Vehicle seats

Abstract

This document discloses an example of a vehicle seat that can reduce driver fatigue by stabilizing the lower leg area while driving. [Solution] The vehicle seat has a wall-shaped side support portion 52R provided on the driver's right leg side of the seat surface portion 51, and includes a side support portion 52R that is displaceable in the seat width direction and a side support displacement mechanism 7 that displaces the side support portion 52R to the left. When the vehicle is driven continuously for a predetermined time or longer within a predetermined range of speed changes, the side support portion 52R is displaced to the left. As a result, the driver does not need to consciously place their right thigh against the side support portion 52R. Consequently, the operating position of the accelerator pedal can be prevented from changing significantly from the usual position, thus making it possible to reliably reduce fatigue.

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , , ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle seat mounted on a vehicle such as a passenger car.

Background Art

[0002] For example, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, for the purpose of reducing the driver's fatigue by stabilizing the area below the knees during driving, a knee support member for supporting the driver's right knee is provided on the door on the driver's side.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the invention described in Patent Document 1, the driver needs to intentionally place their right knee against the knee support member. Therefore, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, unnecessary actions during driving increase, and the driver's attention is directed towards placing their right knee against the knee support member.

[0005] As a result, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the operating position of the accelerator pedal changes from normal, and conversely, there is a possibility of increasing the feeling of fatigue. The present disclosure discloses an example of a vehicle seat in view of this point.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] Preferably, a vehicle seat installed in a vehicle includes a seat surface (51) that supports the driver's buttocks, a wall-shaped side support portion (52R) provided on the driver's right leg side of the seat surface (51), the side support portion (52R) being displaceable in the seat width direction, a side support displacement mechanism (7) that displaces the side support portion (52R) to the left, and a control unit (9) that controls the operation of the side support displacement mechanism (7), the control unit (9) being capable of performing operation support control to displace the side support portion (52R) to the left when the vehicle has been traveling continuously for a predetermined time or longer within a predetermined range of speed changes.

[0007] This means that the driver, as a user of the vehicle seat, does not need to consciously position their right thigh against the side support (52R). Consequently, the position of the accelerator pedal may not change significantly from the usual position, which can certainly reduce fatigue.

[0008] The vehicle seat may have, for example, the following configuration. In other words, it is desirable that the side support portion (52R) is equipped with a reaction force sensor (11) that detects a rightward reaction force acting on it, and that the control unit (9) controls the operation of the side support displacement mechanism (7) so that the reaction force detected by the reaction force sensor (11) is within a predetermined range when performing operation support control.

[0009] As a result, the vehicle seat in question may be able to stably support (hold) the driver's right thigh even when road conditions change. Incidentally, the symbols in each of the parentheses above are just examples showing the correspondence with the specific configurations etc. described in the embodiments described later, and this disclosure is not limited to the specific configurations etc. indicated by the symbols in the parentheses above. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a diagram showing a vehicle seat according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2]This diagram shows the structure of the side support section. [Figure 3] This diagram shows the structure of the side support section. [Figure 4] This is a block diagram of the control system for a vehicle seat according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] This is a flowchart showing the control of a vehicle seat according to the first embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] The following "Embodiments of the Invention" are examples of embodiments that fall within the technical scope of this disclosure. In other words, the features defining the invention as described in the claims are not limited to the specific configurations and structures shown in the embodiments below.

[0012] This embodiment is an example in which the vehicle seat according to this disclosure is applied to a vehicle seat for the driver's seat. The arrows and diagonal lines indicating direction in each figure are included to facilitate understanding of the relationships between the figures and the shapes of the components or parts.

[0013] Therefore, the vehicle seat is not limited to the orientation shown in each figure. The orientations shown in each figure are those of the vehicle seat according to this embodiment when it is installed in a vehicle. Diagonal lines do not always indicate a cross-sectional view.

[0014] At least one of the components or parts described with reference numerals is provided, unless otherwise specified, such as "one". The vehicle seat shown in this disclosure comprises at least one of the components, such as the components or parts described with reference numerals, and at least one of the illustrated structural parts.

[0015] (First Embodiment) <1. Overview of Vehicle Seats> As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 1 includes at least a seat back 3 and a seat cushion 5. The seat back 3 is a part for supporting the back of the seated person. The seat cushion 5 is a part for supporting the buttocks and thighs of the seated person.

[0016] The seat cushion 5 has at least a seating surface portion 51 and side support portions 52R and 52L. The seating surface portion 51 mainly supports the buttocks of the driver. The side support portion 52L is a wall-like part provided on the left side of the seating surface portion 51.

[0017] The side support portion 52R is a wall-like part provided on the right side of the seating surface portion 51. At least the part of the side support portion 52R facing the right thigh is displaceable in the seat width direction as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

[0018] A side support displacement mechanism 7 is arranged inside the side support portion 52R. The side support displacement mechanism 7 is a mechanism for displacing the side support portion 52R to the left. The side support displacement mechanism 7 according to the present embodiment is configured to have at least a support movable part 71 and an electric actuator 72.

[0019] The support movable part 71 is a member arranged on the back surface side of the skin of the side support portion 52R and swingable in the left-right direction. The electric actuator 72 is a drive part that exerts a driving force for displacing the support movable part 71. The electric actuator 72 according to the present embodiment is composed of a laminated electrostatic actuator.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4, the operation of the electric actuator 72 is controlled by a control unit 9. The control unit 9 is configured to have a drive circuit (not shown) for driving the electric actuator 72 and a microcontroller (MCU).

[0021] The control unit 9 controls the operation of the electric actuator 72 by causing the microcontroller to execute software prestored in a nonvolatile memory unit such as a ROM. And the control unit 9 can execute operation support control as the operation control of the electric actuator 72.

[0022] <2. Operation Support Control> <2.1 Contents of Operation Support Control> The operation support control is control to displace the side support part 52R to the left when the support start requirement is satisfied. "When the support start requirement is satisfied" means a case where the vehicle continues to travel for a predetermined time or more within a predetermined speed change range.

[0023] Note that "within a predetermined speed change range" means a speed change width that can be regarded as a constant speed (for example, ±10 km / h). "Continuing to travel for a predetermined time or more" means, for example, a case where the vehicle continues to travel for 30 seconds or more.

[0024] In this embodiment, vehicle speed information is acquired from the vehicle to determine whether the support start requirement is satisfied. For this reason, the control unit 9 is provided with an input unit 9A for inputting vehicle information and a timer for timing (not shown).

[0025] A pressure sensor 11 is provided on the skin of the side support part 52R (see FIG. 2). The pressure sensor 11 is an example of a reaction force sensor that detects the rightward reaction force acting on the side support part 52R.

[0026] <着 And when executing the operation support control, the control unit 9 controls the operation of the side support displacement mechanism 7 so that the reaction force detected by the pressure sensor 11 falls within a predetermined range (for example, 10 N to 30 N).

[0027] <2.2 Execution of Operation Support Control (see FIG. 5)> The flowchart shown in Figure 5 illustrates the execution control of the operation support control. This control is activated when the vehicle becomes drivable and stops when the vehicle becomes drivable.

[0028] When this control is activated, the control unit 9 first determines whether the support initiation requirements have been met (S1). If it is determined that the support initiation requirements have been met (S1: YES), the control unit 9 executes operation support control (S3).

[0029] When operation support control is executed, the control unit 9 determines whether or not the support initiation requirements have been met (S5). As long as the support initiation requirements have been met (S5: NO), the control unit 9 continues to execute operation support control (S3).

[0030] If the support initiation requirements are not met (S5:YES), the control unit 9 stops the operation support control, returns the position of the support movable part 71 to its initial position (the rightmost position) (S7), and then terminates this control.

[0031] <3. Features of the vehicle seat according to this embodiment> In the vehicle seat according to this embodiment, operation support control is executed when the support initiation requirements are met (S1:YES).

[0032] As a result, the driver, who is using the vehicle seat, does not need to consciously position their right thigh against the side support section 52R. Consequently, the position of the accelerator pedal may not change significantly from the usual position, which can certainly reduce fatigue.

[0033] In the vehicle seat 1, when operation assistance control is performed, the operation of the side support displacement mechanism 7 is controlled so that the reaction force is within a predetermined range. As a result, the vehicle seat 1 can stably support (hold) the driver's right thigh even when, for example, the road conditions change.

[0034] (Other embodiments) In the above-described embodiment, the operation of the side support displacement mechanism 7 was controlled so that the reaction force would be within a predetermined range when operation support control was performed. However, the disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the disclosure may also include a configuration in which, for example, the reaction force to be maintained is changed according to the vehicle speed.

[0035] The electric actuator 72 in the above-described embodiment was configured as a stacked electrostatic actuator. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto. That is, the disclosure may also describe an electric actuator configured as, for example, an air bag supplied with compressed air from an electric pump or a cam driven by an electric motor. In this configuration, the support movable part 71 may be eliminated.

[0036] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, but is sufficient to be consistent with the intent of the disclosures described in the embodiments described above. Therefore, it may be a configuration in which at least two of the embodiments described above are combined, or a configuration in which any of the illustrated components or components described with reference numerals in the embodiments described above are omitted. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0037] 1… Vehicle seats 3… Seat back 5… Seat cushion 7… Side support displacement mechanism 9… Control Unit 11… Pressure sensor 51… Seat part 52R… Side support section 52L… Side support section 71… Support movable part 72… Electric Actuator

Claims

1. In vehicle seats installed in vehicles, The seat portion that supports the driver's buttocks, A wall-shaped side support portion provided on the driver's right leg side of the aforementioned seat surface, the side support portion being displaceable in the seat width direction, A side support displacement mechanism that displaces the aforementioned side support portion to the left, A control unit for controlling the operation of the side support displacement mechanism, the control unit capable of performing operation support control to displace the side support to the left when the vehicle travels continuously within a predetermined range of speed changes for a predetermined time or longer; An accelerator operation support device equipped with this feature.

2. The side support portion is equipped with a reaction force sensor that detects a rightward reaction force acting on it, The accelerator operation support device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the side support displacement mechanism so that the reaction force detected by the reaction force sensor falls within a predetermined range when operation support control is performed.

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