Vehicle seats

Abstract

To properly support the occupant's back. [Solution] In the vehicle seat 10, the seat back 14 supports the back 50A of the occupant 50 from the rear. Furthermore, when the occupant 50 turns the steering wheel 30 to the left and to the right, the vehicle is steered to the left and to the right, respectively. When the occupant 50 turns the steering wheel 30 to the left and to the right, the movable back 22 moves forward. As a result, the movable back 22 can move the back 50A of the occupant 50 forward, and the movable back 22 can properly support the back 50A of the occupant 50.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat in which a seat back supports the back of an occupant from a rear side.

Background Art

[0002] The automotive seat back described in Patent Document 1 below supports the back of an occupant from the rear side.

[0003] Here, it is preferable for this automotive seat back to be able to appropriately support the back of an occupant.

Prior Art Literature

Patent Literature

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] An object of the present invention, in consideration of the above facts, is to obtain a vehicle seat that can appropriately support the back of an occupant.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The vehicle seat according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided in a vehicle that is steered to the left side and the right side respectively when an occupant operates a steering member leftward and rightward, and includes: a seat back that supports the back of the occupant from the rear side; and a moving portion that constitutes an upper front surface of the seat back and is moved forward when the steering member is subjected to at least one of a leftward operation and a rightward operation.

[0007] In the vehicle seat according to the first aspect of the present invention, the seat back supports the back of the occupant from the rear side. Furthermore, when the occupant operates the steering member leftward and rightward, the vehicle is steered to the left side and the right side respectively.

[0008] Here, the movable part forms the upper front of the seatback, and when the steering body is turned to the left or to the right, the movable part moves forward. As a result, the movable part can move the occupant's back forward, providing proper support for the occupant's back.

[0009] A second aspect of the present invention provides a vehicle seat in which, in the vehicle seat of the first aspect of the present invention, the right side of the movable part moves forward when the steering body is operated to the left, and the left side of the movable part moves forward when the steering body is operated to the right.

[0010] In the vehicle seat of the second aspect of the present invention, when the steering body is turned to the left, the right side of the movable part moves forward. As a result, the right side of the movable part can move the right side of the occupant's back forward, and the movable part can properly support the right side of the occupant's back.

[0011] Furthermore, when the steering mechanism is turned to the right, the left side of the movable part moves forward. As a result, the left side of the movable part can move the left side of the occupant's back forward, allowing the movable part to properly support the left side of the occupant's back.

[0012] A third aspect of the present invention is a vehicle seat according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, further comprising a detection unit provided on the steering body, wherein the movable part is moved forward when the steering body is operated to the left or to the right while detecting contact between the occupant and the steering body.

[0013] In a vehicle seat according to a third aspect of the present invention, when the steering body detection unit detects contact between the steering body and the occupant, and the steering body is turned to the left or to the right, the movable part is moved forward. This prevents the movable part from moving unnecessarily forward.

[0014] A vehicle seat according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the vehicle seat according to a third aspect of the present invention, the position of the detection unit on the steering body is displayed.

[0015] In the fourth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle seat displays the position of the detection unit on the steering body. This allows the occupant to choose whether or not to allow the detection unit to detect contact with the steering body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] As described above, the vehicle seat of the present invention can properly support the back of the occupant. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0017] [Figure 1] This is a left-view side view showing a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] (A) and (B) are top views of the vehicle seat and steering wheel, with (A) showing the steering wheel not being operated by the occupant and (B) showing the steering wheel being operated to the left by the occupant. [Figure 3] (A) and (B) are cross-sectional views of the seat back of a vehicle seat, viewed from above (cross-sectional view along line 3-3 in Figure 1), where (A) shows the steering wheel when not operated by the occupant, and (B) shows the steering wheel when operated to the left by the occupant. [Figure 4] Figures (A) and (B) show the cylinder of a vehicle seat, with (A) showing the cylinder in a non-operating state and (B) showing the cylinder in an operating state. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0018] Figure 1 shows a side view of a vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the left. In the drawing, the front of the vehicle seat 10 is indicated by arrow FR, the right side of the vehicle seat 10 is indicated by arrow RH, and the top of the vehicle seat 10 is indicated by arrow UP.

[0019] The vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment is installed in the passenger compartment of a vehicle (such as a truck or other automobile).

[0020] As shown in Fig. 1, a seat cushion 12 is provided at a lower portion of a vehicle seat 10, and a vehicle occupant 50 sits on the seat cushion 12. A seat back 14 (backrest) is provided above a rear end portion of the seat cushion 12, and the seat back 14 supports a back portion 50A of the occupant 50 from a rear side.

[0021] A metal back frame 16 (see Fig. 3(A)) is provided at a rear end portion of the seat back 14, and the back frame 16 constitutes a framework of the seat back 14. A seat pad 18 is disposed on a front side of the back frame 16, the seat pad 18 is formed of a foamed material such as foam-molded polyurethane foam, and is supported from the rear side by the back frame 16. An outer periphery of the seat back 14 is covered by a skin material 20, and the skin material 20 is, for example, a fabric material, leather, or synthetic leather. A substantially rectangular parallelepiped recess 14A is formed in an upper and front portion of the seat back 14, and the recess 14A is open to the front side, the left side, the right side, and the upper side.

[0022] A substantially rectangular parallelepiped moving back 22 serving as a moving portion is disposed in the recess 14A of the seat back 14, and a front surface, a left surface, a right surface, and an upper surface of the moving back 22 respectively constitute a front surface, a left surface, a right surface, and an upper surface of the seat back 14. A metal moving frame 22A is provided at a rear end of the moving back 22, and a left portion and a right portion of the moving frame 22A extend toward the front side as extending outward in the left-right direction of the moving frame 22A. The same seat pad 18 as described above is disposed on a front side of the moving frame 22A, the seat pad 18 is supported from the rear side by the moving frame 22A, and an outer periphery on a front side of the moving frame 22A is covered by the same skin material 20 as described above.

[0023] The left side of the upper portion of the back frame 16 and the left side of the movable frame 22A, and the right side of the upper portion of the back frame 16 and the right side of the movable frame 22A are connected by a movable mechanism, the left cylinder 24A, and the right cylinder 24B (see Figure 4(A)), respectively. The front end of the left cylinder 24A is attached to the left side (forward extension) of the movable frame 22A, and the rear end of the left cylinder 24A is attached to the back frame 16 at a position closer to the center of the seat back 14 in the left-right direction than the mounting position of the front end of the left cylinder 24A. The front end of the right cylinder 24B is attached to the right side (forward extension) of the movable frame 22A, and the rear end of the right cylinder 24B is attached to the back frame 16 at a position closer to the center of the seat back 14 in the left-right direction than the mounting position of the front end of the right cylinder 24B. Therefore, the left cylinder 24A and the right cylinder 24B extend outward in the left-right direction of the seat back 14 as they move forward. The left cylinder 24A and the right cylinder 24B are air cylinders, electric cylinders, hydraulic cylinders, etc. In the left cylinder 24A and the right cylinder 24B, a roughly rod-shaped cylinder rod 28 is inserted into a roughly bottomed cylindrical cylinder tube 26, and the tip of the cylinder rod 28 protrudes from the tip of the cylinder tube 26. In the left cylinder 24A and the right cylinder 24B, the base end of the cylinder tube 26 is rotatably connected to one of the back frame 16 and the movable frame 22A, and the tip of the cylinder rod 28 is rotatably connected to the other of the back frame 16 and the movable frame 22A. When the left cylinder 24A and the right cylinder 24B are operated, the cylinder rod 28 extends from the cylinder tube 26 (see Figure 4(B)). Therefore, when the left cylinder 24A is operated, the cylinder rod 28 extends from the cylinder tube 26 in the left cylinder 24A, causing the left side of the movable back 22 to rotate forward by a predetermined distance (e.g., 100 mm), and when the right cylinder 24B is operated, the cylinder rod 28 extends from the cylinder tube 26 in the right cylinder 24B, causing the right side of the movable back 22 to rotate forward by a predetermined distance (see Figures 2(B) and 3(B)).

[0024] A circular steering wheel 30 (see Figure 2(A)) is installed in front of the vehicle seat 10, and the steering wheel 30 is tilted forward (towards the front of the vehicle) as it is tilted upward (towards the top of the vehicle). In particular, when the vehicle is a truck, the forward tilt angle of the steering wheel 30 is increased so that the steering wheel 30 is closer to a horizontal position. The steering wheel 30 is rotatable about its central axis, and the occupant 50 can steer the vehicle to the left (rotation in the direction of arrow A) and to the right (rotation in the direction of arrow B) by gripping the steering wheel 30 with their hands.

[0025] Inside the upper left (front left) and upper right (front left) parts of the handle 30, there are two roughly cylindrical sensors, a left sensor 32A and a right sensor 32B (for example, a capacitive sensor), which serve as detection units. The left sensor 32A detects when the occupant 50 grips (contacts) the handle 30 at the position where the left sensor 32A is located, and the right sensor 32B detects when the occupant 50 grips (contacts) the handle 30 at the position where the right sensor 32B is located. On the upper left and upper right surfaces of the handle 30, there are two roughly cylindrical displays, a left display 34A and a right display 34B, which serve as display units, and the left display 34A and the right display 34B are located at the positions where the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B are located, respectively. The left display 34A and the right display 34B have a different color from the surface of the handle 30 other than the left display 34A and the right display 34B, and the left display 34A and the right display 34B indicate the placement positions of the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B on the handle 30, respectively.

[0026] The left cylinder 24A, right cylinder 24B, handle 30, left sensor 32A, and right sensor 32B are electrically connected to the vehicle's control device 36.

[0027] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

[0028] In the vehicle seat 10 with the above configuration, the seat back 14 supports the back 50A of the occupant 50 from the rear. Furthermore, when the occupant 50 grips the steering wheel 30 and turns it to the left and to the right, the vehicle is steered to the left and to the right, respectively. In addition, in order for the occupant 50 to turn the steering wheel 30 to the left and to the right, the occupant 50 needs to move their right shoulder (to the right of the back 50A) and left shoulder (to the left of the back 50A) forward, respectively. In particular, when the vehicle is a truck, the steering wheel 30 is positioned nearly horizontally, so the amount of forward movement of the right and left shoulders, respectively, required for the occupant 50 to turn the steering wheel 30 to the left and to the right is large.

[0029] When the occupant 50 is gripping the handle 30 at the left indicator 34A position and the right indicator 34B position (the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B detect the occupant 50 gripping the handle 30), and the occupant 50 moves the handle 30 to the left by a predetermined angle (for example, 10°) or more, the control device 36 operates the right cylinder 24B, causing the right side of the movable back 22 to rotate forward by a predetermined distance.

[0030] When the occupant 50 is gripping the handle 30 at the left indicator 34A position and the right indicator 34B position (the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B detect the occupant 50 gripping the handle 30), and the occupant 50 moves the handle 30 to the right by a predetermined angle or more, the control device 36 operates the left cylinder 24A, causing the left side of the movable back 22 to rotate forward by a predetermined distance.

[0031] As described above, when the occupant 50 turns the steering wheel 30 to the left, the right cylinder 24B is activated, and the right side of the movable back 22 rotates forward. As a result, the right side of the movable back 22 can move the occupant 50's right shoulder forward, and the right side of the movable back 22 can properly support the occupant 50's right shoulder from behind. Moreover, even when the vehicle is steered to the left and a centrifugal force acts on the occupant 50 to the right, the right side of the movable back 22 can properly support the occupant 50 from the right, and the occupant 50 can suppress the swaying to the right due to centrifugal force without using muscle strength.

[0032] Furthermore, when the occupant 50 turns the steering wheel 30 to the right, the left cylinder 24A is activated, and the left side of the movable back 22 rotates forward. As a result, the left side of the movable back 22 can move the occupant 50's left shoulder forward, and the left side of the movable back 22 can properly support the occupant 50's left shoulder from behind. Moreover, even when the vehicle is steered to the right and a centrifugal force acts on the occupant 50 to the left, the left side of the movable back 22 can properly support the occupant 50 from the left, and the occupant 50 can suppress the swaying to the left due to centrifugal force without using muscle strength.

[0033] Furthermore, when the occupant 50 is gripping the steering wheel 30 at the left indicator 34A position and the right indicator 34B position (the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B detect the occupant 50 gripping the steering wheel 30), the right cylinder 24B and the left cylinder 24A are activated when the occupant 50 moves the steering wheel 30 to the left by a predetermined angle or more, and when the occupant 50 moves the steering wheel 30 to the right by a predetermined angle or more, respectively, causing the right and left sides of the movable back 22 to rotate forward. For this reason, in order for the right and left sides of the movable back 22 to rotate forward, the occupant 50 must grip the steering wheel 30 at the left indicator 34A position (upper left diagonal) and the right indicator 34B position (upper right diagonal), thereby ensuring that the occupant 50 maintains an appropriate driving posture.

[0034] Furthermore, when the occupant 50 is not gripping at least one of the left indicator position 34A and the right indicator position 34B of the steering wheel 30, the right and left sides of the movable bag 22 will not rotate forward, thereby preventing the right and left sides of the movable bag 22 from unnecessarily rotating forward. This prevents the occupant 50 from feeling annoyed when the right and left sides of the movable bag 22 rotate forward in small increments when the occupant 50 makes small left and right movements of the steering wheel 30 (when the occupant 50 frequently changes the grip position of the steering wheel 30) when parking the vehicle, etc.

[0035] Furthermore, the left indicator 34A and the right indicator 34B of the handle 30 display the positions of the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B. Therefore, by selecting whether or not the occupant 50 grips the handle 30 at the left indicator 34A position and the right indicator 34B position (whether or not to allow the left sensor 32A and the right sensor 32B to detect the gripping of the handle 30), the occupant 50 can select whether or not to rotate the right and left sides of the mobile bag 22 forward.

[0036] Furthermore, the left cylinder 24A and the right cylinder 24B extend outward in the left-right direction of the seat back 14 as they move forward. This prevents the front-to-back dimension of the seat back 14 from increasing.

[0037] In this embodiment, the occupant 50 grips the handle 30 at the left sensor 32A position and the right sensor 32B position, and the handle 30 is operated to the left and to the right, causing the right and left sides of the mobile bag 22 to rotate forward. However, the occupant 50 may grip at least one of the left sensor 32A position and the right sensor 32B position, and the handle 30 may be operated to the left and to the right, causing the right and left sides of the mobile bag 22 to rotate forward. Furthermore, the occupant 50 may not grip the handle 30 at the left sensor 32A position and the right sensor 32B position, and the handle 30 may be operated to the left and to the right, causing the right and left sides of the mobile bag 22 to rotate forward.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as the amount of operation of the handle 30 increases, the amount of rotation of the movable bag 22 to the front on the right and left sides may also increase.

[0039] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the right side of the movable bag 22 rotates (moves) forward around the left side of the movable bag 22, and the left side of the movable bag 22 rotates (moves) forward around the right side of the movable bag 22. However, the movable bag 22 may rotate around its left-right center, and the right and left sides of the movable bag 22 may rotate (move) forward. Furthermore, the movable bag 22 may tilt (move) forward around its lower side, or the movable bag 22 may slide (move) forward.

[0040] Furthermore, this embodiment describes the case in which the present invention is applied to seats for vehicles. However, the present invention is also applicable to seats for vehicles other than vehicles (e.g., aircraft and ships). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0041] 10 Vehicle seats 14 Seatback 22. Mobile bag (mobile part) 30. Steering wheel 32A Left sensor (detection unit) 32B Right sensor (detection unit) 50 crew members 50A back

Claims

1. A seatback is provided in a vehicle in which the occupant steers to the left and right by operating the steering wheel to the left and right, respectively, and which supports the occupant's back from the rear, A movable part that forms the upper front of the seat back and moves forward when the steering body is operated to the left or to the right, A vehicle seat equipped with the following features.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein when the steering body is turned to the left, the right side of the movable part moves forward, and when the steering body is turned to the right, the left side of the movable part moves forward.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit provided on the steering body, wherein the movable part moves forward when the steering body is operated to the left or to the right while detecting contact of an occupant with the steering body.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 3, wherein the position of the detection unit in the steering body is displayed.

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