MOLDED PLASTIC PANEL HAVING INTEGRATED SOFT-TOUCH ARMREST

摘要

Plastic automotive interior trim moldings such as door panels, and other components surrounding occupants, are made by integrating a localized elastomeric plastic or flexible-foam plastic (12) between an aesthetic plastic sheet (16) such as vinyl and a structural substrate plastic (18). The method includes forming an integrated armrest in a door panel by first bonding a flexible-foam armrest pad (12) to a plastic cover sheet (16) simultaneous to the forming of the cover sheet (16). The formed cover sheet (16) with attached pad (12), treated as a unit, is subsequently attached to a structural substrate (18) by an in-situ molding which simultaneously forms the substrate (18) and bonds the cover-pad assembly (16, 12) to the substrate (18). The resultant molding possesses the feature of being a unitized door panel (10) that integrates an aesthetic cover (16), a localized soft armrest (14), and a structural substrate (18). The outline of the localized soft area (14) is not visually detectable.