the same height with that of the bendable portions but the erected portions (26) are not formed at the lower ends of the lateral pad portions To the entire outer surfaces of thus-constructed pad is bonded the covering member (10) by means of an adhesive, which covering member is made of one unitary sheet of synthetic resin film (vinyl chloride) or a commonly available material o0 for automotive seats.

"o0° In Fig. 5, designation (11) represents a central 0 00 part of the covering member (10) which covers oo the upper surface of the central pad portion (21), and designations (12) represent the lateral side 0 04o portions of the covering member each of which covers the respective lateral pad portions (22).

The covering member (10) further includes recessed 0a90 portions (13) which are respectively inserted into and bonded in the bendable portions (23) of the pad Reference characters (13a) each stands for a working recessed groove which is defined by virtue of the recessed portion (13) being bonded in the abovementioned U-shaped recess of the bendable portion (23).

I i-~ 10 0040 1 a o 0 0 004 09 0 la o 0 0 0 0 0 a 00 0 0 0 o 90 0 9>00 s ut 6 a u 0 0 0 0 0* 0~ 0 9 9 ~a o t 0 0000 0. 0 1 I It is noted here that the lateral side portions (12) and recessed portions (13) of the covering member in the aggregation, constitute the right and left lateral surfaces of the seat back Referring now to Fig. 6, there is illustrated a process in which the pad (20) is integrally bonded to the covering member In this embodiment, a lower die is utilized, which has inner grooves 10 (61) and outer grooves (62) formed therein, the former grooves (61) being adapted to receive the bendable portions (23) of the pad (20) and the latter grooves (62) being adapted to receive the erected portions (26) of the lateral pad portions An upper die is also used, which has projections (51) disposed at points corresponding to the inner grooves (61).

In operation, the pad (20) is placed on the lower die such that its bendable portions (23) and erected portions (26) are fitted in the inner grooves (61) and outer grooves respectively.

Then, the covering member (10) whose lower surface is applied an adhesive (15) is placed on the pad and the upper die is lowered and pressed against both pad (20) and covering member As a result, the covering member (10) is integrally bonded to the

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11 pad with the projections (51) of the upper die driving the corresponding parts of the covering member (10) down into the recesses of the bendable portions to thereby provide a resultant cushion body as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which formed are the foregoing recessed portions (13) in the covering member a oa Thereafter, the cushion body so formed is folded and assembled into a three-dimensional product o 10 as shown in Fig. 7. For this purpose, specifically, o" oa the lateral pad portions (22) are folded upwardly about the points adjacent their respective first raised portions (23a), in a direction inwardly of the central o 0r 4°o: pad portion so as to erect at substantially right angles relative to the central pad portion (21).

o In this state, the first raised portions (23a) are 0 I at their respective inward regions brought to contact with the inner surface (21a) of the central pad portion and thus, the recessed portions (13) are opened to such a degree that about half of the working recessed grooves (13a) remains unopened, which defines the aforementioned recessed grooves In other words, as understandable from Figs. 5 and 7, when the lateral pad portions (22) with the lateral side portions (12) bonded thereto are erected as stated i i _1 portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said covering member bonded thereto is folded into a three-dimensional shape of said seat, said pair of bendable portions is transformed into a recessed groove in each of right and left lateral surfaces of said seat.

I ra w -12 above, the first and second raised portions (23a)(23b) are positioned horizontally in prallel with the inner surface (21a) of the central pad portion and about half of recess depth of the working recessed grooves (13a) is then defined laterally of the cushion body to thereby create the recessed grooves (Ib) as seen in Fig. 7.

Next, the folded-back pad portion (24) with the Scorresponding part of the covering member (10) is folded along the upper end portions of the lateral S, portions (12)(22) in a direction towards the rear side of the cushion body and the bent pad portion 0 6 (25) with the corresponding part of the covering member s (10) is also folded towards the forward portion of boo0aO 15 of the cushion body as in Fig. 7, so as to provide a predetermined shape of seat back o, Fig. 8 illustrates the construction of the seat o O, back according to which the cushion body is 41 directly attached to a framework or attached to a framework provided with a cushion member The illustrated framework comprises a frame made of a pipe material, wire side support members (2a) welded to the frame and zigzag springs extended between the side support members, but the framework is not limited to this structure 1 i I- L'

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i: i; 13 and may comprise any other kind of elements, as required.

As described before, the cushion body is folded into the three-dimensional product as in Fig.

7, and thereafter, the extension of the foldedback pad portion (24) with the corresponding part of the covering member (10) bonded therearound is fixed along the erected portions (26) of the lateral pad portions (22) whose respective outer surfaces 10 are also bonded to their own corresponding parts of the covering member then either of the abovementioned two sorts of frameworks is inserted into 04 the interior of thus-fixed cushion body and o" ,o the bent pad portion (25) with its corresponding parts a.a.o 15 of the covering member (10) bonded thereto is turned around and fixed to a reinforcement rod (2b) provided 0 at the lower portion of the frame o o With regard to the seat cushion its cushion body is substantially similar in structure and assemblage to the seat back that have been described above, except that, as in Fig. 3, a forward cushion body is integrally formed with the cushion body &rb O~ryet 4 From the above description, the present Jv ti cn is endowed with the undermentioned effects.

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4 1; 4 441 4 4 9 o a 1.4PO o 4, 4440 C1 0 410 1) The covering member is uniformly affixed to the entire outer surfaces of the pad, and the lateral pad portions serve to retain the shape of the lateral walls of the cushion body, whereupon there is no creation of undesired creases in both lateral portions of the cushion body.

2) Simulation of two-layer cushion appearance is easily obtained by simply folding a plane integral sheet of pad portions into a predetermined three- 10 dimensional cushion body. There is no need to preapre a number of separate pad portions, and thus no complicated assembling processes are involved, without much labor in providing such two-layer cushion appearance.

3) By reason of the fact that the central pad portion and lateral pad portions are integrally formed together in a substantially flat plane, one unitary sheet of covering member can be bonded to those pad portions. Consequently, the bonding of the covering member to required portions of cushion body is quite simple and positive.

Claims (2)

1. 6006.0 0 0 0000 i 0 00000 15 THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS: i. An automotive seat comprising: a seat back; a seat cushion body; a covering member which covers an upper surface as well as right and left lateral surfaces of said seat; a foam pad including a central pad portion disposed at said upper surface of said covering member and a pair of lateral pad portions each being disposed at the respective said right and left lateral surfaces, said central pad portion and said lateral pad portions being integrally formed together; and said covering member being integrally bonded to a substantial portion of the entire surface of said foam pad to thereby define said cushion body, wherein said cushion body is so arranged as to form outer surfaces of said seat, wherein a substantially U-shaped bendable portion is formed between said central pad portion and one of said lateral pad portion, thereby providing a pair of said bendable portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said covering member bonded thereto is folded into a three-dimensional shape of said seat, said pair of bendable portions is transformed into a recessed groove in each of right and left lateral surfaces of said seat.
2. 2. An automotive seat comprising: a seat back; a seat cushion body; a covering member including a central portion adapted to cover an upper surface of said seat back, a pair of lateral side portions adapted to cover right and left lateral surfaces of said seat back, respectively, and a folded-back portion adapted to cover an upper end surface as well as a rear surface of said seat back; a foam pad including a central pad portion disposed at said upper surface of said seat back, a pair of lateral at sala upper surtace ot said seat back, a pair of lateral I N portions disposed at the respective said right and left Iii0. 16 portions disposed at the respective said right and left lateral surfaces of said seat back, said central pad portion and said lateral portions being integrally formed together, and a folded-back pad portion disposed at said upper end surface aL well as said rear surface of said seat back, said folded-back pad portion being integrally formed with an upper end portion of said central pad portion; said covering member being integrally bonded to entire surfaces of said foam pad to thereby define said cushion body, wherein said cushion body is so arranged as to form outer surfaces of said seat back, wherein a substantially U-shaped bendable portion is formed between o0toO said central pad portion and one of said lateral pad 0900 0O portion, thereby providing a pair of said bendable portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said 0 00 0 0 covering member bonded thereto is folded into a othree-dimensional shape of said seat back, said pair of ooo bendable portions are each transformed into a recessed groove in the respective right and left lateral surfaces of c7aid seat back. coca3. An automotive seat comprising: 0900 oo,:Oo a seat back; a seat cushion; o' ~a covering member including a central portion 0 *d adapted to cover an upper surface of said seat cushion, a pair of lateral side portions adapted to cover right and tI' left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion, respectively, and a forward portion adapted to cover a forward surface of said seat cushion; a foam pad including a central pad portion disposed *0 at said upper surface of said seat cushion, a pair of i lateral pad portions disposed at the respective said right and left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion, said central pad portion and said lateral pad portions being integrally formed together, and a forward pad portion disposed at said forward surface of said seat cushion, said torward pad portion being integrally formed with a forward 0I 17 forward pad portion being integrally formed with a forward portion of said seat cushion; and said covering member being integrally bonded to entire surfaces of said foam pad to thereby define a cushion body, wherein said cushion body is so arranged as to form outer surfaces of said seat cushion, wherein a substantially U-shaped bendable portion is formed between said central pad portion and one of said lateral pad portion, thereby providing a pair of said bendable portions in said foam pad, whereby when said foam pad with said covering member bonded thereto is folded into a three-dimensional shape of said seat cushion, said pair of bendable portions are each transformed into a recessed groove in the respective right and left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion. I an T4. The automotive seat as defined in Claim 1, wherein an erected portion is formed along each periphery of said lateral pad portions, wherein said foam pad is formed by foaming in a flat plane, and to said entire surface of said foam pad, is integrally bonded said covering member, and wherein said lateral pad portions are foldable at substantially right angles relative to said central pad portion. 5. The automotive seat as defined in Claim 2, wherein an erected portion is formed along each periphery of said lateral pad portions, and wherein said folded-back pad portion is fixed on a part of said erected portion in a longitudinal direction thereof. 6. The automotive seat as defined in Claim 2, wherein an erected portion is formed along each periphery of said lateral pad portions, wherein said foam pad is formed by foaming in a flat plane, and to said entire surface of said foam pad, is integrally bonded said covering member, and wherein said lateral pad portions are foldable at in which the pad portions of the pad is folded into a 0 Ap-p A PAY P 18 substantially right angles relative to said central pad portion. 7. The automotive seat as defined in Claim 3, wherein said foam pad is formed by foaming in a flat plane, and to said entire surface of said foam pad, is integrally bonded said covering member, and wherein said lateral pad portions are foldable at substantially right angles relative to said central( pad portion. 8. The automotive seat as defined in Claim 1, wherein, in said cushion body, said lateral pad portions with their respective corresponding parts of said covering member bonded thereto are folded at substantially right angles relative to said central pad portion with its corresponding part of said covering member bonded thereto, thereby forming right and left lateral surfaces of said seat. 9. The automotive seat as defined in Claim 2, wherein, in said cushion body, said lateral pad portions with their respective corresponding parts of said covering member bonded thereto are folded at substantially right angles relative to said central pad portion with its corresponding part of said covering member bonded thereto, thereby ar forming right and left lateral surfaces of said seat back. @44141 The automotive seat as defined in Claim 3, wherein, in said cushion body, said lateral pad portions with their respective corresponding parts of said covering member bonded thereto are folded at substantially right angles relative to said central pad portion with its corresponding part of said covering member bonded thereto, thereby forming right and left lateral surfaces of said seat cushion. 11. An automotive seat substantially as hereinbefore I described and illustrated with reference to Figures 3 to 8 0- rn 0'1 to the outer surfaces of seat cushion and seat back. The i: I r.: I 19 of the accompanying drawings. DATED THIS 4TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 1990. TACHI-S CO., LTD By Its Patent Attorneys: GRIFFITH HACK CO. Fellows Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia. vs.' o ic p I1 0( .4 C I C S .4001 I i i 1