JP2518843Y2 - Side support device for automobile seats - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a side support device provided on both left and right sides of a seat cushion for laterally maintaining a seated posture of an occupant in an automobile seat, and more specifically, for improving the getting on / off property. In addition, the present invention relates to a movable side support device that can be displaced to a position lower than or at the same height as the upper surface of the seat cushion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various movable side support devices of this type have been proposed in the past. For example, a type in which the entire side support is raised and lowered linearly or a rotary type in which one end in the front-rear direction is used as a fulcrum is known is known.
No. 193730, No. 63-138789, and the like.

[0003]

However, in most of the conventional side support devices, the lifting mechanism of the side support occupies most of the side space of the seat cushion. The result is a decrease in the thickness of one pad. If the thickness of the side support pad cannot be secured sufficiently, the rigid lifting / lowering function should be used when the thighs are pressed by the cornering while running, or when the hands or thighs are pressed when getting on or off. There is a feeling of foreign matter due to the mechanism, which is one of the causes of impeding practical use.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a side support device for an automobile seat in which the thickness of the pad can be increased by adopting an arcuate guide member as a guide means for raising and lowering the side support. That is the purpose.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows. That is, in a vehicle seat having side supports on the left and right sides of the seat cushion, at least a support frame built in the side support body on the door side is fixed to the seat frame and extends outward from the side end surface of the seat cushion. At the same time, the extending portion supports the seat cushion so as to be able to move up and down along a guide member formed in an arc shape centering around the upper edge of the side surface.

[0006]

According to the side support device of the present invention configured as described above, the pad which is the side support body is
With the vicinity of the upper edge of the side end surface of the seat cushion as a virtual rotation center, the seat cushion can be moved up and down to a raised position for maintaining the posture of the occupant and a lowered position for improving the getting on / off property. The guide rail for guiding the side support up and down can be set at a position away from the virtual rotation center of the side support, that is, at a lower position away from the upper surface of the side support, which allows the pad to have a large thickness. You can

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. First, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 will be described. In the completed assembly diagram shown in Fig. 1,
Reference numeral 1 denotes a seat including a seat cushion 2 and a seat back 3. The seat back 3 is attached to the seat cushion 2 via a reclining mechanism 4 so as to be tiltable. Reference numerals 5A and 5B denote side supports provided on the left and right sides of the seat cushion 2 for holding the occupant's thighs. In the present embodiment showing the case of the driver's seat side, the left side support 5A as a whole and the right side support 5B are provided. The rear side is a fixed side support that is integral with the seat cushion 2, and the front half of the right side support 5B is a movable side support 5C that is separate from the seat cushion 2.

That is, in FIG. 5 showing the constituent members of the seat cushion 2 in an exploded manner, the pad 6 as the seat cushion body which is fixed to the cushion frame 7 including the panel 7a, the reclining bracket 7b, etc. A portion corresponding to the movable side support 5C is divided as a movable pad 6a, and the movable pad 6a is fixed to a support frame 14 described later with an adhesive or the like. Further, in the seat cover 8 which is a sewn product of fabric or PVC leather, the lower side of the portion corresponding to the movable side support 5C is cut out, and the peripheral end portion excluding the cutout portion is attached to the cushion frame 7 by the hog ring or the conventional manner. It is fixed with a hook. The cut-out portion of the seat cover 8 is fixed to a support frame 14 described later.

Next, an elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the movable side support 5C between an ascending position where the upper surface of the movable side support 5C floats above the upper surface of the seat cushion 2 and a descending position where the upper surface of the movable side support 5C is slightly lower or flush with the upper surface of the cushion will be described. . Panel 7a in the cushion frame 7
As shown in FIG. 5, the front corner corresponding to the movable pad 6a is cut off.
A seat bracket 9 for vertically movably supporting is disposed so as to close the cut portion. The seat bracket 9 in this embodiment is integrally formed with a reclining bracket 7b for mounting a seat back having an angled cross section, which is fixed to the rear side surface of the panel 7a by screws or welding, and includes the reclining bracket 7b and the seat bracket 9. Are fixed by bolts or the like on the upper rail 13 of the seat track 12 shown in FIG. 2 for supporting the seat so as to be movable back and forth.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seat bracket 9 attached in this manner has a curved surface extending outwardly in an arc shape centering around the upper edge of the end surface of the seat cushion 2 on the door side (point O in the figure). The curved surface 10 is provided with two pairs of front and rear guide rails 11 which form a pair and are arranged at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction. The guide rail 11 is a guide member that substantially guides the up-and-down movement of the movable side support 5C, and is made of a pipe material curved in an arc shape around the point O similar to the curved surface 10 of the seat bracket 9. Fig. 3
It is fixed to the curved surface 10 by welding as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the movable pad 6 is provided.
A support frame 14 is built in the lower side of a. The support frame 14 is formed in an arc shape so as to correspond to the guide rail 11, and a lower surface side of the support frame 14 is provided with a plurality of rolling elements. Guide roller 15
Are provided in front and rear two rows (see FIG. 4). The guide roller 15 is a taper roller, and as shown in FIG. 3, the guide roller 15 is assembled to the support frame 14 by a roller support pin 16 with a screw and a nut 17, and is rollable between the pair of front and rear guide rails 11. Has been inserted into. Further, the guide roller 15 is restrained from unnecessary movement in the axial direction by a flange 18 formed at one end portion in the axial direction thereof and a ring 18 interposed between the head portion of the roller support pin 16. .

In this way, the support frame 14, that is, the movable side support 5C is pivotally displaced about the point O, which is the center of the arc of the guide rail 11, as a virtual pivotal center, so that the support frame 14 is raised to maintain the occupant posture. It is configured to move up and down to a lowered position for improving the ease of getting on and off.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a slender support plate 19 for supporting the drive portion is disposed below the front side of the panel 7a of the cushion frame 7 so as to extend in the left-right direction. One end of the support plate 19 is fixed to one end of the seat bracket 9 extending inward, and the other end is fixed to an upper rail of a cushion frame or a seat track. A forward / reverse DC electric motor 20 as a lifting drive source for the movable side support 5C is mounted on the support plate 19 via a motor bracket 21, and the electric motor 20 drives a screw shaft via a gear reducer 22. 23 is driven. The screw shaft 23 extends horizontally above the support plate 19 toward the seat bracket 9 side, and its tip end is rotatably supported via a shaft bracket 24.

A nut 25, which is axially moved by the rotation of the screw shaft 23, is screwed into the screw shaft 23. One end of a link 27 is rotated via a pin 28 to a nut bracket 26 attached to the nut 25. It is movably connected. The other end of the link 27 penetrates through an opening 7c formed in the side surface of the panel 7a and extends outward, and the end of the link 27 is attached to the support frame 14 by the pin 2
It is rotatably connected via 9. That is, the lifting drive unit of the movable side support 5C described above is installed in the panel 7a which is out of the installation space of the movable side support 5C.
It is arranged on the lower surface of the.

Incidentally, the nut bracket 26 of the present embodiment.
Is a substantially Z-shaped bracket 26a fixed to the nut 25 as shown in FIG.
Although it is composed of a substantially channel-shaped bracket 26b fixed to the shaped bracket 26a, it does not matter if these are integrally formed. Further, in the figure, 30 is a resin cover for covering the outer surface of the seat bracket 9, and 31 is a stopper that regulates the movement amount of the nut 25, that is, the lifting range of the movable side support 5C. Although not shown, the electric motor 20 has its drive circuit configured to rotate normally when the key is inserted into the ignition key cylinder and reversely rotate when the key is pulled out. It is set to only be done.

The side support device of this embodiment is constructed as described above. Therefore, when the key is inserted into the ignition key cylinder after riding, the electric motor 20 rotates in the forward direction to rotate the screw shaft 23. The nut 25 screwed to this moves to the outside (left side in FIG. 2). Therefore, the support frame 14 is pushed outward through the link 27, and the support frame 14 rises along the guide rail 11 through the guide roller 15 as shown by the solid line in FIG. That is,
The movable side support 5C rises in an arc shape with the center of curvature O of the guide rail 11 as a virtual rotation center, and its upper surface is positioned higher than the upper surface of the seat cushion 2 to hold the occupant's thighs.

On the other hand, when the key is removed from the ignition key cylinder when getting off the vehicle, the electric motor 20 rotates in the reverse direction. At this time, the support frame 14 is pulled inward through the screw shaft 23, the nut 25, and the link 27 to move the movable side support. 5C descends along the guide rail 11 in an arc shape, and its upper surface is slightly lower than the upper surface of the seat cushion 2 and is displaced to a comfortable descending posture for getting on and off.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the movable side support 5C is used.
It is an example of a change regarding the lifting guide part in the lifting mechanism part of
Guide rail 11 and guide roller 15 made of pipe material
The channel material is used instead of the combination with. That is, the outer rail 11a is curved in an arc shape and has a groove-shaped cross section, and the inner rail 11b is slidably fitted into the outer rail 11a. One of them is fixed to the seat bracket 9 side, and the other is fixed to the support frame 14 Since it is fixed to the side, the same effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained in this embodiment as well.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described based on 1. In this embodiment, the pad 6 made of urethane foam or the like for forming the cushion body.
Is integrally formed as a whole including not only the portions corresponding to the left and right fixed side supports 5A and 5B but also the portions corresponding to the movable side supports 5C. That is, the movable pad 6a corresponding to the movable side support 5C, which has the divided structure in the first embodiment, is not particularly divided. However, as shown in FIG. 8, the movable pad 6a, which is lifted and lowered by the lifting mechanism described later, has a notch 6b having a substantially triangular cross section formed at a portion substantially right below the point O in the figure, which facilitates rotational displacement. Is being promoted. Further, the lower surface side of the movable pad 6a outside the cutout 6b is fixed to a support frame 14 described later with an adhesive or the like.

The seat cover 8 which is a sewn product of fabric or PVC leather for covering the pad 6 and the movable pad 6a does not have the opening portion (the portion corresponding to the movable side support 5C) provided in the first embodiment. It has an ordinary general structure (see FIGS. 7 and 10), and FIG.
The peripheral end portion is fixed to the ring 32 of the cushion frame 7 by a hog ring 33 as shown in FIG.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to move the movable side support 5C up and down around the point O shown in FIG. 8, the point O is provided on the front side of the seat bracket 9 fixed to the cushion frame 7. A slide guide 34 made of a plate as shown in FIG. 9 formed in a curved shape around the center is welded, and this replaces the guide rail 11 made of the curved pipe described in the first embodiment. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, the support frame 14 to which the movable side support 5C is bonded is made of a plate having a curved shape corresponding to the slide guide 34 and having channel-shaped rail portions 35 at both front and rear edges. The front and rear rail portions 35 of the support frame 14 are slidably fitted to the front and rear end edges of the slide guide 34 while being stacked on the slide guide 34.
This rail portion 35 replaces the roller 15 of the first embodiment.

That is, in this embodiment, the lifting guide system of the movable side support 5C is changed from the rolling system of the first embodiment to the slide system, which reduces the width of the lifting guide portion in the left-right direction. ing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, not only the movable pad 6a but also the entire elevating guide portion including the slide guide 34 is covered by the skin (seat cover 8), and therefore, it is necessary in the first embodiment. The resin cover 30 is omitted.

As for the elevating / lowering drive section of the movable side support 5C using the electric motor 20 as a drive source, as shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, the support frame 14 and the nut bracket 26 are connected by a hinge plate 36. The configuration is similar to that of the above-described first embodiment except that The hinge plate 36 has two pivots 36a in its longitudinal direction, is extended through an opening 7c formed in the panel 7a of the cushion frame 7, and has one end fixed to the end of the support play 14. The other end is fixed to the upper surface of the nut bracket 26. 10 and 11, reference numeral 37 denotes a seat reclining mounting nut provided on the reclining bracket 7b, and 38 denotes the reclining bracket 7b.
Also, a seat track mounting nut provided on the seat bracket 9 integrated with the seat bracket 9 is shown. Since the other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof will be omitted.

This embodiment is constructed as described above. Therefore, when the key is inserted into the ignition key cylinder after riding, the electric motor 20 and the screw shaft 23 are driven to rotate in the forward direction, and the nut 25 is moved to the position shown in FIG. The support frame 14 slides along the slide guide 34 in order to push the support frame 14 to the outside via the hinge plate 36. That is, the movable side support 5C rises in an arc shape with the bending center O point of the slide guide 34 as the virtual rotation center, and the upper surface thereof is higher than the upper surface of the seat cushion 2, and as shown in FIG. Will be able to hold.

On the other hand, when the key is pulled out from the ignition key cylinder when getting off the vehicle, the electric motor 20 and the screw shaft 23 are reversed, so that the support frame 14 is pulled inward at this time and the movable side support 5
C is lowered in an arc shape and its upper surface is seat cushion 2
It becomes the same as or slightly lower than the upper surface of the vehicle, and is converted into a posture that facilitates getting on and off as shown in FIG.

However, in this embodiment, as described above, the movable side support 5C is vertically guided so that the slide guide 34 made of a curved plate can directly slide the support frame 14 made of a curved plate. By adopting the slide type for fitting, the lateral dimension of the lifting guide can be reduced, and as a result, the pad thickness of the movable side support 5C can be increased to further reduce the feeling of foreign matter and the lifting guide. The appearance can be improved by covering the entire surface including the above with the epidermis.

The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and various modifications can be made if necessary. For example, the movable side support 5C is not limited to the front half but the entire side support on the door side can be moved. It can be a formula.

[0028]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention,
A seat cushion side support device in which the side support can be displaced between a raised position for holding the thigh of the occupant and a lowered position for improving the getting on / off property, and the side support is formed by an arc-shaped guide member. By adopting a configuration that guides in a circular arc shape around the upper edge of the side end face of the pad as a virtual rotation center, the component of the lifting mechanism made of a rigid material is set on the lower side of the pad and the pad as the side support body is set. The wall thickness of can be increased. This eliminates the sensation of foreign matter caused by the presence of the rigid body when the vehicle is pressed against the side support during running, especially when cornering, or when pressed by the hand or thigh when getting on and off.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle seat having a side support according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a lifting mechanism for a movable side support.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing constituent members of a seat cushion.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 7, showing a movable side support raised state.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. 7, showing a movable side support descending state.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing constituent members of a seat cushion.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a cushion frame assembly including a movable side support lifting mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Seat cushion 5A, 5B ... Side support 5C ... Movable side support 7 ... Cushion frame 9 ... Seat bracket 10 ... Curved surface 11 ... Guide rail 14 ... Support frame 15 ... Guide roller 34 ... Slide guide 35 ... Rail section

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. In an automotive seat having side supports on both left and right sides of a seat cushion, at least a support frame built in a side support body on a door side is fixed to the seat frame and extends outward from a side end surface of the seat cushion. A side support device for an automobile seat, which is extended and supported so as to be able to move up and down along a guide member formed in an arc shape centering around a side surface upper edge of the seat cushion.