Leg cover structure and vehicle seat

Abstract

To obtain a leg cover structure which enables a leg cover to be easily attached in a narrow space without spreading a cover body outward, and to provide a vehicle seat.SOLUTION: A leg cover 30 is attached to a fixing part 26 of a fixing bracket 20 so as to cover the fixing part 26 from above to reduce an attachment space of the leg cover 30 attached to the fixing part 26, compared to a case where the leg cover 30 is slid toward a seat rear side to be attached to the fixing part 26. Further, engagement claws 52, 54 of the leg cover 30 are hung from a rear surface 30A of an upper wall 44 and claw parts 56, 58 at tips of the engagement claws 52, 54 are engaged with engagement holes 40, 42 formed at vertical walls 32, 34 of the fixing bracket 20 from inner sides of the vertical walls 32, 34 without spreading the leg cover 30 outward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a leg cover structure and a vehicle seat. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to a leg cover for covering a fixing leg member that fixes a lower rail of an automobile seat slide. In this prior art, the leg cover is slid from the front side of the support bracket toward the rear side of the seat, so that the tip of a reinforcing rib provided on the back side of the cover body of the leg cover is engaged with a notch formed in the support bracket, and the leg cover is attached to the support bracket.

[0003] With this configuration, the prior art eliminates the need to push the cover body outward to engage the mating claws with the support bracket, thereby preventing whitening of the cover body and breakage of the mating claws (engagement claws), which can occur when the cover body is pushed outward. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2000-108729 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned prior art, when attaching the leg cover to the support bracket (fixed bracket), it is necessary to slide the leg cover from the front side of the support bracket toward the rear side of the seat, which requires an additional attachment space for the dimensions of the leg cover.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT In consideration of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a leg cover structure and a vehicle seat that enable a leg cover to be attached even in a narrow space without pushing the cover body outward. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The leg cover structure of the first aspect is a leg cover structure in which a leg cover is engaged with a fixed bracket fixed to the floor of an automobile so as to cover the fixed bracket from above, and the leg cover is configured to include a pair of engaging claws that hang down from the back surface of the upper wall of the cover body and have claw portions that engage with engaging holes formed in a pair of vertical walls erected opposite each other on the fixed bracket from the inside of the pair of vertical walls.

[0008] In the leg cover structure according to the first aspect, the leg cover is engaged with the fixed bracket fixed to the floor of the vehicle so as to cover the fixed bracket from above, which makes it possible to reduce the mounting space for the leg cover relative to the fixed bracket compared to a case in which the leg cover is attached by sliding it toward the rear of the seat relative to the fixed bracket.

[0009] The leg cover includes a pair of engaging claws. The fixing bracket has a pair of vertical walls that stand opposite each other, and an engaging hole is formed in each of the pair of vertical walls.

[0010] Here, a pair of engagement claws formed on the leg cover hang down from the back surface of the upper wall of the cover body, and claw portions are formed on the engagement claws. These claw portions engage with engagement holes formed in the vertical walls of the fixed bracket from the inside of the pair of vertical walls. Since the pair of engagement claws hang down from the back surface of the upper wall of the cover body, they are each elastically deformable, and when the cover body is attached to the fixed bracket from above, the claw portions formed on the pair of engagement claws engage with the engagement holes from the inside of the pair of vertical walls.

[0011] In this manner, in this embodiment, when the leg cover is attached to the fixed bracket, the cover body is not pushed outward, and therefore problems such as whitening of the cover body and breakage of the engaging claws that may result from this are not caused.

[0012] The leg cover structure of the second aspect is the leg cover structure of the first aspect, wherein the leg cover further includes an engagement release rib at an opposing portion facing at least one of the vertical walls on the peripheral wall of the cover body, which presses the claw portion through the engagement hole when the opposing portion is pressed toward the engaging claw portion, thereby releasing the engaged state of the claw portion.

[0013] In the leg cover structure according to the second aspect, the leg cover further includes a disengagement rib that is provided at a portion of the peripheral wall of the cover body that faces at least one vertical wall. When the disengagement rib presses the opposing portion of the cover body toward the engaging claw, the disengagement rib presses the claw portion that is engaged with the engaging hole through the engaging hole, thereby disengaging the claw portion.

[0014] In this manner, in this embodiment, the disengagement rib is provided, and by pressing the peripheral wall of the cover body, the claw portion of the engagement claw can be released from the engagement with the engagement hole, so that the leg cover attached to the fixed bracket can be removed without being damaged. Therefore, in this embodiment, the leg cover that has been removed for replacement, repair, or other maintenance can be reattached to the fixed bracket.

[0015] The leg cover structure of the third aspect is the leg cover structure of the first or second aspect, in which, when the leg cover is attached, the vertical wall is positioned on the movement trajectory of the claw portion, and the claw portion engages with the engagement hole by the biasing force of the engaging claw.

[0016] In the leg cover structure according to the third aspect, when the leg cover is attached to the fixed bracket, the vertical wall is disposed on the movement path of the claw portion, so that when the claw portion interferes with the vertical wall, the engaging claw is elastically deformed via the claw portion. When the claw portion reaches an engaging hole formed in the vertical wall, the engaging claw portion is engaged with the engaging hole by the biasing force of the engaging claw. In this way, the engaged state of the claw portion is maintained by the biasing force of the engaging claw, so that the leg cover cannot be easily removed from the fixed bracket.

[0017] The leg cover structure of the fourth aspect is a leg cover structure of any one of the first to third aspects, in which a pair of cut-out portions are formed in the opposing portions to allow elastic deformation of the disengagement rib.

[0018] In the leg cover structure according to the fourth aspect, a pair of cutouts is formed in the peripheral wall of the cover body, and an opposing portion located between the cutouts is elastically deformable. A disengagement rib is formed in the opposing portion, and the elastic deformation of the opposing portion causes the disengagement rib to press the claw portion, thereby releasing the state in which the claw portion is engaged with the engagement hole. In this manner, the pair of cutouts is formed in the peripheral wall of the cover body, which allows the opposing portion to be elastically deformable and also makes it possible to externally determine the position of the opposing portion.

[0019] The leg cover structure of the fifth aspect is a leg cover structure of any one of the first to fourth aspects, in which a connecting portion is formed at the base of the pair of engaging claws to connect the pair of engaging claws to each other.

[0020] In the leg cover structure according to the fifth aspect, a connecting portion is formed at the base of the pair of engagement claws, and the pair of engagement claws are connected to each other. The pair of engagement claws hang down from the rear surface of the cover body, and the engagement claws are elastically deformable. Therefore, by connecting the bases of the pair of engagement claws with the connecting portion, the rigidity of the engagement claws is improved, and it is possible to prevent the engagement claws from breaking.

[0021] A vehicle seat according to a sixth aspect is a vehicle seat provided with a seat cushion frame to which the leg cover structure according to any one of the first to fifth aspects is applied.

[0022] In the vehicle seat according to the sixth aspect, it is possible to enjoy the effects obtained by the leg cover structure according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. Effect of the Invention

[0023] As described above, in the leg cover structure and vehicle seat according to the present invention, the leg cover can be attached even in a narrow space without pushing the cover body outward. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a rear seat to which a leg cover structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, as viewed from an obliquely forward left side. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a fixing bracket which is a part of the leg cover structure according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is an explanatory view of the operation of a disengagement rib using an end view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an end view corresponding to FIG. 4 as a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Hereinafter, the leg cover structure according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the arrow FR shown as appropriate in the following drawings indicates the forward direction in the seat front-rear direction (the direction in which the seated person faces), the arrow UP indicates the upward direction in the seat vertical direction, and the arrow RH indicates the rightward direction in the seat width direction. Hereinafter, when the directions of front-rear, up-down, and left-right are simply used for the description, they refer to front-rear in the seat front-rear direction, up-down in the seat vertical direction, and left-right in the seat width direction when facing the traveling direction of the vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

[0026] (Leg cover structure) First, the configuration of the leg cover structure according to this embodiment will be described.

[0027] Fig. 1 shows a rear seat (vehicle seat) 12 equipped with a seat cushion frame 14 to which the leg cover structure 10 of this embodiment is applied. As shown in Fig. 1, the seat cushion frame 14 constitutes a framework member of a seat cushion 16 constituting the sitting portion of the rear seat 12, and has a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view. A pipe-shaped front frame 18 is provided at the front end of the seat cushion frame 14 along the seat width direction, and a fixing bracket 20 constituting a part of the leg cover structure 10 according to this embodiment is fixed to the front frame 18.

[0028] 2, the fixed bracket 20 is made of metal. The fixed bracket 20 is formed in a crank shape and includes a fixed portion 26 that is fixed to the floor and a fixed portion 28 that is fixed to the front frame 18. The fixed portion 26 is disposed above the fixed portion 28. A leg cover (cover body) 30 that constitutes the other portion of the leg cover structure 10 according to this embodiment is engaged with the fixed portion 26 side of the fixed bracket 20 so as to cover the fixed bracket 20 from above.

[0029] The fixing portion 26 has a generally U-shaped cross section that is open at the top when cut along the sheet width direction, and includes a pair of opposing vertical walls 32, 34 and a bottom wall 36 that connects the bottom ends of the pair of vertical walls 32, 34. Furthermore, a front wall 38 stands upright from the tip of the bottom wall 36. Moreover, rectangular engagement holes 40, 42 are formed in the pair of vertical walls 32, 34, respectively.

[0030] 2 and 3, the leg cover 30 is made of resin, and has a generally inverted U-shape with an open lower side in cross section when cut along the seat width direction, and includes an upper wall 44 facing the lower wall 36 of the fixing part 26, and a front wall 46 facing the front wall 38 of the fixing part 26. The upper wall 44 and the front wall 46 are formed to be smoothly connected along the seat front-rear direction, and the side ends of the upper wall 44 and the front wall 46 are connected by a peripheral wall 48.

[0031] Due to this shape, the leg cover 30 covers the front and side sides of the fixing portion 26 of the fixed bracket 20 from outside the fixing portion 26. Note that Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1.

[0032] In addition, a plurality of vertical ribs 50 formed along the front-rear direction of the seat and a plurality of horizontal ribs 51 formed along the width direction of the seat are provided in a lattice pattern on the back surface 30A of the leg cover 30. These vertical ribs 50 and horizontal ribs 51 increase the rigidity of the leg cover 30 itself.

[0033] Here, in the leg cover 30, a pair of engaging claws 52, 54 hang down from the rear surface 30A of the upper wall 44 so as to be positioned between the vertical walls 32, 34 of the fixed portion 26 in a state in which the leg cover 30 is attached to the fixed portion 26 of the fixed bracket 20. In other words, the pair of engaging claws 52, 54 are provided on the inner side in the seat width direction between the vertical walls 32, 34.

[0034] Claw portions 56, 58 are formed from the tips of the pair of engaging claws 52, 54, respectively, protruding in directions away from each other. The vertical walls 32, 34 are disposed on the movement trajectory of the claw portions 56, 58 when the leg cover 30 is attached to the fixing portion 26. When the claw portions 56, 58 reach the engaging holes 40, 42 formed in the vertical walls 32, 34, the claw portions 56, 58 are engaged (locked) with the engaging holes 40, 42 from the inside in the seat width direction of the pair of vertical walls 32, 34. That is, the upper surfaces of the claw portions 56, 58 come into contact with the inner edges of the engaging holes 40, 42, and the engaging claws 52, 54 are prevented from coming off via the claw portions 56, 58.

[0035] The engagement claws 52, 54 are formed to match the length of the engagement holes 40, 42 formed in the vertical wall 32 in the seat front-rear direction, and reinforcing ribs 60, 62 protrude from the front and rear ends of the engagement claws 52, 54 in the opposite direction to the claws 56, 58, respectively, to match the height of the engagement claws 52, 54. Furthermore, the bases of the reinforcing ribs 60, 62 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 64. In this way, the connecting portions 64 arranged in the front and rear are bridged by a plurality of ribs (not shown) and are mutually reinforced.

[0036] On the other hand, a disengagement claw (disengagement rib) 66 is provided on the rear surface 30A side of the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30 at a position facing the engagement claw 54. A claw portion 68 is provided at the tip of this disengagement claw 66, and the claw portion 68 is formed to face the claw portion 58 of the engagement claw 54.

[0037] Further, notches 70, 72 are formed in the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30 on the seat front side and seat rear side of the disengagement claw 66, respectively, allowing elastic deformation of only the disengagement claw 66. As shown in Fig. 4, when the disengagement claw 66 is pressed and elastically deformed, the claw portion 68 of the disengagement claw 66 can be brought into contact with the claw portion 58 of the engagement claw 54. Note that Fig. 4 is an end view taken along the line AA in Fig. 2, and therefore the horizontal rib 51 and the like shown in Fig. 3 are not shown.

[0038] (Action and effect of leg cover structure) Next, the operation and effects of the leg cover structure according to this embodiment will be described.

[0039] 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the fixed bracket 20 has a pair of vertical walls 32, 34 standing opposite each other, and the pair of vertical walls 32, 34 are formed with engagement holes 40, 42, respectively. On the other hand, the leg cover 30 is configured to include a pair of engagement claws 52, 54 and a disengagement claw 66.

[0040] Here, the engaging claws 52, 54 formed on the leg cover 30 hang down from the rear surface 30A of the upper wall 44 of the leg cover 30, and claw portions 56, 58 are formed at the tips of the engaging claws 52, 54. These claw portions 56, 58 engage with the engaging holes 40, 42 formed in the vertical walls 32, 34 of the fixed bracket 20 from the inside of the vertical walls 32, 34, respectively.

[0041] The engaging claws 52, 54 hang down from the back surface 30A of the leg cover 30, and are therefore each elastically deformable. When the leg cover 30 is attached to the fixed bracket 20 from above, the engaging claws 52, 54 are positioned inside the vertical walls 32, 34, and the claw portions 56, 58 formed at the tips of the engaging claws 52, 54 engage with the engaging holes 40, 42 from the inside of the vertical walls 32, 34, respectively.

[0042] In this embodiment, when the leg cover 30 is attached to the fixed portion 26 of the fixed bracket 20, the leg cover 30 is attached so as to cover the fixed portion 26 from above. Therefore, although not shown, it is possible to reduce the attachment space for the leg cover 30 relative to the fixed portion 26 compared to the case where the leg cover 30 is attached by sliding it toward the rear side of the seat relative to the fixed portion 26.

[0043] 5, as a comparative example, the claw portions 108 of the engaging claws 106 can engage with the engaging holes 112 of the vertical wall 110 from the outside of the vertical wall 110. Therefore, when attaching the leg cover 104 to the fixing portion 102 of the bracket 100, the peripheral wall 104A of the leg cover 104 is pushed outward to allow the claw portions 108 to engage with the engaging holes 112. When the leg cover 104 is pushed outward in this manner, problems such as the leg cover 104 turning white or the engaging claws 106 breaking occur.

[0044] In contrast, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the engagement claws 52, 54 formed on the leg cover 30 each hang down from the back surface 30A of the upper wall 44, and the claw portions 56, 58 formed at the tips of the engagement claws 52, 54 each engage with the engagement holes 40, 42 formed in the vertical walls 32, 34 of the fixed bracket 20 from the inside of the vertical walls 32, 34, respectively.

[0045] In this embodiment, when the leg cover 30 is attached to the fixed bracket 20 from above, the vertical walls 32, 34 are disposed on the movement trajectory of the claws 56, 58. Therefore, when the claws 56, 58 interfere with the vertical walls 32, 34, the engaging claws 52, 54 are elastically deformed via the claws 56, 58. When the claws 56, 58 reach the engaging holes 40, 42 formed in the vertical walls 32, 34, the claws 56, 58 are engaged with the engaging holes 40, 42 by the biasing force of the engaging claws 52, 54.

[0046] As described above, in this embodiment, when attaching the leg cover 30 to the fixed bracket 20, the leg cover 30 is not pushed outward, and therefore there are no problems such as whitening of the leg cover 30 or breaking of the engaging claws 52, 54. Also, in this embodiment, the engaging state of the claw portions 56, 58 is maintained by the biasing force of the engaging claws 52, 54, so that the leg cover 30 is not easily detached from the fixed bracket 20.

[0047] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, a disengagement claw 66 is provided at a portion of the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30 facing the vertical wall 32. This disengagement claw 66 is formed facing the engagement claw 54, and as shown in Fig. 4, when the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30 is pressed toward the engagement claw 54, the disengagement claw 66 presses the claw 58 through the engagement hole 42 in an engaged state in which the claw 58 is engaged with the engagement hole 42, thereby disengaging the engagement state of the claw 58.

[0048] In this manner, in this embodiment, the leg cover 30 is provided with the disengagement claws 66, and when the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30 is pressed, the claw portions 58 of the engagement claws 54 can be disengaged from the engagement holes 42. As a result, in this embodiment, the leg cover 30 attached to the fixed bracket 20 can be removed without being damaged.

[0049] Therefore, in this embodiment, the leg cover 30 that has been removed for replacement, repair, or other maintenance can be reattached to the fixed bracket 20. Note that, although only one disengagement claw 66 is provided in this embodiment, two may be provided depending on the shape of the leg cover.

[0050] 2 and 4, in this embodiment, cutouts 70, 72 are formed on the seat front side and seat rear side of the disengagement claw 66, respectively. That is, a pair of cutouts 70, 72 are formed in the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30, and the disengagement claw 66 is provided between the cutouts 70 and 72.

[0051] This allows only the disengagement claw 66 to be elastically deformed. A claw portion 68 is provided at the tip of the disengagement claw 66 at a position facing the claw portion 58 of the engagement claw 54, and when the disengagement claw 66 is elastically deformed, the claw portion 68 of the disengagement claw 66 can be brought into contact with the claw portion 58 of the engagement claw 54. In other words, when the disengagement claw 66 is pressed, it is pressed through the engagement hole 42 against the claw portion 58 that is engaged with the engagement hole 42, thereby disengaging the engaged state of the claw portion 58.

[0052] In this manner, by forming the cut portions 70, 72 in the peripheral wall 48 of the leg cover 30, the disengagement claw 66 can be made elastically deformable, and the position of the disengagement claw 66 can be made discernible from the outside.

[0053] 2 and 3, in this embodiment, a connecting portion 64 is formed at the base of the pair of engaging claws 52, 54, and the pair of engaging claws 52, 54 are connected to each other. The pair of engaging claws 52, 54 hang down from the rear surface 30A of the leg cover 30, and the engaging claws 52, 54 are elastically deformable. Therefore, by connecting the bases of the pair of engaging claws 52, 54 with the connecting portion 64, the rigidity of the engaging claws 52, 54 is improved, and it is possible to prevent the engaging claws 52, 54 from breaking.

[0054] In the above embodiment, a pair of vertical walls 32, 34 are erected on the fixed bracket 20 side, but they do not necessarily have to be a pair. For example, although not shown, there may be only one vertical wall. In this case, a disengagement claw is provided on the opposite side of the engagement claw, with the vertical wall therebetween. In the above embodiment, the leg cover 30 has been described, but the present invention can be applied to other than the leg cover 30 as a resin member that engages from above with an engaged member provided with a vertical wall having an engagement hole formed therein.

[0055] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It goes without saying that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 10 Leg cover structure 12 Rear seat (vehicle seat) 14 Seat cushion frame 20 Fixing bracket 30 Leg cover (cover body) 30A Back 32 Vertical Wall 34 Vertical Wall 40 Engagement hole 42 Engagement hole 44 Top wall (top wall of cover body) 48 Peripheral wall (peripheral wall of cover body) 52 Engagement claw 54 Engagement claw 56 Claw part 58 Claw part 64 Connecting part 66 Disengagement claw (disengagement rib) 70 Cutting section 72 Cutting section

Claims

1. A leg cover structure in which a leg cover is engaged with a fixing bracket fixed to a floor of an automobile so as to cover the fixing bracket from above, The leg cover includes: A leg cover structure comprising a pair of engaging claws that hang down from the back surface of the upper wall of the cover body and have claw portions that engage with engaging holes formed in a pair of vertical walls erected opposite each other on the fixed bracket from the inside of the pair of vertical walls.

2. The leg cover includes: The leg cover structure as described in claim 1, further comprising an engagement release rib at an opposing portion of the peripheral wall of the cover body facing at least one of the vertical walls, which presses the claw portion through the engagement hole when the opposing portion is pressed toward the engagement claw portion, thereby releasing the engaged state of the claw portion.

3. 2. The leg cover structure according to claim 1, wherein when the leg cover is attached, the vertical wall is disposed on a moving path of the claw portion, and the claw portion is engaged with the engagement hole by the biasing force of the engaging claw.

4. The leg cover structure according to claim 2 , wherein the opposing portion is formed with a pair of notches for allowing elastic deformation of the disengagement rib.

5. The leg cover structure according to claim 1 , wherein a connecting portion is formed at base portions of the pair of engaging claws to connect the pair of engaging claws to each other.

6. A vehicle seat having a seat cushion frame to which the leg cover structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is applied.

Images