JP7228448B2 - vehicle seat - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat mounted on a vehicle.

Conventionally, vehicle seats are manufactured in a seating posture recommended by manufacturers without considering the seating posture of each occupant. If the occupant is not seated in a seated posture recommended by the manufacturer, the occupant feels tired in various parts of the body. In addition, this type of vehicle seat does not take into consideration the body shape of the driver.

In order to solve such problems, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100000 discloses a seat portion and a back support portion which are formed of a flexible gas-impermeable material and filled with powder in a flowable state. discloses a vehicle seat arranged in a In the vehicle seat disclosed in Patent Document 1, the powder in the bag body is made to flow by the weight of the seated person, and the surfaces of the seat portion and the back support portion are formed into uneven surfaces that match the seating posture of the occupant. By sucking the air, the position of the powder in the bag is fixed, and the irregularities on the surface of the seat and backrest are maintained.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle seat in which a plurality of airtight bags filled with foamed plastic particles as powder are arranged between an upholstery member and a cushion body. In the vehicle seat disclosed in Patent Document 2, the interior of a plurality of airtight bags is decompressed to adhere and solidify the foamed plastic particles, thereby maintaining an uneven surface that matches the seating posture of the occupant on the entire surface of the skin member. ing.

JP-A-10-229930 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-115448

However, in the vehicle seats disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the surface shape is maintained with an uneven surface that matches the seating posture of the occupant when the vehicle is seated. It was difficult to allow the movement of the seat surface caused by changes, for example, the adjustment of the sitting position, the change of posture due to the adjustment of the rearview mirror, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a vehicle seat that can accommodate changes in the seating posture of an occupant while maintaining a surface shape that matches the seating posture of the occupant when seated. That's what it is.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vehicle seat comprising a seat cushion for supporting the buttocks of an occupant and a seat back for supporting the back of the occupant. In at least one of the insides of the seat back, an accommodating portion formed in the shape of a bag made of a flexible gas-impermeable material for accommodating powder, and supplying gas to the accommodating portion and supplying the accommodating portion to the accommodating portion. a suction unit for sucking gas from the storage unit, the suction unit supplies the gas to the storage unit to fluidize the powder stored in the storage unit, and the shape of the storage unit is softened, the powder stored in the storage portion is solidified by sucking gas from the storage portion, the shape of the storage portion is hardened, and the storage portion is attached to the vehicle seat It has a plurality of bag bodies including a front bag body for containing the powder on the front side facing the seated occupant and a back bag body for containing the powder on the back side of the front bag body. It is characterized by

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a change of an occupant's seating posture can be permitted, maintaining the surface shape in the shape match|combined with the seating posture of the passenger|crew at the time of seating.

1 is a perspective view of the interior of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional conceptual view of a seat cushion of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention, with the front-rear direction of the vehicle taken as the cross-sectional direction; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing seat cushion control processing of the vehicle seat according to the embodiment of the present invention; BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view 1 of a seat cushion of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention, with the width direction of the vehicle taken as the cross-sectional direction; FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view 2 of the seat cushion of the vehicle seat according to the embodiment of the present invention, with the width direction of the vehicle taken as the cross-sectional direction.

(embodiment)
A vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. However, the embodiments described below show some examples of the present invention and do not limit the content of the present invention. Moreover, not all the configurations and operations described in each embodiment are essential as the configurations and operations of the present invention. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[Schematic Configuration of Vehicle Seat]
A schematic configuration of a vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the interior of a vehicle 1 having a vehicle seat 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle seat 10. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a vehicle 1 has a front seat 3 located behind an instrument panel 2 and a rear seat 4 located behind the front seat 3 . . The front seat 3 has a front seat 3a for the driver's seat and a front seat 3b for the passenger's seat. A vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment is applied to at least one of the front seat 3 and the rear seat 4 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle seat 10 includes a seat cushion 20 fixed on the structure of the vehicle body, and a seat back 30 provided to extend upward from the rear end side of the seat cushion 20 . and a headrest 40 provided at the upper end of the seat back 30.

The seat cushion 20 supports the buttocks and legs of the occupant, and the seat back 30 supports the waist and back of the occupant. The headrest 40 supports the head of the occupant.

[Configuration of seat cushion]
Next, the configuration of the seat cushion 20 according to the embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual vertical cross-sectional view of the seat cushion 20 of the vehicle seat 10 when the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 is taken as the cross-sectional direction. In the following description, FIG. 2 will be referred to as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the seat cushion 20 includes a seat surface 21 with which the occupant's buttocks and legs are in contact, a bag-like container 22 for containing powder, and a supply/intake unit for supplying gas to the container 22. 23.

A seat pressure sensor 21b for detecting pressure applied to the seat cushion 20 is provided in a support portion (not shown) that supports the seat cushion 20 below the seat cushion 20 .

The seat surface 21 is covered with an upholstery member 21a such as cloth, genuine leather, or synthetic leather.

The housing portion 22 is provided below the seat surface 21, and includes a surface bag body 22a on the front side facing the buttocks of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat 10, and a back side bag body 22b on the back side of the front side bag 22a. and
In this embodiment, only two bags are used, but three or more bags may be used.

The front bag body 22a and the back bag body 22b have a connection part 24 for circulating the gas supplied and sucked from the air supply part 23 inside.

In the present embodiment, the gas for feeding and sucking the gas into the front bag 22a and the back bag 22b corresponds to air (outside air), but a medium that enhances fluidization and fixation of the powder is used. It may be gas.

In addition, the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b are made of a flexible gas-impermeable material such as resin, rubber, or the like so as to keep the inside airtight. accommodates

Since the insides of the surface bag 22a and the backside bag 22b are kept airtight, they can contain the powder in a flowable state by filling the inside with gas. In addition, the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b can hold the powders in a fixed position by allowing the powders to adhere to each other by exhausting gas from the inside.

The surface bag 22a contains a larger amount of powder than the back bag 22b. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the surface bag 22a is thicker than the back bag 22b. Furthermore, it is desirable that the surface bag 22a is made of a material that is more flexible than the back bag 22b.

The air supply/intake unit 23 is composed of a first compressor 23a for supplying air to the surface bag 22a and a second compressor 23b for supplying air to the back surface bag 22b.

The first compressor 23a is connected to the connection portion 24 of the surface bag 22a through the circulation pipe 25, and can supply gas to the surface bag 22a through the circulation pipe 25. As shown in FIG. Similarly, the second compressor 23b is also connected to the connecting portion 24 of the back bag 22b through the circulation pipe 25, and can supply gas to the back bag 22b through the circulation pipe 25.

The first compressor 23a supplies gas to the surface bag 22a to fluidize the powder contained in the surface bag 22a, thereby softening the shape of the surface bag 22a.
In addition, the first compressor 23a sucks gas from the surface bag 22a to solidify the powder contained in the surface bag 22a, thereby solidifying the shape of the surface bag 22a to make it hard. make it

The second compressor 23b supplies gas to the back surface bag 22b to fluidize the powder stored inside the back surface bag 22b, thereby softening the shape of the back surface bag 22b.
Further, the second compressor 23b draws gas into the back bag 22b to solidify the powder stored inside the back bag 22b and harden the shape of the back bag 22b.

[Electrical Configuration of Vehicle Seat]
Next, the electrical configuration of the vehicle seat 10 according to the embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the vehicle seat 10. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the vehicle seat 10 is provided with a controller 100 .
The controller 100 includes a seat pressure sensor 21b, a first compressor 23a, a second compressor 23b, an exterior photographing camera 101 for photographing the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, and an interior photographing camera 102 for photographing the occupants inside the vehicle 1. is communicatively connected to

The in-vehicle photographing camera 102 constitutes a posture detection unit that detects the posture of the passenger seated on the vehicle seat 10 . The seat pressure sensor 21b can also estimate the posture of the seated occupant based on the pressure distribution.

The controller 100 includes a processor, memory, storage, and the like (not shown), and performs control processing for comprehensively controlling various components included in the vehicle seat 10 and realizing various functions of the vehicle seat 10 . to run. The processor calls up the programs in this embodiment from the storage, expands them in the memory, and executes them in a predetermined order, thereby executing seat cushion control processing relating to control of the seating posture of the occupant.

The controller 100 controls the supply and suction of gas to the first compressor 23a and the second compressor 23b. In particular, in the present embodiment, the controller 100 performs control so that the timing at which the first compressor 23a sucks gas from the front bag 22a differs from the timing at which the second compressor 23b sucks gas from the back bag 22b. I do.

When the controller 100 acquires the pressure applied to the seat cushion 20 from the seat pressure sensor 21b or the image of the occupant from the in-vehicle camera 102, the controller 100 detects the seating posture of the occupant based on the acquired pressure or image.

Then, the controller 100 performs gas supply/intake control to cause the first compressor 23a and the second compressor 23b to supply and inhale gas based on the detected seating posture. In particular, in this embodiment, when it is detected that there is little change in the detected seating posture, control is performed to cause the second compressor 23b to draw air into the backside bag body 22b.

[Operation of vehicle seat]
Next, the operation (seat cushion control process) of the vehicle seat 10 according to the embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. 3 and 4 will be referred to as appropriate in the following description.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing seat cushion control processing of the vehicle seat 10 . 6 and 7 are cross-sectional conceptual diagrams of the seat cushion 20 of the vehicle seat 10 when the cross-sectional direction is the width direction of the vehicle 1, and show changes in the state of the seat cushion 20 in time series. .

As shown in FIG. 5, first, the controller 100 determines whether or not the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b immediately after the vehicle is started (step S701). That is, it is determined whether or not the passenger is seated on the vehicle seat 10 . As a result of the determination in step S701, when the controller 100 determines that the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is not detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b (No in step S701), the controller 100 executes step S710, which will be described later.

In this embodiment, in step S701, the controller 100 determines whether or not the occupant is seated on the vehicle seat 10 using the seat pressure sensor 21b. It may be determined whether or not the occupant is seated on the vehicle seat 10 .

As a result of the determination in step S701, when the controller 100 determines that the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b (Yes in step S701), the controller 100 causes the second compressor 23b to generate pressure from the back surface bag 22b. Gas is sucked in to harden the shape of the back surface bag 22b (step S702).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6(a), before execution of step S702, the insides of the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b before the passenger 50 is seated are filled with gas.
Therefore, the shapes of the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b are softened. The shapes of the softened surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b are deformable according to the shape of contact with the surface of the seat cushion 20. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6(b), after execution of step S702, the back surface bag 22b immediately after the occupant 50 is seated changes the shape of the back surface bag 22b by sucking the internal gas into the second compressor 23b. is hardened.
Therefore, the shape of the front surface bag 22a is softened, and the shape of the back surface bag 22b is hardened. As a result, immediately after the occupant 50 starts to sit on the seat, the shape of the softened surface bag 22a is deformed in accordance with the shape of the buttocks of the seated occupant 50, and the hardened back bag 22b. can support the surface bladder 22a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the controller 100 determines whether a predetermined time has passed since the pressure was detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b in step S701 (step S703). As a result of the determination in step S703, when the controller 100 determines that the predetermined time (for example, 30 seconds) has not elapsed (No in step S703), the controller 100 executes step S703 again.

As a result of the determination in step S703, when the controller 100 determines that the predetermined time has elapsed (Yes in step S703), the controller 100 causes the first compressor 23a to suck gas from the surface bag 22a (step S704).

Note that in this embodiment, in step S703, the controller 100 may make a determination based on a change in the seating posture of the occupant instead of determining whether the predetermined time has elapsed. For example, the controller 100 may execute step S704 when it determines that the passenger has been seated from the image of the passenger taken from the in-vehicle camera 102 .

As shown in FIG. 6C, after execution of step S704, the shapes of both the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b are hardened.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the controller 100 causes the second compressor 23b to supply gas to the back surface bag 22b (step S705).

As shown in FIG. 7(a), after step S705 is executed, the shape of the surface bag 22a is hardened to match the shape of the buttocks of the seated occupant 50. As shown in FIG. In addition, the shape of the back surface bag 22b is softened so that the front surface bag 22a can move.
For this reason, the back surface bag 22b can prevent shaking of the seated posture, for example, shaking due to the centrifugal force generated when turning a curve, and the rearview mirror without destroying the shape of the buttocks of the occupant 50, which is maintained by the shape of the front bag 22a. Changes in the seated posture of the occupant, such as shaking caused by the correcting motion, can be tolerated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the controller 100 determines whether the seated posture of the occupant detected via the seat pressure sensor 21b or the in-vehicle camera 102 has stabilized (step S706). As a result of the determination in step S706, when the controller determines that the seating posture of the occupant is not stable (No in step S706), the controller 100 executes step S706 again.

As a result of the determination in step S706, when the controller determines that the seating posture of the occupant is stable (Yes in step S706), the controller 100 causes the second compressor 23b to suck gas from the backside bag body 22b (step S707). .

As shown in FIG. 7B, after execution of step S707, the shapes of the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b are hardened.
As a result, when the seated posture of the passenger 50 is stabilized, the vehicle seat 10 can be kept in the optimum shape.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the controller 100 determines whether or not the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b (step S708). As a result of the determination in step S708, when the controller 100 determines that the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b (Yes in step S708), the controller 100 executes step S709. Further, when the controller 100 determines that the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is not detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b (No in step S708), the controller 100 executes step S710.

The controller 100 determines whether or not a predetermined event has occurred (step S709). As a result of the determination in step S709, if the controller 100 determines that a predetermined event has not occurred (No in step S708), the controller 100 executes step S708 again, and if it determines that a predetermined event has occurred ( Yes in step S708), the controller 100 executes step S705.

Here, the "predetermined event" is (a) the passage of a predetermined time (for example, every 30 minutes) after the shapes of both the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b harden, or ( b) the occupant has pressed an operable operation button; and (c) the occupant's posture has changed significantly.

In this way, the controller 100 performs the operation of step S705 before the seating posture of the occupant stabilizes (first timing) while pressure is continuously detected from the surface of the seat cushion 20 via the seat pressure sensor 21b. , and the operation of step S707, which is executed after the seating posture of the occupant is stabilized (second timing), are repeatedly executed.

As a result of the determination in step S708, when the controller 100 determines that the pressure on the surface of the seat cushion 20 is not detected by the seat pressure sensor 21b (No in step S708), the controller 100 causes the first compressor 23a to move the surface bag 22a. Gas is supplied (step S710). Further, the controller 100 causes the second compressor 23b to supply gas to the back surface bag 22b (step S711), and ends the seat cushion control process. As a result, the surface bag 22a and the back bag 22b are in the same state as the front bag 22a and the back bag 22b before the vehicle is started, as shown in FIG. 6(a).

As described above, in the present embodiment, inside the seat cushion 20 of the vehicle seat 10, the surface bag 22a on the front side facing the buttocks of the occupant 50 seated on the seat cushion 20 and the back surface of the front bag 22a are provided. A housing portion 22 is provided which is composed of a rear surface bag body 22b on the side. Further, the containing portion 22 contains powder therein. When the air supply unit 23 supplies the gas to the storage unit 22, the storage unit 22 fluidizes the powder stored therein and softens the shape thereof. When the air supply unit 23 sucks the gas into the storage unit 22, the storage unit 22 solidifies the stored powder and hardens the shape.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to allow changes in the seating posture of the occupant 50 while maintaining the shape of the surface in accordance with the seating posture of the occupant 50 when seated.

Further, in the present embodiment, the controller 100 supplies gas to the back surface bag 22b via the second compressor 23b in the first period (before the seating posture of the occupant 50 is stabilized), thereby The shape of the bag body 22b is softened. Further, in the second period (after the seated posture of the occupant 50 is stabilized), the controller 100 adjusts the shape of the back surface bag 22b by sucking gas from the back surface bag 22b via the second compressor 23b. It is hardened.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the seated posture of the passenger 50 is stabilized, the shape of the backside bag body 22b is hardened, so that the optimum shape of the vehicle seat 10 can be maintained.

Further, in this embodiment, the controller 100 detects the seating posture of the passenger 50 via the in-vehicle camera 102 . Further, the controller 100 causes the first compressor 23a to supply gas to the surface bag body 22a based on the detected seated posture of the occupant 50. As shown in FIG. Further, the controller 100 causes the second compressor 23b to supply gas to the back surface bag 22b based on the detected seated posture of the occupant 50 .

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the seating comfort can be changed according to the change in the seating posture of the occupant 50 .

Further, in the present embodiment, when the controller 100 determines that the detected change in the seating posture of the occupant 50 is small, the second compressor 23b sucks gas from the back surface bag 22b, thereby adjusting the shape of the back surface bag 22b. It is hardened.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the seating posture of the passenger 50 can be made more stable.

[others]
In the above-described embodiment, the seat cushion 20 of the vehicle seat 10 is provided with the front surface bag 22a and the back surface bag 22b inside the seat cushion 20. 22a and a back bag body 22b.
Furthermore, both the seat cushion 20 and the seat back 30 of the vehicle seat 10 may be provided with the front surface bag 22a and the back surface bag 22b.

1: vehicle, 3: front seat, 4: rear seat, 10: vehicle seat, 20: seat cushion, 21: seat surface, 21a: skin member, 21b: seat pressure sensor (posture detection unit), 22: housing unit, 22a: surface bag, 22b: back bag, 23: air supply section, 23a: first compressor (air supply section), 23b: second compressor (air supply section), 24: connection section, 25: circulation pipe, 30: seat back, 40: headrest, 50: occupant, 100: controller (control unit), 101: camera for photographing outside the vehicle, 102: camera for photographing inside the vehicle (posture detection unit)

Claims (8)

A vehicle seat comprising a seat cushion supporting the buttocks of an occupant and a seat back supporting the back of the occupant,
a storage unit formed in at least one of the interior of the seat cushion and the interior of the seat back in the form of a bag made of a flexible gas-impermeable material for containing powder;
a supply/intake unit that supplies gas to the storage unit and sucks gas from the storage unit;
A control unit that controls the air supply unit,
The air supply/intake unit is
The powder stored in the storage portion is made fluid by supplying gas to the storage portion to soften the shape of the storage portion,
solidifying the powder stored in the storage portion by sucking gas from the storage portion to harden the shape of the storage portion;
The accommodation unit is
a surface bag containing the powder on a surface side facing an occupant seated on the vehicle seat;
Having a plurality of bags on the back side of the surface bag and a back bag containing the powder,
The control unit independently performs air supply to the front bag and air to the back bag,
A vehicle seat characterized by: The control unit
performing control to cause the air supply/intake unit to inhale the backside bag body at a first timing;
performing control to cause the air supply unit to inhale air into the surface bag at a second time period after the first time period;
The vehicle seat according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control unit
performing control to cause the air supply/intake unit to supply air to the back surface bag at a third time period after the second time period;
The vehicle seat according to claim 2, characterized in that: 2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein, when an occupant starts to sit on the seat, the controller sucks gas from the back surface bag by the air supply/intake unit to harden the back surface bag. When the occupant is completely seated, the control unit draws gas from the front bag supported by the hardened back bag by the air supply/intake unit, and adjusts the front bag according to the buttocks of the occupant. 5. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the vehicle seat is hardened into a flat shape. The control unit supplies air to the rear bag body, which supports the front bag body having a hardened shape corresponding to the buttocks of the occupant, through the air supply/intake unit to soften the rear bag body. A vehicle seat according to any one of claims 1, 4 and 5. a posture detection unit that detects the posture of the occupant,
The control unit
Based on the posture of the occupant detected by the posture detection unit, control is performed to cause the air supply/intake unit to inhale the front bag and the back bag.
The vehicle seat according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , characterized in that: The control unit
When the posture detection unit detects that there is little change in the posture of the occupant, control is performed to cause the air supply unit to inhale the back surface bag.
The vehicle seat according to claim 7 , characterized in that:

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