Tie down cord assembly and method of making and using same.

(54) Title: DESCENDING ROPES ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF INSTALLING IT.

(54) Title: TIE DOWN CORD ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF MAKING AND USING SAME.

(57) Summary

Drop rope mounts and methods for installing them are described. In accordance with some aspects, the tie down rope assembly includes webbing having a tunnel portion and a flat portion, the tunnel portion configured to receive a slotted rope, and the flat portion configured to bond to the fabric. The grooved cord curls in and out of the tunnel portion and is configured to interact with a seat frame or other suitable structure to secure the fabric to the frame of a seat. The tie down rope mount is configured to be universal and can be used with seat frames that have different dimensions and / or configurations.

(57) Abstract

Disclosed are fie down cord assemblies and methods of assembling same. According to some aspects, the fie down cord assembly ineludes a webbing having a tunnel portion and a fiat portion, with the tunnel portion configured to receive a slotted cord and the fiat portion configured to attach to fabric. The slotted cord weaves in and out of the tunnel portion and is configured to interact with a seat frame or other suitable structure to secure the fabric to a seat frame. The fie down cord assembly is configured to be universal so that it can be used with seat trames having different dimensions and / or configurations.

Mexican Institute of Industrial Property

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PATENT TITLE NO. 345487

Headlines):

YKK CORPORATION

Home:

1, Kandaizumi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8642, JAPAN

Denomination

DOWN ROPE ASSEMBLY AND METHOD OF INSTALLING IT.

Classification lnt.CI.8: A47C31 / 02; B60N2 / 58; B68G7 / 05; D03D11 / 00; D03D41 / 00

Inventor (s):

THANH PHAT NGUYEN; TIMOTHY M. RUSELL; LARRY W. THOMPSON; JOHN E. JENNINGS; BRIAN MICHEAL LANG; TERRY LOUIS BROWN

LEGAL

Number:

Date of presentation

ΠΟΓαϊ

MX / a / 2012/013303 November 2012

1403

PRIORITY

Country;

Date:

Number:

November 2011 US

13/300,210

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Validity: Twenty years

Expiration Date: November 15, 2032.

The reference patent is granted based on articles 1, 2, section V, b^c useful fraction, and 59 of the Industrial Property Law.

In accordance with article 23 of the Industrial Property Law, this patent is valid for twenty years, non-extendable, starting from the date of presentation of the application and will be subject to the agreement of I. ' both in order to keep in force the rights that the owner subscribes to, the titleholder does it with the foundation of the provisions of articles 8 "(notions III and 7 bis 2 of the Industrial Property Law (DÍrio Oficial de la Federación (DCF) 06/27/1391 , resumed on 08/02/1994 10/25/1996, 12/26/1997 05/17/1999, 01/2004, 06/16/2005 ^ 01/25/2036, 05/06/2009, 06/01 / 2010, 08/18/2010, 08/28/2010, 0/27/2012 and 04/09/2012); items M 3^or fraction V subsection a), 4^or and 12th fractions I and. III of the Regulations of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (DOF 12/14/1999, amended on ..... _.. - .. jojrpeojfln and subsection a), 16 sections l and Ul and 30 of the Organic Statute amended on 10/10 / 2002, 07/29/2004, 08/04/2004 and 09/13/2007); one^or, 3^orand 5^or Subsection a) of the Agreement that delegates powers to the Deputy General Directors. Coordinator, Divisional Directors, Heads of Regional Offices, Divisional Deputy Directors, Departmental Coordinators and other subordinates of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property. (DOF 12/15/1999, amended on 02/04/2000, 07/29/2004, 08/04/2004 and 09/13/2007).

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Issue Date: February 2, 2017

THE DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OF PATENTS

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NAHANNY CANAL REYES

Arenal No

Puebíc Sar XachrrJcc

LOÜ Pise 1 &lt;3 María Tepepai C P. 16020

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DESCENDING ROPES ASSEMBLY AND METHOD

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The modalities generally refer to mounts of downdrafts for attaching fabric or other covering to a seat or other structure and methods of installing them.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cloth or other suitable covering is commonly attached to an underlying frame of a vehicle seat during assembly of the seat. The underside of a common seat frame has a plurality of anchors, such as hooks or posts. In some cases, the fabric is attached to the hoop by means of a webbing that has a rope. In particular, the webbing is sewn to the fabric and the fabric is secured to the seat frame by hooking the rope around the anchors that exist in the frame. In those configurations, each end of the rope commonly has an attachment mechanism such as a fabric loop, crimp collar, or molded hook that is then secured by hogring staples or otherwise to the underside of the seat to Position the webbing and fabric mounting securely with respect to the seat frame. Because the ends of the rope need special treatment, the webbing must be prefabricated for the particular seat frame with which it is to be used. In particular, each piece of webbing must be cut, fabricated, and then transported to a specific length to fit the particular seat with which it is to be used. Because there are multiple seat cover designs that require parts of different lengths, a user needs to order many part numbers and many different sizes of webbing, which increases inventory and storage costs, also results in space restrictions on user facilities.

COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION

The terms invention, the invention, this invention and the present invention used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims mentioned below. It is to be understood that the statements containing these terms do not limit the subject matter described herein or limit the meaning or scope of the claims mentioned below. The embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims mentioned below, not by this compendium. This compendium is a high-level summary of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are described later in the Detailed Description section below. This compendium is not intended to identify essential keys or characteristics of the claimed topic, if it is intended to be used only to determine the scope of the claimed topic. The subject should be understood with reference to the appropriate parts of the entire specification of this patent, any or all of the drawings, and each claim.

In one aspect, a tie-down rope assembly is provided for securing fabric to a vehicle seat, the assembly consists of: a webbing having a tunnel portion and a flat portion configured to bond to the fabric; a chord containing a plurality of slotted sections and a plurality of flat sections, wherein the adjacent slotted sections are separated by one of the flat sections, wherein each slotted section has a top and a bottom, where the string is received within the tunnel portion of the strap and curls out of the tunnel portion and back toward the tunnel portion at predetermined intervals along the strap; and wherein the rope is configured to join the underside of the seat between the two ends of the strap in a first form of attachment and wherein the rope is configured to attach to the seat at the two ends of the strap in a second form of union that is different from the first form of union.

According to another aspect, the second form of attachment consists of separating the upper part of one of the slotted sections from the lower part of that slotted section to form a loop, wherein the loop is configured to join a component associated with the bottom side of seat.

According to another aspect, the first form of attachment is to loop the rope around a component associated with the underside of the seat.

According to another aspect, the rope is provided in rolls or spools.

<img file="MX345487B_D0007.tif" />

IMPI

MFÍ'ICAMO INSTITUTE

CS LA ΐη &lt;'? ΙΪΟΑΟ IKD'JSTM / X

According to another aspect, the mont-a-jg, „of 3 .. xtiaejcdaa descending for tie down is provided in rolls or spools.

According to another aspect, the upper part of the slotted sections has a tension property that is different from the tension property of the lower part of the slotted sections.

According to another aspect, the upper parts of the slotted sections contain a plurality of warp threads that are nylon or polyester and wherein the lower parts of the slotted sections contain a plurality of warp threads that are the other ( sic) made of nylon or polyester.

According to another aspect, the rope contains a plurality of warp threads, a first series of weft threads, and a second series of weft threads, wherein, in the flat sections of the rope, the plurality of threads of the warp are woven together using both the first set of weft threads and the second set of the weft threads, and wherein, in the slotted sections of the rope, some of the plurality of warp threads are woven together

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with the first series of weft threads to form the tops of the slotted sections and wherein the remainder of the plurality of warp threads are woven together with the second series of weft threads to form the bottoms of the slotted sections.

A method of installing a mooring dipper rope assembly is also provided consisting of:

providing a chord containing a plurality of slotted sections and a plurality of flat sections, wherein the contiguous slotted sections are separated by one of the flat sections and wherein each of the slotted sections contains an upper part and a lower part that together define a loop; providing the rope within a tunnel portion of a webbing to form the drop rope mooring assembly; wherein the rope curls out of the webbing at predetermined exit points and the rope curls back towards the webbing at predetermined entry points; securing the mooring drop rope assembly to a fabric; attaching a portion of the fabric to an underside of a vehicle seat by, at various locations between the ends of the strap, securing the rope

MEXICAN INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRY PROPERTY!

curls out of the webbing at predetermined exit points to anchors provided on the underside of the vehicle seat; and at or near the ends of the webbing, cutting the rope along the loop of one of the slotted sections and attaching the string to the underside of the vehicle seat through the loop of the preceding slotted section.

According to another aspect of the method, the rope is provided in spools or rolls.

According to another aspect of the method, the mooring dipper assembly is provided on spools or rolls.

According to another aspect of the method, the strap is attached to the underside of the vehicle seat in a first form of attachment between the ends of the strap and the strap is attached to the underside of the vehicle seat in a second form of attachment at or near the ends of the webbing, where the first form of attachment is different from the second form of attachment.

According to another aspect of the method, the second way of joining consists of separating the upper part of the

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- .MtirwiWlTI · * · *

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INSTITUTE V.2Xí CANT Dt LA KTriHLWINL'JSOJaL grooved section of the bottom .___ of .._ .. the — grooved section and attach the rope to the bottom side of the seat through the loop.

According to another aspect of the method, the first form of attachment is to loop the rope around an anchor associated with the underside of the seat.

In accordance with another aspect of the method, the cord is crimped within the webbing such that at least a slotted portion of the cord is crimped out of the web at at least some of the predetermined exit points.

According to another aspect of the method, the rope is curled towards the tunnel portion of the webbing.

A mooring dipper rope assembly is also provided consisting of: a fabric having a flat part and a tubular part; a cord having a plurality of weft threads, a first set of weft threads, and a second series of weft threads; wherein the plurality of weft threads are woven together using both the first series of weft threads and the second series of weft threads

IMPI

INSTITUTO MEXICANO £ 2 ·· «

DE LA í Wro *^Dinp'jstkial - to form a plurality of flat sections d_p ^Ί^ rope; and wherein some of the plurality of weft threads are woven together with the first series of weft threads to form an upper portion of a grooved section of the rope and wherein the remainder of the plurality of weft threads are they weave together with the second series of weft yarns to form a lower part of the slotted section, wherein there are a plurality of slotted sections and the flat sections separate the slotted sections from each other; wherein the tops of the slotted sections have a first tensile property that is different from a second tensile property of the bottoms of the slotted sections; and where the rope is received into the fabric.

According to another aspect, the upper part weft threads are nylon or polyester and the lower part weft threads are the other nylon or polyester.

In accordance with another aspect, the rope is configured to be attached to a vehicle seat through a first attachment mechanism between the ends of the fabric and wherein the rope is configured to attach to the

<img file="MX345487B_D0011.tif" />

vehicle seat through a second attachment mechanism, at or near the ends of the fabric, where the second attachment mechanism is different from the first attachment mechanism.

According to another aspect, the second joining mechanism consists of separating the upper part of one of the slotted sections from the lower part of that slotted section to form a loop and joining the rope to the underside of the vehicle seat through the loop. .

Also provided is a tie-down dipper assembly for securing fabric to a seat containing a plurality of slotted sections and a plurality of connecting sections, wherein the contiguous slotted sections are separated by one of the connecting sections, wherein each Grooved section consists of an upper part and a lower part, wherein the rope is configured to be attached to a lower side of the seat at or near the two ends of the rope by a first attachment mechanism formed by one of the slotted sections wherein the top of one of the slotted sections is separated from the bottom of one of the slotted sections to form a loop and

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<img file="MX345487B_D0013.tif" />

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

FROM INDUSTRIAL PAUNEOAD where the loop is configured to "Join" a component associated with the underside of the seat and where a height of the rope is similar to a width of the rope.

According to another aspect, the rope is configured to be attached to the underside of the seat between the two ends of the rope by a second attachment mechanism, where the first attachment mechanism is different from the second attachment mechanism.

According to another aspect, the second attachment mechanism consists in forming a loop with the rope around an anchor associated with the underside of the seat. fifteen

According to another aspect, looping the rope around an anchor consists of looping both the top 1 and the bottom of at least one of the grooved sections around the anchor.

According to another aspect, the slotted sections extend through the entire length of the rope at regular intervals.

<img file="MX345487B_D0014.tif" />

IMPI

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

According to another aspect, the rope is provided in rolls or spools.

According to another aspect, the upper parts of the slotted sections have a tensile property that is different from the tension property of the lower parts of the slotted sections.

A method of installing a mooring dipper rope assembly is also provided consisting of: (a) Providing the tie-down rope assembly on a coil or coil, the tie-down rope assembly contains a plurality of slotted sections and a plurality of connecting sections, wherein the adjacent slotted sections are separated by one of the connecting sections, wherein each of the slotted sections contains an upper part and a lower part; (b) determining a suitable length of the dipper rope assembly to be assembled with the seat cover; (c) cutting the mooring dipper assembly to the proper length; (d) separating the top of one of the slotted sections from the bottom of that slotted section to form a loop; (e) at or near both ends of the downdraft assembly of

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tie down, insert an associated component ^ &lt;~ »in a lower 1 of the seat through the loop; and (f) assembling the tie-downs assembly with the seat cover so that the tie-down tie-down assembly slidably engages with the seat cover.

According to another aspect, the method of installing a mooring dipper assembly further consists of, between two ends of the mooring downdraft assembly, forming a loop in the mooring downdraft assembly around one or more provided anchors. on the underside of the seat.

According to another aspect, looping the tie-down dipper assembly around the anchor consists of looping the top and bottom of at least one of the grooved sections around the anchor.

According to another aspect, the method of installing a mooring dipper assembly further consists of cutting the mooring dipper assembly in one of the slotted sections and where the step for inserting the component associated with the bottom side of the

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<img file="MX345487B_D0017.tif" />

Seat through loop consists of — inserting the component associated with the underside of the seat through the loop of the slotted section preceding the slotted section that was cut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

A possible and complete description, having the best mode for practicing the appended claims, directed to one skilled in the art is set forth more particularly in the remainder of the specification. The specification refers to the following attached figures, in which the use of like reference numerals in different figures is intended to show like or similar components.

Figure 1 is a photograph of a mooring drop rope assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 2 is a sample of a tie-down dipper assembly according to another embodiment.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a weave pattern of a portion of the rope of the assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a representation of the chord of the assembly of Figure 1.

Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view of a 5 tie-down dipper assembly of Figure 1, taken in a flat section of the rope.

Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of a downdraft mooring rope assembly of Figure 1, taken at 10 a grooved section of the rope.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the underside of a fabric mounted vehicle seat and tie down cord assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 7 is a flat fabric for a tie-down dipper assembly according to one embodiment.

Figure 8 is a flow chart of a weave pattern of the inward and outward curling locations of a tie-down dipper assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 9 is a diagram drawn for a mooring drop rope assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 10 is a flow diagram of a * rope weaving pattern according to one embodiment.

Figure 11 is a drawn diagram of a rope weaving pattern in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 12 is a weave diagram of a tie-down dipper assembly according to one embodiment.

Figure 13 is a drawn diagram of a tie-down dipper assembly in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a rope mounted with cloth in accordance with one embodiment.

Figure 15 is another perspective view of the assembly of Figure 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Drop rope mounts are provided to attach fabric, upholstery, or other coverings to a seat, furniture, or other suitable structure. As shown in Figures 1-2, the monta4® —— downhill lashing 10 includes a webbing 14 and a rope 12 that is interwoven with webbing 14. Instead of being a woven webbing, webbing 14 can be any suitable fabric such as leather, vinyl, etc. As shown in Figure 2, the webbing 14 has a flat portion 16 that is contiguous to a tunnel portion (also referred to as a tubular) 18. The rope 12 is received within the tunnel portion 18 and curls out of the tunnel. Tunnel portion 18 at predetermined locations corrugated outwardly (also referred to as exits) 46 and corrugated back toward tunnel portion 18 at predetermined locations corrugated inward (also referred to as entrances) 48 (see Figure 1). The rope 12 therefore is on the outer side of the webbing 14 along the outwardly corrugated portions 54 and is received within the webbing 14 along the inward corrugated portions 56 (see Figure 2). The distance between the wavy outward and wavy inward locations can vary. In some embodiments, the outwardly and inwardly corrugated locations are spaced apart to make the mooring rope assembly a universal type structure, as described in more detail below. The amount of rope 12 that undulates

<img file="MX345487B_D0018.tif" />

IMPI

MEXICAN INSTITUTE

FROM THE PU.OF1ECAO INDUSTRIAL out of the webbing 14 in the places that curl outward, as well as the characteristics of the rope that curls out of the webbing 14, may also vary. For example, the amount of rope and the characteristics of the rope curling out of the webbing shown in Figure 1 is different from the embodiment in Figure 2 (although similar reference numerals are used to show the similar components).

Figures 3-4 show the corrugated rope 12. The rope 12 has the flat sections 20 that are separated from each other by slotted sections 22. Each slotted section 22 has a top 24 and a bottom 26 that together define a loop 28. As shown in Figure 3, the slotted cord 12 has a plurality of weft yarns 40, a first series a first series of weft yarns 42, and a second series of weft yarns 44. The yarns of weft 40 are woven together using the first series of yarns of weft 42 and the second series of yarns of weft 44 to form the flat sections 20 of rope 12. Some of the yarns of weft 40 are woven together with the first set of weft yarns 42 to form the top 24 of the slotted section 22, while the

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The remainder of the warp yarns are woven together with the second set of weft yarns 44 to form the bottom 26 of the slotted section 22. In this form, the string 12 is formed by a double weft insertion process. In some embodiments, the slotted sections 22 are formed using a Z-shaped shed and the flat sections 20 are formed using a normal shed.

In some embodiments, the top 24 of the slotted sections 22 has a tensile property that is different from the bottom 26. In some cases, this is because weft yarns of different materials form the top 24 and the bottom 26. For example, in some embodiments, the upper warp threads 24 are made of polyester or nylon or a blend of elastic material, while the lower warp threads 26 are made of polyester or nylon or a material. different elastic material mix. Having different tension properties for the top and bottom sections allows the top and bottom to automatically separate from each other to form a loop 28. Specifically, nylon and polyester have different elongation rates and different

<img file="MX345487B_D0020.tif" />

recovery rates and therefore using different materials for each of the top and bottom causes them to jump to create a loop 28. Alternatively, loop 28 can be formed using different sized weft materials for tops and bottoms or using different knitting patterns for tops and bottoms. In some embodiments, the warp threads of both the top 24 and the bottom 26 are of the same material (for example, the warp threads of both the top and bottom can all be nylon or all polyester or any other suitable material or combination of materials). The weft yarns can be polyester, nylon, or any other suitable material or combination of materials.

Rope 12 as described above is woven with various other warp and weft yarns to create webbing L8. Figure 5A is a cross-sectional view of the dipper rope assembly 10 taken along a flat section 20 of the rope 12, while Figure 5B is a cross-sectional view of the dipper rope assembly 10 taken along of a slotted section 22 of string 12. As shown

<img file="MX345487B_D0021.tif" />

in Figure 5A, the chord 12 has a height H which is practically the same as the width W of the chord.

Figure 8 shows a non-limiting flow chart (also known as a chain diagram or flow chart) for the outward curled and inwardly curved parts 54, 56 of the webbing 14. The outward curled parts are referred to as Dcout in Figure 8 and the inward wavy parts are referred to as Dcin in Figure 8. The horizontal rows of the squares represent weft threads and the vertical columns (corresponding to the harnesses of a loom) represent groups of warp threads. The flowchart in Figure 8 shows a nine-harness loom, with harnesses 1-4 receiving the warp threads that create flat 16 of webbing 18, harness 5 receiving rope 12, and harnesses 6- 9 receiving the warp threads that create the tunnel portion 18 of the webbing. When a square is shaded, it indicates that the harness rises as the weft yarn is thrown so that the weft yarn is above the weft yarn. As shown in Figure 8, during the Dcout process, the harness 5 is raised so that the rope 12 is not woven with the warp threads along the part being

<img file="MX345487B_D0022.tif" />

<img file="MX345487B_D0023.tif" />

INSTITUTO MEXICANO DE LA PROPIEDAD INDUSTRIAL ripples outward. This allows the rope 12 to exit the webbing 14 at the outwardly curled location 46, as shown in Figures 1-2. In some embodiments, the weave pattern on the outward curling parts can be modified so that it is easy to detect where the outward curling parts are (and thus where the rope 12 exits the webbing 14). For example, a diagonal weave can be used for the tunnel part in the parts that wave outwards. Along these lines, any suitable fabric can be used to create montage 10.

The non-limiting drawn diagram of Figure 9 shows the placement of wires in harnesses to produce one embodiment of the mooring drop rope assembly 10. The flow diagram of Figure 8 represents the action of the harnesses to create the woven assembly. The vertical axis of Figure 9 represents the harnesses of a shed used to manufacture the webbing of this particular embodiment. In this mode, nine harnesses are used. The horizontal axis in Figure 9 represents the threads that are used to create the montage, with the bottom line showing the number of times each section repeats. For example, the first

<img file="MX345487B_D0024.tif" />

The column in Figure 9 shows that the first wire is on the sixth harness frame, while the second wire is on the seventh harness frame. As mentioned above, harnesses 6-9 receive the warp threads that create the tunnel portion 18 of the webbing 14, harnesses 1-4 receive the warp threads that create the flat portion 16 of the webbing 14, and harness 5 receives rope 12.

A non-limiting weave plan of one embodiment of the mooring dipper rope assembly is shown in Figure 7, although many different weave plans can be used to create a suitable assembly. The fabric plan in Figure 7 shows a particular pattern that can be used to create a montage (shown for example in Figure 6). Different patterns can be used to create montages that have different configurations. For example, as described above, the lengths of the outward curling parts (represented by DCOUT in Figure 7) and the inward curling parts (represented by DCIN in Figure 7) can vary. The length of each part that curls out and in is shown in inches, with the number of times the section repeats

<img file="MX345487B_D0025.tif" />

MEXICAN institute.

OF THE PARTICULAR INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY Z shown in the column to the left of the column titled LENGTH (length).

In some embodiments, the webbing warp yarns 14 housed in harnesses 1-4 and 6-9 are polyester, although the warp yarns may be nylon or any other suitable material or combination of materials. Similarly, the weft threads used to create the webbing 14 can be polyester, nylon, or any other suitable material or combination of materials.

Figure 10 shows a non-limiting flow diagram for rope 12, which is prewoven prior to weaving with various warp and weft yarns to create web 14. The dashed squares 52 represent a middle shed harness position, allowing for double insertion of the weft to create the slotted sections 22 of the rope 12 (in other words, a first set of weft threads is woven with the upper warp threads and the second series of the weft threads is woven with the lower warp threads, as described above). Figure 11 shows a non-limiting weave plan of one embodiment of rope 12.

<img file="MX345487B_D0026.tif" />

for a mooring drop rope assembly while Figure 13 shows a non-limiting drawn diagram (harness plan) for it.

Figures 14-15 show an alternative embodiment of a mooring dipper rope assembly 100 where a strap such as strap 14 is not used. Instead, a notched cord 112, which is similar in configuration to cord 12 described above, is inserted between upholstery or other fabric 114 that has been folded over on itself. The rope 112 exits the fabric 114 at the cut parts 116.

Also described is a method of attaching the tie-down dipper assembly 10 to a vehicle seat. Figure 6 shows a non-limiting embodiment where a tie-down dipper assembly 10 has been sewn or otherwise attached to fabric, upholstery, and other covering 38 and then secured to the underside 34 of a vehicle seat frame 32. Specifically, as shown, the rope 12, which exits the webbing 14 at various places that undulate outwardly, loops around various anchors 36 present on the underside of the seat frame.

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<img file="MX345487B_D0028.tif" />

INST'T '! Τ? Ί MEXICANA Γ · ί! .A? St&gt; PIEDAI&gt; INDUSTRY I of the vehicle. In this way, the outward curling portions are spaced at predetermined intervals to match the design of the seat frame. The configuration of the outward and inward curling portions can be selected so that the mounting of tie downs 10 is essentially universal and can be used with pre-existing anchors of a number of different seat frames. In a non-limiting example, the outward curling portions are located approximately every two inches along the flange 14, or spaced far enough for the mounting to be universal so that it can be used with a number of racks of different seats.

In some embodiments, the entire cord 12 loops around the anchor 36 at junction locations between the ends 30 of the strap 14. At or near the ends of the strap 30, the cord 12 is cut into a slotted section 22 and a Hog pin 50 or other similar attachment structure is inserted into loop 28 of slotted section 22 preceding the one that was cut. In this form, the tie down dipper assembly 10 is anchored to the seat frame at the ends 30 of the webbing 14 without requiring any special treatment at the end of the webbing. Instead, the rope 12 itself is used to anchor the webbing (and attached fabric or upholstery) to the seat frame 32. Because no special treatment is required at the end of the webbing, the tie down dipper assembly is adjustable and can be used in any number of seating configurations and with seats having different dimensions. Furthermore, because no special end treatment is needed, both the rope and mooring drop rope assembly can be provided on spools or rolls.

Because the described Tunnel Tie Down Rope Assembly can be provided on rolls or spools and is universal and can be used with many different seat frames, customers can order only one part number and cut the assembly where needed to tailor it to the particular application, which reduces inventory and lowers space and storage requirements at the customer's premises. Furthermore, because no additional fabrication is needed for the end of the assembly, costs are lowered. Lastly, because the mooring dipper rope assembly is woven with the rope,

<img file="MX345487B_D0029.tif" />

1M? J.

ιριτο ^{, Ν}· ”OF LAfRO^flEDAl? ^D'1NDUSTIIAL no separate mounting of the strap is required, reducing labor costs.

Different arrangements of the components depicted in the figures or described above, as well as components and steps that are not shown or described are possible. Similarly, some features and sub-combinations are useful and can be used without reference to other features or sub-combinations. The embodiments of the invention have been described for illustrative and non-restrictive purposes and alternative embodiments will be apparent to readers of this patent. Accordingly, the disclosed invention is not limited to the embodiments described above or represented in the figures and various embodiments and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the following claims.

<img file="MX345487B_D0030.tif" />

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