Engineered leather for airbag, steering wheel, and seatbelt applications

Abstract

Methods of covering portions of an automobile interior with an engineered leather are provided. When a mold of the appropriate shape is provided, a cell paste can be placed therein and grown into a leather, which can be tanned and treated to produce a suitable covering for a portion of an automobile interior, such as a steering wheel, an airbag cover, or a seat belt assembly. A method of growing a seamless automobile component cover in situ is disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A covering for an article, the article having an outer surface, the covering comprising at least one layer of at least one type of engineered leather, the engineered leather having been cultured on a surface of a preconstructed mold, the mold having similar dimensions to the article to be covered. 
     
     
         2 . The covering of  claim 1  wherein the mold has an top portion and a bottom portion, a cell growth space being defined between the top portion and the bottom portion, the engineered leather being cultured in the cell growth space and being preshaped therein. 
     
     
         3 . The covering of  claim 2  wherein the article is a portion of an automobile interior. 
     
     
         4 . The covering of  claim 3  wherein the article comprises a steering wheel. 
     
     
         5 . The covering of  claim 3  wherein the article comprises an airbag cover. 
     
     
         6 . The covering of  claim 3  wherein the article comprises a portion of a safety belt assembly. 
     
     
         7 . The covering of  claim 6  wherein the article comprises a buckle assembly of a safety belt assembly. 
     
     
         8 . The covering of  claim 1  wherein the covering comprises two or more types of engineered leather. 
     
     
         9 . The covering of  claim 1  wherein the covering undergoes a tanning process. 
     
     
         10 . A method of covering an article with at least one layer of at least one type of engineered leather comprising the steps of:
 providing a mold having a top portion and a bottom portion;   providing a cell aggregate and placing the cell aggregate on the bottom portion of the mold;   providing a quantity of tissue culture medium to the cell aggregate;   placing the top portion of the mold over the cell aggregate;   placing the mold in a chamber adapted to allow for cell growth;   allowing the cells to grow until they form an engineered leather within the mold; and   processing the leather to form a covering for an article.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the cell aggregate comprises epithelial cells. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the cell aggregate comprises a cell paste. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the cell aggregate comprises at least one elongated sheet of cells. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10  wherein collagen is exogenously supplied to the cell aggregate. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  comprising a plurality of elongate sheets of cells comprising a first sheet of cells and a second sheet of cells, the second sheet of cells being posited over the first sheet of cells, a layer of collagen being provided between the first sheet of cells and the second sheet of cells. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the cell aggregate is formed from a skin punch from at least one donor animal. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10  wherein the processing step comprises tanning. 
     
     
         18 . A method of forming a preshaped engineered leather for covering an article with at least one layer of at least one type of engineered leather comprising the steps of:
 providing an article having an outer surface;   providing a mold having an inner surface for growing cells;   providing a cell aggregate and placing the cell aggregate on the inner surface of the mold and on the outer surface of the article;   providing a quantity of tissue culture medium to the cell aggregate;   placing the article in a chamber adapted to allow for cell growth;   allowing the cells to grow until they form an engineered leather within the mold and on the surface of the article; and   removing the mold.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the preshaped engineered leather defines a seamless covering for the article. 
     
     
         20 . An engineered leather having a portion which is cylindrical in shape formed by the steps of placing a cell paste on a cell-growth surface of a substantially cylindrical mold, placing the mold in an incubator, permitting cell growth until a substantially cylindrical leather is formed, removing the substantially cylindrical leather from the mold, and treating the leather.