Center armrest and vehicle seat

Abstract

To prevent fingers inserted into a recliner side from contacting an armrest frame.SOLUTION: A center armrest includes: an armrest frame 22 connected to a seat back 14 of a vehicle seat 10 via a recliner 28; an armrest pad covering the armrest frame 22 with the recliner 28 exposed; an armrest cover 26 placed over the armrest pad with the recliner 28 exposed; and a resin plate 46 formed in an arc shape and sewn to the armrest cover 26, and inserted between a step part 30 formed on a surface of the recliner 28 facing the armrest frame 22 and the armrest frame 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat, and more particularly to a center armrest. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle rear seat equipped with a center armrest. The center armrest is connected to the seat back so as to be rotatable between a stored position where it is stored in the seat back and a deployed position where it is deployed from the stored position to the front of the seat. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-84610 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In vehicle seats where the center armrest is connected to the seat back via a recliner, if the pad of the center armrest is crushed by an occupant, the pad may slip off the flange provided on the frame of the center armrest, which may allow the occupant to insert a finger into the recliner, making it necessary to take measures to prevent the finger from touching the flange.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a center armrest and a vehicle seat that can prevent fingers inserted into the recliner side from coming into contact with the armrest frame. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first embodiment of the center armrest comprises an armrest frame that is connected to a seatback of a vehicle seat via a recliner, an armrest pad that covers the armrest frame with the recliner exposed, an armrest upholstery that covers the armrest pad with the recliner exposed, and a resin member that is formed in an arc shape and sewn to the armrest upholstery, and is inserted between the armrest frame and a step portion formed on the surface of the recliner facing the armrest frame.

[0007] According to the first aspect of the center armrest, the armrest frame is connected to the seat back of the vehicle seat via the recliner. The armrest pad covers the armrest frame with the recliner exposed. The armrest upholstery is placed over the armrest pad with the recliner exposed. The resin member is formed into an arc shape and sewn to the armrest upholstery, and is inserted between the armrest frame and a step portion formed on the surface of the recliner facing the armrest frame. This allows the armrest pad to be held on the recliner via the armrest upholstery and the resin member, so that if the armrest pad is crushed by the occupant, the armrest pad is prevented from slipping off the armrest frame. As a result, even if a finger is inserted toward the recliner side, the finger can be prevented from coming into contact with the armrest frame.

[0008] In a second aspect of the center armrest, in the first aspect, the resin member has a hook portion that rides over a protrusion formed on the step portion of the recliner and hooks onto the protrusion.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the center armrest, when the resin member sewn to the armrest skin and formed in an arc shape is inserted between the armrest frame and a step formed on the surface of the recliner facing the armrest frame, the hook portion on the resin member climbs over the protrusion formed on the step of the recliner and hooks onto said protrusion. This makes it easy to secure the resin member to the recliner and prevents the resin member from rattling relative to the recliner.

[0010] The vehicle seat of the third aspect comprises a seat cushion on which an occupant sits, a seat back that supports the back of the occupant, and a center armrest of the first or second aspect in which the armrest frame is connected to the seat back via the recliner.

[0011] In the vehicle seat of the third aspect, the back of the occupant seated on the seat cushion is supported by the seat back. The armrest frame of the center armrest is connected to the seat back via a recliner. This center armrest is the one of the first or second aspect, and therefore the above-mentioned effects can be obtained. Effect of the Invention

[0012] As described above, the center armrest and vehicle seat according to the present invention can prevent fingers inserted toward the recliner side from coming into contact with the armrest frame. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle seat according to an embodiment; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the center armrest according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 is a front view showing the configuration shown in FIG. 2 with the recliner cover removed. [Figure 4] 4 is a perspective view of a part of the configuration shown in FIG. 3, as viewed obliquely from the front left side of the seat. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the recliner and its surroundings. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the configuration of the recliner and its surroundings. [Figure 9] 9 is a front view showing a state in which a resin plate is removed from the configuration shown in FIG. 8. FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a cut surface taken along line F11-F11 in FIG. 3. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 11, showing a state in which the center armrest is in the deployed position. [Figure 13] 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an occupant's finger is inserted into the recliner side. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, a vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 14. In each drawing, some reference numerals may be omitted in order to make the drawings easier to understand. Arrows FR, LH, and UP, which are appropriately written in each drawing, indicate the front, left, and upper directions of the vehicle seat 10, respectively.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, a vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment is a rear seat for seating three passengers, and includes a seat cushion 12 on which vehicle occupants sit, a seat back 14 that supports the back of the occupant, and three head rests 16 that support the head of the occupant. A center arm rest 20 is attached to the center of the seat back 14 in the left-right direction. The center arm rest 20 is rotatable relative to the seat back 14 between a stored position (position shown in Fig. 1) in which it is stored in a recess 18 formed in the center of the seat back 14 in the left-right direction, and an deployed position in which it extends from the seat back 14 toward the front of the seat.

[0016] When the center armrest 20 is in the deployed position, the front-rear, left-right, up-down and up-down directions of the center armrest 20 coincide with the front-rear, left-right, up-down and up-down directions of the vehicle seat 10. When the center armrest 20 is in the stored position, the front-rear direction of the center armrest 20 coincides with the height direction of the seat back 14, the left-right direction of the center armrest 20 coincides with the left-right direction of the vehicle seat 10, and the up-down direction of the center armrest 20 coincides with the front-rear direction of the seat back 14. When the front-rear, left-right, up-down and up-down directions are simply used in the following description, they refer to directions relative to the center armrest 20.

[0017] The center armrest 20 comprises an armrest frame 22 (see Figures 7 to 9) which is a skeleton member, an armrest pad 24 (see Figures 2 to 4) which is a cushioning body covering the armrest frame 22, an armrest upholstery 26 (see Figures 2 to 5) which is placed over the armrest pad 24, and a resin plate 46 (see Figures 3 to 8) which is a resin member attached to the armrest upholstery 26.

[0018] The armrest frame 22 is formed by joining, for example, metal pipe material or press-formed metal plate material by means of welding or the like, and is formed into a rectangular frame shape with the longitudinal direction being the front-rear direction when viewed in the vertical direction. This armrest frame 22 has a pair of left and right side frames 22S (the right side frame 22S is not shown) extending in the front-rear direction on the left and right sides of the center armrest 20. The left and right side frames 22S are formed, for example, from press-formed metal plate material, and are arranged with the longitudinal direction being the front-rear direction and the plate thickness direction of the main part being the left-right direction.

[0019] The rear end of the left side frame 22S is connected to the frame (not shown) of the seat back 14 via a recliner 28 and a bracket 32 ​​(see Figs. 3, 4, 7 to 9). The recliner 28 and the bracket 32 ​​are covered by a resin cover 34 (see Fig. 2). The recliner 28 is disk-shaped with its axis in the left-right direction, and is disposed to the left of the rear end of the left side frame 22S. The bracket 32 ​​is made of, for example, a press-formed metal plate, and is disposed with the plate thickness direction of the main part in the left-right direction. The bracket 32 ​​is fixed to the frame of the seat back 14 by means of bolt fastening or the like.

[0020] The recliner 28 has a movable part 28A (see Figs. 9 and 10) that is fixed to the left side frame 22S by welding or other means, and a fixed part 28B that is fixed to the bracket 32 ​​by welding or other means. The recliner 28 has an unlocking lever 28C (see Figs. 3, 4, 8 and 9). When the unlocking lever 28C is rotated, the recliner 28 is unlocked and the movable part 28A is allowed to rotate relative to the fixed part 28B. This unlocking allows the center armrest 20 to rotate between the stored position and the deployed position. A belt 28D for rotating the unlocking lever 28C is connected to the tip of the unlocking lever 28C.

[0021] The armrest pad 24 is made of a foam such as urethane foam and has a long rectangular parallelepiped shape with the longitudinal direction being the front-rear direction, the width direction being the left-right direction, and the thickness direction being the up-down direction. The width dimension of the armrest pad 24 is set to be larger than the thickness dimension of the armrest pad 24. The armrest pad 24 is, for example, foam-molded integrally with the armrest frame 22, and the armrest frame 22 is embedded inside the armrest pad 24. This armrest pad 24 covers the armrest frame 22 with the recliner 28 exposed.

[0022] The armrest upholstery 26 is formed by sewing together a plurality of upholstery pieces made of, for example, a cloth material, leather, or synthetic leather, and is in the shape of a bag with the longitudinal direction being the front-rear direction. An opening 36 is formed at the rear end of the armrest upholstery 26, and a resin arrow 38 is fixed to one edge of the opening 36 by sewing or other means, and a resin J hook 40 is fixed to the other edge of the opening 36 by sewing or other means. The arrow 38 has an arrowhead-like cross section, and the J hook 40 has a J-shaped cross section. When the armrest upholstery 26 is placed over the armrest pad 24, the armrest pad 24 is inserted into the inside of the armrest upholstery 26 through the opening 36. After that, the arrow 38 is inserted into the inside of the J hook 40 and engaged, closing the opening 36.

[0023] A side opening 42 (see FIG. 5) for exposing the recliner 28 is formed on the left side surface of the rear portion of the armrest covering 26. The side opening 42 has a circular shape when viewed from the left-right direction. A resin plate 46 is attached to the edge of this side opening 42. The resin plate 46 has a plate shape with the plate thickness direction in the left-right direction, and has an arc shape (C-shape) with an open rear side when viewed from the left-right direction (see FIG. 6). The resin plate 46 is made of a resin such as polypropylene.

[0024] The resin plate 46 is fixed to the edge of the side opening 42 by means of sewing or the like. One or more (here, two) positioning V-notches 48 are formed on the inner periphery of the resin plate 46. When sewing the resin plate 46 to the armrest upholstery 26, the armrest upholstery 26 stretches, so positioning V-notches 48 are provided at two locations, the midpoint and the end of the sewing, to improve the appearance of the sewing. The resin plate 46 is disposed between the left side frame 22S of the armrest frame 22 and the movable part 28A of the recliner 28, and most of the recliner 28 is disposed exposed to the outside of the armrest upholstery 26.

[0025] As shown in Figure 10, the movable part 28A of the recliner 28 is formed in a stepped cylindrical shape, with a step portion 30 formed on the surface facing the armrest frame 22. A resin plate 46 is inserted between this step portion 30 and the left side frame 22S (see Figures 7 and 8). The step portion 30 fits into the inside of the resin plate 46. The resin plate 46 fits into the outer peripheral surface of the step portion 30 in a state where it is elastically deformed so as to, for example, slightly expand in diameter. The resin plate 46 is disposed concentrically with the recliner 28.

[0026] As shown in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11, a pair of protrusions 29 protruding radially outward is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the step portion 30. The pair of protrusions 29 are arranged on radially opposite sides of the movable portion 28A. As shown in Fig. 11, a hook portion (protrusion) 50 protruding radially inward of the resin plate 46 is formed on one circumferential end of the resin plate 46. The hook portion 50 is hooked onto one of the protrusions 29, thereby preventing the resin plate 46 from falling off from the movable portion 28A. The resin plate 46 rotates together with the center armrest 20 and the movable portion 28A when the center armrest 20 rotates between the stored position shown in Fig. 11 and the deployed position shown in Fig. 12.

[0027] In the vehicle seat 10 configured as described above, the back of an occupant seated on the seat cushion 12 is supported by the seat back 14. An armrest frame 22 of the center armrest 20 is connected to the seat back 14 via a recliner 28. This armrest frame 22 is covered by an armrest pad 24 with the recliner 28 exposed. This armrest pad 24 is covered with an armrest covering 26 with the recliner 28 exposed. A resin plate 46 formed in an arc shape is sewn to this armrest covering 26.

[0028] The resin plate 46 is inserted between the armrest frame and a step portion 30 formed on the surface of the recliner 28 facing the armrest frame 22. This allows the armrest pad 24 to be held on the recliner 28 via the armrest cover 26 and the resin plate 46. This prevents the armrest pad 24 from slipping off the armrest frame 22 if the armrest pad 24 is crushed by an occupant. As a result, even if the occupant's finger F is inserted toward the recliner 28 as shown in FIG. 13, for example, the finger F can be prevented from coming into contact with the flange 22S1 of the armrest frame 22.

[0029] As measures to prevent the fingers F from touching the flange 22S1 of the armrest frame 22, for example, the following (1) to (4) can be mentioned: (1) Pile up the armrest pad 24 near the flange 22S1. (2) Set the flange 22S1 high so that the armrest pad 24 does not fall off. (3) Place a resin cover near the flange 22S1. (4) Apply felt or slab urethane to the back of the armrest covering 26 near the flange 22S1.

[0030] However, with measure (1), it is difficult to ensure a gap between the parts for inserting armrest pad 24, and with measure (2), the increased height of flange 22S1 causes the occupant's back to hit armrest frame 22, making the occupant more likely to feel like they are bottoming out, and it is difficult to ensure the amount of backset insertion in static tests of the headrest (e.g., ISO 6549), raising concerns that the occupant's sitting comfort will be adversely affected. With measure (3), it is difficult to ensure a gap between the parts for setting a resin cover, and with measure (4), it is difficult to ensure a gap between the parts for inserting felt or slab urethane.

[0031] In this regard, in the present embodiment, the resin plate 46 is inserted between the step portion 30 formed on the surface of the recliner 28 facing the armrest frame 22 and the armrest frame, making it easy to ensure a gap for inserting the resin plate 46. Also, since there is no need to change the shape of the armrest frame 22 and the amount of backset insertion in the headrest static test does not change, it is easy to ensure the seating comfort of the occupant. Also, since it is possible to avoid increases in manufacturing costs due to the addition of a resin cover, felt, or slab urethane or changes in the shape of the armrest frame 22, increases in manufacturing costs can be suppressed.

[0032] Moreover, the position and direction in which the resin plate 46 is inserted are determined at the time when the resin plate 46 is sewn to the armrest upholstery 26, so the resin plate 46 can be assembled regardless of the difference in experience of the worker in covering the armrest upholstery 26. Also, since the resin plate 46 is fixed to the edge of the side opening 42 of the armrest upholstery 26, the shape of the side opening 42 is uniform, making the covering work easier, preventing the armrest upholstery 26 from turning over, and enabling the covering to be finished neatly.

[0033] Furthermore, in this center armrest 20, when the resin plate 46 formed in an arc shape and sewn to the armrest skin 26 is inserted between the armrest frame 22 and a step 30 formed on the surface of the recliner 28 facing the armrest frame 22, the hook portion 50 provided on the resin plate 46 climbs over and hooks onto the protrusion 29 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the step 30 of the recliner 28. This makes it possible to easily fix the resin plate 46 to the recliner 28.

[0034] Although the present invention has been described above by way of the embodiment, the present invention can be modified and embodied without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10 Vehicle seats 12 Seat cushion 14 Seat back 20 Center armrest 22 Armrest frame 24 Armrest Pad 26 Armrest Cover 28 Recliner 29 Convex 30 Step 46 Resin Plate 50 Hook section

Claims

1. an armrest frame connected to a seat back of a vehicle seat via a recliner; an armrest pad covering the armrest frame with the recliner exposed; an armrest cover that covers the armrest pad while the recliner is exposed; a resin member formed in an arc shape, sewn to the armrest cover, and inserted between the armrest frame and a step portion formed on a surface of the recliner facing the armrest frame; Equipped with a center armrest.

2. 2. The center armrest according to claim 1, wherein the resin member has a hook portion that rides over a protrusion formed in the step portion of the recliner and is hooked onto the protrusion.

3. A seat cushion on which an occupant sits; A seat back that supports the back of the occupant; 3. The center armrest according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the armrest frame is connected to the seat back via the recliner; A vehicle seat comprising:

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