Haptic motor

Abstract

A method of forming a seat cushion of a vehicle seat includes locating a motor in a first portion of a housing, and positioning a second portion of the housing on the first portion of the housing, wherein one of the first and second portion of the housing includes a meltable feature located near a location of contact of the first and second portion. The meltable feature is melted to permanently secure the first and second portion together and provide a sealed housing that retains and seals the motor. The sealed housing is suspended in a mold with a rod. Liquid foam is poured into the mold, and the liquid foam is allowed to solidify to form a solid foam seat cushion that encapsulates the sealed housing and embeds the sealed housing in the foam cushion. The sealed housing prevents the liquid foam from contacting the motor.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of forming a seat cushion of a vehicle seat, comprising:
 locating a motor in a first portion of a housing;   positioning a second portion of the housing on the first portion of the housing, wherein one of the first and second portion of the housing includes a meltable feature located near a location of contact of the first and second portion;   melting the meltable feature to permanently secure the first and second portion together and provide a sealed housing that retains and seals the motor;   suspending the sealed housing in a mold with a rod;   pouring liquid foam into the mold and allowing the liquid foam to solidify to form a solid foam seat cushion that encapsulates the sealed housing and embeds the sealed housing in the foam cushion, wherein the sealed housing prevents the liquid foam from contacting the motor; and   removing the rod.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said allowing the liquid foam to solidify comprises heating the liquid foam. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the meltable feature comprises a bead extending around a perimeter of one of the first portion and the second portion of the housing. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein said melting the meltable feature comprises performing sonic welding on the bead to form a sonic weld. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the sonic weld melts the bead into a groove of the first or second portion. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the bead has a triangular cross-sectional shape. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the melted feature is located closer to an inner surface of the sealed housing than to an outer surface of the sealed housing. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising vibrating the motor within the seat cushion in response to a road event. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the seat cushion includes a seat portion having a substantially flat seating surface and a bolster on each side of the seat portion, and said suspending and pouring are performed such that the sealed motor assembly is located in one of the two bolsters. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said suspending the sealed housing in a mold comprises orienting the sealed housing such that a substantially flat surface of an upper one of the first and second housing portions is substantially parallel to a top surface of the seat cushion. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the substantially flat surface of said upper one of the first and second housing portions extends longitudinally in a direction parallel to a motor shaft of the motor. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 a sensor detecting a road event and sending a signal to a controller based on the detected road event; and   the controller receiving the signal from the sensor and sending another signal to the motor to cause the motor to vibrate within the seat cushion based on the detected road event.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said positioning the second portion of the housing on the first portion of the housing comprises abutting a rim of the first portion against a rim of the second portion along an outer perimeter of the housing. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a rim of one of the housing portions comprises a first ledge at an outer surface of said one of the housing portions, and a first projection at an inner surface of said one of the housing portions that extends beyond the first ledge;   the rim of the other of the housing portions comprises a second ledge at an inner surface of said other of the housing portions, and a second projection at an outer surface of said other of the housing portions that extends beyond the second ledge; and   said positioning comprises abutting the first projection against the second ledge, abutting the second projection against the first ledge, and abutting the first and second projections against each other.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said positioning comprises:
 arranging the outer surface of said one of the housing portions and the outer surface of said other of the housing portions to be flush with each other; and   arranging the inner surface of said one of the housing portions and the inner surface of said other of the housing portions to be flush with each other.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein said positioning comprises providing the meltable feature between the first projection and the second ledge or between the second projection and the first ledge for said melting. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid foam is a polyurethane foam. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second housing portions are made of nylon. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the first housing portion has a different shape than the second housing portion.