Armrest with adjustable firmness and vehicle with such a

Abstract

The invention relates to an armrest (10) for a vehicle (50) formed with a base body (12), a padding layer (14), and a cover material (18), wherein the armrest (10) is rotatable and the padding layer (14) forms at least two areas (16) of different hardness, so that a user (40) can select a firmness level in the area facing them by rotating the armrest (10). The invention also relates to a vehicle (50) with at least one such armrest (10).

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an armrest for a vehicle, comprising a base body, a padding layer, and a cover material, wherein the armrest is rotatable and the padding layer forms at least two areas of different firmness, so that a user can select a firmness level in the area facing them by rotating the armrest. The invention also relates to a vehicle with at least one such armrest.

[0002] Comfort is of paramount importance to vehicle occupants. Besides the comfort of the seats, this is also influenced by the armrests. In most vehicles, however, these are fixed. To improve passenger comfort, height-adjustable armrests and armrests that can be moved lengthwise have been introduced. The use of memory foam in the armrest area is also intended to enhance passenger comfort.

[0003] However, the adjustment of an armrest's firmness or hardness was mostly overlooked. German patent DE 10 2018 215 797 A1 shows a foldable armrest that is also rotatable and to which a cushion can be attached. However, its operation is not very intuitive and is also impractical. Furthermore, different levels of firmness are not provided in this way.

[0004] The invention is based on the objective of proposing a solution for adjusting the firmness of an armrest using simple means, so that each user can individually choose how firm their armrest should be. Preferably, such an armrest should be intuitive to operate.

[0005] The object of the invention is achieved with an armrest according to claim 1 and a vehicle according to claim 9. Further preferred embodiments of the invention result from the remaining features mentioned in the dependent claims.

[0006] An armrest according to the invention for a vehicle is formed with a cylindrical base body, a padding layer enclosing the cylindrical base body at least on its outer surface and a cover material, wherein • the padding layer has at least two areas with different properties that affect the hardness, and • the armrest is rotatable around its longitudinal axis, so that by rotating the armrest, the desired firmness of the armrest in the contact area between user and armrest can be adjusted.

[0007] The armrest therefore comprises at least a cylindrical base body, a padding layer, and a cover material. The base body forms the basic framework for the armrest and can, in particular, provide connection points or mechanisms for its storage.

[0008] The cylindrical base is encased, at least along its outer surface, by a padding material, which thus forms the padding layer. This material can also cover the base and top surfaces of the cylinder. To protect the padding layer and enhance its appearance, the base and padding layer are covered with a top material, preferably chosen so that the armrest integrates well with the vehicle's overall design. Therefore, the top material can be a textile, leather, imitation leather, or similar material.

[0009] The armrest according to the invention is characterized in that it is rotatable about its longitudinal axis and that at least two areas of different hardness are formed by means of the padding layer.

[0010] The armrest's rotatability can be achieved in various ways. Firstly, it can be mounted on a swivel bearing, meaning it is inserted into a bracket that allows the armrest to rotate around its longitudinal axis. Alternatively, the armrest can have an internal cavity that allows it to be slid onto a fixed axis in the vehicle and rotated around it. Any number of alternatives are possible.

[0011] The hardness of an armrest refers to its resistance to touch or pressure exerted during normal use. It can also be broadly understood as compressibility. Greater hardness means that the arm resting on the armrest sinks in less than with less hardness, i.e., a softer armrest. The different degrees of hardness are subsequently referred to as hardness levels.

[0012] According to the invention, the different degrees of hardness are formed by at least two areas with different properties, each influencing the hardness. As will be explained in more detail with reference to optional embodiments of the invention, these properties can be material properties such as material hardness (or strength), compressibility, thickness, and the like. Thus, any property of a material in the padding layer that causes a difference in the perceived hardness or softness of the armrest can be used to influence the hardness of the armrest in the respective areas.

[0013] At least two areas with different properties and thus different degrees of hardness are provided, but any number of such areas can be formed in order to provide the widest possible range of hardness levels.

[0014] The at least two areas each extend in the longitudinal direction of the armrest and occupy a section of the cylindrical surface of the armrest.

[0015] The desired firmness level is selected or adjusted by rotating the armrest around its longitudinal axis. This longitudinal axis corresponds to the vertical direction of the cylindrical base, but, as will be explained below, it does not necessarily have to coincide with its longitudinal axis. By rotating the armrest, the user can position the armrest in the area of ​​contact with their arm that exhibits the desired firmness. This contact area refers to the surface where the user's arm rests on the armrest.

[0016] To simplify the adjustment, there may be a marking on the armrest indicating the at least two areas of different firmness, for example by assigning each area a number corresponding to its degree of firmness.

[0017] The newly revealed armrest is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and intuitive to use. A simple rotation of the armrest allows the driver to switch between different levels of firmness. Because this is so simple and intuitive, even a driver can adjust the firmness of their armrest with a single movement while driving.

[0018] According to the invention, a vehicle is also provided which has at least one such armrest. In particular, an armrest according to the invention can be arranged on a vehicle door or on a center console of the vehicle. The armrest can be assigned to the driver's seat or to any other seat in the vehicle.

[0019] In a first embodiment of the armrest according to the invention, the at least two areas are formed with padding materials of different hardness. The property of the areas that thus influences the hardness of the armrest is therefore the hardness of the padding materials in the at least two areas. This difference in hardness can be achieved by using different materials of varying hardness or density, for example, rubber and plastic (hard plastic). Alternatively, the same base material (raw material) can be used, and different hardness can be achieved by processing the base material, for example, by processing it as a solid block in one area and as foam in another. Any combination of padding materials and varying processing of the same raw materials is possible.

[0020] According to this design, the different areas are preferably of the same thickness in their uncompressed state, so that a uniform surface of the armrest can be formed without any changes in height. The differences in the upholstery materials or their processing methods are concealed by the armrest's cover material, so that they are not visually distracting.

[0021] In a second embodiment of the armrest, at least two areas are formed with padding material of different thicknesses. The same padding material is used for both areas, but in different thicknesses. This padding material can be, in particular, a foam or a similarly compressible material. The thicker an area is, the softer, i.e., less firm, it is. The property that distinguishes the areas and thus influences their firmness and that of the armrest as a whole is therefore their thickness.

[0022] If the thickness differences between the two areas are not too great, they can be concealed by the covering material. It is recommended to use discretely increasing or decreasing thicknesses around the cylindrical base body, i.e., without constant changes between thick and thin areas. There can be a thickest and a thinnest area, with intermediate areas of varying thicknesses in between, so that the thickest and thinnest areas are not directly adjacent and an overly inconsistent appearance is avoided.

[0023] It is particularly advantageous if the cushioning material has an at least approximately continuous thickness profile around its circumference, so that no changes in height occur. The thicknesses of two adjacent areas are equal or nearly equal at their boundaries. In particular, the cushioning layer can also be formed with a cushioning material that is produced in one piece and shaped or cut accordingly, so that the individual areas are not readily distinguishable. The shape or cut can be polygonal or continuous. This corresponds to an infinite number of areas, each covering only a tiny portion of the cylindrical base body's surface. The desired hardness can thus be adjusted continuously.However, for better user orientation and targeted adjustment, it may be advisable to define or specify at least two zones, for example, at a constant angular distance around the longitudinal axis of the armrest. With such a continuous thickness gradient, for instance, five zones could be defined, evenly distributed along the circumference of the armrest.

[0024] In order to keep the necessary installation space and range of motion low in this design of the armrest, the axis of rotation of the armrest will correspond approximately to the center of gravity of the base and no longer to the central longitudinal axis of the cylindrical base body.

[0025] It goes without saying that the two aforementioned configurations can also be combined.

[0026] As already stated, the armrest can be designed with a marking that makes the at least two areas with different hardness recognizable.

[0027] An alternative or additional option is to design the armrest with detents to allow it to be locked in at least two positions corresponding to at least two areas of different hardness.

[0028] These detents must be positioned so that they become effective when the armrest rotates. Their specific arrangement therefore depends on the armrest's mounting and the implementation of its rotation. The detents should be arranged so that, when rotating the armrest, one detents must be overcome to move into the other of at least two areas, or to rotate the armrest into the contact area with the user's arm.

[0029] For example, if a protrusion is located on the axis of rotation around which the armrest rotates, a corresponding recess must be provided on the armrest's contact surface for each of the at least two areas. This recess must engage with the protrusion, thus creating a functional connection. The interaction between the protrusion and the recess forms the detent point. Therefore, in this example, as many recesses as areas of varying hardness must be provided, each corresponding to one of the areas. Overcoming such a detent point provides a kind of haptic feedback indicating that the armrest has changed positions. If the armrest remains at a detent point without being moved beyond it, it is locked in position, preventing accidental further rotation unless the necessary force to move beyond the detent point is applied.

[0030] The embodiment of the armrest according to the invention described so far involves purely manual adjustment by the user. A further embodiment of the armrest relates to motorized adjustment. For this purpose, the armrest is to have a selection device for choosing between or from at least two areas, which interacts with an electric motor that rotates the armrest according to a setting specified by the selection device.

[0031] The selection device is intended to allow the user or vehicle occupant using the armrest to select the desired firmness level from at least two areas. This can be done via a keypad, a rotary dial, or the like, provided on the armrest. Preferably, however, the selection device is designed as a ring located at one end of the armrest, relative to its longitudinal dimension. It is rotatable separately (decoupled) from the actual armrest—that is, the base body with its padding and cover material—about the same axis of rotation, and the desired firmness level is set by its rotation, for example, by moving a firmness level indicator into a target area.

[0032] The armrest's selection mechanism is designed to interact with an electric motor that rotates the armrest. This electric motor can be integrated into the armrest or be a separate motor connected to it. After the selection mechanism is activated, the electric motor rotates the armrest until the selected firmness level is directed towards the user or their arm. This can be achieved by a control unit that receives the selection signal from the mechanism and translates it into control signals for the electric motor. This control unit can be any control unit in the vehicle that communicates with the armrest, its selection mechanism, and the electric motor, or it can be a control unit specifically designed for or even integrated into the armrest.

[0033] To make the aforementioned ring even more intuitive as a selection device, it can be designed to provide haptic feedback about its rotational position. For example, it could be equipped with a vibration motor that generates a vibration when switching between different hardness ranges, indicating that the change has occurred. The same can, of course, be implemented for any other selection device as well.

[0034] With reference to at least the design that uses a consistent padding material with varying thickness to create at least two areas of different hardness, the following refinement is proposed for cases where the padding material has a continuous thickness gradient: as already explained there, the at least two areas should be defined, i.e., fixed. This should now be done in such a way that no two areas have the same degree of hardness. This could certainly be achieved with an even distribution of the areas along the circumference, if the thickest and thinnest areas are opposite each other and the areas in between achieve a uniform thickness gradient. However, this would limit the user's choice, since the practical or effective width of such an area is also determined by the size of the arm or its contact surface.

[0035] Therefore, the at least two areas should now be designed or defined by different (varying) widths or angular distances in such a way that they are distinct from one another and do not repeat. In practice, this is only effective in a non-continuously adjustable armrest by either, in a purely manual implementation, arranging or designing the detents in the same offset manner as the offset or differently defined areas, or, in an electric motor implementation, assigning corresponding rotation positions with the offset to the at least two selectable positions and controlling different rotation angles. Thus, no area repeats itself with regard to its firmness, and the number of selectable firmness levels is increased.

[0036] Of course, these designs can be usefully combined with others.

[0037] The armrest according to the invention provides a simple and intuitive solution for improving the comfort of vehicle occupants by allowing them to choose the hardness (or softness) of the armrest's contact surface. The proposed armrest is compact and integrates well into a vehicle, or its appearance can be customized by selecting the appropriate cover material.

[0038] Unless otherwise stated in individual cases, the various embodiments of the invention mentioned in this application can be advantageously combined with one another.

[0039] The invention is explained below using exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. These show: Fig. 1a to 1f a sectional view of the armrest and settings, Fig. 2. the use of a manually rotatable armrest, Fig. 3. the use of a motorized rotating armrest, and Fig. 4 an alternative cross-section through the armrest.

[0040] Fig. 1 shows in Fig. Figure 1a shows a schematic section through an exemplary embodiment of the armrest 10 according to the invention. The armrest 10 has a cylindrical base body 12, which is encased by a padding layer 14, around which a cover material 18 extends. The padding layer 14 has a continuous thickness gradient, forming a plurality of areas 16 which provide different levels of firmness due to their varying thicknesses. However, to facilitate manual or motorized adjustment, five areas 16 are defined and labelled. This labelling 20 is shown in the Fig. 1b to 1f. It is located in a ring-shaped marking area 20 at the front end of the armrest 10.

[0041] Because of the different thicknesses of the padding layer 14, the axis of rotation R is not in the center of the base body 12, but in the middle with respect to the overall cross-section of the armrest 10.

[0042] The Fig. Figures 1b to 1f now show the different settings of the five areas 16. In each figure, the user 40 is shown with the armrest 10 to their left, and the armrest 10 with its setting is shown to the right of the user 40. It becomes clear that a different thickness of the padding layer 14 of the armrest 10 is rotated in the contact area with the user 40, so that the user can use differently soft or hard contact surfaces.

[0043] Fig. Figure 2 shows the use of a manually rotatable armrest 10. A ring-shaped marking 20 is attached to the front of the armrest, allowing the user 40 to identify which area 16 is facing them. This marking area 20 rotates with the rest of the armrest 10. To indicate to the user 40 that rotating the armrest 10 moves them to an area 16 with a different firmness level, detents corresponding to the areas 16 are provided between the rotation axis R of the armrest 10 and the armrest itself. By overcoming such a detent, the user 40 moves to the next area 16; otherwise, the detents lock the armrest 10 in place, preventing accidental adjustment.

[0044] The armrest 10 is in Fig. 2 arranged in a vehicle door 52 of a vehicle 50.

[0045] In Fig. Figure 3 shows, for comparison, the version with a ring-shaped selection device 22, which interacts with an electric motor (not shown) to adjust the selection made with the ring 22. For this purpose, the ring 22 has a marking 20 to facilitate selection. The ring 22 rotates independently of the rest of the armrest 10, which is moved along it by an electric motor. Optionally, a vibration unit can be provided in the ring 22 to provide haptic feedback during rotation.

[0046] Fig. Figure 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of the armrest 10 with different hardness upholstery materials for forming the upholstery layer 14. These are each of the same thickness, so that the axis of rotation R of the armrest 10 also corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the base body 12. Reference symbol list 10 Armrest 12 basic bodies 14 padding layers 16 areas 18 Cover material 20 Marking area 22 Selection device, ring R axis of rotation 40 users 50 vehicles 52 Vehicle door QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 10 2018 215 797 A1

[0003]

Claims

Armrest (10) for a vehicle (50) formed with a cylindrical base body (12), a padding layer (14) enclosing the cylindrical base body (12) at least on its lateral surface and a cover material (18), wherein: • the padding layer (14) has at least two areas (16) with different properties that influence the hardness, and • the armrest (10) is rotatable about its longitudinal axis (R) so that by rotating the armrest (10) the hardness of the armrest (10) desired by a user (40) in the contact area between user (40) and armrest (10) can be adjusted. Armrest (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least two areas (16) are formed with padding materials of different hardness. Armrest (10) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least two areas (16) are formed with a padding material of different thicknesses. Armrest (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed with detents to be locked in at least two positions corresponding to the at least two areas (16) of different hardness. Armrest (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it has a selection device (22) for selecting between the at least two areas (16) which interacts with an electric motor which rotates the armrest (10) according to a setting specified by the selection device (22). Armrest (10) according to claim 5, characterized in that the selection device (22) is formed with a ring at one end of the armrest (10) which is to be rotated about the axis of rotation (R) of the armrest (10) in order to select the desired hardness. Armrest (10) according to claim 6, characterized in that the ring (22) is designed to transmit haptic feedback about the rotation position. Armrest (10) according to at least claim 4 or 5 in conjunction with claim 3, wherein the padding material has a continuous thickness gradient around the base body (12) and the at least two positions according to claim 4 or the at least two selection positions according to claim 5 are provided such that each area (16) has a different hardness. Vehicle (50) with at least one armrest (10) according to one of the preceding claims. Vehicle (50) according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least one armrest (10) is arranged on a vehicle door (52) or a center console of the vehicle (50).

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