IP Library Granted Patent US 12,280,722
Granted Patent B2
US 12,280,722 · App. 17/214,301 · Granted Apr 22, 2025

Interior trim for a motor vehicle, comprising a headliner and a stiffening frame and method for their manufacture

Inventors: Patrick Buhr (Grafing, DE); Michael Behnke (Vaterstetten, DE)
Assignee: International Automotive Components Group North America, Inc.
B60R13/0231B29C70/003B29C70/081B29C70/34B32B5/028B32B5/275B32B7/09B60R13/0218B29C2791/002B29L2009/00B29L2031/3011B32B2250/02B32B2260/023B32B2307/718B32B2307/732B32B2605/003
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,280,722
App. No.
17/214,301
Granted
Apr 22, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

The disclosure provides an interior trim part for a motor vehicle having a sliding or panoramic roof comprising a headliner and a stiffening frame attached to the headliner and enclosing and stabilizing an opening in the headliner enclosing the sliding or panoramic window, the stiffening frame being made of a fiber-reinforced composite material comprising a fiber mat and a textile lattice material, the textile lattice material being applied over a surface of the fiber mat and impregnated together therewith.

Claims (24)

1. An interior trim part for a motor vehicle having a sliding or panoramic roof, the interior trim part comprising:

a headliner and a stiffening frame secured to the headliner and enclosing and stabilizing an opening in the headliner to enclose a sliding or panoramic window,

wherein the stiffening frame is made of a fiber-reinforced composite material comprising a fiber mat and a textile lattice material, the textile lattice material being applied flat on a surface of the fiber mat and impregnated together therewith, wherein the textile lattice material is bonded to the fiber mat prior to impregnation.

2. The interior trim part according to claim 1 , wherein the bond is a mechanical, thermal and/or chemical bond.

3. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the textile lattice material is formed of synthetic fibers, natural fibers or mixtures of these fibers.

4. The interior trim part of claim 3 , wherein the natural fibers comprise cotton, hemp, kenaf, flax, sisal, jute, wood, or mixtures thereof.

5. The interior trim part of claim 3 , wherein the synthetic fibers comprise polymer fiber material made of organic synthetic polymers.

6. The interior trim part according to claim 1 , wherein the composite material is impregnated with a binder.

7. The interior trim part of claim 6 , wherein the composite material of the stiffening frame comprises only the mentioned materials.

8. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the textile lattice material comprises meshes or a grid-like fabric having a circular, elliptical, triangular, rectangular, or other polygonal mesh geometry.

9. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the textile lattice material has meshes with a mesh size between 0.5 and 25 mm.

10. The interior trim part of claim 9 , wherein the textile lattice material is formed with bridges between the meshes, the bridges having a width of 0.5-5 mm.

11. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the textile lattice material has an area weight of 30-500 g/m2.

12. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the stiffening frame is composed of a plurality of frame portions fused together in a compression molding process, each frame portion having a fiber mat portion with a textile lattice material on its surface.

13. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the stiffening frame is molded or bonded to the headliner.

14. The interior trim part of claim 1 , wherein the textile lattice material is formed with bridges between the fiber mat and a textile lattice material, the bridges having a width of 0.5-5 mm.

15. The interior trim part according to claim 1 , wherein the bond is created by needling, spunlace or thermobonding.

16. The interior trim part of claim 3 , wherein the synthetic fibers comprise polymer fibers, glass fibers, carbon fibers, or mixtures thereof.

17. The interior trim part of claim 5 , wherein the polymer fiber material made of the organic synthetic polymers comprises PET, PP or PA.

18. The interior trim part of claim 3 , wherein the synthetic fibers comprise carbon, aramid or glass fibers.

19. The interior trim part according to claim 6 , wherein the binder is a thermosetting binder or a thermoplastic binder.

20. The interior trim part of claim 19 , wherein the thermosetting binder is epoxy, acrylate, phenol, polyurethane or unsaturated polyester, which is applied or introduced onto and/or into the fiber mat in liquid or powder form.

21. The interior trim part of claim 19 , wherein the thermoplastic binder is a biopolymer or thermoplastic acrylate, which is introduced into the fiber mat in the form of thermoplastic binding fibers or in liquid form.

22. The interior trim part of claim 21 , wherein the biopolymer is PLA, polyester or polyamide.

Assignments (7)
RELEASE OF PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 067006/0846. Recorded Jun 6, 2025
From: BLUE TORCH FINANCE LLC
To: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP NORTH AMERICA, INC.; INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
Reel/Frame 071494/0946 →
RELEASE OF PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 057569/0893. Recorded Jun 6, 2025
From: BLUE TORCH FINANCE LLC
To: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP NORTH AMERICA, INC.; INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
Reel/Frame 071494/0829 →
RELEASE OF PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME 063121/0799. Recorded Jun 6, 2025
From: BLUE TORCH FINANCE LLC
To: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP NORTH AMERICA, INC.; INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
Reel/Frame 071494/0928 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 12, 2025
From: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
To: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Reel/Frame 070188/0332 →
CHANGE OF ADDRESS Recorded Feb 10, 2025
From: AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
To: AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
Reel/Frame 070167/0268 →
PATENT SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 20, 2023
From: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
To: BLUE TORCH FINANCE LLC, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 063121/0799 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 3, 2022
From: BUHR, PATRICK; BEHNKE, MICHAEL
To: INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP GMBH
Reel/Frame 061643/0421 →
Priority Claims (1)
DE 102020108728.4 · Mar 30, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230039993A1 · Feb 9, 2023
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