Method of making an interior panel for a door and an article made thereby
View Patent ↗An interior trim panel for a vehicle door is provided according to alternative methods. The interior trim panel includes a bolster to which a polyurethane skin is molded by a spraying operation. Expanded polyurethane foam is sprayed over the polyurethane skin and a backing panel is either integrally formed or assembled to the polyurethane foam layer.
1. Method of making an interior trim panel for a vehicle door, comprising:
forming a bolster;
inserting the bolster into a mold;
spraying a polyurethane skin onto the mold and over one side of the bolster to form a skin/bolster assembly;
spraying an expandable polyurethane elastomer onto the polyurethane skin to form a foam/skin/bolster;
inserting the foam/skin/bolster assembly and a glass fiber material into a reaction injection mold; and
injecting polyurethane into the reaction injection mold that bonds to the foam/skin/bolster assembly and the glass fiber to form a glass fiber-reinforced layer/foam/skin/bolster assembly.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the glass fiber material is a glass fiber mat.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the glass fiber material is a quantity of chopped glass fiber.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the bolster is vacuum formed and has a decorative element on the side opposite the one side on which the polyurethane skin is sprayed.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of assembling the substrate further comprises placing the substrate on the elastomer layer while the elastomer layer is curing wherein a plate becomes adhered to the elastomer layer as it cures.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of assembling the substrate further comprises applying an adhesive between the elastomer layer and the substrate.