JP2005255022A - Arm rest device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact, light weight and inexpensive arm rest device with less number of parts capable of optionally performing setting of an angle adjustment range in the arm rest device. <P>SOLUTION: When the arm rest 3 is positioned from an initial position to the angle adjustable range, a coil spring 6 adopts the regular winding state such that it becomes fastenable for lower turning of a rotation arm 5 to prevent turning and it becomes relaxable for upper turning to enable turning. When the rotation arm exceeds the angle adjustable range, a winding fastening restriction body 7 acts on a fixed body 4 and is fluctuated to be engaged with the rotation arm 5. The coil spring 6 is retained to the constant relaxed state to enable upper turning of the arm rest 3 to a storage position and lower turning from the storage position to the initial position. When the arm rest 3 is returned to the initial position, the winding fastening restriction body 7 re-acted on the fixed body 4 and is returned to be disengaged with the rotation arm 5 and the coil spring 6 is returned to the regular winding state. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention provides an armrest for adjusting the angle of an armrest provided on an automobile seat or the like so that the armrest can be rotated from an initial position where the seat is tilted in a horizontal direction to a retracted position standing along a back surface of the seat. It relates to the device.

  The armrest is restricted from rotating downward and must be allowed to rotate upward. As this mechanism, there is one using a coil spring. In general, when the coil spring is wound around the drum, even if the other end is free, if one end is turned in the direction in which the coil spring is tightened (reduced diameter), the coil spring tightens the drum and does not rotate itself, but loosens (expands). When rotated in the (diameter) direction, the coil spring has the property of sliding freely on the drum and rotating freely. The thing by a coil spring utilizes this property, and the advantage by this is that the angle of an armrest can be adjusted in a stepless manner.

  On the other hand, this property interferes with returning the armrest to the initial position. At this time, it is necessary to prevent the coil spring from being tightened. However, in the conventional structure, some other control member is provided, and when returning to the initial position, this property of the coil spring is attenuated by this control member. However, according to this, there is a drawback that both the armrest and the control member need to be operated, and the operation becomes complicated. Recently, as seen in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, the armrest is simply placed at the initial position. The function of the coil spring is reset only by returning it. Furthermore, the range that requires the armrest angle adjustment is a range that is raised by a fixed angle arbitrarily set from the initial position, and is not the entire stroke to the storage position. Therefore, when the armrest passes the angle adjustable range, it is also necessary to be able to quickly rotate upward to the storage position. In addition, it is necessary to return to the initial position at once.

The outline of the mechanism that responds to such a request is that the armrest itself takes measures to reduce the above function of the coil spring when the armrest comes to the end of the angle adjustable range. Then, since the coil spring is wound around the fixed-side shaft and the rotating-side shaft that are abutted in the front-rear direction, winding is difficult and a large front-rear width is required. Furthermore, it is composed of a number of components such as a holder plate, a hook portion that can be brought into contact with the coil spring, a fixing plate having a protrusion for engaging with it, an auxiliary spring, and a pin, and has a complicated structure. Moreover, in the thing of the patent document 2, while having a complicated structure as shown in FIG. 4, there is anxiety in the intensity | strength surface of the part which attaches a coil spring to an armrest, and also the angle adjustment range was restricted. It has become.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-236547 JP 2003-299547 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to reduce the size, weight, and cost by making the structure simple by reducing the number of components, and to enable reliable operation. At the same time, the degree of freedom in setting the angle adjustment range is increased so that it can be used for a wide range of applications such as handrails for toilets.

Under the above problems, the present invention is described in claim 1.
While the armrest is held at an angle adjustable range where the armrest is raised by a certain angle from the horizontal initial position, it cannot be rotated downward and can be rotated upward. In an armrest device configured to be able to rotate downward to a position,
The armrest device includes a fixed cylinder fixed to the seat, a rotary arm that is rotatably fitted to the fixed cylinder and linked to the armrest, a coil spring that is fixed to the rotary arm and wound around the fixed cylinder, The other end of the coil spring is connected, and consists of a variable winding restricting body whose posture changes with respect to the fixed cylinder,
When the armrest is within the adjustable range of angle from the initial position, the coil spring is tightened to disable the rotation of the rotating arm and is unable to rotate, and is loosened to rotate upward and is not allowed to rotate. When the rotating arm exceeds the angle adjustable range, the winding tightening restrictor acts on the fixed body and is changed to engage the rotating arm, and the coil spring The armrest is held in a relaxed state and can be turned upward and downward from the retracted position to the initial position. When the armrest returns to the initial position, the winding restricting body is fixed again. An armrest device, wherein the armrest device is actuated backward by acting on the body and disengaged from the rotating arm so that the coil spring is returned to a normal winding state.
Is provided.

  According to the present invention, as a specific means for the above-described fluctuation and return movement of the tightening restricting body, the fluctuation and backward movement of the tightening restricting body according to claim 2 swings relative to the fixed cylinder. The posture is changed by making a slight movement, and the first engagement protrusion provided on the tightening restricting body rides on the first protrusion provided on the fixing cylinder, and the tightening restricting body changes. When the engaged portion is engaged with the engaging portion provided on the rotating arm, the coil spring is held in a state of being loosened uniformly, and is wound around the second protrusion provided on the fixed barrel. The second engaging protrusion of the restricting body rides up and moves backward, and at this time, the engaging portion of the tightening restricting body is disengaged from the engaged portion of the rotating arm and the coil spring returns to the normal winding state. provide.

  Further, as specific embodiments of these, a contact projection that contacts the inner periphery of the fixing cylinder is formed on the tightening restricting body according to claim 3, and the swinging restricting body swings this contact point. A means for carrying out at the center, wherein the first engagement protrusion and the second engagement protrusion of the tightening restricting body are provided on the outer periphery thereof, and the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the fixing cylinder are provided on the inner periphery thereof, No. 4, the swinging restricting body swings around the connection point of the coil spring, and the first engaging protrusion and the second engaging protrusion of the winding restricting body are arranged on the inner periphery thereof, and Means are provided in which the one protrusion and the second protrusion are provided on the outer periphery thereof.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, before the winding restricting body is changed, the original function of the coil spring is expressed, and when the armrest is rotated upward, the armrest is loosened and can be rotated. The downward rotation becomes self-tightening and becomes impossible, and if it is changed, the action of the coil spring is reduced and held in a certain loose state, and both upward and downward rotation is possible. In this respect, it is only necessary to perform the operation switching of the winding restricting body, and this switching can be performed only by the rotation operation of the armrest, so that the operation is easy and reliable. In addition, since the coil spring is not tightened until the armrest reaches the retracted position after the action of the coil spring is reduced and returns to the initial position from the retracted position, the operation load does not increase.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the operation of the tightening restricting body is surely switched, and the shape of the parts such as the tightening restricting body, the fixing cylinder, the rotating arm and the armrest is simplified, and this molding is performed. Since it becomes possible by simple processing such as pressing, it is possible to reduce the cost and weight in combination with the small number of parts. In this case, since each projection and each engagement projection may be a very small projection, it is easy to form and the position can be arbitrarily set at the time of pressing, so the degree of freedom in setting the angle adjustment range Is expensive. In this case, according to the invention of claim 3, the whole can be miniaturized, and according to the invention of claim 4, the formation of the protrusion and the engaging protrusion is easy.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of an automobile seat. The seat S has a back surface 2 that can be inclined with respect to the seating surface 1, and an armrest 3 is attached to the side surface of the back surface 2. It is. The angle of the armrest 3 can be adjusted from the initial position protruding in the horizontal direction to the storage position along the back surface 2. In this case, the armrest 3 can be set to an arbitrary angle, and at this time, the rotation is restricted in the downward direction, and once it is in the storage position, if it is tilted forward as it is, it returns to the initial state. It can be made to.

  FIG. 1 is a transverse sectional view showing a first example of an armrest device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. This armrest device is fixed to a mounting seat (not shown) provided on the back surface 2 of the seat S. A fixed cylinder 4 to be rotated, a rotary arm 5 fitted to the fixed cylinder 4 to be rotatable, a coil spring 6 having one end fixed to the rotary arm 5 and wound around the fixed cylinder 4, and the other end of the coil spring 6 The winding restricting body 7 is connected and the posture is changed by swinging the fixed body 4. In addition, the armrest 3 has a shape in which the inside member 3a and the outside member 3b of two oval cup bodies are combined by caulking, and each of the above-described members is accommodated on one end side inside. . Each of these members is manufactured by press molding using a thin metal plate.

  The fixing cylinder 4 is a drum body whose one end is opened, and the closing side is fixed to the mounting seat provided on the seat S with the mounting portion 8. The rotating arm 5 is a plate body that is rotatably fitted to one end of the fixed barrel 4, and its tail portion 5 a extends along the upper and lower surfaces of the armrest 3 and has a drum 9. In the tail portion 5a, both members 3a and 3b of the armrest 3 are recessed toward the other side with a hole 10 secured in the center, and the drum 9 is held in the recessed portion. Thereby, when the armrest 3 rotates, the rotating arm 5 rotates integrally therewith. In addition, since this depression part has a function which raises the intensity | strength of the armrest 3, it is more preferable to provide not only one but two (in this example).

  One end of the coil spring 6 is wound around the drum 9, and then the coil spring 6 is further wound around the outer periphery of the fixing cylinder 4, and the other end is connected to the winding restricting body 7. The coil spring 6 is wound around the drum 9 and the fixed drum 4 so that the coil spring 6 is wound around the drum 9 and the fixed drum 4 when the armrest 3 is rotated upward. Then, the coil spring 5 has a free state inner diameter that is several percent smaller than the outer diameter of the drum 9 and the outer diameter of the fixed cylinder 4 so that a winding force is generated in the wound state, and the rotating arm 5 is rotated downward. The brakes are effective immediately when they are moved. In addition, in this example, the surface on which the coil spring 6 hits the surface of the drum 9 or the fixed drum 4 is partially formed to be a flat surface to increase the contact area. This is in order to reduce the surface pressure and prevent engraving on the outer periphery of the fixed cylinder 4, but this molding may be performed by pressing with a roll or the like when the wire is wound around the coil, and the cost does not increase. .

  The winding restricting body 7 is a ring body having a U-shaped cross section having an inner cylinder 7 a inserted into the fixed cylinder 4 and an outer cylinder 7 b covering the outer periphery of the fixed cylinder 4. A contact projection 11 is formed on the outer periphery of the inner cylinder 7a so as to contact the inner periphery of the fixed cylinder 4. The inner periphery of the outer cylinder 7b faces the contact protrusion 11 and is slightly connected to the coil spring 6. A restricting protrusion 12 is formed to protrude while maintaining a gap, and the other end of the coil spring 6 is inserted and connected to a notch groove formed in the outer body 7b. The connecting position of the coil spring 6 is desirably a position facing the contact protrusion 11 by 180 ° so that a large force is applied when the swing restricting body 7 is swung as described later. The winding restricting body 7 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotary arm 5 via the coil spring 6. At this time, the contact protrusion 11 formed on the inner cylinder 7 a always slides on the inner periphery of the fixed cylinder 4. The posture is controlled in combination with the restricting protrusion 12.

  The following components are further applied to the above components. First, when the armrest 3 is at the initial position of FIG. 2 (hereinafter referred to as FIG. 2 when referring to the position and angle), the inner periphery of the fixed cylinder 4 is positioned about 30 ° to the left from the lower side. A first protrusion 13 protruding inwardly protrudes, and a second protrusion 14 protrudes at a position about 10 ° to the left from above. Correspondingly, a first engagement protrusion 15 is provided on the outer periphery of the inner body 7a of the tightening restricting body 7 at a position about 10 ° to the right of the lower side, and a position about 15 ° to the right of the upper side. A second engagement protrusion 16 is provided on the protrusion. In addition, the formation positions of the first and second protrusions 13 and 14 and the first and second engagement protrusions 15 and 16 are not limited to this. What is necessary is just to maintain the following relative relationship in order to obtain the adjustment range.

  When the rotary arm 5 is rotated upward and downward, the winding restricting body 7 rotates in conjunction with the coil spring 6 in a fixed relationship. At this time, the first and second protrusions 13 and 14 and the first And the second engaging protrusions 15 and 16 are arranged to interfere with each other when they come into contact, so that the winding restricting body 7 swings around the contact point 11 a of the contact protrusion 11. The posture is changed by moving. Further, an engagement portion 17 having a recessed outer periphery is formed at a position substantially above the outer body 7b of the winding restricting body 7, and the engaged portion 17 that can be fitted into the engagement portion 17 is formed on the rotary arm 5. A portion 18 is formed. The positional relationship between the engaging portion 17 and the engaged portion 18 is a partially overlapped state until the armrest 3 is in an angle adjustable range from the initial position. In addition, the formation part of these engaging part 17 and the to-be-engaged part 18 is not limited to this, In short, in order to obtain a required angle adjustment range according to the use of an armrest apparatus, the following relative relationship is provided. What is necessary is just to maintain.

  Next, the operation of the armrest device having the above configuration will be described. 3 to 6 are longitudinal sectional views of the main part showing the positional relationship between the fixing cylinder 4 and the tightening restricting body 7. When the armrest 3 (rotating arm 5) is in an almost horizontal initial position, the coil spring 6 is The fixed body 4 is wound in a normal state. Therefore, when the armrest 3 is to be rotated downward, the coil spring 6 is tightened with respect to the fixed barrel 4 and cannot be rotated. On the other hand, if it is intended to rotate upward, it can be freely loosened and freely rotated. As a result, the angle of the armrest 3 can be adjusted, and the adjustment unit is stepless.

  The above operation is performed within an angle adjustable range set about 30 ° above the horizontal. At this time, when the armrest 3 is rotated upward to adjust the angle of the armrest 3, the coil spring 6 is fixed accordingly. Slide on the trunk 4. Further, the winding restricting body 7 is also provided with a rotational force by the coil spring 6 being connected, and rotates in conjunction with the rotating arm 5. When the rotary arm 5 comes to the end point of the angle adjustable range (FIG. 3), the first engagement protrusion 15 of the inner cylinder 7a of the winding restricting body 7 comes into contact with the first protrusion 13 of the fixed cylinder 4, and the rotation thereof is performed. Then, the coil spring 6 is unwound (a certain loose state), and then the ride-up and tightening restricting body 7 swings around the contact point 11 a of the contact protrusion 11. The engaging portion 17 of the outer cylinder 7b is fitted into the engaged portion 18 of the rotating arm 5 and engaged (FIG. 4). At this time, the presence of the restricting protrusion 12 on the outer body 7b contributes to ensuring the swing motion of the winding restricting body 7 around the contact point 11a. Since this swinging motion needs to be performed with a light force, it is preferable that the contact protrusion 11 is provided in the middle of the first engagement protrusion 15 and the second engagement protrusion 16 with the best balance in terms of moment. .

  When the engaging portion 17 engages with the engaged portion 18, the coil spring 6 is held in the rewound state, so that the left end of the engaging portion 17 and the left end of the engaged portion 18 are strongly strengthened by the restoring force. As long as they are pressed against each other and the winding restricting body 7 is pushed downward to disengage the engaging portion 17 from the engaged portion 18, that is, unless it is disengaged, it will not come off. Accordingly, since the coil spring 6 is kept in a certain relaxed state (expanded state), the function is reduced thereafter, and the armrest 3 can freely rotate upward and downward, and stands up about 120 ° as it is. It can be rotated to the retracted storage position. At this time, the looseness of the coil spring 6 does not change depending on the angle of the armrest 3, so that the rotation is sufficient with the same light force over the entire stroke.

  Since this relationship does not change even when the armrest 3 is rotated downward, the armrest 3 can be returned to the vicinity of the initial position with the same light force. When the armrest 3 is rotated downward to the vicinity of the initial position (FIG. 5), the second engagement protrusion 16 of the inner cylinder 7a of the winding restricting body 7 is in contact with the second protrusion 14 of the fixed cylinder 4. After that, the tightening restricting body 7 is swung down in a reverse swinging motion, that is, moved backward to disengage the engaging portion 17 from the engaged portion 18 (FIG. 6). Then, the coil spring 6 returns to the normal winding state by the restoring force, and the armrest 3 exhibits its function at the initial position. In order to perform this engagement and disengagement with a light force, it is preferable that the engaging portion 17 and the engaged portion 18 are at a position of approximately 90 ° from the contact protrusion 11 because the moment is the smallest. Further, a large force is applied to the coil spring 6 at this time due to the lever action of the armrest 3, but when the coil spring 6 is connected to the rotary arm 5 described above, it is wound around the drum 9 formed thereon, so that the stress is dispersed. To prevent breakage.

  FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a modification of the armrest device. This shows a lock mechanism 19 that locks the movement of the rotary arm 5 (armrest 3) at any angle. It is a thing. That is, a lock lever 22 provided with a cam 21 that rotates about a rotating shaft 20 is attached to the armrest 3, and the coil spring 6 is pressed against the fixed barrel 4 by the cam 21 by rotating the lock lever 22. This makes it possible to support an upward or downward load applied to the armrest 3 at any angle, regardless of the angle, and is useful when applied to a handrail or a wheelchair. In this example, the coil spring 6 is pressed against the fixing cylinder 4, but a portion removed from the fixing cylinder 4 may be pressed against the fixing member.

  FIG. 8 is also a partial cross-sectional side view showing a modification of the armrest device. The armrest 3 is lightly locked when the armrest 3 is in the retracted position so that the armrest 3 does not fall down due to vibration or the like at that position. The storage position holding mechanism 23 is provided. That is, the pocket 24 which swells to the outer periphery is formed in the rotary arm 5 or the like, and the ring spring 26 having the engagement protrusion 25 fitted therein is fixed to the fixed cylinder 4. The position where the pocket 24 is formed is not particularly limited. According to this, when the armrest 3 comes to the retracted position, the engaging protrusion 25 fits into the pocket 24 and is held at that position. It will be possible.

  FIG. 9 is a transverse sectional view showing a second example of the armrest device, and FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view. However, in this example, the winding tightening restricting body 7 has an inner cylinder 7a and an outer cylinder 7b. However, it is a semicircular shape lacking the right half, and swings around the connecting point 7c of the coil spring 6 to change and return. Further, the first protrusion 13 and the second protrusion 14 formed on the fixing cylinder 4 are provided on the outer periphery thereof, and the first engagement protrusion 15 and the second engagement protrusion 16 formed on the winding restricting body 7 are It is provided in the inner periphery. The first example can reduce the size of the tightening restricting body 7, so that the whole can be made compact. On the other hand, in the second example, each protrusion can be easily formed and the force applied thereto There is an advantage that can be reduced. Furthermore, the engaging part 17 provided in the winding restricting body 7 is set at the left end of the outer trunk 7b, and the engaged part 18 provided in the rotating arm 5 is recessed from the outer periphery with a vertical wall. This is an inward projection. The operation is the same as in the first example.

  The above device is not limited to the armrest device, and is required to be reset by a simple operation. An angle adjustment mechanism for a member that applies a load only in one direction, for example, a reel of fishing gear, a recliner seat, etc. The present invention can be applied to various things such as tilt angle adjustment and wheelchair or toilet handrail angle adjustment.

It is a cross-sectional view of an armrest device showing a first example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the armrest apparatus which shows a 1st example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part which shows the relationship between a fixing cylinder and a winding control body. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part which shows the relationship between a fixing cylinder and a winding control body. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part which shows the relationship between a fixing cylinder and a winding control body. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the principal part which shows the relationship between a fixing cylinder and a winding control body. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the armrest apparatus which shows the modification of a 1st example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the armrest apparatus which shows the modification of a 1st example. It is a cross-sectional view of an armrest device showing a second example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the armrest apparatus which shows a 2nd example. It is a perspective view of the seat of a car.

Explanation of symbols

S Seat 1 Seat surface 2 Back surface 3 Inside member 3b of armrest 3a ア ウ ト Outside member 4 of fixed arm 5 Tail portion 6 of rotating arm 5a ６ Coil spring 7 Inner body 7b of tightening restricting body 7a 外 Outer body 7c of coil Connection point 8 Mounting portion 9 Drum 10 Drum hole 11 Contact projection 11 Contact point 12 Restriction projection 13 First projection 14 Second projection 15 First engagement projection 16 Second engagement projection 17 Engagement portion 18 Engaged Portion 19 Lock mechanism 20 Rotating shaft 21 Cam 22 Lock lever 23 Storage position holding mechanism 24 Pocket 25 Engagement protrusion 26 Ring spring

Claims (9)

While the armrest is held at an angle adjustable range where the armrest is raised by a certain angle from the horizontal initial position, it cannot be rotated downward and can be rotated upward. In an armrest device configured to be able to rotate downward to a position,
The armrest device includes a fixed cylinder fixed to the seat, a rotary arm that is rotatably fitted to the fixed cylinder and linked to the armrest, a coil spring that is fixed to the rotary arm and wound around the fixed cylinder, The other end of the coil spring is connected, and consists of a variable winding restricting body whose posture changes with respect to the fixed cylinder,
When the armrest is within the adjustable range of angle from the initial position, the coil spring is tightened to disable the rotation of the rotating arm and is unable to rotate, and is loosened to rotate upward and is not allowed to rotate. When the rotating arm exceeds the angle adjustable range, the winding tightening restrictor acts on the fixed body and is changed to engage the rotating arm, and the coil spring The armrest is held in a relaxed state and can be turned upward and downward from the retracted position to the initial position. When the armrest returns to the initial position, the winding restricting body is fixed again. An armrest device, wherein the armrest device is actuated backward by acting on the body and disengaged from the rotating arm so that the coil spring is returned to a normal winding state.   The fluctuation and backward movement of the tightening restricting body change the posture by swinging with respect to the fixed drum, and the first protrusion provided on the fixed drum is provided with the first protrusion provided on the tightening restrictor. When the engaging protrusion rides up and the winding restricting body changes, the coiled spring is loosened uniformly by engaging the engaged portion with the engaging portion provided on the rotating arm. The second engagement protrusion of the winding restricting body rides on the second protrusion provided on the fixed cylinder and moves backward. At this time, the engaging portion of the tightening restricting body is 2. The armrest device according to claim 1, wherein the coil spring is released from the engaged portion and returns to a normal winding state.   The winding restricting body is formed with a contact projection that contacts the inner periphery of the fixing cylinder, and the swinging restricting body swings around this contact point. The armrest device according to claim 2, wherein the one engaging protrusion and the second engaging protrusion are provided on the outer periphery thereof, and the first protrusion and the second protrusion of the fixing cylinder are provided on the inner periphery thereof.   The head of the winding restricting body is swung around the connection point of the coil spring, and the first engaging protrusion and the second engaging protrusion of the winding restricting body are on the inner periphery thereof, and the first protrusion of the fixing cylinder and The armrest device according to claim 2, wherein the second protrusion is provided on an outer periphery thereof.   The armrest device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the coil spring is attached to the rotating arm by winding a number of turns around a drum formed on the rotating arm so as to be tightened when rotated downward.   The armrest device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a lock mechanism for pressing the coil spring against the fixing member is attached to the armrest.   The armrest device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a storage position holding mechanism in which the rotating arm is lightly locked to the fixed body when the armrest is in the storage position.   The armrest device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a portion of the coil spring that contacts the fixing drum and the drum is partially flat.   The armrest is configured by caulking and joining a cup-shaped inside member and an outside member, respectively, and a fixing cylinder, a rotating arm, a winding restricting body, and a coil spring are accommodated therein. Item 1. Armrest device.