JP2003033252A - Continuously adjustable armrest - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a continuously adjustable armrest which has sufficient retaining force and narrow width. SOLUTION: This continuously adjustable armrest 1 has a brake rotor 11, a brake belt placed on the circumference of the brake rotor 11, and a trigger plate 13. The fixed end 121 of the brake belt 12 is fixed to the armrest 3 and the movable end 122 is attached to the armrest 3 via a lever 14. A coil spring 15 to energize the brake belt 12 into the fastening or loosening direction is placed on the movable end 122. The trigger plate 13 has a one-way-ON trigger 131 to switch the trigger plate 13 to a one-way-ON condition by pushing the lever 14 and a one-way-OFF trigger 131 to switch the trigger plate 13 to a one-way-OFF condition by pushing the lever 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a stepless adjustable tiltable armrest device capable of holding an armrest rotatably attached to a seat body in a state of being tilted at a desired angle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in some seats of automobiles, a retractable armrest is provided. And
In some cases, between the armrest and the seat body, there is provided a stepless adjustable folding armrest device capable of holding the armrest tilted at a desired angle.

For example, the armrest device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-39611 discloses a fixed cylinder fixed to the seat body side, a rotary cylinder fixed to the armrest side, and an outer peripheral surface of both of them. It has a coiled spring as a basic structure. Then, the armrest device capable of stepless adjustment is realized by utilizing the change in the frictional force between the fixed side cylindrical body and the rotating side cylindrical body due to the change in the winding diameter of the coiled spring.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned conventional stepless adjustable retractable armrest device has the following problems. In order to secure a sufficient holding force of the armrest, it is necessary to secure a sufficient frictional force between the fixed side cylindrical body and the rotating side cylindrical body and the coil spring. For that purpose, the coiled spring needs a sufficient number of turns and a sufficient axial length.

On the other hand, the axial direction of the coil spring is substantially coincident with the width direction of the seat body. Therefore, in the stepless adjustable tiltable armrest device, in order to secure a sufficient axial length of the coiled spring, it is necessary to provide a certain thickness in the width direction of the seat body. As a result, when the above-described stepless adjustable retractable armrest device is attached to the vehicle seat body, there is a problem that the vehicle interior space in the width direction becomes narrow. Particularly, in a vehicle or the like having a passage on the side of the seat body, if the width of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device is large, it is difficult to secure both the width of the seat body and the passage. Become.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a stepless adjustable retractable armrest device having a sufficient holding force and a small width.

[0007]

The present invention provides a stepless adjustment retractable armrest device capable of holding an armrest rotatably attached to a seat body in a state of being tilted at a desired angle. The retractable armrest device consists of a brake rotor fixed to the seat body,
The brake belt includes a brake belt arranged along an outer peripheral surface of the brake rotor and a trigger plate fixed to the brake rotor. The brake belt has a fixed end attached to the armrest and a movable end via a lever. Is attached to the armrest, and the movable end of the brake belt is provided with an elastic member for urging the brake belt in a tightening direction or a loosening direction of the brake rotor. The plate pushes the lever when the armrest is lowered to a predetermined angle to switch to the one-way on state described below, and the lever pushes the lever when the armrest is raised to a predetermined angle to With a one-way off trigger that switches to the one-way off state of The one-way-on state is a state in which the brake belt is urged in a direction to tighten the brake rotor and the armrest can rotate only in the ascending direction. In the one-way-off state, the brake belt relaxes. In the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device, the armrest is urged in the direction so as to be rotatable in both the ascending direction and the descending direction (claim 1).

In the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device, the one-way on state is brought about by the brake belt tightening the brake rotor. That is, the armrest is held by the frictional force between the brake belt and the brake rotor. Therefore, by ensuring a sufficient diameter of the brake rotor, a sufficient frictional force can be obtained and a sufficient holding force for the armrest can be ensured. Therefore, the holding force of the armrest can be secured without increasing the width of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device.

By pressing the lever by the trigger plate, the one-way on state and the one-way off state can be easily switched as described above. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a stepless adjustable retractable armrest device having a simple structure.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a stepless adjustable retractable armrest device having a sufficient holding force and a small width. The operation and action of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device will be described in detail in the following embodiments.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the first invention (claim 1), the seat body may be, for example, a seat body for a vehicle such as an automobile. Further, as the elastic member, for example, a coil spring or the like can be used.

The outer peripheral surface of the brake rotor is
The cross section is preferably circular. This facilitates stepless adjustment of the tilt angle of the armrest. Further, the brake rotor can be formed of, for example, a steel plate, and the brake belt can be formed of, for example, spring steel, and a friction material such as rubber can be disposed on a contact surface with the brake rotor.

Further, it is preferable that a sliding seat is interposed between the brake rotor and the armrest to reduce frictional resistance between them (claim 2). In this case, the armrest can be smoothly rotated. Further, as the material of the sliding sheet, for example, resin or the like can be used.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A stepless adjustable retractable armrest device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, the steplessly adjustable retractable armrest device 1 of the present embodiment can hold the armrest 3 rotatably attached to the seat body 2 in a tilted state at a desired angle.

The stepless adjustable folding armrest device 1
1 to 4, the brake rotor 11 fixed to the seat body 2 and the brake rotor 1 are
Brake belt 1 arranged along the outer peripheral surface 111
2 and a trigger plate 13 fixed to the brake rotor 11. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B, the brake belt 12 has a fixed end 1
21 is rotatably attached to the armrest 3, and the movable end 122 is attached to the armrest 3 via the lever 14.

The movable end 1 of the brake belt 12 is also
At 22, the brake belt 12 urges the brake rotor 11 in the tightening direction or in the loosening direction,
A coil spring 15 as an elastic member is provided. Further, the trigger plate 13 is, as shown in FIG.
It has a one-way on-trigger 131 for pressing the lever 14 when the armrest 3 is lowered to a predetermined angle to switch to the one-way on state described below. Also,
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the trigger plate 13 has a one-way off trigger 132 for pressing the lever 14 when the armrest 3 is raised to a predetermined angle to switch to the one-way off state described below.

In the one-way on state, as shown in FIG. 6, the brake belt 12 is urged in the direction in which the brake rotor 11 is tightened, and the armrest 3 is pushed.
Is a state in which it can rotate only in the upward direction A. As shown in FIG. 8, the one-way off state is a state in which the brake belt 12 is urged in a relaxing direction to allow the armrest 3 to rotate in both the upward direction A and the downward direction B.

The steplessly adjustable retractable armrest device 1 of this embodiment will be described in more detail below. As shown in Figure 4,
At the base end of the armrest 3, the armrest 3
A cylindrical protruding portion 31 protruding in the direction of the rotation axis is formed. The brake rotor 11 is arranged on the cylindrical protrusion 31 via a sliding seat 17 for reducing frictional resistance between the cylindrical protrusion 31 of the armrest 3 and the brake rotor 11. That is, the sliding sheet 17 includes a cylindrical portion 171 and a ring-shaped portion 172 formed on one bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 171.

In the sliding seat 17, the cylindrical portion 171 is arranged on the outer periphery of the cylindrical protruding portion 31 of the armrest 3, and the ring-shaped portion 172 is arranged in contact with the tip end surface 311 of the cylindrical protruding portion 31. is doing. Thus, the brake rotor 11 is arranged so as to cover the sliding seat 17 arranged on the cylindrical protrusion 31 of the armrest 3. That is, the brake rotor 11 includes a cylindrical brake portion 112 and a lid-shaped portion 113 formed on one bottom surface of the brake portion 112.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the brake rotor 11, the brake portion 112 is arranged on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 171 of the sliding seat 17, and the lid portion 1 is provided.
The inner surface of the sliding seat 17 is provided with a ring-shaped portion 172
It is placed in contact with. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a protrusion 114 is provided on the outer surface of the lid-shaped portion 113 of the brake rotor 11. On the other hand, the trigger plate 1
3 is provided with a small hole 134. Then, the projection 114 of the brake rotor 11 is fitted into the corresponding small hole 134 of the trigger plate 13 to fix the brake rotor 11 and the trigger plate 13.

The brake rotor 11 and the trigger plate 13 are fixed to the seat body 2 with bolts 16. In addition, the trigger plate 13 has an upright portion 1 that is upright on the seat body 2 side.
33 is formed. The upright portion 133 is engaged with an engagement hole (not shown) provided in the seat body 2. As a result, the trigger plate 13 and the brake rotor 11 are fixed to the seat body 2.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2A and 4, the fixed end 121 of the brake belt 12 is fixed to the pin 4
It is rotatably fixed to the armrest 3 via 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a loop 123 is formed in the fixed end 121, and the long leg portion 411 of the pin 41 is inserted into the loop 123, while a pin hole 341 formed in the armrest 3 is inserted. The short leg portion 412 of the pin 41 is inserted therethrough.

The movable end 1 of the brake belt 12
An insertion hole 124 for inserting the movable end 152 of the coiled spring 15 is formed in the member 22. Further, the movable end 142 of the lever 14 is also formed with an insertion hole 144. The movable end 15 of the coil spring 15 is
2 is inserted into the insertion hole 144 of the lever 14 and the insertion hole 124 of the brake belt 12.

On the other hand, the fixed end 15 of the coiled spring 15 is
1 is rotatably fixed to the armrest 3 via a pin 42. That is, the long leg portion 421 of the pin 42
Is formed in a cylindrical shape, the fixed end 151 of the coil-shaped spring 15 is inserted therein, and the short leg portion 422 of the pin 42 is inserted into the pin hole 342 provided in the armrest 3.

An insertion hole 143 is also formed in the fixed end 141 of the lever 14. Then, the insertion portion 14
3, the long leg portion 431 of the pin 43 is inserted, and the short leg portion 43 of the pin 43 is inserted into the pin hole 343 provided in the armrest 3.
2 is inserted. Thus, the fixed end 141 of the lever 14 is rotatably fixed to the armrest 3.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the trigger plate 13 is formed in a substantially disc shape with the bolt hole 136 at the center. The one-way on-trigger 131 and the one-way off-trigger 132 are formed so as to project in the radial direction and bend toward the armrest 3 side. Further, when the trigger plate 13 is attached to the seat body 2, the one-way off trigger 132 is
It is arranged above 1.

The brake rotor 11 can be formed of, for example, a steel plate, and the brake belt 12 is formed of, for example, spring steel, and a friction material such as rubber is provided on the contact surface with the brake rotor 11. can do. Further, as the material of the sliding sheet 17, for example, resin or the like can be used.

Next, the operation of the steplessly adjustable retractable armrest device 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the one-way on state in which the armrest 3 is rotatable only in the upward direction will be described. In the one-way on state, as shown in FIG. 6, the coiled spring 15 causes the movable end 122 of the brake belt 12 to move,
It is pulled in the direction of arrow C. As a result, the brake belt 12 tightens the brake rotor 11.

From this state, the armrest 3
When it is attempted to lower it as indicated by arrow B, a frictional force is generated between the brake belt 12 and the brake rotor 11, and the fixed end 12 of the brake belt 12 is
Tension occurs at 1. Since the fixed end 121 is fixed to the armrest 3, the greater the force for lowering the armrest 3, the greater the tension generated at the fixed end 121 of the brake belt 12 and the greater the force for tightening the brake rotor 11. , The frictional force increases. As a result, the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device 1 holds the armrest 3 so as not to move in the descending direction (arrow B).

On the contrary, when the armrest 3 is raised in the direction of arrow A, the movable end 1 of the brake belt 12 is moved.
Tension is generated in 22. However, the movable end 122 is
The movable end 152 of the coiled spring 15 and the lever 1
Since it is fastened to the movable end 142 of No. 4, it moves in the direction shown by arrow D. Therefore, the tension generated at the movable end 122 of the brake belt 12, the tightening force of the brake rotor 11 by the brake belt 12, and the friction force do not increase. Therefore, the armrest 3 can be rotated in the direction of raising (arrow A). As described above, in the one-way on state, the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device 1 is operated by the armrest 3
Is rotatable only in the upward direction A.

In this state, when the armrest 3 is continuously rotated in the ascending direction A and the inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction reaches about 50 ° upward, as shown in FIG. 7, the one-way off trigger 13 of the trigger plate 13 is turned on.
2 contacts the lever 14 attached to the movable end 122 of the brake belt 12. When the armrest 3 is further rotated and, for example, the tilt angle reaches about 55 ° above, the one-way off trigger 132 causes the lever 1 to move.
By further pressing 4, the movable end 152 of the coiled spring 15 moves in the direction opposite to the urging direction.

The movable end 142 of the lever 14 is
However, as shown in FIG. 7, the fixed end 141 of the lever 14 is
When the straight line connecting the coil spring 15 and the fixed end 151 of the coiled spring 15 is crossed downward, the movable end 152 of the coiled spring 15 spontaneously moves the movable end 142 of the lever 14 as shown in FIG. Move down. Then, the movable end 142 of the lever 14 is urged downward.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the brake belt 12 is urged in the loosening direction. As a result, friction does not occur between the brake belt 12 and the brake rotor 11, and the armrest 3 can rotate in both the upward direction A and the downward direction B. That is, the one-way off state is set.

Further, in the above one-way off state,
When the armrest 3 is continuously rotated in the descending direction B, and the inclination angle reaches about 5 ° above, the one-way on-trigger 131 of the trigger plate 13 contacts the lever 14. When the armrest 3 is further rotated to reach a substantially horizontal state, the one way on trigger 1
When the lever 31 further presses the lever 14, the movable end 152 of the coiled spring 15 moves in the direction opposite to the urging direction.

The movable end 142 of the lever 14 is
However, as shown in FIG. 6, the fixed end 141 of the lever 14 is
When the straight line connecting the fixed end 151 and the above is exceeded,
The movable end 152 of the coiled spring 15 spontaneously moves in the direction (arrow C) of raising the movable end 142 of the lever 14. Then, the movable end 142 of the lever 14 is biased upward. As a result, the brake belt 12 is urged in the direction in which the brake rotor 11 is tightened, that is, the one-way on state.

Next, the function and effect of this example will be described. In the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device 1, the one-way on state is brought about by the brake belt 12 tightening the brake rotor 11. That is, the brake belt 12 and the brake rotor 1
The armrest 3 is held by the frictional force between the armrest 3 and the armrest 3. Therefore, by sufficiently ensuring the diameter of the brake rotor 11, sufficient frictional force can be obtained and sufficient holding force of the armrest 3 can be ensured. Therefore, the holding force of the armrest 3 can be secured without increasing the width of the steplessly adjustable retractable armrest device 1.

For example, when the diameter of the brake rotor 11 is about 6 cm, while maintaining a sufficient holding force,
The width of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device 1 can be about 3 cm.

By pressing the lever 14 by the trigger plate 13, it is possible to easily switch between the one-way on state and the one-way off state as described above. Therefore, the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device 1 having a simple structure can be obtained.

Further, since the sliding seat 17 for reducing the frictional resistance between the brake rotor 11 and the armrest 3 is interposed between the brake rotor 11 and the armrest 3, the armrest 3 can be smoothly rotated. .

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a stepless adjustable retractable armrest device having a sufficient holding force and a small width.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a stepless adjustable retractable armrest device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a side view and FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the steplessly adjustable retractable armrest device according to the embodiment.

3 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of each component of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the seat body to which the armrest is attached in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the stepless adjustable folding armrest device in the one-way on state according to the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device at the time of switching from the one-way on state to the one-way off state in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the stepless adjustable retractable armrest device in the one-way off state in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1. ． ． Stepless adjustable folding armrest device, 11. ． ． Brake rotor, 12. ． ． Brake belt, 13. ． ． Trigger plate, 131. ． ． One way on trigger, 132. ． ． One way off trigger, 14. ． ． lever, 15. ． ． Coiled spring, 2. ． ． Seat body, 3. ． ． Armrest,

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A steplessly adjustable retractable armrest device capable of holding an armrest rotatably attached to a seat body in a state of being tilted at a desired angle. Is a brake rotor fixed to the seat body, a brake belt arranged along the outer peripheral surface of the brake rotor,
And a trigger plate fixed to the brake rotor, the brake belt has a fixed end attached to the armrest, a movable end attached to the armrest via a lever, and a movable end of the brake belt. Is provided with an elastic member for urging the brake belt in a tightening direction or a relaxing direction of the brake rotor, and the trigger plate operates the lever when the armrest is lowered to a predetermined angle. It has a one-way on-trigger that pushes to switch to the following one-way on-state and a one-way off-trigger that pushes the lever when the armrest is raised to a predetermined angle to switch to the following one-way off-state. In the ON state, the brake belt is It is urged in the direction of tightening the coater,
The armrest is rotatable only in the ascending direction, and in the one-way off state, the armrest is rotatable in the ascending and descending directions by being urged in the direction in which the brake belt is relaxed. Continuously adjustable retractable armrest device characterized by being in the following state. 2. A stepless adjustable collapsible armrest according to claim 1, wherein a sliding seat is interposed between the brake rotor and the armrest to reduce frictional resistance between them. apparatus.