CN219467600U - Headrest and housing for a motor vehicle seat - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to a headrest for a motor vehicle seat, comprising a housing provided with a loudspeaker, said housing comprising at least a first housing and a second housing, each of the first housing and the second housing comprising two respective opposite faces, called inner face and outer face, the inner face of the first housing being placed facing the inner face of the second housing so as to define a cavity of the housing, the housing comprising at least one raised sound-insulating element (70) arranged in and/or outside the cavity.

Description

Headrest and housing for a motor vehicle seat

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a headrest for a vehicle seat, in particular for a motor vehicle seat. The utility model more particularly relates to a headrest for a seat comprising one or more integrated speakers.

Background

It is known to provide a motor vehicle seat headrest with a speaker integrated in the headrest. Thus, sound can be emitted as close as possible to the ears of the seat occupant. Such speakers are particularly useful for emitting sound from an on-board radio system of a motor vehicle.

Thus, by creating a private sound bubble, a seat equipped with integrated speakers can provide a personalized immersive experience and improve the comfort and safety of the vehicle occupants, the driver can focus on the road, while the passengers can enjoy their personal sound bubbles.

Such sound bubbles are more beneficial to autonomous vehicles where drivers may also wish to benefit from their private sound bubbles depending on the circumstances of the journey.

However, due to lack of space and type of material used, the sound emitted by such headrests may not meet the desired quality; therefore, the sound propagation in the headrest is very different from that in a conventional hi-fi (high fidelity) speaker.

Disclosure of Invention

The present utility model improves this situation.

To this end, a headrest for a motor vehicle seat is proposed, comprising a housing provided with a speaker, said housing having at least a first and a second housing, each of which comprises two respective opposite faces, called inner face and outer face, the inner face of the first housing being placed facing the inner face of the second housing so as to delimit a cavity of the housing, the housing comprising at least one raised sound-insulating element arranged in and/or outside the cavity.

The headrest according to the utility model thus ensures a better acoustic quality of the sound received by the vehicle occupant, in particular in the configuration of private sound bubbles.

According to another aspect, the at least one sound insulating element comprises a regular pattern of mesh.

According to another aspect, the regular pattern of webs includes ribs arranged parallel to one another.

According to another aspect, in the operating position, the rib extends in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction or in a direction intersecting the horizontal and vertical directions.

According to another aspect, the regular pattern of mesh includes ribs forming a continuous polygon.

According to another aspect, the ribs form a honeycomb structure.

According to another aspect, the thickness of each rib is between 1mm and 3mm, preferably between 1.5mm and 2.5mm.

According to another aspect, the height of each rib is between 1mm and 5mm, preferably between 2mm and 5mm.

According to another aspect, the ribs are arranged on the outer and/or inner faces of the first and second shells of the housing.

According to another aspect, the at least one sound insulating element comprises an additional portion of sound insulating material.

According to another aspect, the sound insulating material comprises a foam layer, preferably a semi-open cell polyurethane, and/or an aluminum butyl layer and/or a cotton layer.

The utility model also relates to a housing for a headrest of a motor vehicle seat, said housing comprising at least a first and a second housing, each of which comprises a respective opposite face, called inner face and outer face, the inner face of the first housing being placed facing the inner face of the second housing so as to define a cavity of the housing, the housing comprising at least one raised sound-insulating element arranged in the cavity and/or outside thereof.

Drawings

Other features, details and advantages will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon analyzing the drawings in which:

FIG. 1

Fig. 1 shows a part of a motor vehicle seat.

FIG. 2

Fig. 2 shows a detail of an example of a headrest that can be mounted on the vehicle seat of fig. 1, with some of the fittings on the headrest removed.

FIG. 3

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a speaker housing mountable in the seat of fig. 1 according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 4

Fig. 4 is a top view of the inner faces of the two half shells of the enclosure of fig. 3.

FIG. 5

Fig. 5 is a top view of a half shell of a speaker enclosure according to another embodiment, which enclosure may be mounted in the seat of fig. 1.

FIG. 6

Fig. 6 is a rear view of a speaker enclosure according to another embodiment, which may be mounted in the seat of fig. 1.

FIG. 7

Fig. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the sound insulating element of the enclosure of fig. 6.

Detailed Description

In the following description, when absolute positional qualifiers such as "front", "rear", "top", "bottom", "left", "right", etc., or relative positional qualifiers such as "above", "below", "upper" and "lower", etc., or directional qualifiers such as "horizontal", "vertical", etc., are referred to with reference to the orientation of the figure or the orientation of the seat in its normal use position unless otherwise specified.

Fig. 1 schematically shows a detail of a motor vehicle seat 10.

Hereinafter, the longitudinal direction X refers to the longitudinal direction of the seat. The longitudinal direction of the seat is considered to be the same as the longitudinal direction of the motor vehicle in which the seat is mounted. The longitudinal direction X corresponds to the direction of normal travel of the vehicle. The transverse direction Y refers to the transverse direction of the seat. Thus, the transverse direction of the seat corresponds to the transverse or lateral direction of the motor vehicle. The lateral direction corresponds to a direction perpendicular to a normal forward direction of the vehicle. Finally, the vertical direction Z is the vertical direction of the seat, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction.

The seat 10 has a seat base (not shown) that includes a seat base frame on which is mounted a backrest 12 having a backrest frame that is pivoted about a transverse axis, typically by a hinge mechanism. The seat base may be mounted on the movable section by legs or rails, also known as a slider or male section. Each movable section is part of a sliding element and is associated with a fixed section. The fastening section is fastened to the floor of the motor vehicle.

The seat 10 also includes a head rest 14 secured to the back frame by two rods 16.

More specifically, the rod 16 connects the headrest frame 18 to the back frame. In particular, one or more fittings 20 are secured to the headrest frame to enhance the comfort of the occupant of the seat 10 and/or the aesthetics of the headrest 14.

The headrest frame 18 here has the shape of a bowl with a substantially flat base 18c from the lateral ends of which two lateral portions 18a, 18b extend. Thus, the headrest frame 18 has a shape suitable for partially surrounding the head of an occupant of the seat 10. In particular, the lateral portions 18a, 18b are thus adapted to be arranged close to the ears of an occupant of the seat by substantially facing the ears of the occupant of the seat 10.

As shown in fig. 2, the headrest 14 is further provided with a speaker device 24. The speaker arrangement 24 has two housings 26a, 26b, each provided with a speaker 28a, 28b. Housing 26a is mounted in lateral portion 18a, while housing 26b is mounted in lateral portion 18 b.

The shells 26a, 26b have a substantially flat shape, that is to say have a thickness preferably between 30mm and 50 mm.

The housing 26a will now be described in detail in connection with fig. 3 and 4. The description is preferably generic to each embodiment of the utility model. It should be noted that the housing 26b is not further described as it is advantageously similar to the housing 26b.

As can be seen in these figures, the housing 26a includes a first half-shell 30 and a second half-shell 32 spaced apart from one another to define an interior cavity CI of the housing 26a.

In the illustrated embodiment, the half shells 30, 32 are integrally molded in a thermoplastic material. The thermoplastic material is preferably selected from polyolefins, such as polypropylene or polyethylene, or polyamides.

The half-shell 30 will now be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 4, the half shell 30 has a contour Co defined by an outer edge 34, the outer edge 34 defining an inner face 36 of the half shell 30 and an outer face 38 of the half shell 30. It should be noted that the half-shell 30 is provided with an opening 40 for receiving the speaker 28 a. The outer face 38 forms the front face of the housing 26a.

In the illustrated embodiment, half-tube 42 is molded into half-shell 30 to form a portion of helmholtz resonator R, as described below. Thus, the half-shell 30 is also provided with an opening 44 forming the air outlet of the helmholtz resonator.

As shown in fig. 4, the half shell 30 includes a weld 46 disposed about the contour Co of the half shell 30. The weld 46 preferably forms a closed line L to seal the cavity CI, as will be explained in more detail later.

The weld 46 is advantageously provided rearwardly from the contour Co, which makes it possible to prevent the generation of a seam element protruding from the outer edge of the casing 26a. For example, the rearward setting distance is at least about 1.5mm, such as between 3mm and 5mm.

In fig. 4, half shell 30 has no weld around half tube 42. However, depending on the acoustic scattering provided in the housing 26a, a weld may also be provided around the half pipe 42.

The half-shell 32 will now be described in detail.

As shown in fig. 4, the half shell 32 has a contour Co defined by an outer edge 50, the outer edge 50 defining an inner face 52 of the half shell 32 and an outer face 54 of the half shell 32. The outer surface 54 forms the rear of the housing 26a. It should be noted that unlike half-shell 30, half-shell 32 has no opening for receiving speaker 28 a.

In the embodiment shown, half-tube 56 is molded into half-shell 32, forming part of the helmholtz resonator R already mentioned.

As shown in fig. 4, the half-shell 32 includes a weld 60 that is disposed adjacent to the contour Co of the half-shell 32, in effect coinciding with the weld 46. The weld 60 preferably forms a closed line L to seal the cavity CI.

The weld 60 is advantageously provided rearwardly from the contour Co, which makes it possible to prevent the formation of a slit element which would protrude from the outer edge of the casing 26a, as described above.

In fig. 4, half shell 32 has no weld around half tube 56. However, depending on the acoustic scattering provided in the housing 26a, a weld may also be provided around the half pipe 56.

As shown in fig. 3, the two half-shells 30, 32 face each other with their respective inner faces 36, 52 facing and spaced apart from each other to form an inner cavity CI. It should be noted that the inner faces are substantially parallel to each other.

The two half-shells 30, 32 are rigidly connected to one another at least by means of the weld seams 46, 60 (and advantageously only by means of the weld seams 46 and 60). Thus, by the line L being joined together, the housing 26a is completely closed, which makes the cavity CI airtight and ensures good quality of the sound wave propagation to the ears of the seat occupant.

However, it is conceivable to assemble the two half-shells 30, 32 in a different manner, in particular by threading or even by gluing.

As also shown in fig. 3, the two half-tubes 42, 56 constitute the tubes forming the helmholtz resonator R. Thus, each speaker 28a, 28b may advantageously excite the volume of air in the interior cavity CI and tube R in a frequency range where speakers 28a and 28b are less efficient. In particular, it is thus possible to transmit at a higher volume in low frequencies, in particular in frequencies below the cut-off frequency of the loudspeakers 28a, 28b. In particular, the dimensions of the cavity CI and the tube R may be chosen to have a resonance frequency of the helmholtz resonator formed between 100Hz and 150Hz, in particular substantially equal to 120Hz. It is near this resonance frequency that the proposed assembly enables a priori to emit a higher volume than a loudspeaker system in a conventional closed enclosure.

It should be noted, however, that the housing 26a may alternatively be devoid of the resonator R.

According to each of the embodiments shown, the housing 26a comprises at least one raised sound insulating element arranged in the cavity and/or outside thereof.

According to a first embodiment, the at least one raised sound insulating element consists of a regular pattern of mesh, which will now be described in detail. According to a second embodiment, the at least one raised sound insulating element consists of an additional portion of sound insulating material, which will be described in detail later.

It should be noted that these two embodiments may be optionally combined and are not mutually incompatible.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3-5, a regular pattern of mesh is indicated by reference numeral 70. As can be seen in these figures, the web 70 includes a set of ribs 72 disposed on the half shells 30, 32. Preferably, the ribs 72 are made of a thermoplastic material and are molded with their associated half shells.

The ribs 72 may rigidize the housing 26a, which reduces sound radiation, particularly a portion of the waves emitted at the lowest frequencies, toward the outside and thereby increases passive sound insulation of the headrest.

According to a first alternative, the ribs 72 are linear and extend parallel to each other. In the operating position, i.e. when the headrest is mounted in the seat, the rib 72 extends in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction, or in a direction intersecting the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. In fig. 3, the ribs 72 are horizontal.

According to a second alternative, the ribs 72 form a continuous polygon. In fig. 5, the ribs form a network with a honeycomb structure NA. The cellular network NA makes the structure more rigid and thus enables the resonance to be shifted to higher frequencies (e.g. higher than 1000 Hz), which is an advantage when the seat has an audio signal processing module, since such a module is more efficient at frequencies below 1000Hz or even below 800 Hz.

Whatever the envisaged alternative, the thickness of each rib 72 is between 1mm and 3mm, advantageously between 1.5mm and 2.5mm, preferably between 1.5mm and 2.5mm. Whatever the envisaged alternative, the height of each rib is between 1mm and 5mm, preferably between 2mm and 5mm. These dimensions stiffen the housing and at the same time prevent the rib itself from starting to resonate under the influence of the loudspeaker.

Advantageously, ribs 72 are arranged on and protrude from the outer faces 38, 54 and/or the inner faces 36, 52.

Preferably, if the housing 26a has a helmholtz resonator R, the ribs 72 are arranged only on the outer faces 38, 54, which ensures that the cavity CI is as smooth as possible, so as to interfere as little as possible with the operation of the resonator.

If the housing 26a does not have a Helmholtz resonator, the ribs 72 are disposed on the outer face 38, 54 and/or inner face 36, 52.

The embodiment shown in fig. 6 and 7 will now be described.

As can be seen in these figures, the at least one raised sound dampening element comprises an additional portion 74 made of sound dampening material.

The portion 74 reduces sound radiation toward the rear and exterior of the housing due to its sound dampening material, thereby increasing the passive sound dampening of the headrest.

It should be noted that preferably, if the housing 26a has a helmholtz resonator R, the portion 74 is arranged outside the cavity CI, against the rear face 54 of the housing 26a, which avoids interfering with the operation of the resonator, while increasing the sound insulation towards the rear of the housing. And, if the housing 26a does not have a helmholtz resonator, the portion 74 is disposed in the cavity CI, as shown in fig. 6.

Portion 74 is optionally a multi-layer portion and includes at least one of a foam layer 76, an aluminum butyl layer 78, and a cotton layer 80.

Foam layer 76 is preferably a semi-open cell polyurethane that allows sound to be gradually attenuated and provides better insulation.

Advantageously, the thickness of the foam layer 76 is between 5mm and 15mm, preferably 10mm. Advantageously, the thickness of the aluminum butyl layer 78 is between 1.5mm and 5mm, preferably 2.5mm. Advantageously, the thickness of the cotton layer 80 is between 5mm and 15mm, preferably 10mm.

It should be noted that the rib 72 and the portion 74 may be combined depending on the desired attenuation level and/or the size of the housing, particularly the size of the headrest.

This combination allows in particular for frequencies above 800Hz to be increased, in particular above 1000Hz, because the ribs may switch the resonance mode from a low frequency (below 1000 Hz) to a higher frequency, which is better attenuated by the insulating portion 74.

Claims (12)

1. Headrest (14) for a motor vehicle seat, comprising a housing (26 a, 26 b) provided with a speaker (28 a, 28 b), said housing (26 a, 26 b) comprising at least a first housing (30) and a second housing (32), each of said first housing (30) and second housing (32) comprising two respective opposite faces, called inner face (36, 52) and outer face (38, 54), the inner face (36) of said first housing (30) being placed facing the inner face (52) of said second housing (32) so as to define a Cavity (CI) of said housing (26 a), said housing (26 a) comprising at least one raised sound-insulating element arranged in and/or outside said Cavity (CI).

2. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the at least one sound-dampening element comprises a regular pattern of mesh (70).

3. The headrest of claim 2, wherein the regular pattern of mesh (70) includes ribs (72) arranged parallel to one another.

4. A headrest as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that in the operative position the rib (72) extends in a horizontal direction or in a vertical direction or in a direction intersecting the horizontal and vertical directions.

5. The headrest of claim 2, wherein the regular pattern of mesh (70) includes ribs (72) forming a continuous polygon.

6. The headrest of claim 5, characterized in that the ribs (72) form a honeycomb structure (NA).

7. A headrest according to claim 3 wherein the thickness of each rib is between 1mm and 3 mm.

8. A headrest according to claim 3 wherein the height of each rib is between 1mm and 5mm.

9. A headrest as claimed in claim 3 characterised in that the ribs (72) are arranged on the outer face (38, 54) and/or inner face (36, 52) of the first (30) and second (32) shells of the housing (26 a).

10. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the at least one sound-insulating element includes an additional portion (74) of sound-insulating material.

11. Headrest according to claim 10, characterized in that the sound-insulating material comprises a foam layer (76) and/or an aluminum butyl layer (78) and/or a cotton layer (80).

12. A housing (26 a) for a headrest of a motor vehicle seat, said housing (26 a, 26 b) comprising at least a first shell (30) and a second shell (32), each of said first shell (30) and second shell (32) comprising two respective opposite faces, called inner face and outer face, the inner face of said first shell being placed facing the inner face of said second shell (32) so as to define a Cavity (CI) of said housing (26 a), said housing (26 a) comprising at least one raised sound-insulating element arranged in said cavity and/or outside thereof.