<p>Vehicle seat The invention relates to a vehicle seat and a seat cover,
in particular a piped seat cover, wherein the vehicle seat or the seat cover comprises a covering material and a cushion underlay with a groove, which underlay is arranged beneath the covering material, wherein the covering material is folded at a folding point, and wherein the covering material is sewn in the groove to the cushion underlay by means of a seam covered by the covering material DE-PS 33 04 343 discloses a method for pro ducing seat covers having pipes In this strip -shaped expanded foam cut -outs as the pipe filling material are introduced with the aid of guide channels between a lower material and an upper material, wherein the upper material wraps itself a-ound the longitudinal edges of the expanded foam cut -outs Subsequently the pipes are sewn up simultaneously on a multi -needle sewing machine DE-OS 36 41 345 discloses a method for manufacturing seat covers having pipes which are enveloped by a covering material, fill ed with expanded foam and fixed to one another by means of seams running parallel to one another, wherein a folding edge of the covering material is introduced into a first of a plurality of grooves arranged spaced apart by the width of the pipes in an exp anded foam panel, the covering material and the expanded foam panel are connected at the side of the folding edge by a seam running parallel to the latter and then a folding edge of a following section of the covering material is moved prior to carrying ou t the next sewing operation beyond the seam in the direction of the neighbouring groove and introduced into the next groove DE 81 04 154 Ui, DE 42 19891 Al, DE 4445918 C2 and DE 4118396 Cl disclose other vehicle seats or seat covers It is an object of the invention to specify an improved vehicle seat or an improved seat cover, in particular an improved seat cover having a piped visual appearance Said task is solved by a vehicle seat or seat cover, in particular for a motor vehicle, wherein the vehicle seat or seat cover comprises a covering material and a cushion underlay with a groove which underlay is arranged beneath the covering material, wherein the covering material is folded at a folding point, wherein the covering material is sewn in the g roove to the cushion underlay by means of a seam covered by the covering material, and wherein in the region of the seam and/or at the folding point the covering material is weakened As defined in the invention, in the region of the seam is intended to me an in particular in the immediate vicinity of the seam. As defined in the invention, in the region of the seam is intended to mean in particular a few millimetres from the seam The seam and the folding point run in particular substantially parallel alongs ide one another A covering material as defined in the invention may comprise leather, synthetic leather and/or a textile and/or another material usable as an upper material and/or commonly used material or consist thereof As defined in the invention the covering material may, for example, be weakened in that at the relevant point it is cut into, cut through or perforated The nature of the weakening may also differ section by section The covering material typically comprises an outer side and an inner s ide, wherein the outer side should designate in particular a viewing side A cushion underlay arranged beneath the covering material is arranged in particular, as defined in the invention, on the inside of the covering material The cushion underlay advan tageously comprises expanded foam or advantageously consists of expanded foam.</p>
<p>In an advantageous development of the invention the groove has a width of between 2 mm and 8 mm.</p>
<p>In another advantageous refinement of the invention the seam runs out of centr e in the groove In doing this it is provided in particular that the spacing between the seam and an edge of the groove facing towards the folding point is greater than the spacing between the seam and an edge of the groove facing away from the folding poi nt In another advantageous refinement of the invention the spacing between the seam and the edge of the groove facing towards the folding point is at least twice the spacing between the seam and the edge of the groove facing away from the folding point In another advantageous refinement of the invention, in the region of the seam and/or at the folding point the covering material is weakened in sections. By such a weakening in sections is meant in particular that the weakening is interrupted and as a resu It divided into at least two sections The length of such a section is in particular between 2 cm and 15 cm. The spacing between such sections is in particular between 1 cm and 4 cm In another advantageous refinement the seam also runs between two section s In another advantageous refinement of the invention the covering material is weakened at the folding point but substantially only in the region of the seam In another advantageous refinement of the invention, at the beginning and/or at the end of a weakening or at the beginning and/or at the end of a section of weakening the covering material comprises a visible covering material mark in particular on a side (inner side) facing towards the cushion underlay A covering material mark may, for example, b e a hole, an incision or a coloured mark In another advantageous refinement of the invention the cushion underlay comprises in the region of the covering material mark a cushion underlay mark which in another advantageous refinement of the invention is fi tted beside the groove or out of centre in the groove In another advantageous refinement of the invention the groove together with another groove of the cushion underlay forms part of a pipe.</p>
<p>Said task is additionally solved by a vehicle seat or seat co ver, in particular for a motor vehicle -comprising in particular one or more of the aforesaid characteristics -wherein the vehicle seat or seat cover comprises a covering material and a cushion underlay with a first groove and at least one second groove, which underlay is arranged beneath the covering material, wherein the covering material is folded at a first folding point and at a second folding point, wherein the covering material is sewn to the cushion underlay by means of a first seam in the first groove covered by the covering material and by means of a second seam in the second groove covered by the covering material in such a way that the first groove and the second groove form part of a pipe, and wherein in the region of the first and/or the seco nd seam and/or at the first and/or the second folding point the covering material is weakened In an advantageous refinement of the invention the spacing between the first folding point and the second folding point is greater than the spacing between the first groove and the second groove In doing so the spacing between the first folding point and the second folding point in another advantageous refinement of the invention amounts to 110 % to 140 % of the spacing between the first groove and the second gr oove Said task is additionally solved by a method for manufacturing a vehicle seat or seat cover -comprising in particular one or more of the aforesaid characteristics -wherein a cushion underlay with a groove is manufactured, wherein a covering mater al is weakened at least at one point, wherein the covering material is folded at the weakened point, and wherein the folded covering material is sewn to the cushion underlay in the region of the weakened point in the groove As defined in the invention in the region of the weakened point is intended to mean in particular in the immediate vicinity of the seam As defined in the invention in the region of the seam is intended to mean in particular a few millimetres from the seam.</p>
<p>In an advantageous refineme nt of the invention the beginning and/or the end of the weakened point (prior to sewing) is marked with a covering material mark In another advantageous refinement of the invention the cushion underlay (prior to sewing) is marked with a cushion underlay mark In doing so the covering material mark and the cushion underlay mark (prior to sewing) are advantageously aligned with one another In addition in another advantageous refinement (prior to sewing) the folding point is laid out on an edge of the groove In another advantageous refinement of the invention the folded covering material is sewn in the region of the weakened point in the groove to the cushion underlay by means of a sewing foot In doing so in another advantageous refinement of the invention the sewing foot is guided along an edge of the groove as stop edge.</p>
<p>Said task is additionally solved by a method for manufacturing a vehicle seat or seat cover -comprising in particular one or more of the aforesaid characteristics -wherein a cushion underlay with a groove is manufactured, wherein a covering material is folded, and wherein the folded covering material in the region of the point at which it was folded is sewn in the groove to the cushion underlay by means of a sewing foot, wherein the sew ing foot is guided along an edge of the groove as stop edge In an advantageous refinement of the invention (prior to sewing) the beginning and/or the end of the seam to be sewn by means of the sewing foot is marked with a covering material mark In another advantageous refinement of the invention the cushion underlay is marked with a cushion underlay mark In doing so the covering material mark and the cushion underlay mark (prior to sewing) are advantageously aligned with one another In addition in anot her advantageous refinement (prior to sewing) the folding point is laid out on an edge of the groove A motor vehicle as defined in the invention is in particular a land vehicle usable individually in road traffic Motor vehicles as defined in the inventi on are in particular not restricted to land vehicles having an internal combustion engine Other advantages and details emerge from the following description of exemplified embodiments These show: Fig 1 an exemplified embodiment of a vehicle seat having a seat cover with a so -called piped visual appearance, Fig 2 an exemplified embodiment of a cushion underlay for a backrest of a vehicle seat according to Fig 1; Fig 3 an exemplified embodiment of a covering material for a backrest of a vehicle seat according to Fig 1; Fig 4 an illustration of a detail of a cross -section through a seat cover of a vehicle seat according to Fig 1; Fig 5 an enlarged illustration of a detail of a cross -section through a seat cover of a vehicle seat according to Fig 1; and Fig 6 an exemplified embodiment for manufacturing a vehicle seat according to Fig 1 Fig 1 shows an exemplified embodiment of a vehicle seat 1 having a seat cover with a so -called piped visual appearance, wherein reference symbol 2 designates a backrest and reference symbol 3 a seating surface In the exemplified embodiment shown both the backrest 2 and the seating surface 3 are kept with the piped visual appearance, i e. both the backrest 2 and the seating surface 3 comprise structures designated as pipes 5 a nd 6 respectively The vehicle seat 1 comprises a seat cover designated in Fig 4 and Fig 5 by reference number 7 having a covering material 20 and a cushion underlay 10 arranged beneath the covering material Fig 2 shows an exemplified embodiment of a cus hion underlay 10 for the backrest 2 of the vehicle seat 1 The cushion underlay 10 advantageously comprises expanded foam or advantageously consists of expanded foam In the cushion underlay 10 grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 having a width in particular of about 5 mm are provided which can be milled into place, for example. The periodic structure formed by the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 is arranged slightly off centre, wherein in the present exemplified embodiment the spacing between the left-hand rim RL and the groove 11 is a little greater than the spacing between the right-hand rim RR and the groove 16.</p>
<p>In the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 cushion underlay marks 17 and 18 are provided Alternatively or additionally corresponding cushion underlay mar ks may also be arranged beside the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 as illustrated by way of example by means of the cushion underlay marks designated by reference symbols 17A and 18A Fig 3 shows an exemplified embodiment of a covering material 20 for the backrest 2. The covering material 20 may comprise leather, synthetic leather and/or a textile and/or another material usable as upper material and/or commonly used material or consist thereof Corresponding to the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 of the cush ion underlay 10 the covering material 20 comprises in sections in the present exemplified embodiment weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, wherein, however, the spacing between the weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 is greater than the spacing betwee n the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 In doing this the spacing between the weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 is in particular 10% to 140% of the spacing between the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16. The covering material 20 may, for example, be weake ned in that it is cut into, perforated or -as in the present exemplified embodiment -cut through.</p>
<p>The weakened point 21 in the present exemplified embodiment is divided into five sections 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E which are each arranged at a distance of 2 cm from one another.</p>
<p>The sections 21A and 21E are 4 cm long, sections 21B and 21D are 8 cm long and section 21C is 10cm long At the beginning and end of a weakening or a weakened point 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 or at the beginning and end of a section 21 A, 21 B, 21C, 21 D, 21 E of a weakening or a weakened point 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 the covering material 20 comprises a covering material mark 31, 32. A covering material mark 31, 32 may be, for example, an incision, a coloured mark or -as in the present exe mplified embodiment -a hole through the covering material 20 The covering material 20 is folded on the weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 These folded weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 or the sections 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E thereof are each exemplified embodiments of a folding point as defined in the claims As illustrated in Fig 4 and Fig 5, the covering material 20 is then sewn to the cushion underlay 10 by means of a seam 43 covered by the covering material 20 in the region of the folded weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24,25,26 in the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 Here Fig 4 and Fig 5 show an illustration of a detail of a cross -section through the seat cover 7 of the vehicle seat 1 along the section line designated in Fig 3 by the reference symbol S, wherein Fig 4 shows a simplified sketch of the principle and Fig 5 shows an enlarged and more detailed illustration of a detail marked in Fig 4 by the dotted circle 40 The seat cover 7 is correspondingly manufactured with respect to the seating surface 3 Fig 6 shows an exemplified embodiment for manufacturing the vehicle seat I In this in a step the cushion underlay 10 is trimmed In addition the grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 are milled and the cushion underlay marks 17 and 18 are made. St ep 50 is followed by a step 51 in which the covering material 20 is cut into shape In a step 52 the weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and the corresponding covering material marks 31, 32 are then incised into the covering material 20 Step 50 may als o ensue after steps 51 and 52 or at the same time as these.</p>
<p>Step 53 follows in which -as illustrated in Fig 5 with reference to the example of the groove 15 -the covering material 20 is folded and laid out at the folded weakened point 25 on an edge 41 of the groove 15 in such a way that the covering material marks in the covering material 20 assigned to the groove 25 [sic] are aligned on the cushion underlay marks of the groove 25 [sic]. In a step 54 the covering material 20 is then sewn by means of a se wing foot, which produces the seam 43 covered by the covering material 20, in the groove 15 in the region of the folded weakened point 25 to the cushion underlay 10, wherein reference symbol 15A in Fig 2 designates a virtual line along which the later seam 43 runs During sewing the sewing foot is taken along the edge 41 as a stop edge. The distance between the seam 43 and the folded weakened point 25 or the edge 41 corresponds approximately to the width of the sewing foot and in the present exemplified emb odiment is approximately 4 mm so that the seam 43 Is arranged off centre in the groove 15. In doing this the spacing between the seam 43 and the edge 41 of the groove 15 facing towards the folded weakened point 25 (folding point) is more than twice, and in fact in the present exemplified embodiment approximately four times, the spacing between the seam 43 and an edge 42 of the groove 15 facing away from the folded weakened point 25 (folding point) Steps 53 and 54 ensue one after the other for all weakened points 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and grooves 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, wherein the covering material 20 is first of all folded along the weakened point 21 and the folded weakened point 21 is then sewn in the groove 11 to the cushion underlay 10 along a virtual line designated in Fig 2 by the reference symbol hA After this the covering material 20 is folded along the weakened point 22 and the folded weakened point 22 is then sewn in the groove 12 to the cushion underlay 10 along a virtual line designated in Fig 2 by reference symbol 12A After this the covering material 20 is folded along the weakened point 23 and the folded weakened point 23 is then sewn in the groove 13 to the cushion underlay 10 along a virtual line designated in Fig 2 by reference symbol 13 A. After this the covering material 20 is folded along the weakened point 24 and the folded weakened point 24 is then sewn in the groove 14 to the cushion underlay 10 along a virtual line designated in Fig 2 by reference symbol 14A After this the covering material 20 is folded -as already described -along the weakened point 25 and the folded weakened point 25 is then sewn in the groove 15 to the cushion underlay 10 along the virtual line 15A Finally the covering material 20 is folded along the weakened point 26 and the folded weakened point 26 is then sewn in the groove 16 to the cushion underlay 10 along a virtual line designated in Fig 2 by reference symbol 1 6A With reference to steps 50, 51, 52, 53 and 54 the manufacture of the seat cover 7 has been described with respect to the backrest 2. The seat cover 7 is also manufactured with respect to the seating surface 3 in analogous fashion Following this in a step 55 the vehicle seat I is manufactured using the seat cover 7 with respect to the back rest 2 and the seating surface 3 Taking simplicity and clarity into consideration, the elements in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Thus, for example, the magnitudes of some elements are exaggerated relative to other elements in order to impro ye comprehension of the exemplified embodiments of the present invention List of reference symbols 1 Vehicle seat 2 Backrest 3 Seating surface 5, 6 Pipe 7 Seat cover Cushion underlay 11,12,13,14, 15, 16 Groove hA, 12A, 13A, 14A, iSA, 16A Line 17, 17A, 18, 18A Cushion underlay mark Covering material 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 Weakened point 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D,21E Section 31, 32 Covering material mark Circle 41,42 Edge ofa groove 43 Seam 50,51,52,53, 54, 55 Step RL Left-hand rim RR Right-hand rim S Section line</p>