JP7522081B2 - Seat back panel and vehicle seat back - Google Patents

Description

This application relates to a seat back panel and a vehicle seat back using the same.

For example, International Publication WO2010/038314 describes a laminated material in which a cover sheet is laminated to a resin core sheet. This laminated material can be used as an interior material for vehicles, and the ends of the laminated material are treated by heating and pressing. This treatment prevents the core sheet from being exposed at the cut surface of the end, improving the appearance of the vehicle interior.

International Publication No. 2010/038314

Some seat backs for vehicle seats are configured such that the seat back main body is covered with an upholstery material sewn to the seat back panel. In seat backs configured in this way, the upholstery material is usually folded back at the sewing position with the seat back panel and stretched over the seat back main body side. Therefore, there is a risk of a bulge being formed near the sewing position due to the overlap of the upholstery material caused by the folding back. The bulge at the sewn part may cause chafing, etc. Also, from the perspective of improving the appearance of the vehicle seat, a bulge at the sewn part of the upholstery material is not desirable. In this regard, the terminal processing of the laminated material in Patent Document 1 eliminates the step of the laminated material itself, but does not address the problem of the bulge at the sewn part when the upholstery material is sewn.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, one objective of the present application is to provide a technology that can reduce the bulge at the sewn portion of the upholstery material even when the upholstery material is sewn to the seat back panel.

One example of the present application relates to a seat back panel that constitutes the seat back of a vehicle seat. This seat back panel comprises a panel main body, a sewn portion, and a protruding portion. The panel main body is a portion whose surface is exposed on the rear side of the seat back when used as a vehicle seat. The sewn portion is a portion for sewing the seat back cover material, and is disposed extending from the outer periphery of the panel main body. The protruding portion is disposed extending from the outer periphery of the sewn portion in a direction protruding from the surface of the sewn portion. The sewn portion is disposed extending from the outer periphery of the panel main body, and comprises a low rigidity portion having a lower rigidity than the panel main body.

Another example of the present application relates to a seat back for a vehicle. This seat back for a vehicle includes a seat back panel according to any of the examples of the present application, a seat back main body, and a skin material. The seat back main body is installed on the front side of the seat back panel. The skin material is sewn to the sewing position of the sewing part of the seat back panel and folded back from the sewing position to cover the seat back main body. The low rigidity part of the seat back panel is bent inward from the extension direction of the outer peripheral end part of the panel main body by the projection part being pressed by the tension of the skin material. In addition, the seam part of the skin material that is located on the inside of the folded back skin material is located in a recess formed by the sewing part and the projection part. The surface of the recess formed by the sewing part and the projection part is covered with the skin material.

When the upholstery material is sewn to the seam on the seat back panel and then folded back from the seam to be stretched, the tension pushes the protrusions in and the low rigidity area bends, forming a depression between the seam and the protrusions. The seam side of the upholstery material can then be fitted into this depression. Therefore, by using this seat back panel, the upholstery material does not bulge easily, making the vehicle seat back look beautiful.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of a vehicle seat according to a first embodiment of the present application; 1 is a front view showing a schematic view of a portion of a rear side of a seat back panel according to a first embodiment of the present application; 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a portion of a seat back panel according to a first embodiment of the present application. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic state in which a seat fabric is sewn to a seat back panel according to a first embodiment of the present application. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic state in which a seat fabric is sewn to a seat back panel according to a first embodiment of the present application. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a sewn portion between a seat back panel and a seat fabric according to the first embodiment of the present application. FIG. FIG. 11 is a front view showing a schematic view of a portion of the rear side of a seat back panel according to a second embodiment of the present application.

The following describes an embodiment of the vehicle interior material according to the present application with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be simplified or omitted.

Embodiment 1.
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle seat 1 according to the present embodiment. The vehicle seat 1 shown in Fig. 1 is disposed in a vehicle for use. In the following description, when directions are mentioned, they are based on the front of the seat (i.e., the direction of the arrow FR in Fig. 1) and the top of the seat (the direction of the arrow UP in Fig. 1) when the vehicle seat 1 is disposed in the vehicle. In addition, in the following description, the "surface" refers to the surface of each member that is exposed on the surface of the seat when the member is used as the vehicle seat 1.

The vehicle seat 1 in FIG. 1 includes a seat back 2, a seat cushion 3, and a headrest 4. The seat back 2 is supported at the rear end of the seat cushion 3. The seat back 2 is for supporting the back of the occupant. The headrest 4 is disposed at the upper end of the seat back 2. The headrest 4 is for supporting the head of the occupant.

The seat back 2 includes a seat back main body (not shown). The seat back main body may include a cushioning material such as a pad and a support frame. A seat back panel 10 is installed on the rear side of the seat back main body. In addition, the surface of the seat back main body that is not covered by the seat back panel 10 is covered by a seat fabric 20 sewn to the seat back panel 10.

The seat back panel 10 is formed, for example, of a resin honeycomb structure. By using a resin honeycomb structure, the necessary strength can be ensured even if the panel is thin, and the seat fabric 20 can be easily sewn. However, the material of the seat back panel 10 is not necessarily limited to a resin honeycomb structure, as long as it is a relatively light material that can ensure the necessary rigidity. Specific examples of the material of the seat back panel 10 include fibers, felt such as compressed felt or knitted felt, and foamed resin such as urethane foam and hollow resin structures. The seat back panel 10 may also be configured by laminating two or more of these materials. Alternatively, the seat back panel 10 may be made by covering these materials with a skin material of the same material as the seat fabric 20 described below.

There is no particular limitation on the material forming the seat fabric 20. However, since the seat fabric 20 covers the parts that come into contact with passengers, it is desirable to select the constituent material of the seat fabric 20 taking into consideration the luxurious feel and appearance. Specifically, for example, synthetic leather containing PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or nonwoven fabric is used as the seat fabric 20. Here, synthetic leather containing PVC includes synthetic leather made only of PVC and synthetic leather mainly composed of PVC. Synthetic leather mainly composed of PVC includes, for example, PVC with a resin such as nylon or polyurethane applied to the surface. In addition, the seat fabric 20 may be made of synthetic leather containing other materials such as PP (polypropylene), fibers such as nonwoven fabric and woven fabric, and natural leather.

Figure 2 is a front view showing a schematic of a portion of the rear side of the seat back panel 10 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, the seat back panel 10 has a panel main body 11 whose surface is exposed on the rear side, and an outer edge structure 12 formed integrally with the panel main body 11. The seat fabric 20 is sewn to and attached to the outer edge structure 12 of the seat back panel 10. The configuration of the outer edge structure 12 will be described in detail below.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic view of a portion of the seat back panel 10 according to this embodiment. The cross section in Figure 3 is taken at a position corresponding to A-A in Figure 1 and is also taken at B-B in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 3, the outer edge structure 12 of the seat back panel 10 includes a panel main body portion 11, a stitched portion 14, and an outer edge structure 12 consisting of a protrusion portion 15. These portions are molded integrally.

The panel body 11 is a portion whose surface is exposed on the rear side of the vehicle seat 1. A low-rigidity portion 13 that is integrally formed with the panel body 11 is disposed on the outer periphery of the panel body 11.

The stitching portion 14 is a flat portion arranged so that its surface extends from the outer peripheral end of the panel main body 11 in the same direction as the surface direction of the outer peripheral end of the panel main body 11. The stitching portion 14 is a portion for sewing the seat fabric 20, and the seat fabric 20 is sewn to the sewing position of the stitching portion 14. The width W14 of the stitching portion 14, i.e., the length from the outer peripheral end of the panel main body 11 to the outer peripheral end of the stitching portion 14, is roughly constant at all points around the outer periphery of the seat back panel 10. However, the width W14 of the stitching portion 14 may vary depending on the location.

The sewn portion 14 includes a low-rigidity portion 13 formed by extending from the outer peripheral end of the panel main body 11 to the inner peripheral end of the sewn portion 14. The low-rigidity portion 13 is a portion thinner than the panel main body 11. Specifically, a cutout-shaped portion is formed on the inside of the portion of the seat back panel 10 that is the inner peripheral end of the sewn portion 14 (i.e., the surface side opposite to the surface exposed to the back surface of the vehicle seat 1), thereby forming the low-rigidity portion 13 that is thinner than the other portions. The low-rigidity portion 13 is formed thinner than the other portions, so that its rigidity is lower than the other portions. In the seat back panel 10 according to this embodiment, the bending rigidity of the low-rigidity portion 13 is adjusted to be 1/2 or less of the bending rigidity of the panel main body 11. The thickness of the portion of the sewn portion 14 other than the low-rigidity portion 13, i.e., the portion on the outer peripheral side of the low-rigidity portion 13, is approximately the same as that of the panel main body 11.

The protrusion 15 is a portion that is arranged to extend from the outer peripheral end of the sewn portion 14 in a direction that protrudes from the surface of the sewn portion 14. The width W15 of the protrusion 15, i.e., the distance from the outer peripheral end of the protrusion 15 to the boundary position with the sewn portion 14, is generally constant at all points. However, the width W15 of the protrusion 15 may vary depending on the location.

Figures 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views that show the state in which the seat fabric 20 has been sewn to the seat back panel 10. Figure 4 shows the state after the seat fabric 20 has been sewn to the seat back panel 10 and before it has been folded back, and Figure 5 shows the state after the sewn seat fabric 20 has been folded back and adjusted to the front side of the seat back main body. Figures 4 and 5 show cross sections at the same position as Figure 3. Below, the procedure for sewing the seat back panel 10 and the seat fabric 20 will be explained using Figures 4 and 5.

When sewing the seat fabric 20 to the seat back panel 10, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface of the seat fabric 20 and the surface of the seat back panel 10 are overlapped with each other facing each other. Then, the seat fabric 20 and the stitching portion 14 of the seat back panel 10 are sewn together at stitching position A. In this embodiment, stitching position A is adjusted to be within a range L between a position that is the thickness d of the seat fabric 20 from the inner peripheral end of the low rigidity portion 13 toward the outer peripheral side, and a position that is twice the thickness of the seat fabric 20, 2d, from the outer peripheral end of the low rigidity portion 13 toward the outer peripheral side.

Then, the seat fabric 20 is folded in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4, that is, toward the outer periphery of the seat back panel 10. The folded seat fabric 20 is stretched over the front surface of the seat back 2 so as to cover the seat back main body. Here, the folded seat fabric 20 is positioned so as to overlap the seam 21, which is the portion of the seat fabric 20 on the outer periphery side of the sewing position A, as shown in FIG. 5. Also, the portion of the seat back panel 10 on the outer periphery side of the sewing position A, that is, the outer periphery side of the sewing position A of the sewing portion 14 and the protrusion 15, are positioned inside the folded seat fabric 20. In this state, the seam 21 fits into the recess formed by the sewing portion 14 and the protrusion 15.

By tensioning the seat fabric 20 on the seat back main body side, the seat fabric 20 exerts tension in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5, and this tension acts on the sewing position A of the seat back panel 10. The direction of tension of the seat fabric 20 is along the side of the vehicle seat 1, and therefore generally coincides with the surface direction of the outer peripheral end of the panel main body 11 (i.e., the boundary with the low rigidity portion 13). In addition, the outer peripheral end of the protrusion 15 is pressed against the tensioned seat fabric 20. As a result, as shown by arrow C in FIG. 5, the entire outer edge structure 12 bends inward from the low rigidity portion 13, and the surface of the recess formed by the stitching portion 14 and the protrusion 15 is covered by the seat fabric 20 while the surface of the seat fabric 20 is flat. The width W14 of the sewn portion 14, the width W15 of the protrusion 15, and the angle of the protrusion 15 with respect to the surface of the sewn portion 14 are designed and adjusted according to the angle at which the low stiffness portion 13 bends due to the tensioning of the seat fabric 20 and the bending stiffness of the low stiffness portion 13, so that the tip of the protrusion 15 does not push back against the surface of the seat fabric 20 and protrude.

The portion surrounded by the stitching portion 14 and the protrusion 15 is recessed toward the surface of the seat fabric 20. The seam allowance portion 21 of the seat fabric 20 is accommodated in the recess sandwiched between the stitching portion 14 and the protrusion 15. As described above, the stitching position A is adjusted to be between a position that is the thickness d of the seat fabric 20 from the outer peripheral end of the panel main body 11 to a position that is twice the thickness 2d of the seat fabric 20 from the outer peripheral end of the low stiffness portion 13 to the outer peripheral side. That is, the distance L from the stitching position A to the inner peripheral end of the low stiffness portion 13 is at least thicker than the thickness d of the seat fabric 20. Therefore, the seat fabric 20 does not rise above the surface of the seat back panel 10 even in the vicinity of the folded stitching position A.

As described above, by configuring the seat back panel 10 to have an outer edge structure 12 on its periphery, when the seat fabric 20 is sewn, it is possible to suppress the bulging of the seat fabric 20 at the sewn portion. This suppresses chafing caused by the bulging of the seat fabric 20, and also makes the appearance of the vehicle seat 1 more beautiful.

In this embodiment, the low-rigidity portion 13 is formed to have a reduced rigidity by being thin. This allows the low-rigidity portion 13 to be formed relatively easily as one piece with the panel body 11. However, the method of forming the low-rigidity portion 13 is not limited to this. For example, the entire seat back panel 10 may be formed to a required thickness according to the rigidity of the low-rigidity portion 13, and then a reinforcing member may be bonded to the panel body 11 to increase the rigidity of the panel body 11. Alternatively, the entire seat back panel 10 may be formed to a high rigidity thickness similar to that of the panel body 11, and then the entire outer periphery portion that will become the outer edge structure 12 may be thinned to the thickness of the low-rigidity portion 13 to form the low-rigidity portion 13.

In addition, in this embodiment, the bending rigidity of the low rigidity portion 13 is described as being half or less of the bending rigidity of the panel main body portion 11. As a result, when tension is applied by the sheet fabric 20, the outer edge structure 12 can be reliably bent inward from the low rigidity portion 13 without other portions of the panel main body portion 11 bending.

In this embodiment, the sewing position A of the seat fabric 20 is adjusted to be in the range L from a position that is the thickness d of the seat fabric 20 away from the inner circumferential edge of the low rigidity portion 13 to a position that is twice the thickness 2d of the seat fabric 20 away from the outer circumferential edge of the low rigidity portion 13. In this way, by setting the sewing position A according to the thickness d of the seat fabric 20, the step that occurs in the folded portion of the seat fabric 20 can be made smaller. Note that within this range L, the sewing position A may overlap the low rigidity portion 13 as shown in FIG. 6.

In addition, the range L of the sewing position A is not necessarily limited to this range. Even if the sewing position A exceeds this range L, as long as it has the outer edge structure 12 of this embodiment and the seat fabric 20 is sewn to the sewing portion 13, it is possible to reduce the step of the folded portion of the seat fabric 20 to a certain extent.

The sewing position A may also be adjusted within a narrower range. For example, the sewing position A may be adjusted from a position that is the thickness d of the seat fabric 20 from the outer peripheral end of the low stiffness portion 13 to a position that is twice the thickness 2d of the seat fabric 20 from the inner peripheral end of the low stiffness portion 13 to the outer peripheral side. However, such adjustment of the sewing position A is limited to cases where the width of the low stiffness portion 13 is shorter than the thickness d of the seat fabric 20. Also, the position of the center, the inner peripheral end, or the outer peripheral end of the low stiffness portion 13 may be set as a reference position, and the sewing position A may be adjusted to be on the outer peripheral side of this reference position, within a range that is greater than the thickness d of the seat fabric and less than twice the thickness 2d of the seat fabric from this reference position.

Embodiment 2.
7 is a front view showing a schematic view of a part of the back side of a seat back panel 40 according to embodiment 2. This seat back panel 40 is used as the seat back panel of a vehicle seat 1 in place of the seat back panel 10 according to embodiment 1. The seat back panel 40 according to embodiment 2 has the same configuration as the seat back panel according to embodiment 1, except that the outer edge structure 42 has a slit 45.

Specifically, the seat back panel 40 according to the second embodiment has a panel main body 41 and an outer edge structure 42 that is integrally formed with the panel main body. The outer edge structure 42 has a low-rigidity portion, a sewn portion, and a protrusion, similar to the seat back panel 10 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the outer edge structure 42 has a number of slits 45 formed therein. The slits 45 are cutouts that extend from the outer peripheral end of the protrusion to the low rigidity portion. The slits 45 are formed in a number of locations on the outer edge of the seat back panel 40 where the curvature is relatively large. In the example of FIG. 7, three slits 45 are formed on each of the upper left and right corners of the seat back panel 40, and two slits 45 are formed on each of the left and right side portions.

According to the seat back panel 40 of the second embodiment, even if the seat fabric 20 wrinkles near the folded portion after it is sewn and folded, the bulge caused by the wrinkles can be hidden by the slits 45, and the bulge on the surface of the seat fabric 20 can be suppressed. This makes it possible to make the area near the sewing position between the seat fabric 20 and the seat back panel 40 flatter, and to make the appearance of the vehicle seat 1 more beautiful.

The number, shape, and formation positions of the slits 45 of the seat back panel 40 according to the second embodiment are not limited to the example shown in FIG. 7. The wrinkles that occur when the sewn seat fabric 20 is folded back and the resulting bulging of the surface of the seat fabric 20 vary depending on the curvature of each part of the seat back panel 40 and the thickness of the seat fabric 20 used. Therefore, taking these factors into consideration, the formation positions of the slits 45, the number of slits 45, and the shape of the slits 45 can be appropriately determined so as to minimize the bulging of the seat fabric 20.

In the above embodiments, when the number, quantity, amount, range, etc. of each element is mentioned, the examples of the seat back panel and vehicle seat of this application are not limited to the mentioned number, unless otherwise specified or clearly specified in principle. Furthermore, the structures, etc. described in this embodiment are not necessarily essential to the configuration of the seat back panel and vehicle seat of this application, unless otherwise specified or clearly specified in principle.

Reference Signs List 1 Vehicle seat 2 Seat back 3 Seat cushion 4 Headrest 10 Seat back panel 11 Panel main body 12 Outer edge structure 13 Low rigidity portion 14 Stitched portion 15 Protrusion A Stitching position 20 Seat fabric 21 Seam allowance portion 40 Seat back panel 41 Panel main body 42 Outer edge structure 45 Slit

Claims (6)

A seat back panel constituting a seat back of a vehicle seat,
a panel main body portion, the surface of which is exposed on a rear side of the seat back when the seat is used as the vehicle seat;

a sewing portion for sewing a cover material of the seat back, the sewing portion being disposed extending from an outer periphery of the panel main body portion;
A protrusion extending from an outer periphery of the sewn portion in a direction protruding from a surface of the sewn portion;
Equipped with
The seat back panel, wherein the sewn portion is disposed extending from an outer periphery of the panel main body portion and includes a low-rigidity portion having a rigidity lower than that of the panel main body portion. The seat back panel according to claim 1, characterized in that the low-rigidity portion is thinner than the panel body portion. The seat back panel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bending rigidity of the low rigidity portion is 1/2 or less of the bending rigidity of the panel main body portion. The seat back panel according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has multiple slits extending from the outer periphery of the protrusion to the low rigidity portion. A seat back panel according to any one of claims 1 to 4;
A seat back main body portion installed on a front side of the seat back panel;
a cover material that is sewn to a sewing position of the sewing portion of the seat back panel and folded back from the sewing position to cover the seat back main body;
Equipped with
When the protrusion is pressed by the tension of the skin material, the low rigidity portion is bent inwardly relative to the extension direction of the outer peripheral end portion of the panel main body,
a seam portion of the skin material that is disposed on the inside of the folded-back skin material is disposed within a recess defined by the sewn portion and the protrusion;
a surface of the recess formed by the stitching portion and the protrusion portion is covered with the skin material;
A vehicle seat back comprising: The sewing position at which the skin material is sewn is
From a position spaced from the inner peripheral end of the low rigidity portion toward the outer peripheral side by the thickness of the skin material,
From the outer peripheral end of the low rigidity portion to a position that is twice the thickness of the skin material toward the outer peripheral side,
6. The vehicle seat back according to claim 5, wherein the range is:

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