JP2001112574A - Support device in car seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust the position (angle) of a support of the support device by a simple manipulation in the support device for a movable headrest, a back side support, a cushion side support, etc., provided in a car seat. SOLUTION: An unlocking cam member 30 is rotatably attached to the fixing side axis 10a and a protruded corner 34 of a cam piece 31 of the unlocking cam member 31 is oppositely arranged to the rear end extension part 233 of a pole 23 in which a ratchet tooth 211 of a ratchet member 21 meshes with a claw 231 and the ratchet member 21 is unlocked from the pole 23 by the manipulation of the unlocking cam member 30 to finely adjust the support of the support device back and forth.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a support device attached to a vehicle seat and supporting a part of the body of an occupant seated on the seat with a support portion, and a ratchet mechanism built in the support device. The present invention relates to a support device for a vehicle seat in which the position (angle) of a support portion can be easily adjusted by providing a lock release cam member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, it is desired that a vehicle seat gives an occupant an optimum seating feeling while the vehicle is running, and minimizes fatigue even in a long-time sitting state. Support device is provided.

FIG. 7 shows a vehicle seat 1 according to the present invention. The conventional vehicle seat 1 has a different structure, but a seat back 1b serving as a backrest for a seat cushion 1a on which an occupant sits is provided. The vehicle is mounted so as to be tiltable at an angle, and is provided with various support devices that support a part of the body of the occupant sitting on the seat 1 at an optimal position and enable comfortable running.

[0004] For example, a movable headrest 2 above the seat back 1b, a back side support 3 located on both sides of the seat back 1b, a cushion side support 4 attached to both sides of the seat cushion 1a, an ottoman 5 capable of supporting a passenger's knee, In addition, seat back 1
Various support devices such as a Thorax support 6 and a Pelvis support 7 are applied to the upper and lower portions of b, respectively.

The structure of the headrest 2 will be described as an example of a conventional support device with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. ) Is rotatably supported.

A ratchet mechanism 12 for locking and holding the headrest frame 11 at a predetermined position is engaged with a support bracket 13 fixed to the headrest stay 10, a pawl 14 rotatably supported by the bracket, and a pawl 14a of the pawl 14. A ratchet member 15 having a ratchet tooth 15a to be rotatably supported by the headrest stay 10;
A tension spring 16 is connected between the ratchet member 15 and the support bracket 13 and urges the headrest body to the rearmost position (initial position) when the lock is off. Reference numeral 17 denotes a rivet, 18 denotes a bush, 1
Reference numeral 9 denotes a torsion coil spring.

The operation of the conventional movable headrest 2 will now be described. As shown in FIG. 10A, when the headrest 2 is locked, the pawl 14 of the pawl 14 is in contact with the ratchet teeth 15a of the ratchet member 15. The portion 14a is in mesh with the tension spring 16
And the ratchet member 15 by the torsion coil spring 19.
In contrast, the pawl 14 is in a state of being biased by a spring in the locking direction, and the headrest 2 is in the locked state.

In order to release the locked state and change the position of the headrest 2 to an appropriate position, the entire movable headrest 2 is pushed forward, and the ratchet teeth 15a of the ratchet member 15 and the pawl 14 Claw part 1
When the engagement with the ratchet 4a is released, the lock-off state shown in FIG. 10B is established, and the forward tilting operation is continued, the ratchet teeth 15a of the ratchet member 15 and the claw portions 14 of the pawl 14 are formed.
The lock-on and the lock-off of a are alternately repeated.

When the headrest 2 is in the most inclined position,
The pawl 14 is formed by the rear end convex portion 15b of the ratchet member 15.
Rotates counterclockwise in the drawing, and as shown in FIG. 10C, the lower end 14b of the pole 14 is
In the urging portion 19a. In this lock-off holding state, the pawl 14 is held by a torsion coil spring 19.

In this lock-off holding state, since the ratchet member 15 and the pawl 14 are not engaged, the headrest 2 is returned to the rearmost position (initial position) by the spring pressure of the tension spring 16, and The fourteen claws 14 a are the front end protrusions 15 of the ratchet member 15.
10C, the pawl 14 rotates clockwise in the drawing, and as shown in FIG. 10D, the ratchet member 15 and the pawl 14 can be engaged with each other.
When the external force is released at the desired lock position, the headrest 2 is locked on at the desired position.

[0011]

As described above, in the conventional movable headrest 2, in order to change the lock position, the headrest 2 is tilted forward to the most forwardly inclined position, and is finally inclined by the spring force of the tension spring 16. After returning to the position (initial position), it is necessary to gradually tilt the headrest 2 forward to lock it at a predetermined position, and a so-called one-way ratchet mechanism, which can only be adjusted in one direction, has been adopted.

Therefore, the position adjustment by the one-way ratchet mechanism has a drawback that the position can be adjusted only in one direction, and even when performing fine adjustment from the current lock position, it must be performed after returning to the initial position once. However, there is a disadvantage that the operation is very troublesome.

Similarly, the same can be said for support devices such as the backside support 3 and the cushion side support 4 in addition to the headrest 2, and in a support device having a built-in one-way ratchet mechanism, the operation of changing the lock position is not possible. As mentioned above, there is a problem to be improved which is very troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and in a support device for a vehicle seat such as a movable headrest, the position (angle) of the support device is set.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat with improved usability by allowing the user to easily perform an operation for changing the vehicle seat.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, a support device for a vehicle seat according to claim 1 of the present invention is attached to a vehicle seat and a part of a body of an occupant sitting on the seat. A support device having a support portion for supporting the support device, the support portion of the support device,
In a support device for a vehicle seat, which is returned to an initial state by a tension spring of a built-in ratchet mechanism and enables position adjustment in one direction, the ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet tooth of a ratchet member and a claw portion of a locking member. An unlocking cam member capable of releasing the locked state is provided, the ratchet mechanism can be unlocked at an arbitrary position, and the position of the support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions from the unlocked position. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support device for a vehicle seat having a support portion attached to the vehicle seat and supporting a part of the body of an occupant seated on the seat. The support portion of the support device is returned to an initial state by a tension spring of a built-in ratchet mechanism, and in a support device for a vehicle seat capable of adjusting a position in one direction, the ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet provided on the support portion. Member, a support bracket provided on the fixed side, and a locking member provided between the ratchet member and the support bracket and having a claw portion that engages with a ratchet tooth of the ratchet member. An unlocking cam member that releases the locked state between the ratchet teeth and the claw portion of the locking member is fixed. Pivotally provided, wherein the ratchet mechanism is capable of unlocking at any position, the position adjustment of the support portion of the support device from the lock release position in both directions is equal to or performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support device for a vehicle seat, the support device having a support portion attached to the vehicle seat and supporting a part of a body of an occupant seated on the seat. The support portion of the support device is returned to an initial state by a tension spring of a built-in ratchet mechanism, and in a support device for a vehicle seat capable of adjusting a position in one direction, the ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet provided on the support portion. Member, a support bracket provided on the fixed side, and a locking member provided between the ratchet member and the support bracket and having a claw portion that engages with a ratchet tooth of the ratchet member. An unlocking cam member that releases the locked state between the ratchet teeth and the claw portion of the locking member is fixed. The unlocking cam member has a cam piece and an operating piece, and the cam piece presses the locking member in the unlocking direction by rotating the operating piece, so that the ratchet mechanism of the ratchet mechanism is rotated. The lock is released, and the position of the support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions from the unlock position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a support apparatus for a vehicle seat, wherein the support portion is a movable headrest, and the headrest frame is rotatably supported by a headrest stay provided above a seatback. A lock release cam attached to a ratchet mechanism built in the headrest frame is rotatably supported by the headrest frame.

Here, as a support portion of the support device, a movable headrest which can be tilted in the front-rear direction and is mounted on both sides of the seatback so as to be able to appropriately support the head of the occupant, which is mounted on the upper portion of the seatback. It is applicable to a back side support that supports both sides of the occupant's back, a cushion side support that is provided on both sides of the seat cushion, and appropriately supports both sides of the occupant's waist. The present invention can be applied to an ottoman attached to an edge, a thorax support attached to an upper central portion of a seat back, a lumbar support (pelvis support) attached to a lower portion of a seat back, and the like.

According to the present invention, since the support device has a built-in one-way ratchet mechanism, the support portion is tilted forward to return to the most inclined position (initial position) by the spring force of the tension spring. ,
A normal use method in which the lock position can be appropriately locked by a one-way movable operation can be adopted, and of course, the locked state between the ratchet member and the locking member can be released by operating the unlocking cam member. The lock of the support portion of the support device can be released regardless of the position of the support portion of the support device.

In the unlocked state, the support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions, and after being moved to an appropriate position, the support portion of the support device can be locked again to the vehicle seat. This is suitable for finely adjusting the support section of the apparatus from the current position.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a support device for a vehicle seat according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, the configuration of the movable headrest that is attached to the upper portion of the seat back of the vehicle seat as the support portion will be described, but the configuration is not limited to this.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing components of a ratchet mechanism incorporated in a movable headrest, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the ratchet mechanism, and FIG. 3 is a lock-on of a headrest incorporating a ratchet mechanism. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the lock-off state, FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views showing the lock-on state, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat.

1 and 7, a headrest stay 10 is removably inserted into an upper portion of a seat back 1b, and a headrest frame 11, which forms a core of the headrest, has a central horizontal support portion. The bearing portion 11a of the headrest frame 11 is supported by 10a, and the headrest frame 11 is rotatably supported by the headrest stay 10.

Although not shown, the outer surface of the headrest frame 11 is covered with a headrest pad, a headrest skin, and the like, thereby providing the movable headrest 2 having good cushioning property and tactile feel. In the present invention, since the ratchet mechanism 20 of the headrest 2 has a feature, FIG.
2 shows an exploded perspective view of each component of the ratchet mechanism 20, and FIGS. 2 and 3 show a state in which ratchet mechanism components are assembled to the headrest stay 10, respectively.

The ratchet mechanism 20 includes a substantially fan-shaped ratchet member 21, a support bracket 22 attached to the horizontal support portion 10a of the headrest stay 10, and a ratchet member 21 interposed between the support bracket 22 and the ratchet member 21. A locking member (hereinafter referred to as a pole) 23 which engages with the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21;
A tension spring 24 for returning the headrest 2 to the initial position, a torsion coil spring 25 for urging a repulsive force against the pawl 23, a rivet 26 for connecting the support bracket 22 and the ratchet member 21, and the headrest stay 10 The unlocking cam member 30 can release the locked state even if the engagement state between the bush 27, the pawl 23, and the ratchet member 21 fitted in the horizontal support portion 10a is at any arbitrary position of the headrest.
It is composed of

More specifically, the ratchet member 21 is fitted with a bush 27 into a bush hole 212 provided on the lower side and attached to the horizontal support portion 10a of the headrest stay 10 via the bush 27.
7 is applied to and fixed to the mounting portion 221 of the support bracket 22, and the support bracket 22 is fixed to the horizontal support portion 10a of the headrest stay 10, but the ratchet member 21 is integrated with the headrest frame 11 to form the headrest stay 10 Is rotated based on the horizontal support portion 10a.

Further, the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21 and the claw portion 231 of the pawl 23 are locked, and the shaft portion 261 of the rivet 26 inserted into the arc-shaped guide hole 213 provided in the ratchet member 21. Is pole 2
3, the pawl 23 is rotatably supported, and the small-diameter shaft 262 of the rivet 26 is inserted through the mounting hole 222 of the support bracket 22, so that the gap between the support bracket 22 and the ratchet member 21 is formed. Paul 23
Is supported, and the pawl portion 231 of the pawl 23 is spring-biased by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 25 in a direction in which the pawl portion 231 meshes with the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21.

Further, the spring mounting portion 2 of the ratchet member 21
14, one end 241 of the tension spring 24 is attached, and the other end 242 of the tension spring 24 is attached.
Is fixed to a spring mounting portion 223 of the support bracket 22, and the ratchet member 21 is spring-biased by a tension spring 24 in the locking direction. Further, when the engagement between the ratchet member 21 and the pawl 23 is released, the headrest frame 11 is spring-biased rearward by the tension spring 24.

The above-described structure is an existing one-way type ratchet mechanism, and the ratchet mechanism 20 according to the present invention.
Means that the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21 and the pawl 23
Can be released from the locked state with the claw portion 231. Even if the tilt angle is finely adjusted from the current position, the headrest 2 can be operated by a simple operation.
The angle can be adjusted smoothly.

That is, the unlocking cam member 30 is composed of a cam piece 31 and an operating piece 3 extending in a direction orthogonal to the cam piece 31.
The cam piece 31 is provided with a shaft hole 33 at the center, and the cam piece 31 is formed with a bulging corner portion 34 for pressing the pawl 23.
A mounting hole 35 for mounting an operation wire or the like is provided.

The unlocking cam member 30
Is rotatably supported by the horizontal support portion 10a of the headrest stay 10 via the bush 27 by fitting the bush 27 into the shaft hole 33 of the cam piece 31. As shown, the bulged corner portion 34 of the cam piece 31 is assembled so as to face the rear end extension 233 of the pawl 23.

Next, the operation of the ratchet mechanism 20 used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, in FIG. 3, the headrest 2 is in a lock-on state. At this position, the headrest 2 is firmly supported by the headrest stay 10. In this state,
If the headrest 2 itself is tilted forward, the headrest 2 returns to the last tilted position (initial position) by the spring force of the tension spring 24 and locks in a conventional manner (one-way type) in which the lock position is selected from that position. Although the position can be changed, in the present invention, the position can be adjusted by a simpler operation.

That is, in the lock-on state shown in FIG.
When the operation piece 32 of the unlocking cam member 30 is pulled in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, the cam piece 31 of the unlocking cam member 30 supported by the horizontal support portion 10a of the headrest stay 10 turns clockwise in FIG. FIG.
As shown in the figure, the bulged corner portion 34 of the cam piece 31 pushes the rear end extension 233 of the pawl 23 in the direction of the arrow, and the pawl 23 rotatably supported by the shaft portion 261 of the rivet 26 is 4, the pawl portion 231 of the pawl 23 is disengaged from the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21 and enters a lock-off state.

As described above, the locked state of the headrest can be easily changed to the locked-off state only by operating the operating piece 32 of the unlocking cam member 30. And FIG.
After the headrest is tilted forward in the direction A in FIG. 4 from the lock-off state shown in FIG.
2, the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21 and the claw portion 231 of the pawl 23 are locked at that position, so that the headrest 2 can be securely fixed to the headrest stay 10 at the position shown in FIG. The lock-on state is set.

Further, after the headrest 2 is tilted backward in the direction B in FIG.
When the hand is released, the ratchet teeth 211 of the ratchet member 21 and the claw portion 231 of the pawl 23 are locked at that position. As shown in FIG. The headrest 2 can be securely locked in the ON state.

As described above, in the conventional ratchet mechanism, the headrest 2 is returned to the initial state, and can be adjusted only in one direction (forward tilting direction). In particular, fine adjustment of the angle becomes very troublesome. As mentioned above,
By setting the unlocking cam member 30, by operating the unlocking cam member 30, it is possible to restrict the lock-off state at an arbitrary position. The angle can be finely adjusted, and if the hand is released from the unlocking cam member 30 at a predetermined position, the headrest 2 can be firmly and reliably fixed to the headrest stay 10 at that position.

In the embodiment described above, the present invention is applied to the internal ratchet mechanism of the movable headrest 2 in the vehicle seat 1 shown in FIG. 8. For example, the present invention is applied to the back side support in the vehicle seat 1. 3
If the headrest stay 10 in the headrest 2 is replaced with a side frame of the seat back 1b and the headrest frame 11 is replaced with a backside support frame, the ratchet mechanism 20 described above is simply applied. The angle of the backside support 4 can be easily adjusted according to the body shape of the occupant sitting on the vehicle seat 1.

Further, by applying the present invention to various support devices provided on the vehicle seat 1, such as the cushion side support 4, the ottoman 5, the thorax support 6, the lumbar support (pelvis support) 7, the occupant can easily operate the seat. The seating feeling of the vehicle can always be maintained optimally, and the comfort during running can be enhanced.

[0040]

As described above, according to the support device for a vehicle seat according to the first aspect of the present invention, the ratchet mechanism releases the locked state between the ratchet teeth of the ratchet member and the claw portions of the locking member. A cam member for unlocking is provided, and the ratchet mechanism can be unlocked at an arbitrary position, and the position of the support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions from the unlocked position, so that the support device is a one-way ratchet mechanism. Because it has a built-in, it is possible to adopt a normal usage method in which it can be returned to the rearwardly inclined position (initial position) by the spring force of the tension spring by tilting it forward, and it can be properly locked in the locked position by one-way movable operation Of course, by operating the unlocking cam member, the locked state between the ratchet member and the locking member is obtained. Can be released, after which the support portion of the support device by moving in a predetermined position may be locked, it has the effect that the position (angle) easily perform the adjustment of the support portion of the support device.

Further, according to the present invention, the support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions in the unlocked state.
After being moved to an appropriate position in any direction, the support portion of the support device may be locked again to the vehicle seat, which is particularly suitable for finely adjusting the support portion of the support device from the current position.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a headrest stay and a ratchet mechanism showing an embodiment in which a support device for a vehicle seat according to the present invention is applied to a movable headrest.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where the ratchet mechanism shown in FIG. 1 is assembled.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a lock-on state in a headrest incorporating the ratchet mechanism shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a lock-off state of a headrest including the ratchet mechanism shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a lock-on state of the headrest shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a lock-on state of the headrest shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a vehicle seat provided with various support devices of the support device in the vehicle seat according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a headrest stay, a headrest frame, and a ratchet mechanism in a conventional headrest.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a ratchet mechanism in a conventional headrest.

10A and 10B show lock-on / off states of a conventional headrest, where FIG. 10A shows a lock-on state, and FIG.
Is a lock-off state, (c) is a lock-off holding state,
(D) is an explanatory view showing a state immediately before locking, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle seat 1a Seat cushion 1b Seat back 2 Movable headrest 3 Backside support 4 Cushion side support 5 Ottoman 6 Thorax support 7 Pelvis support (lumbar support) 10 Headrest stay 10a Horizontal support part 11 Headrest frame 20 Ratchet mechanism 21 Ratchet member 211 ratchet teeth 22 support bracket 23 pawl 231 claw 233 rear end extension 24 tension spring 25 torsion coil spring 26 rivet 27 bush 30 unlocking cam member 31 cam piece 32 operating piece 34 bulging corner

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A support device attached to a vehicle seat and having a support portion for supporting a part of a body of an occupant sitting on the seat, wherein the support portion of the support device includes:
In a support device for a vehicle seat, which is returned to an initial state by a tension spring of a built-in ratchet mechanism and is capable of adjusting a position in one direction, the ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet tooth of a ratchet member and a claw portion of a locking member. An unlocking cam member capable of releasing the locked state is provided, the ratchet mechanism can be unlocked at an arbitrary position, and the position of the support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions from the unlocked position. Support device for vehicle seats. 2. A support device attached to a vehicle seat and having a support portion for supporting a part of the body of an occupant sitting on the seat, wherein the support portion of the support device includes:
In a support device for a vehicle seat which is returned to an initial state by a tension spring of a built-in ratchet mechanism and is capable of adjusting a position in one direction, the ratchet mechanism is provided on a fixed side with a ratchet member provided on a support portion. And a locking member provided between the ratchet member and the supporting bracket, the locking member having a claw engaged with the ratchet teeth of the ratchet member, wherein the ratchet teeth of the ratchet member and the locking member are provided. An unlocking cam member for unlocking the locked state with the claw portion is provided rotatably on the fixed side, the ratchet mechanism can be unlocked at any position, and the support portion of the support device in both directions from the unlocked position. A support device for a vehicle seat, wherein the position of the vehicle can be adjusted. 3. A support device attached to a vehicle seat and having a support portion for supporting a part of the body of an occupant sitting on the seat, wherein the support portion of the support device includes:
In a support device for a vehicle seat which is returned to an initial state by a tension spring of a built-in ratchet mechanism and is capable of adjusting a position in one direction, the ratchet mechanism is provided on a fixed side with a ratchet member provided on a support portion. And a locking member provided between the ratchet member and the supporting bracket, the locking member having a claw engaged with the ratchet teeth of the ratchet member, wherein the ratchet teeth of the ratchet member and the locking member are provided. An unlocking cam member for unlocking the locked state with the claw portion is rotatably provided on the fixed side, and the unlocking cam member has a cam piece and an operation piece, and is rotated by operating the operation piece. The cam piece presses the locking member in the unlocking direction to unlock the ratchet mechanism,
A support device for a vehicle seat, wherein a position of a support portion of the support device can be adjusted in both directions from an unlocked position. 4. The headrest, wherein the support portion is a movable headrest, and a headrest stay provided on an upper portion of a seat back rotatably supports the headrest frame and is attached to a ratchet mechanism built in the headrest frame. The support device for a vehicle seat according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the unlocking cam is rotatably supported by the headrest frame.