Headrest and manufacturing method thereof

Abstract

To provide a headrest which suppresses increase in the number of components and has good appearance quality, and a method for manufacturing the same.SOLUTION: A headrest has an insert member 3 covering a part other than both leg parts 21 of a headrest stay 2, a pad body 4 covering a part excluding a lower surface part 33 of the insert member 3, and a bag-like cover 6 covering the pad body 4. In the lower surface part 33 of the insert member 3, a slit 35 extending in a headrest width direction is provided between both of the leg parts 21. In the state where the cover 6 covers the insert member 3 formed with the pad body 4 and both of the leg parts 21 are made project from an opening 67, plates 68 are mounted on each of a rear side end edge part 66b1 and a front side end edge part 66c1 of the cover 6 corresponding to between both of the leg parts 21. In a state where the rear side end edge part 66b1 and the front side end edge part 66c1 are inserted into the slit 35 together with the plate 68, the cover 6 is mounted on the insert member 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a headrest and a method for manufacturing the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a headrest for an automobile seat is configured to have an insert member to which a stay is attached, a pad body which is a cushioning material that covers the insert member, and a cover as a skin material that covers the pad body and forms an outer shape. An example of such a headrest is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The headrest described in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which an edge portion of a bag-shaped cover is engaged with a bottom portion of an inner cover corresponding to the insert member, and an outer cover is placed on the inner cover from below to hide the edge portion of the cover. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-49799 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the headrest disclosed in Patent Document 1, regardless of the structure for engaging the edge of the cover with the inner cover, the edge is hidden by attaching the outer cover after engagement, so there is no problem in appearance. However, there is a problem in that the outer cover is required, which leads to an increase in the number of parts.

[0005] In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a headrest having good appearance quality while suppressing an increase in the number of parts, and a manufacturing method thereof. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first invention of the present invention is a headrest having an insert member covering parts of a gate-shaped stay other than the legs, a pad body which is a cushioning material arranged to cover the insert member except for the underside which is the surface part on the sides of the legs, and a cover which is a bag-shaped skin material arranged to cover the pad body and form the outer shape of the headrest main body, wherein the underside of the insert member is provided with a wood-grain groove extending in the width direction of the headrest between the legs, the cover covers the insert member on which the pad body is formed and with the legs protruding outward from a slit-shaped opening, a band-shaped plate member is attached to an edge portion of the cover which corresponds to the space between the legs, and the plate member is inserted into the wood-grain groove together with the edge portion, and the cover is attached to the insert member in which the pad body is arranged.

[0007] According to the first invention, the cover is attached to the insert member in which the pad body is arranged by inserting and locking the plate member attached to the edge of the bag-shaped cover together with the edge into the wood grain groove provided in the insert member. This allows the appearance to be preserved even if the underside of the headrest main body with the cover attached to the underside of the insert member is not covered by an outer cover, and therefore it is not necessary to use parts such as an outer cover, and an increase in the number of parts is suppressed, resulting in a headrest with good appearance quality.

[0008] A second invention of the present invention is a method for manufacturing a headrest according to the first invention, comprising the steps of: an insert member preparation step of preparing the insert member having the stay attached and the wood grain groove portion provided on the underside thereof; a cover preparation step of preparing the cover having the plate member attached to the edge portion thereof; a molding die preparation step of preparing a molding die having a cavity having a shape corresponding to the external shape of the headrest main body; a setting step of inserting the insert member into the cover from the opening and inserting the plate member together with the edge portion into the wood grain groove portion, and setting the insert member and the cover in the cavity of the molding die with both legs protruding outside the cavity; a foam molding step of injecting urethane foaming material into the cover in the molding die and foaming and curing between the insert member and the cover to form and integrate the pad body; and a demolding step of demolding the headrest in which the cover is integrated with the insert member via the pad body.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the formation of the outer shape of the headrest main body and the integration of the cover, pad and insert member can be carried out simultaneously by integral foam molding of the pad, so that the headrest of the first aspect of the present invention can be manufactured efficiently.

[0010] The third invention of the present invention is characterized in that, in the above-mentioned second invention, in the cover preparation process, when the insert member is inserted into the cover, the end edge portions corresponding to the widthwise outer sides of the headrest of both legs protruding from the opening are overlapped with a part of the cover to form a thickened overlapping portion, and in the setting process, when the insert member is inserted into the cover, the overlapping portion is positioned in a compressed state between the underside of the insert member and the surface of the cavity in the portion of the opening that is widthwise outer than the both legs of the headrest.

[0011] According to the third invention, it is possible to prevent the urethane foaming raw material from leaking to the underside of the insert member during the integral foam molding of the pad body and foaming and hardening, thereby preventing damage to the appearance quality of the underside of the headrest main body. Even if the insert member has a shape that protrudes outward in the width direction of the headrest from both leg parts, the opening can be made large so that the insert member can be placed inside the cover, and damage to the appearance quality of the underside of the headrest main body can be prevented without using parts such as an outer cover. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the headrest as viewed obliquely from below. [Diagram 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of the headrest shown in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view of the headrest shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line III-III of the arrows. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the headrest shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line IV-IV of the arrows. [Diagram 5] 2 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. [Figure 6] 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views illustrating a process for manufacturing a headrest. [Figure 7] 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views illustrating a process for manufacturing a headrest. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] 1 to 4 show one embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a headrest 1 of an automobile seat. In each drawing, arrows indicate the directions of the headrest 1 and the automobile seat when the headrest 1 is attached to the automobile seat. In the following description, descriptions of directions will be made based on these directions.

[0014] 1 to 4, the headrest 1 has an insert member 3 to which a gate-shaped headrest stay 2 is attached, a pad body 4 serving as a cushioning material that partially covers the insert member 3, and a cover 6 serving as a skin material that covers the pad body 4 and defines the outer shape of the headrest main body 5. Here, the headrest stay 2 corresponds to the "stay" in the claims.

[0015] The headrest stay 2 is formed by bending a metal pipe, and has a pair of left and right leg portions 21 extending parallel to each other in the approximately vertical direction, and a horizontal portion 22 connecting the upper ends of the leg portions 21. The headrest 1 is attached to the automobile seat by inserting the lower end sides of the leg portions 21 into a headrest support (not shown) disposed on the upper part of a seat back (not shown) of the automobile seat.

[0016] The insert member 3 is a hollow member made of resin, and is formed by integrating the front member 31 and the rear member 32 with the upper end sides of both leg portions 21 and the horizontal portion 22 of the headrest stay 2 disposed between the front member 31 and the rear member 32. The front member 31 has a substantially rectangular container shape that opens substantially toward the rear, and is provided with a plurality of ribs inside for ensuring rigidity and supporting the headrest stay 2. Similarly, the rear member 32 also has a substantially rectangular container shape that opens substantially toward the front, and is provided with a plurality of ribs inside for ensuring rigidity and supporting the headrest stay 2. The outer shapes of the front member 31 and the rear member 32 are the same when viewed from the front, and the headrest stay 2 is integrated with the insert member 3 by joining the front member 31 and the rear member 32 in a middle state with the headrest stay 2 disposed between them and sandwiched between them. The insert member 3 has a roughly rectangular box shape, and a bottom surface portion 33 is provided with a pair of left and right stay holes 34 for passing through both leg portions 21 of the headrest stay 2, and a slit 35 extending in the left-right direction between the pair of stay holes 34. The width dimension of the slit 35 in the front-rear direction is approximately twice the thickness of a plate 68 (described later) plus twice the thickness of the cover 6. Here, the slit 35 corresponds to the "wood grain groove portion" in the claims.

[0017] The cover 6 is made of a material such as fabric, genuine leather, or synthetic leather with low air permeability (1 to 10 cc / cm 2A plurality of pieces cut from a cover material in which slab urethane of about 1.0 mm (about 1.0 sq. cm) is laminated are sewn together to form a bag-like shape that opens downward. The slab urethane prevents the molding material of the pad body 4 from reaching the fabric, genuine leather, synthetic leather, etc., during foam molding of the pad body 4, and contributes to giving the cover 6 a soft feel. Specifically, the cover 6 has a front piece 61 corresponding to the portion where the head of the seated person comes into contact, a rear piece 62 behind the front piece 61, a right piece 63 on the right side of the front piece 61, a left piece 64 on the left side of the front piece 61, an upper piece 65 above the front piece 61, and a lower piece 66 below the front piece 61. The lower piece 66 is divided into three pieces in the front-rear direction, and is arranged from the front as a lower front piece 66a, a lower middle piece 66b, and a lower rear piece 66c. Except for the area between the lower middle piece 66b and the lower rear piece 66c and the central area between the lower front piece 66a and the lower middle piece 66b, the adjacent pieces are sewn together at their edges to be integrated. The area between the lower middle piece 66b and the lower rear piece 66c is formed as a slit-like opening 67, so that the cover 6 is bag-shaped and opens downward. The unsewn area between the lower front piece 66a and the lower middle piece 66b is for inserting an injection nozzle 9 for injecting urethane foaming material into the cover 6 when forming the pad body 4, which will be described later.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, a band-shaped plate 68 made of resin and extending in the left-right direction is attached to the rear edge 66b1 of the lower middle piece 66b at a portion corresponding to the space between the legs 21 of the opening 67 from the front side, and is sewn to the lower middle piece 66b at a sewing line L1 to be integrated. A plate 68 is attached to a front edge 66c1 of the lower rear piece 66c at a portion corresponding to the space between the legs 21 of the opening 67 from the rear side, and is sewn to the lower middle piece 66b at a sewing line L2 to be integrated. The rear edge 66b1 of the lower middle piece 66b to which the plate 68 is attached and the front edge 66c1 of the lower rear piece 66c to which the plate 68 is attached are inserted from the terminal side into the slit 35 of the insert member 3 in a superimposed state, and are thereby locked to the insert member 3. The rear edge 66b1 and the front edge 66c1 are provided with notches (not shown) for passing the legs 21 through. Here, the rear edge 66b1 and the front edge 66c1 each correspond to an "edge" in the claims, and the plate 68 corresponds to a "plate member" in the claims.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 3, a rear edge 66b1 of the lower middle piece 66b, which corresponds to both left and right sides (outside the headrest width direction) of the opening 67 from both legs 21, is folded back to the front to form a lower overlapping portion 66b2. A front edge 66c1 of the lower rear piece 66c, which corresponds to both left and right sides (outside the headrest width direction) of the opening 67 from both legs 21, is extended to the front and overlapped on the lower overlapping portion 66b2 to form a triple-layered overlapping portion 66d together with the lower overlapping portion 66b2. The upper surface of the overlapping portion 66d abuts against the lower surface portion 33 of the insert member 3.

[0020] As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the pad body 4 is a member that forms the outer shape of the headrest main body 5, and is formed by filling the space between the front surface side of the insert member 3 other than the lower surface portion 33 and the rear surface side of the cover 6. The pad body 4 has a density of 10 to 60 kg / m 3 The rear back surface of the lower middle piece 66b and the front back surface of the lower rear piece 66c of the cover 6 directly contact the lower surface 33 of the insert member 3 without the pad body 4 being interposed therebetween.

[0021] A manufacturing method of the headrest 1 will be described with reference to Figs. 5 to 7. First, in an insert member preparation step, the front member 31 and the rear member 32 are joined by adhesion or welding in a state in which the upper end sides of both leg portions 21 of the headrest stay 2 and the horizontal portion 22 are disposed between them. This provides an insert member 3 to which the headrest stay 2 is attached and to which a slit 35 is provided in the lower surface portion 33. Next, in a cover preparation step, the front piece 61, the rear piece 62, the right piece 63, the left piece 64, the upper piece 65, and the lower piece 66 cut from a cover material are connected by sewing to obtain a bag-shaped cover 6. At this time, the lower piece 66 is prepared in advance by sewing a lower front piece 66a, a lower middle piece 66b to which a plate 68 is attached, and a lower rear piece 66c to which a plate 68 is attached. When the lower piece 66 is sewn to the right piece 63 or the left piece 64, the portions of the lower middle piece 66b and the lower rear piece 66c corresponding to both the left and right side portions (outside the headrest width direction) of the legs 21 are sewn to the right piece 63 or the left piece 64 in a state of overlapping portions 66d. At this time, it is convenient to temporarily sew the vicinity of the portion to be sewn to the right piece 63 or the left piece 64 in order to stabilize the shape of the overlapping portions 66d. Next, in a mold preparation step, a mold 8 having a cavity 7 having a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the headrest main body 5 is prepared. Specifically, a front mold 81 having a front cavity surface 71 corresponding to the outer shape of the front side of the headrest main body 5 and a rear mold 82 having a rear cavity surface 72 corresponding to the outer shape of the rear side of the headrest main body 5 are prepared. An upper parting surface 83 on the upper side of the front mold 81 and the rear mold 82 is provided in a portion corresponding to the upper end portion of the headrest main body 5, and a lower parting surface 84 on the lower side is provided in a portion corresponding to the slit 35 in the lower surface portion 33 of the insert member 3. The lower parting surface 84 is configured to sandwich and support both leg portions 21 of the headrest stay 2 from the front and rear. As shown in FIG. 5, the front mold 81 is provided with a through hole 81a that extends from a portion corresponding to the left-right center portion of the sewing line between the lower front piece 66a and the lower middle piece 66b in the front cavity surface 71 to the outside when the cover 6 containing the insert member 3 is placed in the cavity 7.The through hole 81a is for inserting an injection nozzle 9 for urethane foaming raw material for forming the pad body 4 in the foam molding process described below. The insert member preparation process, the cover preparation process, and the mold preparation process may be performed in any order, but the mold preparation process is usually performed first, and the insert member preparation process and the cover preparation process are performed in parallel.

[0022] Next, in a setting step, the opening 67 of the cover 6 is opened, and the insert member 3 to which the headrest stay 2 is attached is inserted into the cover 6 from the side opposite to the headrest stay 2. Then, the rear end edge 66b1 of the lower middle piece 66b to which the plate 68 is attached and the front end edge 66c1 of the lower rear piece 66c to which the plate 68 is attached are inserted into the slit 35 of the insert member 3 from the terminal side in a state where they are overlapped. In addition, the left and right overlapping parts 66d are abutted against the lower surface part 33 of the insert member 3 in parallel. In this state, the cover 6 containing the insert member 3 is set in the cavity 7 of the mold 8. Specifically, the cover 6 containing the insert member 3 is arranged so that the front member 31 of the cover 6 faces the front cavity surface 71 of the front mold 81, and the rear mold 82 is closed so that both leg parts 21 of the headrest stay 2 are supported by being sandwiched from the front and rear by the lower parting surface 84. As a result, the insert member 3 is fixed to the mold 8 in a state where the cover 6 is covered.

[0023] Next, in the foam molding process, urethane foaming raw material is injected into the cover 6 in the mold 8 and foamed and hardened between the insert member 3 and the cover 6 to form the pad body 4 and integrate them. Specifically, an injection nozzle 9 is inserted so as to push and spread the unsewn portion corresponding to the left-right center of the sewing line between the lower front piece 66a and the lower middle piece 66b in the cover 6 in the mold 8, and the urethane foaming raw material is injected into the space between the insert member 3 and the cover 6. Then, the urethane foaming raw material foams and expands while pressing the cover 6 from the inside against the front cavity surface 71 and the rear cavity surface 72, and hardens in this state. As a result, the headrest main body 5 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the cavity 7 is formed. Finally, in the demolding process, the headrest 1 having the molded headrest main body 5 is demolded from the mold 8.

[0024] The present embodiment configured as above provides the following advantageous effects. The cover 6 is attached to the insert member 3 on which the pad body 4 is disposed by overlapping the rear end edge 66b1 and the front end edge 66c1 of the bag-shaped cover 6 with the plates 68 attached, and inserting and locking them into the slits 35 provided in the insert member 3. As a result, the appearance is not impaired even if an outer cover is not attached to cover the underside of the headrest main body 5 in a state in which the cover 6 is attached to the underside 33 of the insert member 3, so that there is no need to use parts such as an outer cover, and an increase in the number of parts is suppressed, thereby making it possible to obtain a headrest 1 with good appearance quality.

[0025] In addition, in manufacturing the headrest 1, the formation of the outer shape of the headrest main body 5 and the integration of the cover 6, the pad body 4, and the insert member 3 can be performed simultaneously by the integral foam molding of the pad body 4, so that the headrest 1 can be manufactured rationally. Furthermore, in the cover preparation step, the portions of the lower middle piece 66b and the lower rear piece 66c that correspond to the left and right side sides (outsides in the width direction of the headrest) of both the leg parts 21 are sewn to the right piece 63 or the left piece 64 in a state of overlapping parts 66d. Then, in the setting step, the cover 6 containing the insert member 3 is set in the cavity 7 of the mold 8 with the left and right overlapping parts 66d abutting against the lower surface part 33 of the insert member 3. At this time, the left and right overlapping parts 66d are arranged in a compressed state between the lower surface part 33 of the insert member 3 and the surface of the cavity 7, so that it is possible to suppress damage to the appearance quality of the lower side of the headrest main body 5 due to leakage of the urethane foaming raw material to the lower surface part 33 of the insert member 3 and foaming and hardening during the process of integral foam molding of the pad body 4.

[0026] Although specific embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to those external appearances and configurations, and various modifications, additions, and deletions are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the following can be mentioned.

[0027] 1. In the above embodiment, the headrest 1 is manufactured by integrally foaming the pad body 4 between the insert member 3 and the cover 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the headrest 1 may be manufactured by attaching the cover 6 to the insert member 3 and the pad body 4 which are integrally foamed. In this case, the overlapping portion 66d of the cover 6 is not required.

[0028] 2. In the above embodiment, a slit 35 was provided in the insert member 3, but this is not limited to the above. The rear end edge 66b1 of the lower middle piece 66b to which the plate 68 is attached as a bottomed groove-like portion and the front end edge 66c1 of the lower rear piece 66c to which the plate 68 is attached may be inserted in an overlapping state.

[0029] 3. In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the headrest 1 of an automobile seat, but it may also be applied to headrests of seats installed in airplanes, ships, trains, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 1 Headrest 2 Headrest stay (stay) 3 Insert material 4 Pad body 5 Headrest body 6 Cover 7 Cavity 8 Molding mold 21 Both legs 33 Bottom part 35 Slit (wooden groove) 66 Lower Piece 66b Lower middle piece 66b1 Rear edge (edge) 66c Lower back piece 66c1 Front edge (edge) 66d Polymerization part 67 Opening 68 Plate (Plate member)

Claims

1. A headrest comprising: an insert member that covers a portion of a gate-shaped stay other than both leg portions; a pad body that is a cushioning material that is arranged to cover the insert member other than a lower surface that is a surface portion on the side of the both leg portions; and a cover that is a bag-shaped skin material that is arranged to cover the pad body and defines the outer shape of a headrest main body, The lower surface of the insert member is provided with a wood grain groove extending in a width direction of the headrest between the legs, the cover covers the insert member on which the pad body is formed, and a band-shaped plate member is attached to an edge portion of the cover corresponding to a portion between the legs in a state in which the legs protrude to the outside through a slit-shaped opening, The wood grain groove portion has a slit shape that connects the outside and the inside of the insert member, The plate member is inserted into the wood grain groove together with the edge portion thereof so that the plate member penetrates the insert member, and the cover is attached to the insert member in which the pad body is disposed.

2. A headrest as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plate member is inserted into the wood grain groove together with its end edges in a state in which the end edges are overlapped.

3. A headrest as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the wood grain groove portion has a slit shape with a width dimension approximately twice the thickness of the plate member plus twice the thickness of the cover.

4. A method for manufacturing a headrest according to claim 1, comprising: an insert member preparation process for preparing the insert member to which the stay is attached and to which the wood grain groove portion is provided on the lower surface portion; a cover preparation step of preparing the cover having the plate member attached to the edge portion; a mold preparation step of preparing a mold having a cavity having a shape corresponding to an outer shape of the headrest main body; a setting step of inserting the insert member into the cover through the opening and inserting the plate member together with the edge portion into the wood grain groove, and then setting the insert member and the cover in the cavity of the mold with both legs protruding outside the cavity; a foam molding process in which a urethane foaming material is injected into the cover in the mold and foamed and hardened between the insert member and the cover to form and integrate the pad body; a demolding process for demolding a headrest in which the cover is integrated with the insert member via the pad body; A method for manufacturing a headrest having the above structure.

5. In claim 4, in the cover preparation step, when the insert member is inserted into the cover, the end edge portions of both legs protruding from the opening in the headrest width direction outside are overlapped with a part of the cover to form a thick-walled polymerized portion, In the setting process, when the insert member is inserted into the cover, the overlapping portion is positioned in a compressed state between the underside of the insert member and the surface of the cavity in the portion of the opening that is on the outer side in the headrest width direction than both legs.

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