JP7226208B2 - Armrest device for sitting seat - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an armrest device for a seat used in vehicles such as automobiles, airplanes, ships, and trains, or movie theaters.

The seating seat includes a seat cushion forming a seat portion, a seat back forming a backrest, and an armrest member provided along the front-rear direction on the side of the seat cushion so as to support the arms of the seated person in the seated state. is configured with Patent Literature 1 discloses an invention in which the longitudinal length of an armrest member can be selectively changed.

Japanese translation of PCT publication No. 2012-526630

However, in the invention of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to provide a locking mechanism inside the armrest member in addition to the configuration for changing the length in the front-rear direction, which complicates the configuration of the armrest member.

An object of the present invention is to provide a sitting seat having an armrest member along the front-rear direction on the side of a seat cushion, by providing a mechanism for changing the length of the armrest member in the front-rear direction outside the armrest member. To make it possible to change the longitudinal length of an armrest member without complicating the configuration of the armrest member.

An armrest device for a seating seat according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a seat cushion forming a seat portion, a seat back forming a backrest, and lateral sides of the seat cushion so as to support the arms of a seated person in a seated state. A sitting seat provided with an armrest member provided along the front-rear direction, wherein a lower end portion is coupled to the front side of the seat cushion so as to be rotatable back and forth, and an upper end portion is rotatable forward and backward to the front side of the armrest member. The armrest member includes a coupled front link member and a locking mechanism that locks rotation of the front link member in the front-rear direction about the lower end of the front link member. .

In the first invention, the armrest device may be provided on both sides of the seat cushion, or may be provided on either the left or right side. Further, the lock mechanism may be a mechanism that simply locks the rotation of the front link member, or may be a mechanism that also serves as a rotation drive function, such as a motor.

According to the first invention, when the front link member is rotated in the front-rear direction, the front side of the armrest member is moved in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the length of the armrest member is changed according to the rotation of the front link member. As a result, the longitudinal length of the armrest member can be fixed at a selected length by the lock mechanism placed at a position away from the armrest member, and the configuration of the armrest member can be reduced compared to the case where the armrest member is provided with the lock mechanism. can be simplified.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the seat back can change the reclining angle in the front-rear direction with the lower end portion as a hinge center, and the rear end portion of the armrest member has the seat back. above the center of the hinge so as to be vertically rotatable.

According to the second invention, the rear end portion of the armrest member is moved in the front-rear direction according to the change in the reclining angle of the seatback. Therefore, the length of the armrest member is changed by changing the reclining angle without rotating the front link member in the front-rear direction. In addition, the length of the armrest member can be further changed by rotating the front link member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the front link member is configured to be variable in length in the vertical direction, and the front link member has the length in the vertical direction of the front link member. Equipped with a changing length changing device.

In the third invention, the length changing device may use an actuator such as a motor or a fluid pressure cylinder, or may manually change the length.

When the front link member is rotated in the longitudinal direction to change the length of the armrest member, the height of the front end portion of the armrest member also changes, and the angle of the armrest member with respect to the horizontal line also changes. According to the third invention, the angle of the armrest member with respect to the horizontal line can be adjusted to a desired angle by adjusting the vertical length of the front link member.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the armrest member includes an upper member that supports the arm of the seated person, and a lower side of the upper member that extends forward and backward relative to the upper member. a lower member that is relatively movable in the direction of the armrest member so that the length of the armrest member can be changed; The lower member is coupled to the upper end portion of the front link member so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction, and the front end portion of the lower member is moved to the armrest member by the rotation of the front link member. When the front-rear direction length is shortened, the armrest member is stored below the upper member, and when the front-rear link member is rotated to increase the front-rear length of the armrest member, the armrest member protrudes forward of the upper member. , the front end of the lower member is provided with an item that is available in a state projecting forward of the upper member.

In the fourth invention, the articles include a cup holder for storing and holding drink cups, a switch for electric parts, a storage box for storing various articles, and a step between the upper and lower members of the armrest member. Including a stand for

According to the fourth invention, when the length of the armrest member is lengthened by changing the reclining angle of the seatback or by rotating the front link member, the front end portion of the lower member of the armrest member protrudes forward of the upper member. be done. Therefore, the article provided at the front end of the lower member is ready for use in front of the armrest member. On the other hand, when the length of the armrest member is shortened, the front end of the lower member is retracted into the upper member, and the article provided at the front end of the lower member is in a retracted state. By adjusting the length of the armrest member in this manner, the article provided at the front end of the lower member can be made available or stored as needed.

1 is a perspective view of a skeleton member of a seating seat to which one embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view of the main parts of the seating seat when the reclining angle of the seat back is in a normal seating state; FIG. 10 is a side view of the principal part of the seating seat in a state where the length of the armrest member is lengthened by tilting the front link member forward; FIG. 4 is a side view of the principal part of the seating seat in a state in which the length of the armrest member is lengthened due to the rearward tilt of the seat back; It is the perspective view which looked at the length change device and rotation device which were provided in the said front side link member from the seat inside. It is an expansion perspective view of the slide mechanism of the said armrest member. Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a cup holder provided at the front end of the armrest member;

<Overall configuration of the embodiment>
1 and 2 show an automobile seat (hereinafter simply referred to as a seat) 1 to which an armrest device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. Here, the seat 1 is shown only with the frame members. As is well known, a general seat 1 is configured by covering a frame member with a pad as a cushion material and a seat cover as an outer skin. In each drawing, arrows indicate the directions in which the seat 1 is mounted in the automobile. In the following description, descriptions regarding directions are based on this direction. The same applies to each figure other than FIGS.

A seat 1 is configured to be slidable on slide rails 2 fixed on the floor of an automobile. Therefore, the seat 1 is movable along the slide rails 2 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

The seat 1 includes a seat cushion 10 forming a seat portion, a seat back 20 forming a backrest, and armrests provided along the front-rear direction on the sides of the seat cushion 10 so as to support the arms of the seated person in the seated state. a member 30;

The seat cushion 10 is integrated by connecting a pair of left and right side frames 11 by a front pipe 14 on the front side, a rear pipe 15 on the rear side, and a center pipe 16 between the front and rear sides. A cushion bracket 12 and a lower arm 13 are integrally connected to the outside of each side frame 11 by a connecting member such as a connecting pipe 17 . A motor 44a, which will be described later, is fixed to the side surface of the side frame 11 of the cushion bracket 12. As shown in FIG. Also, the lower arm 13 is coupled to the upper arm 22 via a recliner 23 which will be described later.

The seat back 20 includes a back frame 21, and upper arms 22 are fixed to the lower portions of the left and right sides of the back frame 21, respectively. The lower end of each upper arm 22 is rotatably supported by the upper end of the lower arm 13 via a recliner 23 . Here, the recliner 23 is lockable, and when the lock operation is performed, the rotation angle at that time is held. Therefore, the back frame 21 is rotatable in the longitudinal direction around the hinge pin 24 of the recliner 23, and the seat back 20 can be arbitrarily adjusted in reclining angle by locking the recliner 23. As shown in FIG.

The armrest member 30 is provided with an upper member 31 and a lower member 32, and the upper member 31 and the lower member 32 are stacked one on top of the other by face-to-face contact. The rear end of the upper member 31 is coupled to the upper end of the upper arm 22 by a fixing bolt 34 so as to be vertically rotatable. A front end portion of the lower member 32 is coupled to an upper end portion of the front link member 40 by a fixing bolt 35 so as to be rotatable back and forth. On the other hand, the lower end portion of the front link member 40 is coupled to the front end portion of the cushion bracket 12 via a rotating shaft 44b so as to be rotatable back and forth. As a result, the armrest member 30 forms a four-bar link mechanism together with the side frame 11 including the cushion bracket 12 and the lower arm 13, the front link member 40, and the upper arm 22 integrated with the back frame 21. FIG.

<Structure of armrest member 30>
As shown in FIG. 6, the upper member 31 and the lower member 32 of the armrest member 30 are arranged so that their flat portions 31a and 32a face each other in the vertical direction, and the left and right ends of the flat portions 31a and 32a are arranged downward as appropriate. It is configured by forming bent flange portions 31b and 32b. A slide mechanism 33 is provided between the flat portions 31a and 32a. The slide mechanism 33 includes a pair of block-shaped linear sliders 33a fixed to the lower surface of the flat portion 31a of the upper member 31 in the front-rear direction, and a pair of block-shaped linear sliders 33a fixed to the upper surface of the flat portion 32a of the lower member 32 and extending long in the front-rear direction. and a slide guide 33b with a guide surface. The linear slider 33a and the slide guide 33b are connected to each other on the surfaces facing each other so as not to be separated from each other in the vertical direction, and are movable relative to each other in the front-rear direction.

Therefore, the upper member 31 and the lower member 32 are relatively movable in the front-rear direction via the linear slider 33a and the slide guide 33b. Here, the rear portion of the upper member 31 is slightly bent with respect to the front portion, and the lateral width is narrowed (see FIG. 1). As a result, the lower member 32 is restricted so as not to move rearward beyond the position where its front end is aligned with the front end of the upper member 31 . Therefore, the armrest member 30 is relatively movable between a projecting position where the front end of the lower member 32 is not covered with the upper member 31 and a retracted position where the front end of the lower member 32 is covered with the upper member 31. ing.

An article 50 is fixed on the flat portion 32a of the lower member 32 in front of the slide guide 33b. Article 50 encloses a cup holder as described later. The article 50 is not covered by the upper member 31 at the projecting position and is accessible to the seated person, and is covered by the upper member 31 at the retracted position and is in a stored state inaccessible to the seated person.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the front-rear length of the armrest member 30 is lengthened and the lower member 32 is at the projecting position. At this time, the cup holder 52 folded as the article 50 is unfolded upward and is ready for use.

The cup holder 52 is configured to be foldable on the base 51 by the link member 53. In the folded state, the cup holder 52 is rotated by the hinge pin 53a of the link member 53, and the rear half of the cup holder 52 is inserted into the notch 53c of the link member 53. be accommodated. Further, the link member 53 is rotated forward by another hinge pin 53b and folded so as to cover the base 51 together with the cup holder 52. As shown in FIG. A torsion spring (not shown) is provided around each of the hinge pins 53a and 53b.

Therefore, when the lower member 32 of the armrest member 30 reaches the protruding position, the cup holder 52 and the link member 53 automatically change from the folded state to the unfolded state (see FIG. 7) due to the urging force of the torsion springs. As a result, when a cup (not shown) is inserted into the opening 52a of the cup holder 52, the base 51 can receive the bottom of the cup and hold the cup. Further, when the lower member 32 of the armrest member 30 is in the retracted position, the cup holder 52 and the link member 53 are manually folded from the unfolded state against the urging force of the torsion spring, and the cup holder 52 is retracted. Stored.

<Configuration of front link member 40>
As shown in FIG. 5, the front link member 40 includes an upper link 41 forming its upper portion and a lower link 42 forming its lower portion. The lower end portion of the upper link 41 and the upper end portion of the lower link 42 are joined in a state of being overlapped with each other in the horizontal direction, and are configured to move relative to each other in the vertical direction so that the amount of overlap between them increases and decreases. ing. Therefore, a length changing device 43 is provided between the upper link 41 and the lower link 42 .

The length changing device 43 has a block-shaped linear slider 43b fixed to the side surface (right side surface) of the upper link 41 at the upper end of the lower link 42, and the side surface (left side) of the lower link 42 at the lower end of the upper link 41. A slide guide 43c having a guide surface extending in the vertical direction is fixed to. The linear slider 43b and the slide guide 43c are coupled to each other on the surfaces facing each other so as not to be separated from each other in the horizontal direction, and are relatively movable in the vertical direction.

The length changing device 43 has a bracket 43a on the side surface (right side surface) of the lower end of the upper link 41 opposite to the lower link 42 . The length changing device 43 also has a motor 43f on the right side of the lower end of the lower link 42 . An output shaft (not shown) of the motor 43f is provided with a nut assembly 43e including a nut (not shown) rotated by the output shaft. The nut of the nut assembly 43e is screwed onto the screw shaft 43d to form a feed screw mechanism. Therefore, the rotation of the nut of the nut assembly 43e feeds the screw shaft 43d up and down. An upper end portion of the screw shaft 43d is fixed to the bracket 43a.

Therefore, when the screw shaft 43d is fed up and down, the upper link 41 is moved up and down with respect to the lower link 42 via the bracket 43a. At this time, the moving direction is guided in the extending direction of the slide guide 43c by the coupling between the linear slider 43b and the slide guide 43c.

One end of the rotating shaft 44b of the front link member 40 is coupled to the lower link 42 so as not to rotate relatively, and the other end is rotatably supported by the cushion bracket 12 so as to be rotated by the output shaft of the motor 44a. is coupled to A rotating device 44 is configured by the motor 44a and the rotating shaft 44b, and the inclination of the front link member 40 with respect to the vertical line is changed by rotating the motor 44a. When the motor 44a stops rotating, it becomes unable to rotate from the rotating shaft 44b side due to the gear ratio of the gear (not shown) meshed with the output shaft, and also has the function of the lock mechanism of the present invention. That is, the rotation of the front link member 40 around the rotation shaft 44b is locked at the position where the rotation of the motor 44a is stopped.

<Outline of operation of the embodiment>
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the reclining angle of the seat back 20 is the angle set in a normal sitting state. At this time, the upper arm 22 is tilted rearward, and the front link member 40 is in a substantially vertical state. The armrest member 30 is in a substantially horizontal state.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the front link member 40 is tilted forward from the state shown in FIG. 2 as indicated by an arrow. Therefore, the lower member 32 of the armrest member 30 is moved forward with respect to the upper member 31 as indicated by the arrow, and the armrest member 30 is elongated. As a result, the article 50 becomes accessible to the seated occupant, and the cup holder 52 becomes available (not shown in FIG. 3).

At this time, as the front link member 40 tilts forward, the height of the front end portion of the armrest member 30 becomes low, and the armrest member 30 is in an inclined state in which the front side is low with respect to the horizontal line. Here, by rotating the motor 43f and lengthening the length of the front link member 40, the height of the front end portion of the armrest member 30 is raised, and the armrest member 30 is maintained in a substantially horizontal state. The rotation of the motors 44a and 43f may be manually controlled, or may be automatically controlled by detecting the position of the lower member 32 with respect to the upper member 31 and the angle of the armrest member 30 with respect to the horizontal line.

4 shows a state in which the seat back 20 is tilted rearward from the state shown in FIG. 2 as indicated by an arrow. As a result, the upper member 31 of the armrest member 30 is moved backward with respect to the lower member 32 as indicated by the arrow, and the armrest member 30 is elongated. As a result, the article 50 becomes accessible to the seated occupant, and the cup holder 52 becomes available.

At this time, as the seat back 20 tilts backward, the height of the rear end portion of the armrest member 30 becomes low, and the armrest member 30 is in an inclined state in which the rear side is low with respect to the horizontal line. Here, by rotating the motor 43f and shortening the length of the front link member 40, the height of the front end portion of the armrest member 30 is lowered and the armrest member 30 is brought closer to the horizontal state. Of course, it is also possible to leave the armrest member 30 tilted without adjusting the tilt angle.

<Action and effect of the embodiment>
As described above, when the front link member 40 is rotated in the longitudinal direction or the reclining angle of the seatback 20 is changed, the upper member 31 and the lower member 32 of the armrest member 30 are relatively moved in the longitudinal direction. be. Therefore, the length of the armrest member 30 is changed according to the rotation of the front link member 40 or the change in the reclining angle of the seat back 20 . As a result, the longitudinal length of the armrest member 30 is adjusted by the motor 44a (corresponding to the lock mechanism of the present invention) or the recliner 23 (corresponding to the lock mechanism of the present invention) placed on the cushion bracket 12 located away from the armrest member 30. can be fixed at a selected length, and the configuration of the armrest member 30 can be simplified compared to the case where the armrest member 30 is directly provided with the lock mechanism.

Further, when the length of the armrest member 30 is increased by rotating the front link member 40 or changing the reclining angle of the seatback 20, the lower member 32 of the armrest member 30 projects forward of the upper member 31. . Therefore, the cup holder 52 as the article 50 provided on the lower member 32 is ready for use in front of the armrest member 30 . On the other hand, when the length of the armrest member 30 is shortened, the lower member 32 is retracted below the upper member 31, and the cup holder 52 provided on the lower member 32 is retracted. By adjusting the length of the armrest member 30 in this manner, the cup holder 52 provided on the lower member 32 can be made available or stored as needed.

<Other embodiments>
Although specific embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to those appearances and configurations, and various modifications, additions, and deletions are possible. For example, in the above embodiments, the present invention is applied to the seats of automobiles, but it may be applied to seats mounted on airplanes, ships, trains, etc., or to seats installed in movie theaters, etc.

1 Seating seat (seat)
2 slide rail 10 seat cushion 11 side frame 12 cushion bracket 13 lower arm 14 front pipe 15 rear pipe 16 center pipe 17 connection pipe 20 seat back 21 back frame 22 upper arm 23 recliner (lock mechanism)
24 Hinge pin 30 Armrest member 31 Upper member 32 Lower member 31a, 32a Plane portions 31b, 32b Flange portion 33 Slide mechanism 33a Linear slider 33b Slide guides 34, 35 Fixing bolt 40 Front side link member 41 Upper link 42 Lower link 43 Length change Device 43a Bracket 43b Linear slider 43c Slide guide 43d Screw shaft 43e Nut assembly 43f Motor 44 Rotating device 44a Motor (lock mechanism)
44b rotating shaft 50 article 51 base 52 cup holder 52a opening 53 link members 53a, 53b hinge pin 53c notch

Claims (4)

a seat cushion forming a seat;
A seat back that forms a backrest,
An armrest member provided along the front-rear direction on the side of the seat cushion so as to support the arm of the person in the seated state.
a front link member having a lower end coupled to the front side of the seat cushion so as to be rotatable forward and backward, and having an upper end coupled to the front side of the armrest member so as to be rotatable forward and backward;
a lock mechanism that locks rotation in the front-rear direction about the lower end of the front link member;
An armrest device for a sitting seat, wherein the armrest member is configured such that its length in the front-rear direction can be changed. In claim 1,
The seat back can change the reclining angle in the front-rear direction with the lower end as the hinge center,
An armrest device for a sitting seat, wherein the rear end of the armrest member is coupled above the hinge center of the seatback so as to be vertically rotatable. In claim 2,
The front link member is configured such that its vertical length can be changed,
An armrest device for a sitting seat, wherein the front link member is provided with a length changing device for changing the vertical length of the front link member. In any one of claims 1 to 3,
The armrest member includes an upper member that supports the arm of the seated person, and a lower side of the upper member that is movable relative to the upper member in the front-rear direction so that the length of the armrest member can be changed. a lower member;
The upper member has a rear end portion that is coupled upwardly from the center of the hinge of the seat back so as to be vertically rotatable,
The lower member is coupled to an upper end portion of the front link member so as to be rotatable back and forth,
The front end portion of the lower member is housed under the upper member in a state in which the length of the armrest member in the front-rear direction is shortened by the rotation of the front link member, and is retracted by the rotation of the front link member. When the length of the armrest member in the front-rear direction is lengthened, the armrest member protrudes forward of the upper member,
An armrest device for a sitting seat, wherein a front end of the lower member includes an article that can be used while protruding forward of the upper member.

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