Deformable base plate fixing and vehicle having such a base.

Abstract

Vehicle underbody (1) comprising a rear seating floor (2) for receiving a rear seat cushion, and seat supports (4) each comprising a fastening means for securing the rear seat cushion, notable in that the supports (4) are shaped to deform in a programmed manner so as to absorb a portion of the energy during an impact from the seat cushion without deforming the seating floor (2). Figure for the abbreviation: Fig. 1

Description

Title of the invention: Deformable seat-fixed base and vehicle comprising such a base.

[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle underbody comprising a rear seating floor intended to receive a rear seat cushion and to a vehicle comprising such an underbody.

[0002] Motor vehicles typically include a rear bench seat for rear passengers. The rear bench seat has a cushion attached to a floor. In order to properly restrain these rear passengers in the event of a frontal collision, and in particular to prevent the passengers' pelvis from passing under the seat belt, a phenomenon known as submarining, it is known to create an anti-submarining bulge extending transversely across the front of the floor supporting the rear seat. The bulge fits into a recess under the seat cushion.

[0003] For example, document FR3037011 describes a vehicle having such a seating floor with an anti-submarine bulge. Reinforcements are provided to strengthen the seating floor on the face of the seating floor opposite the seat, i.e., facing the interior of the vehicle. These reinforcements extend longitudinally along the vehicle, following the shape of the bulge. They prevent deformation of the seating floor in the event of an impact.

[0004] The disadvantage of such a solution is that these reinforcements, placed under the seat and along the seat floor, reduce the thickness of the seat and consequently the comfort of the rear passengers.

[0005] It is also known to reinforce the anti-submarining bulge by placing a transverse reinforcement extending under the bulge, between the bulge and a heel board forming a vertical wall connecting the seat floor to the vehicle floor. This transverse reinforcement prevents deformation of the seat floor, particularly at its junction with the heel board.

[0006] The drawback of such a solution is that it reduces the available space under the seat floor, particularly under the dome. This space under the seat floor and the anti-submarine dome is used to house equipment such as electrical components or a battery, especially in the case of electric or hybrid vehicles. Installing reinforcement in this space reduces the available space for installing this equipment.

[0007] Furthermore, the large size of these various reinforcements increases the vehicle's mass.

[0008] The objective of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks. In particular, one of the The aim of the invention is to propose a vehicle underbody that provides a significant volume under the seating floor while ensuring passenger comfort and safety, and reducing the risk of seat floor deformation in the event of a front impact while restraining passengers, thus avoiding the anti-submarining phenomenon.

[0009] This goal is achieved according to the invention by means of a vehicle underbody comprising a rear seating floor intended to receive a rear seat cushion, seat supports each comprising a fastening means intended to fix the rear seat cushion, remarkable in that the supports are shaped to deform in a programmed manner so as to absorb part of the energy during an impact from the seat without deforming the seating floor.

[0010] Advantageously, in the event of a frontal collision of a vehicle with such an underbody and a rear seat with a seat cushion positioned on the rear floor, a portion of the energy from passengers restrained on the rear seat cushion is absorbed by the programmed deformation of the supports. That is to say, during a collision, the support deforms above a certain level of force so as to transmit a given maximum force to the floor. The force transmitted to the floor is reduced, and the reinforcement requirements for said floor are also reduced, thus eliminating the need for reinforcement under the seat cushion, freeing up space under the floor, or on top of the seat cushion, thereby allowing for an increased thickness of a bench seat installed on the floor.

[0011] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the rear seating floor comprises an anti-submarine boss extending transversely over the front of the seating floor, and whose seat supports are fixed to the seating floor on the boss, preferably at the top of the boss.

[0012] Thus, advantageously, in the event of a frontal impact, the forces resulting from the restraint system against passenger submarining, originating from the seat, are applied particularly at the level of the raised section and its apex. Positioning the supports at the apex of the raised section is advantageous because they are close to the area where these restraint forces are applied. Furthermore, the raised section prevents the phenomenon of passenger submarining when the seat, positioned above the floor, is insufficient to restrain the passengers. This raised section also allows for the creation of a volume for installing various equipment.

[0013] In another embodiment of the invention, each of the supports is formed by a stamped sheet metal piece.

[0014] Thus advantageously, the supports are made in a simple and quick manner, and potentially at the same time as other stamped sheet metal parts forming the base.

[0015] In another embodiment of the invention, each of the supports forms a box with the seating floor, each support having a top wall distant and opposite the seating floor and side walls connecting the top wall to the seating floor, the side walls forming lateral sides of the support, the top wall of each support having the fastening means for fixing the rear seat cushion.

[0016] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the box is open on one of its lateral sides, the other lateral sides being closed by the side walls.

[0017] Advantageously, the programmed deformation of the support is achieved in a simple manner. Indeed, the fact that the box has an open side, i.e., without a side wall, weakens the support. In the event of an impact, the upper wall deforms in a programmed manner due to the absence of a side wall on its open side, while remaining held to the seating floor by the side walls connecting the upper wall to the floor on the other sides.

[0018] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the open side of the box is oriented towards the front of the underbody, corresponding to the front of the vehicle comprising such an underbody, the other side sides being closed by the side walls.

[0019] Advantageously, since the impact forces from the seat on the supports are directed vertically downwards and towards the front of the underbody, when considered in the frame of reference of a vehicle with said underbody, the upper wall deforms with controlled levels of force, sagging downwards and thus allowing for better energy absorption. Furthermore, the box deforms symmetrically with respect to the transverse axis of the vehicle, ensuring good stability of the support during its deformation. In addition, because the other lateral sides are formed by the side walls connecting the upper wall to the seat floor, the risk of the supports detaching from the floor under forces directed towards the front of the underbody, in the longitudinal direction to the underbody, is reduced.

[0020] In another embodiment of the invention, the side walls have, at their end opposite the top wall, dropped edges, the support being fixed to the seating floor by these dropped edges, preferably by welding for sheet metal supports.

[0021] Advantageously, the supports are thus fixed simply and easily to the floor, the folded edges providing a surface for fixing the supports to the floor slab. In particular, when the supports are made of sheet metal, their fixing to the subfloor can be integrated into the hardware assembly steps in which the entire subfloor is assembled.

[0022] The invention also relates to a vehicle comprising a chassis as described above, and a rear seat comprising a seat arranged on the seating floor, the rear seat comprising cooperating fastening interfaces each with one of the means of fixing so as to fix the seat to the support.

[0023] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the rear seat cushion comprises a rigid frame, on which a foam padding is arranged, the frame comprising the fixing interfaces cooperating with the fixing means.

[0024] Thus advantageously, the rigid structure of the seat allows for an efficient transfer and distribution of the restraint forces of the passengers on the supports in the event of a collision.

[0025] In a particular embodiment of the invention, the rigid frame is an assembly of rigid wires receiving the padding.

[0026] Thus advantageously, the vehicle includes a rear seat base whose frame is simple, light and inexpensive, while allowing restraint of passengers against submarining, and avoiding deformation of the seat floor.

[0027] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following description, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0028] [Fig-1] represents a perspective view of a base according to the invention equipped with a rear seat base of which only the frame is visible

[0029] [Fig.2] represents a view of a base support of the [Fig.1] front a shock.

[0030] [Fig.3] represents a top view of a support 4.

[0031] [Fig.4] represents a view of a seat support according to [Fig.2] deformed after a shock.

[0032] The drawings are schematic representations to facilitate understanding of the invention. The components are not necessarily shown to scale. The same reference numerals correspond to the same components from one figure to another.

[0033] Figure 1 represents a portion of a subframe 1 of a vehicle according to the invention, at the level of a rear vehicle seat floor 2. The X-axis represents the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the Y-axis the transverse direction, and the Z-axis the vertical direction. The forward, rearward, up, and down directions are taken in the vehicle's frame of reference. The subframe 1 corresponds to the lower part of a vehicle structure, including, but not limited to, side members, frame members, flooring, running gear mounts, suspension components and propulsion systems, and mounts for passenger seats. The subframe 1 conventionally receives a superstructure, or upper structure, so as to form a body-in-white, not shown in the figures.

[0034] The seating floor 2 corresponds to the portion of the vehicle floor located under the rear seat. The seating floor 2 is situated between a front floor 8 of the vehicle and a trunk floor 9 located at the rear of the vehicle, and is positioned higher than the front floor 8 to which it is connected by a heel board 7 arranged in a transverse plane Y and a vertical plane Z relative to the vehicle. The rear seating floor 2 is intended to receive the rear seat cushion. As illustrated in [Fig. 1], the rear floor 2 has seat supports 4, each with a fastening means 43, illustrated in [Fig. 3], for attaching the rear seat cushion to the seat floor 2. The supports 4 are shaped to deform in a programmed manner so as to absorb part of the energy during an impact from the seat without deforming the seat floor 2. That is to say, their mechanical resistance is less than the mechanical resistance of the area of ​​the seat floor 2 to which they are attached, so that they deform from a given force while under the same force the seat floor 2 does not deform.

[0035] The term "seat" refers to a bench or a set of individual seats. The seat may be in one piece, for example in the case of a bench, or in several parts.

[0036] In the embodiment of [Fig.1], the rear seating floor 2 has an anti-submarine boss 3 extending transversely over the front of the seating floor 2. The seating supports 4 are fixed to the seating floor 2 on the boss 3, at the top of the boss 3.

[0037] In [Fig.1], the base 1 has three supports 4. Alternatively, the base 1 has a different number of supports 4. A person skilled in the art will choose the number of supports 4 according, for example, to the shape of the seat to be fixed.

[0038] The supports 4 are for example made of stamped sheet metal. For example, the support 4 is made of sheet metal of a material similar to that of the seating floor 2: if the seating floor 2 is a steel sheet, the supports 4 are also made of steel sheet, but not necessarily of the same grade of steel.

[0039] Each of the supports 4 forms a box with the seating floor 2. Each support 4 thus has an upper wall 41 distant and opposite the seating floor 3 and side walls 42a, 42b, 42c connecting the upper wall 41 to the seating floor 2, the side walls 42a, 42b, 42c forming lateral sides of the support 4. The upper wall 41 of each support 4 has the fastening means 43 for fixing the seat of the rear seat.

[0040] As illustrated in Figures 1 to 4, each support 4 forms a box open on one of its lateral sides. That is to say, all the lateral sides of the box, except one, are closed by the lateral walls 42a, 42b, 42c.

[0041] In the embodiment shown in the figures, each support 4 forms a parallelepiped-shaped box, the upper wall 41 being substantially rectangular in shape. The box thus has four lateral sides, three of which are closed by each of the lateral walls 42a, 42b, 42c, one of the lateral sides being without a lateral wall and therefore said to be open. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, the open side of the box formed by the support 4 and the seating floor is oriented towards the front of the underbody 1, i.e. facing the front of the vehicle, the other lateral sides being closed by the side walls 42a, 42b, 42c. In the embodiment shown in the figures, the side walls 42a, 42b, 42c are at an angle to the upper wall 41 and the seating floor 2, so as to give the support 4 a truncated cone shape with a rectangular base.

[0042] The side walls 42a, 42b, 42c of the box have, at their end opposite the upper wall 41, folded edges 44. The support 4 is fixed to the seating floor by these folded edges 44. In the case of supports 4 made of sheet metal, said supports 4 are, for example, fixed by spot welds to the seating floor 2. Other solutions known to those skilled in the art for fixing the supports 4 to the seating floor 2 are conceivable.

[0043] The invention also relates to a vehicle comprising such a base 1 and a rear seat comprising a seat arranged on the seating floor 2. The seat of the rear seat comprises fixing interfaces 6 each cooperating with one of the fixing means 43 of the supports 4 so as to fix the seat to the support 4.

[0044] As illustrated in [Fig. 1], the rear seat cushion comprises a rigid frame 5, on which is placed a fabric-covered foam padding - not shown in the figures - the frame 5 having the fastening interfaces 6 cooperating with the fastening means 43. The rigid frame 5 is, for example, an assembly of rigid wires receiving the padding as shown in [Fig. 1]. Such a rigid frame is, for example, an assembly of rigid wires adapted to receive a cushion and having a front part provided with first anchoring tabs adapted to be inserted from top to bottom into the supports 4, the anchoring tabs having the fastening interfaces 6. The frame 5 is dimensioned to ensure the restraint of the occupant's pelvis, for example, achieved by metal wires with a diameter of 5 mm.The mesh of this reinforcement is, in a variant, optimized to have transverse wires assembled on longitudinal wires sufficiently tightly spaced around the occupants' pelvis. Such a reinforcement is described, for example, in document FR3014380.

[0045] The fixing means 43 on each support 4 is for example an opening 43 as illustrated in [Fig.3], into which the fixing interface 6 of the frame 5 is inserted. The fixing interface is for example a clipping tab 6 cooperating with the edges of the opening 43, and having a bearing surface bearing against the upper wall 41 of the support 4.

[0046] Figure 2 illustrates a view of one of the supports 4 before a frontal impact of the vehicle, view from the front, that is, opposite the open lateral side of the box formed by the support 4 and the seating floor 2. The upper wall 41 of the support 4 is flat, substantially parallel to the surface of the seating floor 2, and extends in this illustration in a horizontal plane parallel to the longitudinal X and transverse Y axes. [Fig.4] illustrates the support 4 of [Fig.2] after a front impact: the upper wall 41 has sagged, curved downwards, approaching the floor 2, and the side walls 42a and 42c arranged on each side of the open side have leaned further towards the seating floor 2. The deformation of the support 4 is greater on the open side of the box formed by the support 4 and the floor 2 than on the side opposite this open side, due to the absence of a side wall on this open side.

[0047] Figure 1 shows a seat floor with an anti-submarine boss. Alternatively, the seat floor 2 may not have a boss 3. In this alternative, the supports 4 are fixed, for example, to the front of the seat floor, near the connection with the heel board 7.

Claims

Claims

1. Vehicle underbody (1) comprising a rear seat floor (2) intended to receive a rear seat base, seat supports (4) each comprising a fixing means (43) intended to fix the rear seat base, characterized in that the supports (4) are shaped to deform in a programmed manner so as to absorb part of the energy during an impact coming from the seat base without deforming the seat floor (2).

2. Substructure (1) according to claim 1, the rear seating floor (2) of which comprises an anti-submarining boss (3) extending transversely across the front of the seating floor (2), and the seating supports (4) of which are fixed to the seating floor (2) on the boss (3), preferably at the top of the boss (3).

3. Base (1) according to the preceding claim, each of the supports (4) of which is formed by a stamped sheet metal part.

4. Base (1) according to one of the preceding claims, each of the supports (4) forming a box with the seat floor (2), each support (4) comprising an upper wall (41) distant from and facing the seat floor (2) and side walls (42a, 42b, 42c) connecting the upper wall (41) to the seat floor (2), the side walls (42a, 42b, 42c) forming lateral sides of the support, the upper wall (41) of each support (4) comprising the fixing means (43) intended to fix the seat of the rear seat.

5. Base (1) according to the preceding claim, the box of which is open on one of its lateral sides, the other lateral sides being closed by the lateral walls (42a, 42b, 42c).

6. Base (1) according to the preceding claim, the open side of the box of which is oriented towards the front of the base (1), corresponding to the front of the vehicle comprising such a base (1), the other lateral sides being closed by the side walls (42a, 42b, 42c).

7. Base (1) according to one of claims 4 to 6, the side walls (42a, 42b, 42c) of which have at their end opposite the upper wall (41), flanged edges (44), the support (4) being fixed to the base floor by these flanged edges (44), preferably by welding for sheet metal supports.

8. Vehicle comprising a base (1) according to one of the claims- indications from 1 to 7, and a rear seat comprising a seat arranged on the seat floor (2), the seat of the rear seat comprising fixing interfaces (6) each cooperating with one of the fixing means (43) so as to fix the seat to the support (4).

9. Vehicle according to claim 8, the rear seat base of which comprises a rigid frame (5), on which foam padding is arranged, the frame (5) comprising the fixing interfaces (6) cooperating with the fixing means (43).

10. Vehicle according to claim 9, the rigid frame (5) of which is an assembly of rigid wires receiving the mattress.

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