JP2013169927A - Armrest - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To constitute an armrest so that feeling can be adequately adjusted depending on supporting parts.SOLUTION: An armrest 10 for functioning as an elbow rest of a vehicular seat includes a core material 11 extending long in the longitudinal direction, and an urethane pad 12 installed on the upper face of the core material 11 for functioning as a cushion material when an elbow rests thereon. The thicknesses in the height direction of the urethane pad 12 are differentiated in the longitudinal direction so that cushioning properties when the elbow rests thereon can be adjusted in the longitudinal direction.

Description

  The present invention relates to an armrest. Specifically, the present invention relates to an armrest that functions as an armrest for a vehicle seat.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an armrest for a vehicle seat, a configuration in which a cushion material is attached to an upper surface of a core material serving as a base and a skin material is covered on the surface is known (Patent Document 1). In this armrest, a plurality of ribs are formed to protrude on the back of the skin material, and when the seat occupant puts his elbow, each rib precedes and deforms, making the feel at the initial contact soft Yes.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-345566

  However, in the above prior art, when the seated occupant puts his elbow, the part that touches the elbow and the part that touches the fingertip have the same structure, and the structure that adjusts the touch appropriately according to the part to be supported It is not. The present invention has been created as a solution to the above-described problem, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a structure in which the feel of the armrest can be appropriately adjusted according to the portion to be supported.

In order to solve the above problems, the armrest of the present invention takes the following means.
A first invention is an armrest that functions as an armrest for a vehicle seat, and a core material that extends in a longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction, and a urethane pad that is installed on an upper surface of the core material and functions as a cushion material when armrested. The thickness of the urethane pad in the height direction can be varied in the front-rear direction, so that the cushioning property at the time of armrest can be adjusted to vary in the front-rear direction.

  According to the first invention, the thickness of the urethane pad in the height direction is changed in the front-rear direction so that the cushioning property at the time of armrest can be adjusted in the front-rear direction. Can be adjusted appropriately.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect described above, the thickness of the urethane pad in the height direction is set to decrease toward the front side.

  According to the second aspect of the invention, the cushioning property when armrested by the urethane pad is cushioned toward the front side where the cushioning property is high at the portion where the elbow hits the heaviest load when armresting, and the action of the load becomes lighter. It is possible to make adjustments that are optimized according to the action of the load so that the characteristics become lower.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect described above, the urethane pad has a configuration in which the upper surface is flush and the thickness is adjusted by changing the height to the lower surface. It is provided along.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cushioning property can be adjusted in the front-rear direction while the elbow can be easily placed by making the upper surface of the urethane pad flush.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first to third aspects described above, the urethane pad is formed by integrally foaming the core material, and the core material is bonded to the portion where the thickness of the urethane pad is thinnest. The part is formed with a hole for facilitating the flow of the foam material to the thinned terminal shape part during foam molding of the urethane pad.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by forming a hole for improving the flowability of the foam material in the joint portion of the core material, the portion where the thickness of the urethane pad is thinnest is formed, such as a lack of thickness. It is possible to mold well without generating.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat on which an armrest of Example 1 is mounted. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is process drawing which showed the state which set the structural component of the armrest to the shaping | molding die. It is process drawing which showed the state which foam-molded the urethane pad within the shaping | molding die.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated using drawing.

  First, the structure of the armrest 10 of Example 1 is demonstrated using FIGS. 1-4. As shown in FIG. 1, the armrest 10 of this embodiment is provided on both the left and right sides of the vehicle seat 1 and functions as an armrest for a seated occupant. As shown in FIG. 2, each armrest 10 is formed on the upper surface thereof with a length in the front-rear direction that allows a seated occupant to use the elbow H up to the fingertip Fa.

  Specifically, each of the armrests 10 has a configuration in which the urethane pad 12 inside is thick and the cushioning property is high in a portion (rear portion region 10A) where the elbow H on the rear side where the load is most heavily applied when the armrest is applied. The thickness of the urethane pad 12 is gradually reduced toward the front side where the fingertip Fa is placed where the action of the load becomes lighter, and the cushioning property is gradually reduced. It is configured as follows. With such a configuration, each armrest 10 is configured such that the urethane pad 12 is greatly bent in the rear region 10A where the elbow H hits, and the elbow H can be received softly with a soft feel. In addition, each armrest 10 is supported by a soft touch with a moderately hard installation feeling in which the urethane pad 12 is bent slightly in the front region 10C where the palm F hits. Yes. That is, each armrest 10 is configured such that the cushioning is adjusted so that each part from the elbow H to the fingertip Fa can be supported with an optimal feel suitable for each armrest 10 when the armrests are mounted.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration of each armrest 10 will be described. Since each armrest 10 has the same configuration that is symmetrical with respect to each other, the configuration of the armrest 10 on the side shown on the right side of FIG. . As shown in FIG. 2, the armrest 10 includes a resin-made core material 11 that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and a urethane pad 12 that is installed on the upper surface of the core material 11 and functions as a cushioning material when armrested. , And a skin material 13 made of fabric that covers the entire surface of the urethane pad 12.

  The resin core 11 is formed in a plate shape with the plate surface facing upward, and more specifically, the height of the plate surface is stepwise (three steps) from the rear side toward the front side. It is formed in a plate shape with a step that goes up. Specifically, the core 11 has a first bottom portion 11A having a plate surface at the lowest position in the rear portion region 10A where the elbow H is placed at the time of armresting, and the front portion region 10C where the palm F is placed. The third bottom portion 11C having the plate surface at the highest position is formed, and the second bottom portion 11B having the plate surface at the height position therebetween is formed in the intermediate region 10B therebetween. Here, the front region 10C of the armrest 10 corresponds to the “thinnest part (of the urethane pad)” of the present invention, and the third bottom portion 11C corresponds to the “joining part” of the present invention.

  Each plate surface of the first bottom portion 11A to the third bottom portion 11C of the core member 11 has a flat surface shape that faces upward. Moreover, the said core material 11 is formed in the shape used as the same cross-sectional shape in a sheet | seat width direction. In the third bottom portion 11C having a plate surface at the highest position on the front side, a urethane raw material that becomes a foam material is thinned on the front side during foam molding of the urethane pad 12 shown in FIGS. A number of holes 11C1 for facilitating distribution to the shape portion of the terminal are formed penetrating in the thickness direction. The function of these holes 11C1 will be described in detail later.

  The urethane pad 12 is formed by foaming a urethane raw material to be a foam material in the molding die 20 shown in FIGS. 3 to 4. The core material 11 and the skin material 13 described above are formed in the molding die 20. By being set to insert molding, it is molded as a state of being integrally bonded thereto. The urethane pad 12 has an upper surface used as an armrest formed in a flush manner, and the height (thickness) to the lower surface is the largest in the rear region 10A due to the step shape of the core material 11 described above. The front part region 10C is the smallest, and the intermediate part region 10B in between is formed in a shape having a size therebetween. The urethane pad 12 is formed to have the same cross-sectional shape in the sheet width direction.

  The skin material 13 is configured by a planar fabric that is more flexible than the urethane pad 12 described above, and is set in the mold 20 during the foam molding of the urethane pad 12 described above. It is provided as a state of being integrally bonded and molded to the surface of the urethane pad 12.

  Next, the process of foam-molding the urethane pad 12 described above integrally with the core material 11 and the skin material 13 described above in the mold 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, first, the core material 11 is set on the lower mold 22 having the stepped installation surface shape on which the core material 11 formed in the above-described step shape can be set, and the foamed shape of the urethane pad 12 is set. The skin material 13 is adhered and set on the concave surface of the upper mold 21 having a concave cavity space formed in accordance with the above. As a method for adhering the skin material 13 on the concave surface of the upper mold 21, for example, the back surface of the skin material 13 is set to eliminate the air permeability such as a resin film, and the skin material 13 is evacuated to the upper mold 21. For example. Next, a urethane raw material in which a polyol and an isocyanate to be foamed are mixed is poured into a mold, the mold 20 is clamped, and the urethane raw material is foamed by heating. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4, the urethane raw material is filled in a space surrounded by the skin material 13 adhered to the upper mold 21 and the core material 11 set on the lower mold 22. The urethane pad 12 is molded in a state of being bonded together.

  At the time of foam molding of the urethane pad 12, in the narrow gap region (front region 10C) between the third bottom portion 11C where the plate surface height of the core material 11 is high and the skin material 13, the urethane raw material is difficult to flow, Molding defects such as lacking due to lack of urethane raw materials are likely to occur. However, in the present embodiment, a large number of holes 11C1 are formed on the third bottom portion 11C of the core material 11, so that the urethane raw material has a narrow gap between the third bottom portion 11C and the skin material 13. It becomes easy to distribute | circulate to the terminal part of the said clearance gap through. Thereby, the urethane raw material is foam-filled in the space between the skin material 13 and the core material 11 without a gap, and the urethane pad 12 is foam-molded satisfactorily without causing molding defects such as lacking.

  Specifically, at the time of foam molding, the urethane raw material is partly turned into the back surface portion of the third bottom portion 11C through the punch hole 11C1, and each urethane that has come out from the respective hole 11C1 to the back surface side. The raw materials are solidified in a state of being bonded to each other on the back side of the third bottom portion 11C to form a layer. Thereby, in the part (front part area | region 10C) where the thickness of the urethane pad 12 is the thinnest, the urethane pad 12 is firmly integrated with the third bottom part 11C in a state where the urethane pad 12 is joined to the third bottom part 11C from above and below. In other words, it is in a state of being held in a state of being joined together.

  Thus, according to the configuration of the armrest 10 of the present embodiment, the thickness of the urethane pad 12 in the height direction is varied in the front-rear direction so that the cushioning property at the time of armrest can be adjusted in the front-rear direction. 10 can be configured such that the feel can be appropriately adjusted according to the portion to be supported. Specifically, by setting the thickness in the height direction of the urethane pad 12 to be thinner toward the front side, the cushioning property at the time of armrest by the urethane pad 12 hits the elbow H where the load is most heavily applied at the time of armresting. In the rear portion region 10A, the cushioning property is high, and the adjustment optimized for the action of the load can be made so that the cushioning property becomes lower toward the front side where the action of the load becomes lighter.

  In addition, the urethane pad 12 has a configuration in which the upper surface is flush and the thickness is adjusted by changing the height to the lower surface, and the core material 11 is provided along the lower surface of the urethane pad 12, whereby the upper surface of the urethane pad 12. The cushioning property of the urethane pad 12 can be adjusted in the front-rear direction while making it easier to place the elbow H. Moreover, the portion where the thickness of the urethane pad 12 is the thinnest (front region 10C) is formed by forming the hole 11C1 for improving the flowability of the foam material (urethane raw material) in the third bottom portion 11C of the core material 11. Can be molded satisfactorily without causing molding defects such as lack of thickness.

  As mentioned above, although the embodiment of the present invention has been described using one example, the present invention can be implemented in various forms in addition to the above example. For example, the thickness of the urethane pad may be adjusted by making the shape of the upper surface of the urethane pad non-flat. Further, the thickness of the urethane pad may not be changed stepwise, and may be changed steplessly by making the upper surface or the lower surface an inclined surface or a curved surface. Further, the skin material may be formed of other flexible planar members such as leather. Further, the core material may be made of steel.

  Further, the length of the armrest in the front-rear direction does not necessarily have to be long enough to ride from the elbow of the seated occupant to the fingertip, and it is sufficient that the armrest has at least a front-rear length that allows the elbow to be placed. By adjusting the thickness of the urethane pad and adjusting the cushioning property within the range where the elbow is placed, the armrest can be configured to have an appropriate feel corresponding to the portion to be supported. Further, the thickness in the height direction of the urethane pad does not necessarily have to be set so as to become thinner toward the front side. Depending on the assumed usage situation, it may be set so that it becomes thinner toward the rear side, or may be set so that the thinnest part comes in the middle part.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle seat 10 Armrest 10A Back part area | region 10B Middle part area | region 10C Front part area | region (part where thickness becomes thinnest)
11 Core material 11A 1st bottom part 11B 2nd bottom part 11C 3rd bottom part (joining part)
11C1 Hole 12 Urethane pad 13 Skin material 20 Mold 21 Upper mold 22 Lower mold H Elbow F Palm Fa Fingertip

Claims (4)

An armrest that functions as an armrest for a vehicle seat,
A core material extending in the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction;
A urethane pad installed on the upper surface of the core material and functioning as a cushioning material when armrested,
An armrest characterized in that the cushioning property at the time of armrest can be adjusted differently in the front-rear direction by changing the thickness of the urethane pad in the front-rear direction. The armrest according to claim 1,
An armrest characterized in that the thickness of the urethane pad in the height direction is set to become thinner toward the front side. The armrest according to claim 1 or 2,
An armrest characterized in that the urethane pad has a configuration in which the upper surface is flush and the thickness is adjusted by changing the height to the lower surface, and the core material is provided along the lower surface of the urethane pad. The armrest according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The urethane pad is formed by integrally foaming the core material, and a foam material is formed at the time of foam molding of the urethane pad at the joint portion of the core material joined to the thinnest portion of the urethane pad. The armrest is characterized in that a hole for making it easier to circulate to the shape part of the thinned terminal is formed.

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