JP2005304514A - Cushion structure and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cushion structure 1 that is comfortable to sit on and can be inexpensively manufactured. <P>SOLUTION: The cushion structure has a filmy member 3 attached to the frame 2 of a chair as an attached portion in a spread state and a supporting plate 4 as a shape-retaining member insert-molded in the filmy member 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cushion structure and a manufacturing method thereof. More specifically, the present invention is a cushion structure that functions as a seat, a backrest, a headrest, a footrest, a support body, etc., attached to a mounted portion such as a chair or a bed, and exhibits cushioning properties by the elastic force of the membrane member The present invention relates to a product and a manufacturing method thereof.

  As a chair seat and backrest (cushion structure) using a membrane member, for example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-299501. The seat 101 and the backrest 102 are shown in FIGS. Both the seat 101 and the backrest 102 have a structure in which a film-like member (support sheet) 105 is stretched on the frames 103 and 104. The film-like member 105 is made by weaving string-like fibers vertically and horizontally, and expands and contracts according to the applied load. A lumbar support 106 is provided behind the backrest 102. The lumbar support 106 is attached to a support base 108 attached between two subframes 107 via an intermediate support 109 made of an elastic body.

  When sitting on a chair in which the seat 101 and the backrest 102 are assembled, the membrane-like member 105 constituting the seat 101 supports the seated person while expanding and contracting according to the degree of weight, and the membrane-like member 105 constituting the backrest 102 is weighted. It supports the seated person's back while expanding and contracting according to the degree of hanging. That is, the membrane member 105 functions as a seat or backrest having cushioning properties. Also, the lumbar support 106 supports the seated person's waist through the membrane member 105.

JP 2001-299501 A

  However, in the seat 101 and the backrest 102 using the above-described membrane-like member 105, the membrane-like member 105 is only stretched on the frames 103 and 104, and the extension of the membrane-like member 105 is at the center of the portion where the seated person hits. Since it becomes the largest, it is difficult to bend the membrane member 105 in accordance with the body of the seated person, and the sitting comfort is poor.

  In addition, when the lumbar support 106 is provided, it is necessary to prepare the lumbar support 106 separately from the backrest 102 and to assemble it to the chair separately from the backrest 102, resulting in an increase in the number of parts and an increase in the number of assembling steps. For this reason, the manufacturing cost was high.

  An object of this invention is to provide the cushion structure which is excellent in sitting comfort, and can be manufactured cheaply, and its manufacturing method.

  In order to achieve such an object, the cushion structure according to claim 1 includes a membrane-like member attached to the attached portion in a state of being spread and a shape-retaining member insert-molded on the membrane-like member. . In the portion where the shape retaining member is provided, it is possible to suppress the membrane member from being bent excessively when a load of a supported object such as a seated person is applied, thereby controlling the shape of the membrane member, Since the film-shaped member expands and contracts at a portion where there is no shape-retaining member, the shape-retaining member is displaced and follows, so that this structure functions as a cushion. Since the shape-retaining member is insert-molded into the film-like member, its manufacture is simple.

  Moreover, the cushion structure according to claim 2 is insert-molded at a position where the shape retaining member directly supports the supported object of the membrane member. Therefore, the supported object can be supported at a more accurate position.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the cushion structure includes a frame-shaped member that is insert-molded around the membrane-shaped member, and attaches the frame-shaped member to the attachment portion. Therefore, a cushion structure can be assembled | attached with respect to the other party of an assembly | attachment by attaching a frame-shaped member to a to-be-attached part.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the shape retaining member is bent or curved in accordance with the shape of the supported object. Therefore, the supported object can be supported in a more natural posture.

  The cushion structure according to claim 5 is used as a backrest of a chair, and the shape retaining member forms a portion including a back fulcrum. Here, the back fulcrum is the most forward protruding portion at the center position of the backrest in the width direction. Therefore, a part that plays a central role in supporting the back of the seated person as the object to be supported can be formed by the shape retaining member. Moreover, it is not necessary to assemble the lumbar support as a separate part on the backrest or chair.

  In the cushion structure according to claim 6, the degree of flexibility is partially changed by partially changing the thickness of the shape retaining member. The flexibility of the thin part of the shape retaining member is high, and the flexibility of the thick part is low. By partially changing the flexibility of the shape retaining member, the shape retaining member can be easily deformed according to the shape of the supported object.

  Furthermore, the invention described in claim 7 is the method for manufacturing the cushion structure according to claim 3, wherein the frame-shaped member is insert-molded simultaneously with the shape-retaining member. Therefore, the shape-retaining member and the frame-shaped member can be molded simultaneously.

  Thus, in the cushion structure according to claim 1, the cushion structure is provided with a membrane-like member attached in a state of being spread to the attachment portion and a shape-retaining member insert-molded on the membrane-like member. In the case of a chair seat or backrest, it is possible to maintain the shape of the membrane-like member at the time of sitting in an appropriate shape, and to improve the sitting comfort. In particular, by forming the shape-retaining member into a shape that matches the body of the seated person, the seated person can be supported in a natural posture, and the sitting comfort can be further improved. Since the shape-retaining member is insert-molded into the film-like member, the shape-retaining member is easy to manufacture because it does not require processing such as sewing and bonding to attach the shape-retaining member to the film-like member, and the production cost can be reduced. Further, the insert-molded shape-retaining member is excellent in appearance (look) and does not need to be covered with a skin member or the like, and can be used as it is as an appearance member.

  Further, in the cushion structure according to claim 2, since the shape retaining member is insert-molded at a position directly supporting the supported object of the film-like member, the supported object can be supported at a more accurate position. It is possible to further improve the comfort (sitting comfort, drowning comfort, etc.).

  The cushion structure according to claim 3 includes a frame-shaped member that is insert-molded around the membrane-shaped member, and the frame-shaped member is attached to the mounted portion. A cushion structure can be assembled | attached to the other party of an assembly | attachment by attaching a shaped member. That is, it is possible to easily assemble the membrane member with a predetermined tension with respect to the assembly counterpart.

  Further, in the cushion structure according to claim 4, since the shape retaining member is bent or curved in accordance with the shape of the supported object, the supported object can be supported in a more natural posture, and the usability is further improved. This can be further improved.

  In the cushion structure according to claim 5, since the shape retaining member forms a portion including the back fulcrum, the portion that plays a central role in supporting the back of the seated person as the supported object is formed by the shape retaining member. It can be formed and the usability can be further improved. In addition, since it is not necessary to assemble the lumbar support as a separate part, the number of parts can be reduced and the number of work steps required to assemble the lumbar support can be reduced. For these reasons, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the cushion structure according to claim 6, since the degree of flexibility is partially changed by partially changing the thickness of the shape-retaining member, the shape-retaining member is changed according to the shape of the supported object. It can be deformed, and the supported object can be supported in a more natural posture. For this reason, the usability can be further improved.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to claim 7, when the cushion structure according to claim 3 is manufactured, the frame-shaped member is insert-molded simultaneously with the shape-retaining member. It can be molded at the same time. For this reason, the increase in the manufacturing process of a structure can be prevented, and the increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the present invention will be described in detail based on the best mode shown in the drawings. In addition, this embodiment demonstrates the case where the cushion structure of this invention is applied to the seat of a chair.

  1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the cushion structure of the present invention. The cushion structure 1 includes a membrane member 3 that is attached to the chair frame 2 that is an attachment portion in a state of being spread, and a support plate 4 that is a shape-retaining member that is insert-molded into the membrane member 3. . In the present embodiment, the cushion structure 1 includes a frame-like member 5 that is insert-molded around the membrane-like member 3. This frame-like member 5 is attached to the frame 2 of the chair. That is, by attaching the frame-shaped member 5 to the chair frame 2, the entire cushion structure 1 can be assembled to the chair. The frame-like member 5 is, for example, screwed to a receiving metal fitting 6 welded to the frame 2.

  The film-like member 3 is, for example, a mesh, a film, a fabric, a nonwoven fabric, or the like. The film-like member 3 has sufficient strength to support the weight of a seated person as a supported object, and has elasticity to expand and contract in accordance with the applied load. The film-like member 3 is stretched with a predetermined tension so as to exhibit elasticity suitable for use as a cushion. In the present embodiment, the film-like member 3 is made of a material having heat shrinkability, for example, made of olefin resin or polyester, and is supported by being sandwiched between the molds 7 and 8 in a no-tension state as will be described in detail later. After the plate 4 and the frame-shaped member 5 are insert-molded, the film-shaped member 3 is given a predetermined tension by being contracted by heating. A hole 3a (not shown in FIG. 2) is formed at the position where the support plate 4 of the membrane member 3 is molded, which becomes a resin passage during insert molding.

  The support plate 4 and the frame-like member 5 are made of resin and are insert-molded. In addition, the kind of resin to be used is not specifically limited. The support plate 4 is formed on the surface of the film member 3, and the frame member 5 is formed on the back surface of the film member 3. The support plate 4 is insert-molded at a position that directly supports the seated person of the membrane member 3. In the present embodiment, it is considered that a seated person generally sits in the center of the film-like member 3, and thus the support plate 4 is formed in the center of the film-like member 3. The support plate 4 has, for example, a shape suitable for supporting a seated person, for example, a shape in which a semicircular portion 4a that supports the buttocks and two projecting portions 4b that support the thighs are integrated.

  In this embodiment, the support plate 4 and the frame-like member 5 are insert-molded simultaneously. The manufacturing method of the cushion structure 1 is demonstrated based on FIG. A cavity 9 for forming the support plate 4 is formed in the lower mold 7 for insert molding, and a cavity 10 for forming the frame-shaped member 5 is formed in the upper mold 8. The film-like member 3 is sandwiched between the lower mold 7 and the upper mold 8 in a tension-free state (FIG. 3A). At this time, the position of the hole 3a of the film-like member 3 is set to the position of the gate 8a for the support plate. When the resin 12 is injected in this state, the resin 12 is filled into the cavity 9 of the lower mold 7 from the support plate gate 8a through the hole 3a of the membrane member 3, and from the frame member gate (not shown). Resin 12 is filled into the cavity 10 of the upper mold 8 (FIG. 3B). Thereby, the film-shaped member 3, the support plate 4, and the frame-shaped member 5 are integrated. And the tension | tensile_strength which exhibits the elastic force required as a cushioning material is given by heating and contracting the membranous member 3. As a means for heating the film-like member 3, a heated mold (not shown) may be pressed against the film-like member 3, or the film using the heat at the time of forming the support plate 4 and the frame-like member 5 is used. The shaped member 3 may be heated. Since the hole 3a of the membrane member 3 is hidden by the support plate 4, the appearance of the cushion structure 1 as a product is not deteriorated. After the resin 12 that becomes the support plate 4 and the frame-like member 5 is cured, it is removed from the molds 7 and 8, and the film-like member 3 protruding from the periphery of the frame-like member 5 is cut out. Thereby, the cushion structure 1 is completed.

  The film-like member 3 is sandwiched between the lower die 7 and the upper die 8 in a tensionless state, and the film-like member 3 is heated and contracted after insert molding of the support plate 4 and the frame-like member 5 to obtain a predetermined value. By applying the above tension, it is not necessary to apply a pretension to the membrane member 3 when the membrane member 3 is attached to the molds 7 and 8. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a tension applying device in the manufacturing apparatus, and the manufacturing apparatus can be simplified.

  The seat assembly is completed by attaching the frame-shaped member 5 of the cushion structure 1 manufactured as described above to the frame 2 of the chair. When sitting on a chair with a seat, the support plate 4 mainly supports the body of the seated person. At this time, the support plate 4 is displaced by the expansion and contraction of the membrane member 3, and the support plate 4 itself is also deformed, so that it functions as a cushion. Here, as compared with the case where the support plate 4 is not provided, when the support plate 4 is not provided, the membrane member 3 is directly seated, and therefore, the elongation at the center of the portion of the membrane member 3 where the seated person hits is increased. Become the largest. For this reason, the film-like member 3 cannot be bent in accordance with the shape of the seated person's body, and the tension acting as a cushion is uneven at the portion where the seated person's body hits, thereby deteriorating the sitting comfort. . On the other hand, in the present invention, the body of the seated person is not received by the film-like member 3, but is mainly received by the support plate 4, so that the body of the seated person can be supported by the plate-like member and becomes a cushion. The tension can be prevented from becoming partially uneven, and the sitting comfort can be improved.

  In the present invention, since the support plate 4 is insert-molded into the film-like member 3, the attachment of the support plate 4 to the film-like member 3 requires no processing such as sewing and bonding, and is easy to manufacture and reduces the manufacturing cost. Can be cheap. Further, the insert-molded support plate 4 is excellent in appearance (appearance) and does not need to be covered with a skin member or the like, and can be used as it is as an appearance member. This also makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, these effects are the same also about the frame-shaped member 5 insert-molded.

  The present invention can be applied to general chairs, office chairs, work chairs, nursing chairs and other general seats, backrests, headrests, footrests, etc., bicycles, two-wheeled vehicles, four-wheeled vehicles, The present invention can be applied to seats, backrests, headrests, footrests, and the like of vehicles such as buses and trains, and can also be used as a cushion body such as a bed.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above description, the support plate 4 is insert-molded at the center of the film-like member 3, but it goes without saying that the position where the support plate 4 is formed is not limited to the center of the film-like member 3.

  In the above description, the support plate 4 is insert-molded on the surface of the membrane member 3, but may be insert-molded on the back surface. Similarly, in the above description, the frame-shaped member 5 is insert-molded on the back surface of the film-shaped member 3, but may be insert-molded on the surface. In addition, in FIG. 4, the example which insert-molded the support plate 4 in the back surface of the film-form member 3 is shown, and the manufacturing method is shown in FIG. When the resin 12 is injected in a state where the film-shaped member 3 is sandwiched between the lower mold 7 and the upper mold 8 (FIG. 5A), the resin 12 injected from the gate 8a for the support plate becomes the film-shaped member 3. While being pushed away, the cavity 9 of the lower mold 7 is filled, and the resin 12 is filled into the cavity 10 of the upper mold 8 from a gate for a frame-shaped member (not shown) (FIG. 5B). Thereby, the cushion structure 1 with which the film-shaped member 3, the support plate 4, and the frame-shaped member 5 were integrated can be manufactured.

  Further, the support plate 4 may be insert-molded on both the front surface and the back surface of the membrane member 3. Similarly, the frame-shaped member 5 may be insert-molded on both the front surface and the back surface of the film-shaped member 3. FIG. 6 shows an example in which the support plate 4 is insert-molded on both the front surface and the back surface of the membrane member 3, and the manufacturing method thereof is shown in FIG. In this case, after the support plate 4 is insert-molded on the surface of the membrane member 3 (FIGS. 7A and 7B), the upper die 8 is replaced with another upper die 11 and supported on the back surface of the membrane member 3. The plate 4 is insert-molded (FIGS. 7C and 7D).

  In the above description, the support plate 4 is formed into a shape in which the semicircular portion 4a that supports the buttocks and the two protruding portions 4b that support the thighs are integrated, but this is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, it may be a rectangle or a circle shown in FIG.

  In the above description, the support plate 4 is separated from the frame-shaped member 5, but the support plate 4 may be continuous with the frame-shaped member 5 as shown in FIG. 9, for example.

  In the above description, the number of support plates 4 is one, but a plurality of support plates 4 may be provided. FIG. 10 shows an example in which two support plates 4 are provided.

  The support plate 4 is not limited to a flat plate shape, and may be bent or curved according to the shape of the seated person's body. An example in which the support plate 4 is bent halfway is shown in FIG. By doing in this way, a seated person can be supported with a natural posture and sitting comfort can be improved further. In FIG. 11, the frame-like member 5 is also bent. The cushion structure 1 having such a shape is suitable for use as a backrest. In FIG. 11, the mesh of the film-like member 3 is not shown.

  Further, the thickness of the support plate 4 may be partially varied to partially vary the degree of flexibility. By doing in this way, the support plate 4 can be deformed according to the shape of the seated person's body, and the seated person can be supported in a more natural posture. For this reason, sitting comfort can be improved further.

  In the above description, the support plate 4 and the frame-like member 5 are insert-molded at the same time, but it is not always necessary to insert-mold at the same time. After the support plate 4 is insert-molded, the frame-shaped member 5 may be insert-molded, or after the frame-shaped member 5 is insert-molded, the support plate 4 may be insert-molded.

  Moreover, although the cushion structure 1 of the above-mentioned description was provided with the frame-shaped member 5, you may abbreviate | omit the frame-shaped member 5 as shown, for example in FIG. That is, after the support plate 4 is attached to the membrane member 3 by insert molding, the periphery of the membrane member 3 may be attached to the frame member 5 by means such as sewing, or the membrane member 3 may be attached to the chair. You may make it attach directly to a flame | frame.

  In the above description, the cushion structure 1 that functions as a seat is taken as an example. However, the cushion structure 1 is not necessarily limited to a seat, and may be a cushion structure 1 that functions as a backrest, a headrest, an armrest, a footrest, or the like. Moreover, it is not restricted to the cushion structure 1 of a chair, For example, the cushion structure 1 such as a bed may be used.

  In the case of the cushion structure 1 that functions as a backrest, the support plate 4 may form a portion including a back fulcrum (a portion protruding forward in the center position in the width direction of the backrest). In addition, the example which formed the part containing a back fulcrum with the support plate 4 is shown in FIG. In this way, it is not necessary to bother assembling the lumbar support as a separate part as in the prior art, so that the number of parts can be reduced and the number of work steps required for assembling the lumbar support can be reduced. For these reasons, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  Furthermore, in the above description, the film-like member 3 is formed of a heat-shrinkable material, is sandwiched between the molds 7 and 8 in a non-tensioned state, and is heated and shrunk after insert molding to provide a predetermined tension. However, the means for applying tension to the membrane member 3 is not limited to this. For example, when the film member 3 is formed of a material that does not have heat shrinkability, the film member 3 is sandwiched between the lower mold 7 and the upper mold 8 with a predetermined tension (see FIG. 3 (A), FIG. 5 (A), FIG. 7 (A)), and the resin 12 is filled in this state (FIG. 3 (B), FIG. 5 (B), FIG. 7 (B) to (D)). Anyway. Further, tension may be applied to the membrane member 3 by another method.

It is a top view which shows 1st Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a position corresponding to a line II-II in FIG. 1, showing a state in which the cushion structure in FIG. 1 is attached to a chair frame. The manufacturing method of the cushion structure of FIG. 1 is shown, (A) is sectional drawing of the state which match | combined the lower mold | type and the upper mold | type, (B) is sectional drawing of the state which inject | emitted resin. It is sectional drawing which shows 2nd Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. 4A and 4B show a method for manufacturing the cushion structure of FIG. 4, where FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a lower mold and an upper mold are combined, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows 3rd Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. 6 shows a manufacturing method of the cushion structure of FIG. 6, (A) is a sectional view of a state in which the lower mold and the upper mold are combined when forming a support plate on the surface of the membrane member, and (B) is a cavity of the lower mold (C) is a cross-sectional view of a state in which a lower plate and an upper die are combined when forming a support plate on the back surface of a film-shaped member, and (D) is a resin in the upper mold cavity. It is sectional drawing of the state which filled up. It is a top view which shows 4th Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. It is a top view which shows 5th Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. It is a top view which shows 6th Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows 7th Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. It is a top view which shows 8th Embodiment of the cushion structure of this invention. It is a perspective view of the cushion structure of the conventional chair. The backrest of FIG. 13 is shown, (A) is a front view which shows a mode that a part of film-like member was removed, (B) is a side view. It is sectional drawing which shows the cushion structure of the conventional chair and which follows the XV-XV line | wire of FIG. 14 (A).

Explanation of symbols

1 Cushion structure 2 Chair frame (attached part)
3 Membrane member 4 Support plate (shape retaining member)
5 Frame-shaped member

Claims (7)

  A cushion structure comprising: a membrane member attached in a state of being spread on an attachment portion; and a shape-retaining member insert-molded on the membrane member.   The cushion structure according to claim 1, wherein the shape-retaining member is insert-molded at a position that directly supports a supported object of the film-like member.   The cushion structure according to claim 1, further comprising a frame-shaped member that is insert-molded around the membrane-shaped member, and the frame-shaped member is attached to the attached portion.   The cushion structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the shape retaining member is bent or curved in accordance with the shape of the supported object.   It is a cushion structure used as a backrest of a chair, Comprising: The said shape-retaining member forms the part containing a back fulcrum, The cushion structure as described in any one of Claim 1 to 4 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The cushion structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a degree of flexibility is partially changed by partially changing a thickness of the shape retaining member.   4. The method for manufacturing a cushion structure according to claim 3, wherein the frame member is insert-molded simultaneously with the shape retaining member.

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