Vehicle seat

Abstract

To obtain a vehicle seat which enables reduction of an input load applied to a lumbar spine of an occupant even if the occupants assumes a comfort posture during a frontal collision of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A vehicle seat 10 includes: a vehicle seat body 10A; slide mechanisms 50 which enable the vehicle seat body 10A to slide on seat rails 102 positioned at both sides as seen in a seat width direction of the vehicle seat body 10A in a vehicle anteroposterior direction; a lock mechanism 60 which locks the vehicle seat body 10A relative to the seat rails 102 and releases the lock state when a front load exceeding a predetermined value which is set in advance acts during a frontal collision; a downward extension part 30 extending from a lower surface of the vehicle seat body 10A to the lower side of the seat; a standing wall part 70 fixed to a vehicle floor 100, on which the seat rails 102 are disposed, and erected to the vehicle upper side; and an energy absorption member 80 which is provided in at least one of the downward extension part 30 and the standing wall part 70 and compressed between the downward extension part 30 and the standing wall part 70.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat.

Background Art

[0002] The development of vehicles equipped with an automatic driving function has been active, and it is assumed that in the future, a comfortable posture (reclining posture) with the seat back reclined will be adopted more often during automatic driving. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses that when a mode switch is operated in an automatic driving state, a posture change process is performed in which a cushion panel is displaced upward by a lifter device while the seat back is swung backward by a reclining device, thereby suppressing a downward displacement of the lower part of the back of the occupant with respect to the seat back.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Generally, when an occupant is in a comfortable posture, it is more difficult to restrain the occupant during a frontal collision of the vehicle than when the occupant is in a normal posture, and a submarining phenomenon is likely to occur. Therefore, when the restraint by the seat belt is insufficient, there is a risk that the suppression of the input load on the lumbar spine will be insufficient.

[0005] In consideration of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to obtain a vehicle seat capable of reducing the input load on the lumbar spine of an occupant even when the occupant is in a comfortable posture during a frontal collision of the vehicle.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The vehicle seat according to the present invention described in claim 1 is including a seat cushion on which an occupant sits and a seat back that supports the occupant's backA vehicle seat body, a reclining device capable of adjusting the angle of the seat back with respect to the seat cushion and capable of adjusting the seat back to a comfortable position reclined more than the normal position Located on both sides in the seat width direction of the vehicle seat body a pair of A slide mechanism that allows the vehicle seat body to slide in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the seat rail, and the a pair of A lock mechanism that locks the vehicle seat body with respect to the seat rail and releases the locked state when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value set in advance acts during a frontal collision, a downward extension portion extending downward from the lower surface of the vehicle seat body, and the a pair of On the vehicle floor where the seat rail is disposed wherein between the pair of seat rails A standing wall portion fixed and standing upward toward the vehicle, and an energy absorption member provided on at least one of the downward extension portion and the standing wall portion and compressed between the downward extension portion and the standing wall portion. The vehicle seat according to the present invention described in claim 2 has, in the configuration described in claim 1, the energy absorption member provided on one of the downward extension portion and the vertical wall portion, and when a load is applied to the end surface on the other side of the downward extension portion and the vertical wall portion in the energy absorption member, it is provided with a cylindrical portion that deforms in a direction of shrinking while winding the end surface outward.

[0007] The vehicle seat according to the present invention described in claim 1 includes a vehicle seat body, a slide mechanism that allows the vehicle seat body to slide in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the seat rail, a pair of A lock mechanism that locks the vehicle seat body with respect to the seat rail and releases the locked state when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value set in advance acts during a frontal collision. Therefore, when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value acts on the lock mechanism during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the locked state of the lock mechanism is released, and the vehicle seat body a pair of Can slide in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the seat rail.

[0008] Further, the vehicle seat according to the present invention described in claim 1 includes a downward extension portion extending downward from the lower surface of the vehicle seat body, and a pair of On the vehicle floor where the seat rail is disposed wherein between a pair of seat railsA standing wall portion that is fixed and erected upward of the vehicle, and an energy absorption member provided on at least one of a downward extending portion and the standing wall portion, the energy absorption member being compressed between the downward extending portion and the standing wall portion. Therefore, when the locking mechanism is released during a frontal collision and the vehicle seat body moves forward due to inertial force, the energy absorption member is compressed between the downward extending portion and the standing wall portion. As a result, during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the forward movement of the vehicle seat body by the energy absorption member is suppressed while energy is absorbed, so that even when the occupant is in a comfortable posture, the input load on the lumbar spine of the occupant can be reduced.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] As described above, the vehicle seat according to the present invention has an excellent effect that even when the occupant is in a comfortable posture during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the input load on the lumbar spine of the occupant can be reduced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] With reference to the attached drawings below, the vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the present specification and drawings, for components having substantially the same functional configuration, the same reference numerals are given and duplicate description is omitted. Further, in each figure, the arrows UP, FR, LH, and RH shown as appropriate indicate the upward, forward, leftward, and rightward (vehicle width direction) directions of the vehicle seat 10 mounted on the vehicle, respectively. Hereinafter, when simply describing the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions, unless otherwise specified, it shall indicate the front-rear in the front-rear direction of the vehicle seat 10 mounted on the vehicle, the left-right in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the up-down in the up-down direction.

[0012] (Configuration of Vehicle Seat) The vehicle seat 10 of the first embodiment is installed in a vehicle (e.g., an automobile or a train). In this embodiment, as an example, the vehicle seat 10 is the seat on the left side of the front seat in the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 includes a seat cushion 12 on which an occupant sits (supporting the occupant's buttocks and thighs), a seat back 14 that supports the occupant's back, that is, constitutes a headrest, and a headrest 16 that supports the occupant's head.

[0013] The seat cushion 12 includes a cushion pad 18, a seat pan 20, and a seat skin (not shown).

[0014] The cushion pad 18 constitutes the seating surface portion of the vehicle seat 10 and is formed of, for example, an elastic synthetic resin material such as polyurethane foam (foamed polyurethane). The occupant sits on the upper side (seat surface) of the seat cushion 12. Further, the cushion pad 18 is provided with a submarine prevention portion 22 on the lower side of the front portion in the vehicle front-rear direction.

[0015] The submarine prevention part 22 is a member for preventing an occupant sitting on the vehicle seat 10 from slipping off the vehicle seat 10 during a frontal collision, and is configured of a member having a higher hardness than the cushion pad 18 as an example. Specifically, it is integrally formed with the cushion pad 18 by a synthetic resin material such as polyurethane foam (foamed polyurethane).

[0016] The seat pan 20 is a frame constituting the skeleton of the seat cushion 12, and has a recess 20A in which the cushion pad 18 is installed upward. The seat skin is formed of a flexible seat member such as cloth, leather, and synthetic leather. The seat cushion 12 is configured by attaching the cushion pad 18 to the recess 20A of the seat pan 20 and further covering the surface thereof with the seat skin.

[0017] In addition, seat legs 24 (that is, four seat legs 24) are provided on the lower surface of the seat pan 20 at the front and rear of both left and right sides. Each of the seat legs 24 is provided with a lifter device (not shown), and the front seat legs 24 and the rear seat legs 24 are each configured to be independently extendable and retractable in the vertical direction. In the present embodiment, as an example, when the seat back 14 is tilted backward so as to be in a comfortable posture described later, the front seat legs 24 are extended and retracted so as to be higher than the rear seat legs 24.

[0018] In addition, a downward extending portion 30 that extends downward is provided on the lower surface of the seat pan 20 at the center in the front-rear direction and the center in the left-right direction of the seat pan 20. The downward extending portion 30 has a rigidity such that it does not deform when it collides with an aluminum cylinder 80 described later. The downward extending portion 30 will be described in detail later.

[0019] On the other hand, the seat back 14 constitutes the backrest portion of the vehicle seat 10, and supports the back of an occupant sitting on the seat cushion 12 on the front side (seat surface) of the seat back 14. The seat back 14 includes a seat back frame 26, a seat back pad 28, and a seat skin.

[0020] The seat back frame 26 constitutes the framework of the seat back 14. The seat back pad 28 is formed of, for example, a synthetic resin material having elasticity such as polyurethane foam (foamed polyurethane). The seat skin is formed of a flexible seat member such as a cloth-based material, leather, and synthetic leather. The seat back 14 is configured by attaching the seat back pad 28 to the seat back frame 26 and further covering the surface thereof with the seat skin.

[0021] Also, the vehicle seat 10 is provided with a reclining device 40. The reclining device 40 is a known device that rotates the seat back 14 around the reclining center C to adjust the angle of the seat back 14 with respect to the seat cushion 12. As an example, the reclining device 40 transmits a force to the seat back frame 26 using an electric actuator to swing the seat back frame 26 in the seat front-rear direction with respect to the seat pan 20.

[0022] In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the reclining device 40 sets the state in which the seat back 14 is reclined so that the angle R between the floor 100 (not shown) of the vehicle on which the vehicle seat 10 is mounted and the seat back 14 is approximately 40° to 60° as a comfortable posture (reclining posture).

[0023] Here, in the present embodiment, the configuration including the seat cushion 12, the seat back 14, the headrest 16, and the seat legs 24 described above is defined as the vehicle seat body 10A. And this vehicle seat body 10A is slidable in the vehicle front-rear direction on two seat rails 102 that are installed at intervals in the vehicle width direction on the floor 100 of a vehicle (not shown) on which the vehicle seat 10 is mounted as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and are respectively fixed in the front-rear direction by bolts 104.

[0024] In this embodiment, the seat rail 102 is a pair of left and right lower rails, and as shown in Fig. 3(b), it is configured as a long cylindrical shape with a rectangular cross section. Further, as an example, a plurality of locking holes 102A are provided at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction on the opposing surfaces of the seat rail 102, respectively.

[0025] On the other hand, the vehicle seat 10 of this embodiment includes a slide mechanism 50 and a lock mechanism 60. The slide mechanism 50 enables the vehicle seat main body 10A to slide in the vehicle front-rear direction on the seat rails 102 located on both sides in the seat width direction of the vehicle seat main body 10A. Specifically, as an example, the slide mechanism 50 includes upper rails 52 respectively provided at the lower ends of four seat legs 24, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3(b). The upper rail 52 is formed in a square cylindrical shape with the lower side, that is, the side of the seat rail 102, open, and is disposed so as to cover the seat rail 102 from above and is slidable on the seat rail 102.

[0026] As the lock mechanism 60, a known mechanism can be used. As an example, as shown in Figs. 3(a) to 3(c), it includes a lock claw 62. The lock claw 62 is formed in a cylindrical shape so as to be inserted into the locking hole 102A of the seat rail 102 described above, and protrudes from the inner side surface of the side surface of the upper rail 52. The lock claw 62 is biased toward the seat rail 102 by a biasing member (not shown) such as a coil spring, for example. Further, the lock claw 62 is provided with a pressing member (not shown) as an example, and the pressing member can move the lock claw 62 in a direction against the biasing force of the biasing member.

[0027] When the pressing member is pressed, at a position where the locking hole 102A does not exist, the locking claw 62 moves along the seat rail 102 while contacting the side surface of the seat rail 102 against the biasing force of the biasing member, or while being slightly separated from the side surface. The side wall 54 of the upper rail 52 provided with the locking claw 62 has elasticity, and when moving along the seat rail 102, it is elastically deformed until the tip of the locking claw 62 is located outside the side surface of the seat rail.

[0028] On the other hand, when the pressing member is not pressed at a position where the locking hole 102A exists, the locking claw 62 is inserted through the locking hole 102A by the biasing force (elastic restoring force) of the biasing member. Thereby, at the position of the locking hole 102A, the longitudinal movement of the seat rail 102 of the upper rail 52, that is, the vehicle seat body 10A, is locked by the locking claw 62.

[0029] In the present embodiment, the locking mechanism 60 releases the locked state when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value set in advance acts during a frontal collision. Specifically, the locking claw 62 breaks.

[0030] Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 is fixed to the floor 100 on which the seat rail 102 is disposed, and includes a standing wall portion 70 standing upward toward the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 2, the standing wall portion 70 is composed of a plate material formed in an L shape. The standing wall portion 70 has one of the L shapes as a fixing portion 72 and the other as a standing wall main body portion 74. The fixing portion 72 has a lower surface placed on the floor 100 and is fixed to the floor 100 by bolts 76. The standing wall main body portion 74 stands from the floor 100, and an aluminum cylinder 80 described later is fixed thereto.

[0031] The vehicle seat 10 further includes an aluminum cylinder 80 provided in the standing wall main body 74 and serving as an energy absorption member compressed between the downward extending portion 30 and the standing wall main body 74. The aluminum cylinder 80 is made of aluminum and includes a cylindrical portion 82 and a flange portion 84 formed at one end of the cylindrical portion 82. The flange portion 84 is formed by being bent substantially at a right angle outward from one end of the cylindrical portion 82 and is formed in a disc shape. Four holes 84A are formed at equal intervals as an example in the flange portion 84. With the end face 84B of the flange portion 84 (the end face on the flange portion 84 side of the aluminum cylinder 80) in contact with the standing wall main body 74, bolts 86 are inserted through the holes 84A and fastened with nuts 88 from the back side of the standing wall main body 74, whereby the aluminum cylinder 80 is fixed to the standing wall portion 70.

[0032] Here, as shown in FIG. 1, the aluminum cylinder 80 is disposed at a position where at least a part, preferably all, of the front surface 30A of the downward extending portion 30 faces all of the end face 82A on the downward extending portion 30 side (the rear side of the seat) of the aluminum cylinder 80.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, when a load F is applied to the end face 82A of the cylindrical portion 82 of the aluminum cylinder 80, as shown in FIG. 5, the cylindrical portion 82 deforms in a direction of shrinking while drawing the end face 82A outward (see arrow M), thereby having a characteristic of absorbing an impact.

[0034] (Operations and Effects of the Embodiment) Next, the operations and effects of the vehicle seat 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

[0035] The vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment includes a vehicle seat main body 10A, a slide mechanism 50 that enables the vehicle seat main body 10A to slide in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the seat rail 102, and a lock mechanism 60 that locks the vehicle seat main body 10A to the seat rail 102 and releases the locked state when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value set in advance acts during a frontal collision. Therefore, when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value acts on the lock mechanism 60 during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the lock claw 62 breaks, releasing the locked state of the lock mechanism 60, and the vehicle seat main body 10A becomes slidable in the vehicle longitudinal direction on the seat rail 102.

[0036] Further, the vehicle seat 10 includes a downward extending portion 30 that extends downward from the lower surface of the vehicle seat main body 10A, a vertical wall main body portion 74 of a vertical wall portion 70 that is fixed to the floor 100 where the seat rail 102 is disposed and stands upright toward the upper part of the vehicle, and an aluminum cylinder 80 that is provided on the vertical wall main body portion 74 and is compressed between the downward extending portion 30 and the vertical wall main body portion 74. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, when the lock mechanism 60 is released during a frontal collision and the vehicle seat main body 10A moves forward (arrow D in FIG. 6) due to inertia, the downward extending portion 30 collides with the aluminum cylinder 80.

[0037] Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, a load F is applied to the end face 82A of the cylindrical portion 82 of the aluminum cylinder 80. As shown in FIG. 5, the cylindrical portion 82 deforms in the direction of contraction while winding the end face 82A outward (see arrow M), and is compressed between the downward extending portion 30 and the vertical wall portion 70 (vertical wall main body portion 74). As a result, during a frontal collision of the vehicle, the forward movement of the vehicle seat main body 10A is suppressed while energy is absorbed by the aluminum cylinder 80, so that even when the occupant is in a comfortable posture, the input load on the lumbar spine of the occupant can be reduced.

[0038] In addition, in this embodiment, when the aluminum cylinder 80 absorbs energy, the cylindrical portion 82 deforms in a direction in which it shrinks while drawing the end face 82A to the outside. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As long as it can absorb energy, for example, the outer peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion 82 may be deformed so as to be wavy and deformed in a shrinking direction, or may be deformed so as to be bent in all directions.

[0039] Further, in this embodiment, the aluminum cylinder 80 is used as the energy absorption member. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any member that can absorb energy, such as a urethane member, may be used.

[0040] In addition, in this embodiment, the aluminum cylinder 80 as the energy absorption member is provided on the standing wall portion 70. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be provided on the downward extending portion 30. Further, for example, when the energy absorption member is a urethane member, it may be provided on both the standing wall portion 70 and the downward extending portion 30.

[0041] In addition, in this embodiment, the locking mechanism 60 uses a cylindrical locking claw 62. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Any shape and configuration may be used as long as the vehicle seat body 10A can be locked at an arbitrary position on the seat rail 102 and the locked state can be released when a forward load exceeding a preset predetermined value acts, and known techniques can be used.

[0042] As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that various modifications other than the above can be made and implemented within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0043] 10 Vehicle seat 10A Vehicle seat body 100 Floor (vehicle floor) 102 Seat rail 30 Downward extending portion 50 Slide mechanism 60 Locking mechanism 70 vertical wall portion 80 energy absorption member

Claims

A vehicle seat body including a seat cushion on which an occupant sits and a seat back that supports the occupant's back, a reclining device capable of adjusting the angle of the seat back with respect to the seat cushion and capable of adjusting the seat back to a comfortable position in which it reclines more than the normal position, a slide mechanism that allows the vehicle seat body to slide in the vehicle longitudinal direction on a pair of seat rails located on both sides in the seat width direction of the vehicle seat body, a lock mechanism that locks the vehicle seat body with respect to the pair of seat rails and releases the locked state when a forward load exceeding a predetermined value set in advance acts during a frontal collision, a downward extension portion extending downward from the lower surface of the vehicle seat body toward the lower part of the seat, a standing wall portion fixed between the pair of seat rails and standing upright toward the upper part of the vehicle on a vehicle floor on which the pair of seat rails are disposed, an energy absorption member provided on at least one of the downward extension portion and the standing wall portion and compressed between the downward extension portion and the standing wall portion, and a vehicle seat provided with the same. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the energy absorption member is provided on one of the downward extension portion and the standing wall portion, and has a cylindrical portion that deforms in a direction of shrinking while winding the end surface outward when a load is applied to the end surface on the other side of the downward extension portion and the standing wall portion in the energy absorption member.

Images