Eurostyle Systems, an international automotive supplier, specialized in the development and production of modules or parts for the interior and exterior of vehicles in plastic and leather, has naturally focused on the research and development of innovative solutions in these two materials.
By focusing on innovation as the core of its development strategy and by registering several patents for solutions that can be seen in the passenger compartment, the research and development department reinforces the value of the company by adding a real performance indicator and allowing it to hold a monopoly on the exploitation of its ideas.
The collaborative work of the innovation, engineering and design teams has resulted in the registration of five patents in 2021.
The patents have been classified into 2 themes:
– Structured decorative surfaces
– Process and product optimization
– The “Structured Decorative Surfaces”
The “Design Decoration Structured Appearance” patent: Eurostyle Systems has worked on industrial solutions to manufacture structured decoration surfaces. The concept involves a combination of sewing and sheathing: all the decorative” strips “are cut and assembled before the gluing operation on curved surfaces.
The research on the theme of appearance design was developed after an in-depth analysis of the various concept cars and the general trends of the automotive market.
The aim is to extend the possibilities of decoration, embellishment or enrichment of certain interior parts in leather or imitation leather in order to equip high-end vehicles.
Door panels, seat covers, dashboards, many parts can be embellished without any deterioration of the quality or safety of the passengers.
The “3D Design” patent: As the appearance is a determining criterion of the act of purchase, Eurostyle Systems proposes possibilities of decoration in positive or negative relief, easily integrated in the manufacturing in small series with controlled manufacturing costs.
The innovation involves a process for decorating interior parts of vehicles such as door panels or dashboards using leather scraps.
By offering this large choice of 3D decorations, Eurostyle Systems works for a more advanced personalization of the vehicles without limits to the imagination and applicable to many visible parts inside the vehicle.
The “3D sewing” patent: The idea is to combine sewing and design while controlling costs. This process allows for the 3D sewing of important parts of a vehicle’s interior, such as armrests or door panels, and allows for rapid customization in response to changes in vehicle design.
The possibilities of decoration are endless but guarantee a high level of perceived quality. The process consists of sewing through the plastic to get a perfect straightness and positioning. The challenge was to perfectly fit the curves of the pieces, from the most complex to the simplest.
The customization of the vehicle is even more possible, as the sewing machines can be programmed to adapt to the part as quickly as possible.
Product/process optimization
The “Armrest Cover” patent:Eurostyle Systems manufactures and equips many vehicles with armrests for central console. In the quest for continuous improvement on all these projects, the teams have been working on this product which requires a lot of fastidious handling.
The innovation consists in improving the quality of the product while improving the working conditions of the operators.
Before this innovation, the armrests were covered manually with great difficulty to obtain a perfect covering without apparent defects.
With the innovative process developed by the teams, this manufacturing step is now less painful for the operators, the tension of the textile is now homogenized by friction on the perimeter of the part and a repositionable fastening device is now used at the back of the part, which significantly helps the padding of the part.
The manual stretching of the textile is thus replaced by a stretching
thus limiting the musculoskeletal disorders of the operators working on this
product. This patent led to a real manufacturing process currently
in place at Eurostyle Systems Tangier (Morocco).
The “Clipping Systems” patent: The state of the art consists of fitting a plastic handle onto a metal lever, generating assembly forces and play between two parts.
The objective is to make this assembly more robust and to facilitate disassembly.
The innovation (the patent) is to clip by arc-boutement to allow a catch up of the movement by flexible blade and an easy dismantling with a tool.
Eurostyle Systems will thus propose solutions of polyamide clips easy to assemble, repair or disassemble with conical surfaces for the assembly. In concrete terms, this solution can be applied to a lift handle (to raise or lower the seats).
This is an innovation that solves the problem of broken seat handles and will be proposed to our customers in future requests for proposals.
In 2022, Eurostyle Systems will present its patents and their real application in many vehicles.
The goal for 2022 is to file as many patents as possible.
Isabelle VALENTIN – CTO –says: “As innovation has always been a priority for Eurostyle Systems, we have made every effort to file these patents, which focus on environmentally friendly solutions, guaranteeing passenger safety while demonstrating our ability to develop our own solutions for vehicle interiors & exteriors”.
Régis DUPLESSY – Technical Center Director specifies ” We anticipate the very fast evolutions of the automotive market, by taking into account the safety, aesthetic and ecological aspects “.
