JP2007268049A - Lumbar support mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a lumbar support mechanism capable of adjusting repulsive force with a simple structure. <P>SOLUTION: The lumbar support mechanism 10 arranged in a seat back 2 includes first and second S springs 11, 12; and a wire 20. Both ends of the S springs 11, 12 are fixed to side frames 4b, 4c provided on both sides of the seat back 2. Both ends of the wire 20 are provided at the side frames 4b, 4c. The middle parts of the wire 20 are disposed over the engagement parts of the S springs 11, 12. An adjustment mechanism 21 adjusts the length of the wire 20 between the side frames 4b, 4c. The tension of the wire 20 and the stretching and support states of the S springs 11, 12 are adjusted with the length adjustment. Thus, the repulsive force of the lumber support mechanism 10 is adjusted. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a lumbar support mechanism mounted on a seat back of a seat, and particularly relates to a lumbar support mechanism whose repulsive force is adjustable.

As a lumbar support mechanism provided inside a seat back of a seat, one constituted by an S spring or the like is known. In addition, in such a lumbar support mechanism, a lumbar support mechanism that can adjust the support force of the lumbar portion of the seated person is provided (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this type of lumbar support mechanism, the repulsive force is generally adjusted by moving the plate-shaped member back and forth in the seat back or pressing the S spring with the plate-shaped member.
JP 2001-252149 A

  However, the above-described lumbar support mechanism has the following problems. That is, in order to adjust the repulsive force, a plate-like member and a mechanism for moving the plate-like member are necessary, and the structure is complicated.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a lumbar support mechanism that can adjust the repulsive force with a simple structure.

  A lumbar support mechanism according to a first invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a lumbar support mechanism provided in a seat back, and includes a support member provided on both sides of the seat back and left and right members of the support member. The first and second elastic members, both ends of which are fixed, and both members of the support member, respectively, and an intermediate portion thereof is at least one of the first elastic member and the second elastic member. It is characterized by comprising: a wire arranged so as to span the joint portion; and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the length between the left and right members of the wire.

  In addition to the above, the lumbar support mechanism according to a second aspect of the present invention that solves the above-mentioned problem is such that the elastic member is formed by bending the elongated member at a plurality of locations on the same surface and bending in a direction perpendicular to the surface. It is characterized by being S spring comprised.

  In addition to the above, the lumbar support mechanism according to a third invention for solving the above-described problems is characterized in that the engaging portion includes a tubular member through which the wire is inserted.

  According to the lumbar support mechanism of the first aspect, since the wire tension, the characteristics of the elastic member, and the like can be changed by adjusting the length of the wire, the repulsive force of the lumbar support mechanism is adjusted with a simple structure. be able to.

  According to the lumbar support mechanism of the second aspect, in addition to the above effect, by using the S spring, the increase / decrease in the length of the wire can be smoothly converted into a change in the characteristics of the bending deformation and the elastic deformation. be able to.

  According to the lumbar support mechanism of the third aspect, in addition to the above-described effects, the wire can be easily passed over the elastic member and smoothly moved, and the length of the wire can be easily adjusted.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In addition, in each figure, the structure is expanded and reduced and abbreviate | omitted and shown schematically.

  A vehicle seat 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a seat back 2 that supports the back of the occupant and a seat cushion 3 that supports the legs of the occupant. A seat back frame 4 as a support member is provided inside the seat back 2. The seat back frame 4 includes a top frame 4a that extends left and right in the upper direction, and side frames 4b and 4c as left and right members that extend downward from both left and right ends of the top frame 4a. The lower ends of the side frames 4 b and 4 c are connected by a reinforcing member 5.

  A lumbar support mechanism 10 for elastically supporting the back of the occupant is provided inside the seat back 2. The lumbar support mechanism 10 includes two S springs 11 and 12 as elastic members extending in the left-right direction, and a wire 20 that connects the S springs 11 and 12.

  The left and right ends of the S springs 11 and 12 are fixed to the left and right side frames 4b and 4c, respectively, via attachment portions 6. These two S springs 11 and 12 are arranged in parallel with a predetermined distance from each other. The S springs 11 and 12 are formed by bending a linear elastic material in a meandering manner in the same plane. When a backward force is input to the surface surrounded by the contour connecting the plurality of bent portions 11a and 12a formed above and below, the S springs 11 and 12 are bent in the direction perpendicular to the surface, and the intermediate portion is Deforms to move backwards. Further, along with this bending deformation, the bending angles of the plurality of bent portions 11a, 12a are increased, and the S spring is expanded and contracted. Therefore, when the occupant leans, the occupant's back is elastically supported by the repulsive force due to the expansion and contraction deformation and the bending deformation.

  On the left and right sides of the upper S spring 11, engaging portions 13 and 14 are formed for bridging the wire 20 movably. The engaging portions 13 and 14 include a guide portion 16 through which the wire 20 is inserted, and a fixture 17 that fixes the guide portion 16 near the apex of the bent portion 11a. The guide portion 16 is formed in a tubular shape from, for example, a synthetic resin and extends in the left-right direction, and the wire 20 can slide and move inside the guide portion 16.

  On the other hand, the lower S spring 12 is provided with an engaging portion 15 at a lower bent portion 12a at the center in the left-right direction. The engaging portion 15 includes a guide portion 16 through which the wire 20 is inserted, and a fixing bracket 18 that fixes the guide portion 16 to the S spring 12. The fixing bracket 18 is formed in a T-shape when viewed from the front, and the bottom thereof is fixed to the two bent portions 12a and 12a.

  One wire 20 is bridged between the plurality of guide portions 16. The wire 20 is composed of a member having flexibility and tensile strength. One end 20 a of the wire 20 is fixed to one side frame 4 b through the attachment portion 6. An intermediate portion of the wire 20 is inserted through the guide portions 16 of the engaging portions 13, 15, and 14 in order. That is, it is bridged alternately between the upper S spring 11 and the lower S spring 12 to form a meandering shape. The other end 20b of the wire 20 is connected to the adjusting mechanism 21 via the other mounting portion 6 and the side frame 4c. A region supported by the wire 20 is shown as a support region A by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  The adjustment mechanism 21 includes a winding mechanism that winds the wire 20 manually or electrically, and has a function of adjusting the length of the wire 20. That is, when the wire 20 is wound up by a dial operation of the adjustment mechanism 21 or the like, the wire 20 inserted into the guide portion 16 is pulled and moved toward the adjustment mechanism 21 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. To do. Accordingly, the length between the left and right side frames 4b and 4c of the wire 20 is shortened. Thus, the length of the wire 20 from the one end 20a to the other end 20b can be adjusted. As the length changes, the tension of the wire 20 is adjusted, and the S springs 11 and 12 can be deformed as shown in FIG.

  Next, the operation of the lumbar support mechanism 10 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, in the first state shown in FIG. 2, the length of the wire 20 extending from the one end 20a to the other end 20b, that is, outside the adjusting mechanism 21, is set long, and the wire 20 is loose. Since the two S springs 11 and 12 are not pulled by the wire 20, they are in a free state and extend horizontally in parallel to each other at a predetermined distance from each other.

  In this first state, the S springs 11 and 12 are easily elastically deformed and have a minimum tension. Here, the repulsive force of the entire lumbar support mechanism 10 determined by the repulsive force with respect to the bending deformation of the S springs 11 and 12, the repulsive force with respect to the extension of the S spring, and the tension of the wire 20 is represented by L1 in FIG. The characteristic is shown. Therefore, when an occupant leans on and a load is input, it is supported softly and elastically.

  Next, when the length between the side frames 4b and 4c of the wire 20 is shortened by the adjusting mechanism 21, the tension of the wire 20 is generated and the second state shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. At this time, the S springs 11 and 12 are deformed by being pulled by the wire 20. That is, the length of the wire 20 is shortened, and the distance between the guide portions 16 is reduced in a plane perpendicular to the front-rear direction. Along with this, the engaging portions 13 to 15 are pulled so as to approach each other, and the S springs 11 and 12 are stretched and deformed.

  In the second state, in addition to the S springs 11 and 12 already extending in the initial state in which no load is applied in the front-rear direction, the wires 20 are supported by the plurality of engaging portions 13 to 15 other than both ends. Become. Therefore, the S springs 11 and 12 are not easily elastically deformed. Furthermore, tension of the wire 20 is also generated. For this reason, the repulsive force of the lumbar support mechanism 10 exhibits a characteristic like L2 in FIG. Therefore, when the occupant leans on, it is harder and more rigidly supported than in the first state.

  As described above, according to the lumbar support mechanism 10 in the present embodiment, the repulsive force of the lumbar support mechanism 10 can be adjusted to a desired strength with a simple configuration. That is, by adjusting the length of the wire 20 passed between the plurality of engaging portions 13 to 15 of the two S springs 11 and 12, the tension of the wire 20 and the extension and support state of the S springs 11 and 12 are changed. Thus, the repulsive force of the lumbar support mechanism 10 can be adjusted. Therefore, the present invention can be applied only by adding the wire 20 and the engaging portions 13 to 15 to the existing seat frame structure, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the tension of the wire 20 itself becomes a supporting force for the entire lumbar support mechanism 10, and the supporting state and the extending state of the S springs 11 and 12 can be changed by the tension, which is efficient. That is, by adjusting the tension of the wire 20, it is possible to obtain a non-linear support characteristic having both the linearity characteristic of the S springs 11 and 12 and the characteristic close to a rigid body by the wire 20.

  Furthermore, the provision of the guide portion 16 can absorb slippage at the engaging portions 13 to 15 between the S springs 11 and 12 and the wire 20 to prevent noise and improve strength and durability. . Further, by fixing the guide portion 16 so as to extend in the tangential direction in the vicinity of the apex of the bent portions 11a and 12a of the S springs 11 and 12, the wire 20 can be easily fixed, and the length of the wire 20 Can be smoothly converted into a force for deforming the S springs 11 and 12. Furthermore, by using the T-shaped fixing bracket 18, the position of the support region A can be appropriately set without being limited to the positions of the S springs 11 and 12.

  In the seat back 2, since the fixing position of the wire 20 is set downward, a wide range in the vertical direction of the support region A due to the tension of the wire 20 can be secured. Therefore, by continuously supporting the occupant's back in a wide range, the posture during long-time driving can be maintained, and the progress of fatigue can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the first state and the second state are exemplified as representative states, but the states can be continuously changed. For example, the position can be adjusted at any position, for example, in the middle of the first state and the second state or in a state where the length is further shortened by further pulling the wire 20 from the second state.

  The adjusting mechanism 21 may be manually operated or electrically operated, and can be set at any part of the seat back 2. For example, when the adjustment mechanism 21 is electrified by a motor, it is possible to set the motor under the seat cushion 3 and install only the switch at another location.

  Moreover, although the engaging parts 13-15 were set as the structure provided in two places in the upper S spring 11, and one place in the lower S spring 12 in the said embodiment, it is not limited to this, The position and number can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, even if there are three or more S springs, it is applicable.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In addition, when implementing this invention, of course, the component of this invention can be variously changed and implemented in the range which does not deviate from the summary of invention.

The front view which shows the structure of the lumbar support mechanism of 1st Embodiment of this invention. The front view which shows the 1st state of the lumbar support mechanism. The front view which shows the 2nd state of the same lumbar support mechanism. The graph which shows the relationship between the input load and the repulsive force in the same lumbar support mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

10 ... Lumber support mechanism, 11, 12 ... S spring, 11a. 12a ... Bending part, 13-15 ... Engaging part, 16 ... Guide part, 17 ... Fixing tool, 18 ... Fixing bracket, 20 ... Wire, 21 ... Adjustment mechanism.

Claims (3)

A lumbar support mechanism provided in the seat back,
Support members provided on both sides of the seat back;
First and second elastic members having opposite ends fixed to the left and right members of the support member;
A wire provided on each of the members of the support member, and an intermediate portion of the wire placed across at least one engaging portion of the first elastic member and the second elastic member;
A lumbar support mechanism comprising: an adjustment mechanism for adjusting a length between the left and right members of the wire. 2. The lumbar support according to claim 1, wherein the elastic member is an S spring configured such that the elongated member is bent at a plurality of locations on the same surface and can be bent and deformed in a direction perpendicular to the surface. 3. mechanism. The lumbar support mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the engaging portion includes a tubular member through which the wire is inserted.

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