Transportation vehicle seat including a footrest

Abstract

The invention relates to a means of transport seat comprising a footrest (3), a seat lower part (10) with a seat surface (11) and a seat backrest (12) with a backrest surface (13), the seat lower part being preferably longitudinally displaceably coupled or couplable to the means of transport structure (22), the footrest (3) being provided with a support surface (31) and being movable between a stowed position and a use position and being arranged in front of the seat lower part (10) in the use position.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vehicle seat. It also relates to a vehicle, particularly a motor vehicle, that includes at least one such vehicle seat. Background Technology

[0002] The increasing demand for comfort in transportation, especially in motor vehicles, has led to a desire for reclining chairs with footrests. This is particularly relevant in future autonomous vehicles, where occupants will be able to utilize travel time for rest and relaxation, and will look forward to such comfortable seating. When supporting the legs, maximum comfort is achieved if the feet can also be supported. Conversely, if support is only provided in the calf area, fatigue will occur rapidly. Often, the adjustment range of supports directly located under the seat is insufficient to reach the desired foot support position, or the operating kinematics must be constructed very rigidly, resulting in significant additional cost and weight.

[0003] A vehicle seat including a footrest is known from DE 10 2010 012 767 A1. The footrest has a support plate positioned in front of the vehicle seat and movable relative to the bottom of the vehicle for the feet of an occupant sitting on the vehicle seat. The support plate is tilted upwards away from the end of the seat about a transverse axis located at another side end of the seat. A slider is movably guided on the longitudinal side of the support plate and is connected to the vehicle seat via a flexible support element for the occupant's lower leg.

[0004] A foot support for a vehicle is known from DE 10 2005 013 170 A1. The foot support has a support plate for the lower legs of an occupant sitting on a vehicle seat. The foot support is located in front of the vehicle seat and can pivot from a vertical storage position below the front edge of the vehicle seat to a horizontal support position in which the support plate can be telescopically moved out.

[0005] DE 10 2004 050 730 A1 shows and describes a transportation seat assembly in an aircraft having transportation seats arranged in sequence, wherein a flexible and retractable support member disposed below the front seat can be mounted on the seat bottom of the seat located behind it and, in the mounted state, forms a support for the feet and lower legs of the occupant sitting in the rear seat.

[0006] FR 2 906 770 A1 shows and describes a vehicle seat including a footrest that can be telescopically moved forward from a retracted position under the vehicle seat by means of a guide rail assembly disposed under the seat and can be tilted about a lateral axis. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The objective of this invention is to provide an improved vehicle seat including a footrest that can be folded up under the vehicle seat in a space-saving manner when not in use.

[0008] In a transportation vehicle seat designed to address this task—comprising a footrest, a seat base with a seat surface, and a seat back with a backrest, the seat base preferably being longitudinally movable and coupled to or capable of being coupled to the transportation vehicle structure, the footrest having a support surface being movable between a stowed position and a use position and positioned in front of the seat base in the use position—according to the invention, the footrest has a first edge away from the seat base and a second edge facing the seat base, and at least one longitudinal support extending from the first edge to the second edge. The at least one longitudinal support is connected in the region of the first edge to a first guide element of an operating mechanism, the first guide element being longitudinally movable and guided in a guide rail of the operating mechanism, the guide rail being positioned in front of the seat base and extending away from the seat base. The at least one longitudinal support is pivotally connected in the region of the second edge to an operating lever belonging to the operating mechanism about a first lateral axis, and the operating lever is pivotally supported relative to the transportation vehicle structure or relative to the seat base about a second lateral axis and can be pivotally operated about the second lateral axis by means of an actuator device.

[0009] advantage

[0010] The foot support according to the invention is positioned in the inserted state below or in front of the vehicle seat, particularly the front area of ​​the lower part of the seat. The support surface of the footrest can be brought into the use position by means of a guide rail, moving away from the vehicle seat in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, for example, moving forward.

[0011] Advantageously, the first guide element, which is longitudinally movable in the guide rail, can be moved along the guide rail by means of an actuator device that can be driven by a drive element. Therefore, the longitudinal adjustment of the support surface can be performed non-manually by means of the actuator device.

[0012] Preferably, the driving element is formed by an electric motor and the actuator device is formed by a screw drive mechanism. The screw drive mechanism preferably has a screw driver having a screw driven by the rotation of the electric motor.

[0013] Advantageously, the guide rail is pivotally supported about a third lateral axis relative to the vehicle structure or the lower part of the seat at its end near the seat. This allows the support surface to be tilted.

[0014] A particularly advantageous implementation is one in which a pivotally supported guide rail forms an upper guide rail, and a lower guide rail is located below the upper guide rail in front of the lower part of the seat, extending longitudinally away from the lower part of the seat. In this implementation, a guide lever is provided, pivotally coupled relative to a longitudinal support member in a region at its first end, and a second guide element is provided in a region at its second end, the second guide element being longitudinally guided within the lower guide rail. This lever kinematic mechanism allows the support surface to automatically tilt when the footrest is moved out to its use position.

[0015] It is particularly advantageous here that the lower guide rail is shorter than the upper guide rail, and the end of the lower guide rail near the seat is further away from the underside of the seat than the end of the upper guide rail near the seat. This geometry of the guide rail ensures that the guide lever pivots about a lateral axis when the footrest is removed, and thereby pivots the upper guide rail itself, thereby lifting the front end of the support surface away from the underside of the seat.

[0016] If the operating lever is constructed as a telescopic rod, and the telescopic rod is adjustable in its longitudinal extension, then in addition to the adjustability of the lever transmission mechanism, other adjustment options for the attitude and inclination of the support surface can be advantageously achieved.

[0017] Advantageously, there is an embodiment that can be combined with other embodiments of the invention, wherein the support is provided with a longitudinal support member and an operating mechanism disposed on each of its two longitudinal sides.

[0018] The present invention also relates to a means of transport, particularly a motor vehicle, having at least one transport vehicle seat according to the invention.

[0019] The preferred embodiments of the present invention, which have additional design details and other advantages, are described and explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0020] In the attached image:

[0021] Figure 1A A schematic side view of a vehicle seat with a footrest in the stowed position according to the invention is shown.

[0022] Figure 1B Show Figure 1AThe vehicle seat in the middle, which has a fully retracted footrest in its use position; and

[0023] Figure 2 This shows the situation when the support frame is completely removed. Figure 1B The illustration shows a top view of the vehicle's seat. Detailed Implementation

[0024] Figure 1A and Figure 1B The vehicle seat 1, as shown schematically from the left, includes a lower seat portion 10 with a seat surface 11 and a seat back 12, typically tiltable and mounted on the lower seat portion, having a backrest 13. An occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 1 is also schematically shown. The vehicle seat is mounted on the bottom 20 of the interior space of the vehicle structure 22 of the vehicle 2 via a seat bracket 14—preferably longitudinally movable—that is known per se and schematically shown only in dashed lines in the figure. The vehicle seat 1 can be a single seat or part of a bench seat.

[0025] The vehicle seat 1 is equipped with a footrest 3, which is disposed on the lower part of the seat 10, on the seat bracket 14, or—preferably—on the bottom 20 of the interior space of the vehicle 2, as described below. The footrest 3 has a support plate 30 with an upper support surface 31 and longitudinal support members 32, 32' on two sides, which are connected to the support plate 30 on two longitudinally opposite sides and extend from a first edge 33 opposite to the lower part of the seat 10 to a second edge 34 facing the lower part of the seat 10.

[0026] As also described below, the footrest 3 can be stowed in a position below the seat under part 10. Figure 1B The footrest 3 can move between the positions shown in the diagram, in which the support plate 30 of the footrest 3 is positioned in front of the lower part of the seat 10.

[0027] The following description Figure 1A and Figure 1B The operating mechanism 4 on the left side, as shown, allows the support plate 30 of the footrest 3 to be moved from the retracted position to the usable position and then back into the retracted position. (As shown in...) Figure 2 As can be seen, a right-side operating mechanism 4' is also provided. This right-side operating mechanism is constructed in the same manner as the left-side operating mechanism 4, and therefore the following description also applies to the right-side operating mechanism 4'. Thus, only the left-side operating mechanism will be described here. These two operating mechanisms 4 and 4' operate synchronously and are preferably driven by a common drive device 5.

[0028] The longitudinal support member 32 is connected to a first guide element 35 in the region of the first edge 33. This first guide element is longitudinally guided in an upper guide rail 40 of the operating mechanism 4, which is located in front of and extends away from the lower seat 10. The longitudinal support member 32 is pivotally connected to an operating lever 42 belonging to the operating mechanism 4 about a first transverse axis y1 in the region of the second edge 34. The operating lever 42 is pivotally supported about a second transverse axis y2 relative to the vehicle structure 22 or relative to the lower seat 10 and can be pivotally operated about the second transverse axis y2 by means of an actuator device 44 driven by a drive element 45 in a manner further described below. For this purpose, in the example shown, a bearing seat 41 connected to the vehicle structure 22 is provided, on which a first bearing 43, which defines the second transverse axis y2 and is fixed to the vehicle, is constructed for pivotally supporting the operating lever 42. The operating lever 42 is preferably constructed as a telescopic rod, which is adjustable in its longitudinal extension. Thus, the distance between the transverse axes y1 and y2 that form the two pivot axes can be increased or decreased, thereby providing additional adjustment possibilities for the position and inclination of the support plate 30 and therefore the support surface 31. The drive element 45 for the actuator device 44 is also mounted in or on the bearing housing 41. Furthermore, a second bearing 46, fixed to the transport vehicle, is provided on the bearing housing 41, which defines the third transverse axis y3, and the end 40A of the upper guide rail 40 near the seat is pivotally supported in the second bearing relative to the transport vehicle structure 22.

[0029] The actuator device 44 has a screw shaft 47 and a screw nut 48, the screw shaft extending parallel to or within the guide rail 40, and is rotatably driven by a drive element 45. The screw nut is threadedly engaged with the screw shaft 47. In the illustrated example, the screw nut 48 is connected to or integrated into a first guide element 35. Thus, the screw shaft 47 and the screw nut 48 form a screw drive mechanism. The first guide element 35, thus longitudinally movable within the guide rail 40, is therefore driven by the drive element 45 to move along the upper guide rail 40. Here, the drive element 45 is preferably formed of an electric motor.

[0030] A lower guide rail 50 is provided below the upper guide rail 40 and in front of the lower seat portion 10. This lower guide rail extends longitudinally (X) away from the lower seat portion 10 and parallel to the upper guide rail 40. A guide lever 52 is pivotally connected to a first guide element 35 about a fourth transverse axis y4 in the region of its first end and is therefore pivotally coupled to the longitudinal support member 32 relative to the longitudinal support member 32. A second guide element 54 is provided in the region of its second end of the guide lever 52, which is guided longitudinally movable within the lower guide rail 50. The lower guide rail 50 is shorter than the upper guide rail 40, and the end 50A of the lower guide rail 50 near the seat is further away from the lower seat portion 10 than the end 40A of the upper guide rail 40 near the seat.

[0031] When the first guide element 35 moves forward from the retracted position, i.e., away from the lower part of the seat 10, by means of the screw shaft 47, the first guide element drives the first (front) edge 33 of the support plate 30, causing the support plate 30 to pivot clockwise about the fourth transverse axis y4. Simultaneously, a relative pivot occurs between the support plate 30 and the operating lever 42 about the first transverse axis y1. As the guide element 35 continues to move forward, this relative pivot causes the operating lever 42 to pivot counterclockwise about the second transverse axis y2 until the end section 42' of the operating lever 42 facing away from the transverse axis y1 abuts against the lower stop surface 41' inside the bearing seat 41. Because the lower guide rail 50 is shorter than the upper guide rail 40 in the above manner, the guide lever 52... Figure 1A In the retracted position shown, the seat is tilted downwards away from the lower part 10. This tilt causes the second guide element 54, guided in the lower guide rail, to reach the end stop 51 of the lower guide rail 50 away from the front end 50B of the seat before the first guide element 35 reaches the end stop 49 of the upper guide rail 40 away from the front end 40B of the seat. If the first guide element 35 moves further away from the lower part 10 by means of the screw shaft 47, the guide lever 52 pivots counterclockwise about the fifth transverse axis y5 formed by the second guide element 54 and lifts the front end 40B of the upper guide rail 40. The upper guide rail then pivots clockwise about the third transverse axis y3 and simultaneously lifts the front edge 33 of the support plate 30 away from the seat. If the telescopic operating lever 42 is also removed in this use position, i.e., the distance between the transverse axes y1 and y2 is extended, as in Figure 1B As symbolically shown in the diagram with arrow T and dashed lines, the support plate 30 pivots counterclockwise about the transverse axis y4, and the inclination angle of the support plate 30 and therefore the upper support surface 31 of the footrest 3 changes. This changes the position of the footrest 3 from its use position (…). Figure 1B ) to the collapsible position ( Figure 1A When the object moves back, the aforementioned motion proceeds in the opposite direction.

[0032] This invention is not limited to the embodiments described above; these embodiments are merely for explaining the core ideas of the invention in a general sense. Within the scope of protection, the device according to the invention can also be implemented in other ways different from the embodiments described above. In particular, the device may have the following features, which constitute a combination of corresponding individual features of the invention.

[0033] The reference numerals in the specification and drawings are for better understanding of the invention only and should not limit the scope of protection.

[0034] List of reference numerals

[0035] 1. Transportation vehicle seats

[0036] 2. Transportation vehicles

[0037] 3. Leg support

[0038] 4. Operating mechanism on the left side

[0039] 4' Right-side operating mechanism

[0040] 5. Drive unit

[0041] 10. Under the seat

[0042] 11. Seating

[0043] 12 Seat backrests

[0044] 13. Back side

[0045] 14 Seat bracket

[0046] 20. Bottom of the interior space

[0047] 22. Transportation vehicle structure

[0048] 30 Support Plate

[0049] 31 Upper supporting surface

[0050] 32 Longitudinal bearing members

[0051] 32' Longitudinal bearing member

[0052] 33. The Edge of Deviation

[0053] 34. Facing the edge

[0054] 35 First guiding element

[0055] 40 Upper guide rail

[0056] 40A 40 is located near the end of the seat.

[0057] 40B 40's end furthest from the seat

[0058] 41 Bearing housing

[0059] 41' 41's internal lower stop face

[0060] 42 Operating lever

[0061] 42' 42' lower end section

[0062] 43. The first bearing fixed on the transport vehicle

[0063] 44 Actuator device

[0064] 45 Driving Components

[0065] 46. ​​Second bearing fixed to the transport vehicle

[0066] 47 Screw Shaft

[0067] 48 Screw Nut

[0068] 49 40 The front end stop away from the seat

[0069] 50 Lower guide rail

[0070] 50A 50 near the end of the seat

[0071] 50B 50's end furthest from the seat

[0072] 51 50 The front end stop away from the seat

[0073] 52. Guiding lever

[0074] 54 Second guiding element

[0075] P crew

[0076] y1 First horizontal axis

[0077] y2 Second Horizontal Axis

[0078] y3 Third horizontal axis

[0079] y4 Fourth horizontal axis

[0080] y5 Fifth horizontal axis

Claims

1. A vehicle seat, the vehicle seat comprising a footrest (3), a seat lower portion (10) having a seat surface (11), and a seat back (12) having a backrest (13), the seat lower portion being coupled or capable of being coupled to a vehicle structure (22), wherein, The footrest (3) with a support surface (31) can move between a stowed position and a use position by means of an operating mechanism (4, 4') and is positioned in front of the lower part (10) of the seat in the use position. The footrest (3) has a first edge (33) facing away from the lower part of the seat (10) and a second edge (34) facing the lower part of the seat (10). Its features are, The vehicle is provided with a left-side operating mechanism (4) and a right-side operating mechanism (4'), each of which has an upper guide rail (40). The upper guide rail is located in front of and extends away from the lower part of the seat (10) in both the retracted and in-use positions. The upper guide rail is pivotally supported at its end (40A) near the seat relative to the vehicle structure (22) or relative to the lower part of the seat (10) around a third transverse axis (y3). The footrest (3) has at least one longitudinal support member (32, 32') extending from the first edge (33) to the second edge (34). The at least one longitudinal support member (32, 32') is connected to the first guide element (35) of the operating mechanism (4, 4') in the region of the first edge (33), the first guide element being longitudinally guided in the upper guide rail (40). The at least one longitudinal support member (32, 32') is pivotally connected in the region of the second edge (34) to the operating lever (42) belonging to the operating mechanism about the first transverse axis (y1), and The operating lever (42) is pivotally supported about a second lateral axis (y2) relative to the vehicle structure (22) or relative to the lower part of the seat (10) and can be pivotally operated about the second lateral axis (y2) by means of an actuator device (44). A lower guide rail (50) is provided in front of the lower part of the seat (10) and below the upper guide rail (40). The lower guide rail extends longitudinally (X) away from the lower part of the seat (10). A guide lever (52) is provided, which is pivotally coupled relative to the longitudinal support members (32, 32') in the region of its first end, and a second guide element (54) is provided in the region of its second end, which is longitudinally movable and guided in the lower guide rail (50).

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first guide element (35), which is longitudinally movable in the guide rail, can move along the guide rail by means of an actuator device (44) that can be driven by a drive element (45).

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 2, characterized in that, The drive element (45) is formed by an electric motor and the actuator device (44) is formed by a screw drive mechanism.

4. The vehicle seat according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The lower guide rail (50) is shorter than the upper guide rail (40), and the end of the lower guide rail (50) near the seat (50A) is further away from the lower part of the seat (10) than the end of the upper guide rail (40) near the seat (40A).

5. The vehicle seat according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The operating lever (42) is constructed as a telescopic rod, which is adjustable in its longitudinal extension.

6. The vehicle seat according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The support frame (3) is provided with longitudinal support members (32, 32') and operating mechanisms (4, 4') on each of its two longitudinal sides.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lower part of the seat can be coupled or can be coupled longitudinally to the vehicle structure (22).

8. A means of transport, said means of transport comprising at least one means of transport seat (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. The means of transport according to claim 8, characterized in that, The means of transport is a motor vehicle.

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