Thoracic Support Assembly for a Seat Back

Abstract

A thoracic support assembly for a seat back of a seat assembly. The thoracic support assembly may include a cover and a thoracic support pad. The thoracic support pad may be movable with respect to the cover and may be configured to support at least a portion of a thoracic region of a user's spine.

1 . A thoracic support assembly for a seat back of a seat assembly, the thoracic support assembly comprising:
 a backing adapted to be disposed on the seat back, the backing having an upper end and a lower end disposed opposite the upper end;   a cover that is disposed proximate the backing, wherein the cover has a first cover surface disposed proximate the backing, a second cover surface that is disposed opposite the first cover surface, and a first slot; and   a thoracic support pad that is moveably disposed between the backing and the cover, wherein the thoracic support pad has a first adjustment tab that extends through the first slot and is disposed proximate the second cover surface for adjusting a position of the thoracic support pad.   
     
     
         2 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 1  wherein the first slot extends from the first cover surface to the second cover surface of the cover and is disposed between the lower end and the upper end of the backing. 
     
     
         3 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 1  wherein the cover has a first lateral edge and a second lateral edge disposed opposite the first lateral edge, wherein the first slot is disposed between and spaced apart from the first lateral edge and the second lateral edge. 
     
     
         4 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 3  wherein the thoracic support pad includes a backing plate and a thoracic pad disposed on the backing plate, wherein the backing plate is disposed proximate the backing and the thoracic pad is disposed proximate the cover. 
     
     
         5 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 4  wherein the first adjustment tab extends from the backing plate toward the first lateral edge. 
     
     
         6 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 1  wherein the cover has a second slot that is disposed opposite and spaced apart from the first slot and the thoracic support pad has a second adjustment tab that is disposed opposite the first adjustment tab and extends through the second slot. 
     
     
         7 . A thoracic support assembly for a seat back of a seat assembly, the thoracic support assembly comprising:
 a cover adapted to be disposed on the seat back, the cover having a first cover surface that is adapted to face toward the seat back, a second cover surface disposed opposite the first cover surface, an upper end, and a lower end disposed opposite the upper end;   an upper mounting feature that is disposed proximate the upper end of the cover and adapted to mount the thoracic support assembly to the seat back;   a thoracic support pad that is positionable on the first cover surface; and   an engagement feature that couples the thoracic support pad to the cover proximate the first cover surface and permits the thoracic support pad to be positioned to support at least a portion of a thoracic region of a user's spine.   
     
     
         8 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 7  wherein the thoracic support pad is completely disposed above a lumbar region of the user's spine. 
     
     
         9 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 7  wherein the thoracic support pad includes a backing plate and a thoracic pad disposed on the backing plate, wherein the backing plate is adapted to be disposed on a trim cover of the seat back and the thoracic pad is disposed between the backing plate and the engagement feature. 
     
     
         10 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 7  wherein the engagement feature is disposed on the thoracic support pad and directly engages the first cover surface. 
     
     
         11 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 7  wherein the engagement feature is disposed on the thoracic support pad and engages and attaches to an engagement feature that is disposed on the first cover surface. 
     
     
         12 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 7  wherein the thoracic support pad is manually positionable on the cover by peeling the engagement feature off of the first cover surface and manually positioning and reattaching the thoracic support pad to the first cover surface. 
     
     
         13 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 7  wherein the thoracic support pad is attachable to the cover only in the thoracic region. 
     
     
         14 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of the first adjustment tab is disposed on the second cover surface. 
     
     
         15 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 1  wherein the backing and the cover cooperate to define a pocket that receives the thoracic support assembly. 
     
     
         16 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 15  wherein the first cover surface faces toward the backing, a first portion of the first adjustment tab that is disposed in the pocket is disposed on the first cover surface, and a second portion of the first adjustment tab that extends through the first slot and is disposed outside of the pocket is disposed on the second cover surface. 
     
     
         17 . The thoracic support assembly of  claim 6  wherein the backing and the cover cooperate to define a pocket that receives the thoracic support assembly, the first cover surface faces toward the backing, portions of the first adjustment tab and the second adjustment tab that are disposed in the pocket are disposed on the first cover surface, and portions of the first adjustment tab and the second adjustment tab that extend through the second slot and are disposed outside of the pocket are disposed on the second cover surface.