Vehicle seat

Abstract

To suppress movement in a vehicle width direction of a head of a sitting occupant.SOLUTION: A vehicle seat includes a right side expansion mechanism 4 capable of expanding a front face on a right side of a seat back 2, on the right side of the seat back 2, and a left side expansion mechanism 5 capable of expanding a front face on a left side of the seat back 2, on the left side of the seat back 2, during traveling of a vehicle, when acceleration in a right direction is applied to a sitting occupant, the right side expansion mechanism 4 expands the front face on the right side of the seat back 2, when acceleration in a left direction is applied to the sitting occupant, the left side expansion mechanism 5 expands the front face on the left side of the seat back 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat having a mechanism for inflating a front surface of a seat back in response to acceleration applied in a vehicle width direction. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses a vehicle seat that is equipped with an actuator that can change the orientation of the seat back's backrest surface from left to right, and when the vehicle turns, the actuator faces the seat back's backrest surface in the turning direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-065459 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a vehicle turns while traveling or travels on an uneven road surface, the body of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat is accelerated in the vehicle width direction. When the occupant's body is accelerated in the vehicle width direction in this way, the occupant's body tilts and the head moves in the vehicle width direction, making it difficult for the driver to drive due to the influence of an unstable line of sight, and may cause car sickness in the passenger who is not driving.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle seat that can suppress movement of the head of a seated occupant in the vehicle width direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle seat of the present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a right-side expansion mechanism on the right side of the seat back that can inflate the front surface of the right side of the seat back, and a left-side expansion mechanism on the left side of the seat back that can inflate the front surface of the left side of the seat back, and when the seated occupant is accelerated to the right while the vehicle is traveling, the right-side expansion mechanism inflates the front surface of the right side of the seat back, and when the seated occupant is accelerated to the left, the left-side expansion mechanism inflates the front surface of the left side of the seat back. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The present invention can suppress movement of the head of a seated occupant in the vehicle width direction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, a vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. The arrows FR, UP, and RH shown in the following drawings indicate the forward direction (travel direction), upward direction, and rightward direction of the vehicle, respectively. The opposite directions of the arrows FR, UP, and RH indicate the rearward direction, downward direction, and leftward direction of the vehicle, respectively. Hereinafter, when the directions of front-rear, left-right, and up-down are simply used in the description, they refer to front-rear in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, left-right in the left-right direction of the vehicle (vehicle width direction), and up-down in the up-down direction of the vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 includes a seat cushion 1, a seat back 2, and a headrest 3. The seat back 2 includes an upper right expansion mechanism 4, an upper left expansion mechanism 5, a lower right expansion mechanism 6, a lower left expansion mechanism 7, and a central expansion mechanism 8. The upper right expansion mechanism 4 is built into the center in the vertical direction on the right side of the seat back 2. The upper left expansion mechanism 5 is built into the center in the vertical direction on the left side of the seat back 2. The lower right expansion mechanism 6 is built into the lower right part of the seat back 2. The lower left expansion mechanism 7 is built into the lower left part of the seat back 2. The central expansion mechanism 8 is built into the center in the vehicle width direction of the center in the vertical direction of the seat back 2.

[0011] Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the seat back 2 is configured by covering a padding material 21 and a covering material 22 on a seat back frame (not shown). The upper right inflation mechanism 4 includes a lever 42 rotatably attached to the seat back frame by a rotating shaft 41. When an actuator (not shown) rotates the lever 42 to a position shown by a dashed line, the lever 42 pushes the padding material 21 and the covering material 22 forward, so that the center part in the up-down direction on the right side of the front surface of the seat back 2 can be inflated to a position shown by a dashed double-dot line. The upper left inflation mechanism 5 also includes a lever 52 rotatably attached to the seat back frame by a rotating shaft 51. The upper left side inflation mechanism 5 operates by an actuator (not shown) rotating the lever 52 to the position shown by the dotted line, which in turn pushes the padding material 21 and the upholstery material 22 forward, thereby inflating the vertical center of the left side of the front of the seat back 2 to the position shown by the dotted line.

[0012] The lower right-side expansion mechanism 6, like the upper right-side expansion mechanism 4, also has a lever rotatably attached to the seatback frame, so that the actuator can rotate the lever to inflate the lower right-side portion of the front surface of the seatback 2. The lower left-side expansion mechanism 7, like the upper left-side expansion mechanism 5, also has a lever rotatably attached to the seatback frame, so that the actuator can rotate the lever to inflate the lower left-side portion of the front surface of the seatback 2.

[0013] 3 is a cross-sectional view of line BB in FIG. 1. The central expansion mechanism 8 also includes a lever (not shown) rotatably attached to the seatback frame, and therefore can inflate the vertical center of the front of the seatback 2 in the vehicle width direction as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3. The central expansion mechanism 8 may inflate the seatback 2 from the vertical center to the lower part of the front of the seatback 2 in the vehicle width direction as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3. By inflating the seatback 2 from the vertical center to the lower part of the front of the seatback 2 in the vehicle width direction as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3, the inclination of the bulge formed by the central expansion mechanism 8 is smaller than when the seatback 2 is inflated as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 3, and therefore the feeling of oppression felt by the seated occupant can be reduced.

[0014] When the vehicle turns left while traveling, the body of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat 10 is accelerated to the right. Therefore, when the vehicle turns left while traveling, the upper right expansion mechanism 4 inflates the vertical center portion on the right side of the front surface of the seat back 2. In this way, when the vehicle turns left while traveling, the upper right expansion mechanism 4 inflates the vertical center portion on the right side of the front surface of the seat back 2, thereby supporting the body of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat 10 so as not to tilt to the right, and suppressing the movement of the occupant's head to the right.

[0015] Furthermore, when the vehicle turns to the right while traveling, the body of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat 10 is accelerated to the left. Therefore, when the vehicle turns to the right while traveling, the upper left expansion mechanism 5 inflates the vertical center portion on the left side of the front surface of the seat back 2. In this way, when the vehicle turns to the right while traveling, the upper left expansion mechanism 5 inflates the vertical center portion on the left side of the front surface of the seat back 2, thereby supporting the body of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat 10 so as not to tilt to the left, and suppressing the movement of the occupant's head to the left.

[0016] The turning of the vehicle can be detected by mounting a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle of the steering wheel and an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration in the vehicle width direction on the vehicle. When the vehicle seat 10 detects the turning of the vehicle to the left side from the detection value of the steering angle sensor, etc., it operates the upper right expansion mechanism 4 to inflate the vertical center part of the right side of the front surface of the seat back 2. When the vehicle seat 10 detects the turning of the vehicle to the right side from the detection value of the steering angle sensor, etc., it operates the upper left expansion mechanism 5 to inflate the vertical center part of the left side of the front surface of the seat back 2.

[0017] In addition, when the vehicle equipped with the vehicle seat 10 is equipped with an automatic driving system that can predict the behavior of the vehicle in advance, the upper right expansion mechanism 4 or the upper left expansion mechanism 5 may be operated from a point in time immediately before the vehicle starts to turn when the vehicle is predicted to turn. In this case, when the automatic driving system predicts the vehicle to turn to the left, the vehicle seat 10 operates the upper right expansion mechanism 4 from a point in time immediately before the vehicle starts to turn to the left, thereby inflating the center part of the right side of the front of the seat back 2 in the vertical direction. Then, when the automatic driving system predicts the vehicle to turn to the right, the vehicle seat 10 operates the upper left expansion mechanism 5 from a point in time immediately before the vehicle starts to turn to the right, thereby inflating the center part of the left side of the front of the seat back 2 in the vertical direction. By operating the upper right expansion mechanism 4 or the upper left expansion mechanism 5 from a point in time immediately before the vehicle starts to turn in this way, it is possible to further suppress the movement of the occupant's head in the vehicle width direction when the vehicle turns.

[0018] Furthermore, in the vehicle seat 10, when the vehicle tilts left or right due to unevenness in the road surface and a sudden acceleration is applied to the body of the occupant in the right direction, the central expansion mechanism 8 inflates the central portion of the front of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction, and the lower right expansion mechanism 6 inflates the lower right portion of the front of the seat back 2. In this way, when a sudden acceleration is applied to the body of the occupant in the right direction, the central expansion mechanism 8 inflates the central portion of the front of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction, and the lower right expansion mechanism 6 inflates the lower right portion of the front of the seat back 2, thereby reducing the surface pressure near the shoulder blades of the seated occupant, making it easier for the chest to move left and right, and since the chest bends, it is possible to suppress the head from moving to the right.

[0019] In the vehicle seat 10, when the vehicle tilts left or right due to unevenness in the road surface and a sudden acceleration is applied to the body of the occupant in the left direction, the central expansion mechanism 8 inflates the central portion of the front of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction, and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 inflates the lower left portion of the front of the seat back 2. In this way, when a sudden acceleration is applied to the body of the occupant in the right direction, the central expansion mechanism 8 inflates the central portion of the front of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction, and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 inflates the lower left portion of the front of the seat back 2, thereby reducing the surface pressure near the shoulder blades of the seated occupant, making it easier for the chest to move left and right, and the chest flexes, thereby suppressing the head from moving to the left.

[0020] The sudden acceleration applied in the vehicle width direction due to unevenness of the road surface can be detected by mounting an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in the vehicle width direction on the vehicle. When the vehicle seat 10 detects a sudden rightward acceleration from the detection value of the acceleration sensor, the central expansion mechanism 8 inflates the central part of the front surface of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction, and the lower right expansion mechanism 6 inflates the lower right part of the front surface of the seat back 2. When the vehicle seat 10 detects a sudden leftward acceleration from the detection value of the acceleration sensor, the central expansion mechanism 8 inflates the central part of the front surface of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction, and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 inflates the lower left part of the front surface of the seat back 2.

[0021] In addition, when the vehicle equipped with the vehicle seat 10 is equipped with an automatic driving system capable of predicting the behavior of the vehicle in advance, when it is predicted that a sudden acceleration in the vehicle width direction will be applied, the central expansion mechanism 8 and the lower right expansion mechanism 6 or the lower left expansion mechanism 7 may be operated from a point immediately before the sudden acceleration in the vehicle width direction is applied. In this case, when the automatic driving system predicts that a sudden acceleration in the right direction will be applied, the vehicle seat 10 operates the central expansion mechanism 8 and the lower right expansion mechanism 6 from a point immediately before the sudden acceleration in the right direction is applied to inflate the central part and the lower right part of the front of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction. Then, when the automatic driving system predicts that a sudden acceleration in the left direction will be applied, the vehicle seat 10 operates the central expansion mechanism 8 and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 from a point immediately before the sudden acceleration in the left direction is applied to inflate the central part and the lower left part of the front of the seat back 2 in the vehicle width direction. In this manner, by operating the central expansion mechanism 8 and the lower right side expansion mechanism 6 or the lower left side expansion mechanism 7 from a point just before a sudden acceleration in the vehicle width direction is applied, the occupant's head can be further prevented from moving in the vehicle width direction when a sudden acceleration in the vehicle width direction is applied.

[0022] The vehicle seat 10 may have a body size detection function capable of calculating the seat height and chest circumference of a seated occupant by providing piezoelectric elements at multiple locations inside the seat back 2. The vehicle seat 10 may also have a vertical movement mechanism capable of moving the upper right expansion mechanism 4, the upper left expansion mechanism 5, the lower right expansion mechanism 6, and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 in the vertical direction. When the vehicle seat 10 has these body size detection functions and vertical movement mechanisms, the vehicle seat 10 adjusts the vertical positions of the upper right expansion mechanism 4, the upper left expansion mechanism 5, the lower right expansion mechanism 6, and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 according to the seat height of the seated occupant. The vehicle seat 10 adjusts the amount by which the upper right expansion mechanism 4, the upper left expansion mechanism 5, the lower right expansion mechanism 6, and the lower left expansion mechanism 7 inflate the front surface of the seat back 2 according to the chest circumference of the seated occupant. In this way, when the vehicle seat 10 has a body size detection function and a vertical movement mechanism, the vertical positions and inflation amounts of the upper right expansion mechanism 4, upper left expansion mechanism 5, lower right expansion mechanism 6, and lower left expansion mechanism 7 can be adjusted to suit the body size of the seated occupant, thereby further preventing the occupant's head from moving in the vehicle width direction. Note that the body size detection function may calculate the seated height and chest circumference of the occupant from images captured by an in-vehicle surveillance camera without using a piezoelectric element.

[0023] The vehicle seat 10 can thus suppress movement of the head of the seated occupant in the vehicle width direction, thereby stabilizing the driver's line of sight and improving ease of driving. Furthermore, the vehicle seat 10 can suppress movement of the head of the seated occupant in the vehicle width direction and reduce the impact on the semicircular canals, thereby suppressing car sickness in the occupant. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 1 seat cushion, 2 seat back, 3 head rest, 4 upper right inflation mechanism, 5 upper left inflation mechanism, 6 lower right inflation mechanism, 7 lower left inflation mechanism, 8 central inflation mechanism, 10 vehicle seat, 21 padding material, 22 covering material, 41 rotating shaft, 42 lever, 51 rotating shaft, 52 lever.

Claims

[Claim 1] A right side inflation mechanism is provided on the right side of the seat back, the right side inflation mechanism being capable of inflating a front surface of the right side of the seat back, a left side inflation mechanism for inflating a front surface of the left side of the seat back, the left side of the seat back being provided on the left side of the seat back; This vehicle seat is characterized in that, when a seated occupant is accelerated to the right while the vehicle is traveling, the right-side expansion mechanism inflates the front side of the right side of the seat back, and, when a seated occupant is accelerated to the left while the left-side expansion mechanism inflates the front side of the left side of the seat back.

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