Vehicle seat

Abstract

To provide a vehicle seat having high usability.SOLUTION: A vehicle seat 1 comprises: a seat cushion 2 located in front of a rear wheel house 11 of a vehicle, for supporting buttocks and thighs of an occupant; a seat back 3 for supporting a back of the occupant; a reclining mechanism part 4 for tilting the seat back 3 relative to the seat cushion 2; a raising / lowering mechanism part which can raise / lower the seat cushion 2 in a vertical direction relative to a vehicle floor surface, and which, when seat arrangement is being changed by the reclining mechanism part toward a backward brought-down state where the seat back 3 is brought down backward, raises the seat cushion 2 in the vertical direction in conjunction with tilting of the seat back 3 into the backward brought-down state so that the seat back 3 is located above the rear wheel house 11 so as to avoid interference with the rear wheel house 11; and a seat back support part 6 comprising a support leg part 10 for supporting the seat back 3 from below.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat for a rear seat of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In a vehicle seat for the rear seat of a vehicle, it is known that the seat back of the rear seat can be tilted backward to be as nearly horizontal as possible (hereinafter, simply referred to as a flat state) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By changing the seat arrangement to such a flat state, it becomes possible to use the interior of the vehicle more spaciously. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-76533 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in Patent Document 1, when attempting to fold back the rear seat backs, a part of the seat back (the side backs in Figures 1 and 2 of Patent Document 1) interferes with the rear wheel house of the vehicle (the tire house in Figures 1 and 2 of Patent Document 1). For this reason, in Patent Document 1, only this part and the remaining part of the seat back that can be separated (the center back in Figures 1 and 2 of Patent Document 1) can be put into a flat state. In other words, in Patent Document 1, the entire seat back cannot be put into a completely flat state, and the interior of the vehicle cannot be used to the maximum extent.

[0005] Thus, further ingenuity is required to improve the usability of vehicle seats for the rear seats of a vehicle.

[0006] In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to realize a vehicle seat that is highly usable, and in particular, has an object to provide a vehicle seat that can make wide use of the rear space of the vehicle after the seat arrangement is transformed into a completely flat state, and further has improved load-bearing capacity of the seat back after transformation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a vehicle seat, comprising: A vehicle seat for a rear seat of a vehicle, a seat cushion located in front of a rear wheel house of the vehicle and supporting the buttocks and thighs of an occupant; A seat back that supports the back of the occupant; a reclining mechanism that tilts the seat back relative to the seat cushion; a lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the seat cushion along a vertical direction relative to a vehicle floor surface, the lifting mechanism lifting the seat cushion along the vertical direction in conjunction with the tilting of the seat back to the backward-tilted state so that the seat back is positioned above the rear wheel house avoiding interference with the rear wheel house when the seat arrangement is changed by the reclining mechanism to the backward-tilted state in which the seat back is tilted backward; The seat back support portion has a pivot shaft portion attached to the rear portion of the seat back, and a support leg portion attached to the pivot shaft portion so as to be freely rotatable about the pivot shaft portion, and is formed so as to be deformable into a folded form in which the support leg portion is folded along the rear portion, and an unfolded form in which the support leg portion is unfolded from the rear portion, and supports the seat back from below with the support leg portion in the unfolded form.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is the vehicle seat described in claim 1, The vehicle seat is arranged in a plurality of rows independent of each other along the vehicle width direction, and each of the plurality of lifting mechanisms lifts and lowers the seat cushion to be lifted and lowered independently of each other.

[0009] The invention described in claim 3 is the vehicle seat described in claim 1 or 2, The seat back support portion is The folding folding device further includes a support leg fixing portion that fixes the support leg in the folded state.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is the vehicle seat described in claim 1 or 2, The seat back support portion is The seat backrest is further characterized by having a support leg lock release mechanism that releases the fixation of the support leg by the support leg fixing portion in conjunction with the transformation of the seat back into the rearward-leaning seat arrangement by the reclining mechanism. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the invention described in claim 1, the seat cushion has a lifting mechanism that can lift and lower the seat cushion vertically relative to the vehicle floor surface, and when the seat back is tilted backward by the reclining mechanism to change the seat arrangement, the lifting mechanism can be used to adjust the height of the seat cushion to a position where the seat back does not interfere with the rear wheel. As a result, the height of the seat cushion seating surface and the seat back seating surface can be made the same, and there is almost no difference in height. This allows the seat arrangement to be changed to a completely flat state (full flat state), making it possible to use the rear space of the vehicle as widely as possible after the change.

[0012] In addition, when the seat back is transformed into the above-mentioned seat arrangement in the backward tilt state by the seat back support portion, the support leg portion deployed into the deployed form can support the seat back from below. In other words, one end of the support leg portion transformed into the deployed form comes into contact with the vehicle floor surface, thereby improving the load-bearing capacity of the seat back (vehicle seat) in the completely flat state. This allows the rear space of the vehicle to be used for a wider range of purposes.

[0013] According to the invention described in claim 2, the heights of adjacent rear seats can be changed relatively, making it easier to adjust the height of the seat cushions so that, for example, the eye levels of a parent and child lying down are at the same height.

[0014] According to the invention described in claim 3, the seat back support portion has a support leg fixing portion that fixes the support leg in a folded form. By fixing the support leg in a folded form folded along the back portion of the seat back, it is possible to restrict the rotation and displacement of the support leg during normal driving, i.e., when the seat back is in an inverted state, and to suppress the occurrence of vibrations, etc.

[0015] According to the invention described in claim 4, the support legs can be transformed from the folded state to the unfolded state by the support leg unlocking mechanism that releases the support legs from the support leg fixing parts in conjunction with the transformation of the seat back in the reclining state into the seat arrangement. In other words, when the seat back is tilted using the reclining mechanism, the lock of the support legs fixed in the folded state is released without any special operation, and the seat can easily be shifted to the unfolded state in which the support legs are unfolded, improving the comfort of use for the user. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the configuration of the vehicle seat in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a rear portion of a seat back; FIG. [Figure 4] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating the effects of the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and that appropriate design changes, improvements, etc. may be made based on the ordinary knowledge of a person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle seat 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention from the front, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the vehicle seat 1 of FIG. 1 from the side, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the rear portion of the seat back, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the effect of this embodiment.

[0019] The vehicle seat 1 is a vehicle seat for use in the rear seat of a vehicle, and mainly comprises a seat cushion 2, a seat back 3, a reclining mechanism 4, a lifting mechanism 5, and a seat back support 6.

[0020] The seat cushion 2 is a part of the vehicle seat 1 that is located in front of the rear wheel house 11 of the vehicle and supports the buttocks and thighs of the occupant. The seat cushion 2 has a cushion main body 21 made of a cushioning material that absorbs shock when the occupant sits down, and a cushion frame 22 made of a rigid material that supports the cushion main body 21 from the inside. On the other hand, the seat back 3 has a seat back main body 31 made of a cushioning material that absorbs shock, like the seat cushion 2, and a seat back frame 32 made of a rigid material that supports the seat back main body 31 from the inside.

[0021] The seat back 3 is a part of the vehicle seat 1 that supports the back of an occupant. The seat back 3 is connected to the rear end of the seat cushion 2 via a reclining mechanism 4, which will be described later.

[0022] The reclining mechanism 4 is a part of the vehicle seat 1 that tilts the seat back 3 relative to the seat cushion 2. The reclining mechanism 4 also plays a role in connecting the seat back 3 to the rear end of the seat cushion 2.

[0023] The lifting mechanism 5 is a part of the vehicle seat 1 that can raise and lower the seat cushion 2 in the vertical direction (the up-down direction in Figs. 1 and 2) relative to the vehicle floor surface 14. When the reclining mechanism 4 changes the seat arrangement toward a reclined state in which the seat back 3 is reclined backward, the lifting mechanism 5 lifts the seat cushion 2 in the vertical direction in conjunction with the tilting of the seat back 3 toward the reclined state so that the seat back 3 is positioned above the rear wheel house 11 while avoiding interference with the rear wheel house 11. More specifically, in Fig. 2, the lifting mechanism 5 lifts the seat cushion 2 together with the seat back 3 connected to the rear end of the seat cushion 2 in the direction B in the figure in conjunction with the seat back 3 rotating in the direction A in the figure and approaching the reclined state.

[0024] In this specification, the term "backward tilted state" means that the seat back 3 is in a state close to being nearly horizontal with respect to the vertical direction. In addition, in this specification, the term "linked to the tilting to the backward tilted state" means that the seat back 3 is linked to the tilting of the seat back 3 after the seat back 3 has tilted and approached the backward tilted state to a predetermined level, in other words, after the seat back 3 has rotated to a predetermined angle with respect to the seat cushion 2. In other words, the seat cushion 2 does not start to rise only when the upward facing seat back 3 shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 is slightly tilted backward. In fact, the lifting mechanism unit 5 can lift the seat cushion 2 in the direction B while maintaining the upward posture of the seat back 3 shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 (i.e., without tilting the seat back 3).

[0025] Here, the lifting mechanism 5 is connected to the cushion frame 22 in the seat cushion 2, and the seat cushion 2 is lifted by pushing up the cushion frame 22 in the direction B in the figure using a gear mechanism (not shown) that transmits the rotational driving force of a motor or the like. As such a gear mechanism, a conventional seat height adjustment device mechanism such as those described in JP-A-2006-182039 and JP-A-2001-138780 can be used. In this case, as the above-mentioned interlocking mechanism, for example, a mechanism is considered in which, when the seat back 3 rotates beyond the above-mentioned predetermined angle, a switch of the rotational driving source such as the motor is turned on and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the gear mechanism.

[0026] In this embodiment, the lifting mechanism 5 uses such a gear mechanism, but the present invention may use a lifting mechanism using another lifting mechanism. For example, a lifting mechanism using hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, or the like may be used.

[0027] In FIG. 3, the vehicle seat 1 in the seat arrangement before the seat back 3 is tilted backward, in other words, in the seat arrangement in which the seat back 3 is in an "inverted state" with respect to the vehicle floor surface 14 (or in the "normal seat arrangement"), is shown by a dotted line. Also, the vehicle seat 1 in the seat arrangement in the backward state is shown by a solid line vertically above the position of the vehicle seat 1 shown by the dotted line and above the rear wheel house 11. As the seat back 3 approaches the backward state, the seat cushion 2 rises, so that the seat back 3 can be linearly connected to the seat cushion 2 in the horizontal direction without a step while avoiding interference with the rear wheel house 11 as shown in FIG. 3. In this case, unlike Patent Document 1, the entire seat back 3 is in a completely flat state. As a result, it is possible to use the vehicle rear space 7 in the vehicle to the maximum extent so that the occupant can lie on his / her stomach in the vehicle as shown in FIG. 3, and a highly usable vehicle seat is realized.

[0028] Here, it is preferable that a plurality of vehicle seats 1 are arranged side by side independently of one another along the vehicle width direction, and that each of the plurality of lifting mechanism units 5 lifts and lowers the seat cushion 2 to be lifted and lowered independently of one another.

[0029] In this preferred embodiment, in a normal seat arrangement, the height of adjacent rear seats can be changed relatively to match the eye level of people of different builds (for example, a parent and child). Also, when placing a child seat (junior seat) on the rear seat, the height of the child seat can be directly adjusted to a desired position without having to use a separate cushion or the like to raise the child seat height.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 3, the seatback support portion 6 of the vehicle seat 1 of this embodiment has a rotating shaft portion 9 attached to a seatback pan frame 19 on a rear portion 18 of the seatback 3, and a pair of support legs 10 attached to the rotating shaft portion 9 so as to be freely rotatable, and is formed so as to be capable of transforming into a folded form F (see Fig. 2) in which the support legs 10 are folded along the seatback pan frame 19, and into an unfolded form E (see Fig. 4) in which the support legs 10 are unfolded from the seatback pan frame 19. As a result, the pair of support legs 10, which are in the folded form F during normal driving, can be transformed into the unfolded form E in which they are unfolded in a substantially vertical direction from the rear portion 18 when the seatback 3 is tilted backward.

[0031] More specifically, the seatback support portion 6 includes a pivot shaft portion 9 attached to a seatback pan frame 19, which is a plate-shaped frame material provided on a rear portion 18 of the seatback 3, a pair of main support legs 12a, 12b attached to the pivot shaft portion 9 so as to be freely rotatable and one end of which abuts against the vehicle floor surface 14, and an auxiliary support leg 13 connecting approximately the center of the pair of main support legs 12a, 12b, and a support leg portion 10 having an approximately H-shape.

[0032] The seat back support part 6 having such a configuration connects the pivot shaft part 9 to one end of each of the pair of main support legs 12a, 12b, and can rotate around the connecting part as a pivot. As a result, the support leg part 10 can be transformed between a folded form F in which the main support legs 12a, 12b are folded so that their longitudinal directions are aligned with the back part 18 of the seat back 3, and an unfolded form E in which the main support legs 12a, 12b are flipped up from the back part 18. Note that a rotation restricting part (not shown) is provided to restrict the main support legs 12a, 12b from further rotating from the unfolded form E. As a result, the support leg part 10 can be transformed between 0° and approximately 90° with respect to the back part 18. Furthermore, the configuration of the rotation restricting part is not particularly limited, and it may be provided with a configuration such as a stopper member that abuts against the main support legs 12a, 12b to restrict rotation of 90° or more.

[0033] In the deployed form E, the other end sides of the pair of main support legs 12a, 12b, in other words, the ends opposite to the end connected to the rotating shaft portion 9, come into contact with the vehicle floor surface 14 (see FIG. 4).

[0034] As a result, the seat back 3 after transformation into a completely flat seat arrangement can be supported from the lower side (the rear surface 18 side) by the support legs 10, improving the load-bearing performance of the seat back 3 in the flat state. Without the configuration of the seat back support part 6 in this embodiment, the seat back 3 would need to be cantilevered by the seat cushion 2 fixed to the vehicle floor surface 14, and in particular when a heavy load is applied to the tip of the seat back 3, such as when a heavy object is loaded, the load may not be able to be supported. This may result in some limitations on use in the rear space 7 of the vehicle.

[0035] Furthermore, the seat back support portion 6 in this embodiment is provided with a support leg fixing portion 15 that fixes the support leg portion 10 in the folded configuration F. More specifically, in the vehicle seat 1 in this embodiment, a support leg fixing portion 15 is used that is attached to the back surface portion 18 of the seat back 3 and biases and locks the auxiliary support leg 13 toward the back surface portion 18. This prevents the support leg portion 10 from being folded in the folded configuration F. As a result, when the seat back 3 is in an inverted state (normal seat arrangement), for example, while the vehicle is traveling, the support leg 10 is restricted from freely rotating. This makes it possible to suppress the generation of vibrations and noises that accompany the rotation, and does not impair the comfort of use.

[0036] The seat back support section 6 further includes a support leg lock release mechanism 16 that enables the support legs 10 to be transformed from the folded configuration F to the unfolded configuration E and from the unfolded configuration E to the folded configuration F in conjunction with the tilting of the seat back 3. This allows the fixing of the support legs 10 by the support leg fixing section 15 to be released in conjunction with the release of the reclining lock mechanism 20 that reclines the seat back 3 by the reclining mechanism 4.

[0037] A connecting cable 17 is provided between the reclining lock mechanism 20 and the support leg fixing part 15 , so that the unlocking by the reclining lock mechanism 20 can be transmitted to the support leg fixing part 15 .

[0038] As a result, when the seat back 3 is in an inverted state, the support leg 10 maintains the folded form F, and further, when the reclining mechanism 4 unlocks the seat back 3 and tilts it backward, the support leg 10 can be transformed into the unfolded form E in conjunction with this.

[0039] The above is a description of the embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] In the above description of the embodiment, the vehicle seat 1 for the rear seat of a vehicle has been particularly described, but the "rear seat" here simply means the rear seat located behind the driver's seat. Therefore, in the case of a vehicle in which multiple seats are lined up in the traveling direction of the vehicle (for example, in the case of a long and narrow vehicle such as a bus), the present invention can naturally be applied to seats other than the rearmost seat. [Industrial Applicability]

[0041] The present invention is useful for realizing a vehicle seat as a rear seat with high usability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 1 Vehicle seat 2 Seat cushion 2a, 3a: Seating surface 3 Seat back 4 Reclining mechanism 5 Lifting mechanism 6 Seat back support 7. Rear space of vehicle 8 User 9 Rotating shaft 10 Support legs 11 Rear wheel house 12a,12b Main support legs 13 Auxiliary support leg 14 Vehicle floor surface 15 Support leg fixing part 16 Transformation interlocking mechanism 17 Connecting cable 18 Back section 19 Seat back pan frame 20 Locking mechanism 21 Cushion body 22 Cushion Frame 31 Seat back body 32 Seat back frame E Deployment form F Folding form

Claims

1. A vehicle seat for a rear seat of a vehicle, a seat cushion located in front of a rear wheel house of the vehicle and supporting the buttocks and thighs of an occupant; A seat back that supports the back of the occupant; a reclining mechanism that tilts the seat back relative to the seat cushion; a lifting mechanism capable of lifting and lowering the seat cushion along a vertical direction relative to a vehicle floor surface, the lifting mechanism lifting the seat cushion along the vertical direction in conjunction with the tilting of the seat back to the backward-tilted state so that the seat back is positioned above the rear wheel house avoiding interference with the rear wheel house when the seat arrangement is changed by the reclining mechanism to the backward-tilted state in which the seat back is tilted backward; a seat back support part that has a rotation shaft part attached to a rear surface of the seat back and a support leg part attached to the rotation shaft part so as to be freely rotatable, and is formed so as to be deformable into a folded state in which the support leg part is folded along the rear surface and an unfolded state in which the support leg part is unfolded from the rear surface, and supports the seat back from below with the support leg part in the unfolded state; A vehicle seat comprising:

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the vehicle seats are arranged side by side independently of one another along a vehicle width direction, and each of the plurality of lifting mechanisms lifts and lowers the seat cushion to be lifted and lowered independently of one another.

3. The seat back support portion is 3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising a support leg fixing portion that fixes the support leg in the folded position.

4. The seat back support portion is 3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising a support leg lock release mechanism that releases the fixation of the support legs by the support leg fixing portion in conjunction with the deformation of the seat back into the seat arrangement in the rearward tilted state by the reclining mechanism.

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