JP2001145539A - Lumbar support device for seat for motor vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lumbar support device capable of providing an appropriate sense of support for a waist part without inflicting a of contact with rods on a driver. SOLUTION: In this lumbar support device, an elastic connecting member is provided between vertical frame materials on the right and left sides of a contour mat and the eccentric shafts of both crank rods. The contour mat is elastically supported in a seatback frame via spring members. The crank rods are supported at the seatback frame in such a way as to be freely operated to reciprocate and rotate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a lumbar support device used for a front seat of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A lumbar support device is provided in a seat to support a driver's lumbar from behind when the driver desires. Conventionally, various structures have been proposed and put into practical use for this lumbar support device, but the conventional product has a structure in which a rigid body directly advances and retreats inside a cushion material or a contour mat in a seat, and has a problem of poor usability. was there. That is,
When the lumbar support device is turned on, the rigid body directly presses the waist of the driver via the cushioning material or the contour mat spring material, so that the driver feels a line contact at the waist and the cushioning property of the waist is impaired.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on the above problem awareness of the conventional lumbar support device,
An object of the present invention is to provide a lumbar support device that can provide an appropriate support feeling for the waist without impairing cushioning properties.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a contour mat which is elastically supported in a seat back frame via a spring member.
It has a vertical frame material on the left and right, and if this vertical frame material is elastically moved back and forth, it gives a proper feeling of support to the waist without impairing cushioning and without giving the driver a sense of line contact It is based on the idea that it can be done.

A lumbar support device according to the present invention has a seatback frame having left and right vertical members; a pair of vertical frame members located inside the left and right vertical members of the seatback frame, and a spring member. A contour mat elastically supported in the seat back frame; a left and right rotation center axis and a left and right rotation center supported reciprocally rotatable between left and right vertical members of the seat back frame. Two crank rods having an eccentric shaft eccentric to the shaft;
And an elastic connecting member interposed between the left and right vertical frame members of the contour mat and the eccentric shafts of both crank rods. In this lumbar support device, the rigid eccentric shaft does not directly push the driver's waist,
Since the left and right vertical frame members of the contour mat are pushed through the elastic connecting members, a feeling of support of the waist can be provided without giving a feeling of line hit.

[0006] In order to facilitate the connection between the elastic connecting member and the left and right vertical frame members of the contour mat, the left and right vertical frame members of the contour mat can be provided with a vertically long contour mat bracket. The contour mat side end of the elastic connecting member is supported by the contour mat bracket.

[0007] The elastic connecting member can be made of, for example, a wire spring material or a leaf spring material. Specifically, the wire spring material includes a coil portion that abuts the contour mat bracket, and a leg portion that extends from the coil portion to the eccentric shaft side of both crank rods and is supported by the eccentric shaft. The leaf spring material has an eccentric shaft side end portion which is supported by being prevented from falling off by the eccentric shaft, an end on the contour mat bracket side is pivotally attached to the bracket,
Alternatively, a leaf spring material supported so as to be relatively movable by a fixed distance can be used.

[0008] The seat back frame can support an electric reciprocating rotation mechanism of both crank rods.

[0009]

1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a lumbar support device according to the present invention. The seat back frame 10 has a longitudinal member 11 on the left and right sides thereof, and a lateral member 12 connects an upper end of the longitudinal member 11. The contour mat 20 located in the seat back frame 10 has a flat plate shape as a whole,
An outer frame 23 having left and right vertical frame members 21 and a lower frame member 22 connecting the left and right vertical frame members 21 is provided. A plurality of horizontal spring materials 24 are provided between the left and right vertical frame members 21. Connected. The left and right vertical frame members 21 of the contour mat 20 and the left and right vertical members 11 of the seat back frame 10 are connected via tension coil springs 25, respectively. The above is the normal internal structure of the vehicle front seat having the contour mat, excluding the cushion material.

Below the left and right vertical members 11 of the seat back frame 10, both crank rods 30 are supported so as to be reciprocally rotatable. The two crank rods 30 include a left and right rotation center shaft 31 located on the same axis, and a right-angled arm 32 extending radially from an inner end of the left and right rotation center shaft 31.
And a rotation center shaft 31 connecting the right and left right arms 32
And an eccentric shaft 33 that is parallel to The left and right vertical members 11 are provided with bearings 34 for rotatably supporting the left and right pivot shafts 31.

A motor bracket 35 is fixed to one of the left and right vertical members 11, and a drive motor unit 36 as an electric reciprocating rotation mechanism for the two crank rods 30 is fixed to the motor bracket 35. . The output shaft 36a of the drive motor unit 36 has a pinion 36b
Has been fixed. On the other hand, a sector gear 37 is welded and fixed to the end of the rotation center shaft 31 located on the motor bracket 35 side.
is engaged with b. The drive motor unit 36 includes a forward / reverse rotation range of the motor, a sector gear 37 and a pinion 36.
There is provided a stopper mechanism (limiter mechanism, not shown) for restricting the engagement of b to a range where it does not come off. Therefore, when the output shaft 36a is driven to rotate in the normal and reverse directions via the drive motor unit 36, the rotation center shaft 31 reciprocates through the pinion 36b and the sector gear 37, and the eccentric shaft 33 moves around the rotation center shaft 31. Swings back and forth on the center arc.

Below the left and right vertical frame members 21 of the contour mat 20, a contour mat bracket 40 is fixed using a horizontal spring material 24. The contour mat bracket 40 has a U-shaped cross section with a uniform cross section in the vertical direction, and a spring member (elastic connection member) receiving portion 41 is provided between the upper and lower horizontal spring materials 24. The height position of the contour mat bracket 40 corresponds to the waist position of the driver.

The eccentric shafts 33 of both crank rods 30 include
A pair of wire spring members 44 as elastic connection members are supported corresponding to the left and right contour mat brackets 40. The wire spring material 44 is provided with a coil portion 44 a that abuts and engages with the spring member receiving portion 41 of the contour mat bracket 40.
And a pair of linear leg portions 44b extending from the coil portion 44a in parallel to the eccentric shaft 33 side, and fitted to a locking hole 33a formed in the eccentric shaft 33 at the tip of each leg portion 44b. A completely retaining bent portion 44c is bent.

The apparatus having the above configuration operates as shown in FIGS. FIG. 3 shows the lumbar support off state. At this time, the eccentric shafts 33 of both crank rods 30 are shown.
Is located behind the rotation center shaft 31. For this reason,
The wire spring member 44 in which the retaining bent portion 44c is coupled to the locking hole 33a of the eccentric shaft 33 is also pulled backward, and there is no force for pushing the lower portion of the contour mat 20 forward. Therefore, the seat back S is held at the normal position. Spring member receiving portion 41 of contour mat bracket 40
Of the coil portion 4 of the wire spring material 44 even in this off state.
4a is set to a depth that does not come off, but if necessary,
The bracket 40 may be provided with a retaining pin that fits inside the coil portion 44a.

To turn on the lumbar support from the off state in FIG. 3, the drive motor unit 36 and the sector gear 37
The pivot center shaft 31 is pivoted counterclockwise in FIG. 3 via, and the eccentric shaft 33 is positioned at the front swing end as shown in FIG. Then, the wire spring member 44 in which the retaining bent portion 44c is coupled to the eccentric shaft 33 also moves forward, and the vertical frame member 21 of the contour mat 20 is pushed forward via the coil portion 44a and the contour mat bracket 40. It is. As described above, the vertical frame member 21 is provided on the left and right sides of the contour mat 20, and does not directly press the center of the waist of the driver. Further, the wire spring member 44 itself is elastically deformed while being elastically deformed. Since the contour mat bracket 40 (the contour mat 20) is pushed forward, the driver's waist can be supported with a preferable fit without line contact. Further, in the illustrated example, the coil portion 44a of the wire spring material 44 can slightly move up and down in the spring member receiving portion 41 of the contour mat bracket 40, and the automatic adjustment or operation of the support pressure by this movement can be performed. It can be expected to follow the posture.

The eccentric shaft 33 may be stopped at a plurality of positions around the rotation center axis 31 in order to obtain a stepwise strong and weak lumbar support feeling. Of course, the reciprocating rotation of the two crank rods 30 may be performed by a manual rotation mechanism without using electric power.
A manual turning mechanism having a brake mechanism is well known.

The position of the rotation center shaft 31 of the two crank rods 30 with respect to the seat back frame 20 and the eccentric shaft 3
The positions of the lumbar support 3 when the lumbar support is on and off are shown by way of example. The eccentric distance between the rotation center shaft 31 and the eccentric shaft 33, the length of the wire spring material 44, the strength of the spring property, and the like are shown. The position of the rotation center axis 31 and the eccentric axis 33 can be changed depending on the element. In short, it is sufficient that the eccentric shaft 33 does not directly press the waist of the driver when the lumbar support is turned on, but presses the lumbar support bracket 40 via the wire spring material 44.

FIGS. 5 to 9 show two crank rods 30.
This is an embodiment in which an elastic connecting member for elastically connecting the eccentric shaft 33 and the contour mat bracket 40 is made of a leaf spring material. FIG. 5 shows an example of the shape of the leaf spring members 46, 47, 48. The leaf spring material 46 on the left side of the figure has a U-shape, forms a long hole 46b extending in the longitudinal direction at the U-shaped bent end portion 46a, and forms a retaining bent portion 46c at the rear end. are doing. The leaf spring material 47 at the center of FIG.
Is a flat plate having a long hole 47a at the leading end and a retaining bent portion 47c at the rear end. Leaf spring material 4 on the right side of the figure
8 has a U-shaped cross section, a pin hole 48a is formed at the front end, and a retaining bent portion 48c is formed at the rear end. The retaining bent portions 46c, 47c, 48c at the rear ends of the leaf springs 46, 47, 48 are respectively fitted into locking holes 33b formed in the eccentric shafts 33 of both crank rods 30, as shown in FIG. It is fitted and retained.

On the other hand, the distal ends of the leaf springs 46, 47 and 48 are respectively guided to the spring member receiving portions 41 of the contour mat bracket 40, and the U-shaped bent end 46a of the leaf spring 46 is shown in FIG. As shown, in the long hole 46b,
A front-rear direction retaining bolt or pin 50 fixed to the contour mat bracket 40 is fitted so as to be relatively movable. As shown in FIG. 8, a vertical retaining pin or pin 51 fixed to the contour mat bracket 40 fits into the long hole 47 a of the distal end portion of the leaf spring material 47. In both of these embodiments, the distal end portions of the leaf spring members 46 and 47 and the contour mat bracket 40 can move relative to each other by a fixed distance, and the movement of the contour mat bracket 40 can be delayed with respect to the movement of the eccentric shaft 33.

On the other hand, a pin hole 48 a at the tip of the leaf spring member 48 is pivotally connected to the contour mat bracket 40 by a pin 52. Therefore, in this embodiment,
The movement of the eccentric shaft 33 is transmitted more directly to the contour mat bracket 40. Which mode is adopted can be selected according to the properties of the leaf spring material and the desired usability.

[0021]

As described above, according to the lumbar support device of the present invention, it is possible to provide a driver with no feeling of line hit.
As a result, a lumbar support device that provides a proper feeling of support of the waist can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a lumbar support device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main part.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a lumbar support off state of the lumbar support device.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a lumbar support ON state of the lumbar support device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the lumbar support device according to the present invention, showing a shape example of a leaf spring material as an elastic connecting member.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the leaf spring material of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state of the leaf spring material of FIG. 5 with a contour mat bracket.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state of another leaf spring material of FIG. 5 with a contour mat bracket.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection state of still another leaf spring material of FIG. 5 with a contour mat bracket.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Seat back frame 11 Vertical material 20 Contour mat 21 Vertical frame material 23 Outer frame body 24 Horizontal spring material 25 Tension coil spring 30 Both crank rods 31 Rotation center axis 33 Eccentric axis 33a 33b Lock hole 35 Motor bracket 36 Drive motor Unit 36b Pinion 37 Sector gear 40 Contour mat bracket 41 Spring member receiving portion 44 Wire spring material (elastic connection member) 44a Coil portion 44b Leg portion 44c 46c 47c 48c Retaining bent portion 46 47 48 Plate spring portion (elastic connection member) 46b 47a Elongated hole 50 51 52 Fixing bolt or pin

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A seat back frame having left and right vertical members; a pair of vertical frame members located inside the left and right vertical members of the seat back frame; A contour mat elastically supported on the both sides; two crank rods supported reciprocally rotatable between the left and right vertical members of the seat back frame; the two crank rods are rotatable on the left and right vertical members. A left and right rotation center axis supported on the same axis, and an eccentric axis positioned between the left and right rotation center axes and eccentric to the rotation center axis; and the contour mat A lumbar support device for a vehicle seat, comprising: an elastic connecting member interposed between the left and right vertical frame members and the eccentric shafts of the two crank rods. 2. The lumbar support device according to claim 1, wherein the left and right vertical frame members of the contour mat are provided with contour mat brackets that are long in the vertical direction, and the end of the elastic connection member on the contour mat side. Is a lumbar support device for a vehicle seat supported by this contour mat bracket. 3. The lumbar support device according to claim 2, wherein the elastic connecting member is formed of a wire spring or a leaf spring having both ends supported by the contour mat bracket and an eccentric shaft. Lumbar support device for seats. 4. The lumbar support device according to claim 3, wherein the wire spring material includes a coil portion that contacts the contour mat bracket, and extends from the coil portion toward the eccentric shafts of both crank rods. A lumbar support device for a vehicle seat, comprising: a leg portion supported by the vehicle. 5. The lumbar support device according to claim 3, wherein the eccentric shaft side end of the leaf spring is supported by the eccentric shaft so as not to come off, and the contour mat bracket side end is supported by the eccentric shaft. A lumbar support device for a vehicle seat that is pivotally attached to a bracket or supported so as to be movable relative to a fixed distance.