ACOUSTICALLY TUNED SEATING ASSEMBLY

1 . A method of manufacturing a vehicle seat assembly, said method comprising:

providing a cushion assembly comprising a cushion supported on a frame; and

securing a non-cloth trim material over the cushion supported on the frame, the non-cloth trim material having at least one slitted region having a plurality of scored slits having an average width of less than 4.0 mm, an average length of 0.25 to 8.0 mm, and a percent open area of 2 to 25%.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the slitted region and the cushion are designed to have a predetermined sound absorbing characteristic, the design being based on vehicle noise test data.

3 . The method of claim 2 further comprising exposing the seat assembly to vehicle noise test to determine if target noise absorption is achieved.

4 . A method of manufacturing a vehicle seat assembly, said method comprising:

providing a cushion assembly; and

securing a non-cloth trim material over the cushion assembly, the non-cloth trim material having at least one slitted region capable of providing a sound absorption for the seat assembly of at least 3.25 sabines at 1,250 Hz according to ASTM C423, the slitted region comprising a plurality of laser scored slits having an average width of less than 4.0 mm, an average length of 0.25 to 8 mm, and an open area of 0.10 to 30%.

5 . The method of claim 4 wherein the slitted region has 100 to 25,000 slits per ft 2 of trim material.

6 . The method of claim 4 wherein the trim material comprises at least one non-slitted region adjacent the slitted region wherein the non-slitted region is substantially free of slits and wherein the cushion assembly comprises a foam cushion.

7 . The method of claim 6 wherein the non-slitted region has less than 10 slits per ft 2 of trim material.

8 . The method of claim 7 wherein the slitted region has 100 to 25,000 slits per ft 2 of trim material.

9 . The method of claim 4 wherein the cushion assembly comprises a cushion supported on a seat frame and the vehicle seat assembly comprises a front seat disposed in a passenger compartment having a front and a rear passenger compartment, the trim material having a front surface facing the front passenger compartment and a rear surface facing the rear passenger compartment, the at least one slitted region being located on the rear surface of the trim material.

10 . The method of claim 6 wherein the slitted region comprises an area of 10 to 54 ft 2 .

11 . The method of claim 4 wherein the slits have an average width of 0.05 to 4 mm.

12 . The method of claim 11 wherein all of the slits have a width of 0.05 to 4 mm.

13 . The method of claim 4 wherein trim material comprises leather and the slitted region is located in an area of the trim material not substantially covered by an occupant when seated in the seat assembly.

14 . The method of claim 4 wherein the slits have a shape selected from the group consisting of channel-shaped, teardrop shaped, and diamond-shaped.

15 . The method of claim 4 wherein the cushion has a first sound absorption characteristic, the assembly further comprising a sound attenuation layer having a second sound absorption characteristic greater than the first sound absorbing characteristic, the sound attenuation layer being separate from the trim material and located between the cushion and the slitted region of the trim material.

16 . The method of claim 15 wherein the sound attenuation layer comprises a non-woven polymeric fibrous pad having a thickness of 2 to 25 mm and a weight of 1 to 16 oz/ft 2 .

17 . The method of claim 6 further comprising a second slitted region, spaced from the first slitted region, with the non-slitted region extending between the slitted regions.

18 . The method of claim 4 wherein the slitted region comprises substantially all of the trim material.

19 . The method of claim 4 wherein the vehicle seat assembly comprises a front seat disposed in a passenger compartment having a front and a rear passenger compartment, the non-cloth trim material having a front surface exposed to the front passenger compartment and a rear surface exposed to the rear passenger compartment, the at least one slitted region being located on the rear surface of the non-cloth trim material.

20 . A method of manufacturing a vehicle seat assembly, said method comprising:

providing a cushion assembly comprising a cushion supported on the frame and a fibrous layer supported on the cushion, the cushion having a first sound absorption characteristic and the fibrous layer having a second sound absorption characteristic greater than the first sound absorbing characteristic; and

securing a leather trim cover over the cushion, the leather trim cover comprising:

at least one slitted region having a plurality of laser scored slits having an average width of less than 4.0 mm and an average length of 0.25 to 8.0 mm; and

at least one non-slitted region adjacent the slitted region, with the non-slitted region being substantially free of slits;

wherein the slitted region is located in an area of the trim material where noise is likely to deflect and the fibrous layer is separate from the trim material and is located between the cushion and the slitted region of the trim material.