Integral molded seat pad and vehicle seat

Abstract

To obtain a skin integral molding seat pad in which a device such as a sensor is integrally molded with a skin and a pad material, and which can restrict malfunction of the device such as a sensor by using a simple configuration and without causing constraints to the design of a seat cushion, and to provide a vehicular seat.SOLUTION: A seat pad 14 and a seat skin 16 are integrally molded in a state that a pocket member 32 is provided on a rear face 17 of the seat skin 16 and a seating sensor unit 38 is accommodated inside the pocket member 32. Therefore, an opening for inserting the seating sensor unit 38 is not needed on a design surface 19 side of the seat skin 16, and thus, constraints are not caused to designability. During molding of a skin integral pad 18, an opening 32D is in a closed state, since the pocket member 32 is compressed along its thickness direction. Accordingly, during molding of the skin integral pad 18, a raw material of the seat pad 14 is prevented from intruding into the pocket member 32, and malfunction of the seating sensor unit 38 is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seat pad integrally molded with a cover and a vehicle seat. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, technology has been used to integrally mold the padding material and the skin in order to reduce the number of parts by eliminating the covering process for seat cushions or to enable the realization of an inverse shape for the padding material of the seat cushion.

[0003] On the other hand, there are cases where a sensor such as a seat occupancy sensor is provided on the seat cushion, and when the padding material and the skin are integrally molded as in the above-mentioned technology, the padding material and the skin are integrally molded together, including the sensor. However, if the raw materials of the padding material, adhesives, etc. adhere to the sensor, there is a high possibility that the sensor will malfunction.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technology that enables the integral molding of the padding material and the skin by sandwiching the sensor between protective members and setting the protective members with a set pin in a mold that forms the padding material and the skin.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 below discloses a technology in which a bag-shaped pocket member is sewn to the back side of the skin and an opening for the pocket member is formed on the front side of the skin, making it possible to accommodate a sensor through the opening when the skin is covering the surface of the padding material. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-193689 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-93079 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the prior art described in Patent Document 1 requires a large number of protective parts to protect the sensor, and when the pad material and the skin are integrally molded, a positioning process for the sensor itself is required, which increases the number of work steps.

[0008] Furthermore, in the prior art described in Patent Document 2, the opening of the pocket member is formed on the design surface side of the seat cushion, which places restrictions on design.

[0009] In consideration of the above facts, the present invention aims to provide an integrated seat pad and vehicle seat in which devices such as sensors are integrally molded with the skin and pad material, and which is capable of suppressing malfunctions of devices such as sensors with a simple configuration without restricting the design of the seat cushion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The seat pad of the present invention, which is described in claim 1, comprises a pad material that constitutes a part of the seat cushion on which the occupant sits, a surface skin that is integrally formed with the pad material and covers the design surface side of the seat cushion, and a device that is provided on the back surface of the surface skin and that can be operated when the occupant is seated. , and before The pad material and the skin are integrated together. was established A pocket member; a cover member that covers an opening of the pocket member into which the device is inserted from the outside of the pocket member along the depth direction of the pocket member is provided on the back surface of the skin .

[0011] The seat pad integrally molded with a surface skin according to the invention described in claim 1 is configured to include a pad material, a surface skin, and a pocket member. The pad material forms a part of the seat cushion on which the occupant sits, and the surface skin is integrated with the pad material. Established The pad material covers the design surface side of the seat cushion.

[0012] In addition, in the present invention, the pocket member is provided on the back surface of the skin and accommodates a device (device such as a sensor) that can be operated while the occupant is seated. ,and Integrated with padding and surface be established Therefore, in the present invention, it is not necessary to form an opening for inserting a device on the design surface side of the skin, and there are no restrictions on the design of the seat cushion.

[0013] Here, the integrally molded seat pad is formed, for example, by placing the skin along the cavity surface of a mold that forms the integrally molded seat pad, injecting a foam material that is the raw material for the pad material into the mold, and foaming the foam material inside the mold to integrate the skin and the pad material.

[0014] When molding an integrally molded seat pad, a pressing force (internal pressure within the mold) is generated from the space formed within the mold toward the cavity surface of the mold via the foam material, and this pressing force acts on the skin arranged along the cavity surface of the mold from the back side to the front side of the skin along the thickness direction of the skin.

[0015] In other words, a pressing force acts on the pocket member provided on the back surface of the skin along the thickness direction of the pocket member, so that when the skin-integrated seat pad is molded, the pocket member is compressed along the thickness direction and the opening of the pocket member is kept closed.

[0016] As a result, in the present invention, it is possible to prevent the raw material of the padding material from penetrating into the pocket member when molding the integrally molded seat pad. In this way, by preventing the raw material of the padding material from penetrating into the pocket member when molding the integrally molded seat pad, it is possible to mold the integrally molded seat pad with a device such as a sensor housed inside the pocket member.

[0017] Furthermore, by preventing the raw materials of the padding material from penetrating into the pocket member when molding the integrally molded seat pad, it is possible to prevent malfunctions in devices such as sensors housed inside the pocket member.

[0018] In contrast, in the present invention, a cover member is provided on the back surface of the skin. This cover member covers the opening of the pocket member, into which a device such as a sensor is inserted, from the outside of the pocket member along the depth direction of the pocket member. This more reliably prevents the raw material of the padding material from penetrating into the pocket member during molding of the seat pad integrally molded with the skin. Examples of "devices that can be operated when an occupant is seated" include sensors such as seat sensors and temperature sensors, as well as seat-type heaters and voice coils that form part of speakers.

[0019] The seat pad with integrally molded skin according to the invention described in claim 2 is the seat pad with integrally molded skin according to the invention described in claim 1, in which the skin is made up of multiple skin pieces, and the ends of the pocket members are sewn together to the stitching that sews adjacent skin pieces together.

[0020] In the seat pad with integrally molded upholstery according to the invention described in claim 2, the upholstery is made up of a plurality of upholstery pieces, and adjacent upholstery pieces are sewn together via a seam, to which the edge of the pocket member is sewn together.

[0021] For example, the pocket member can be provided on the back surface of the skin by adhering the pocket member to the back surface of the skin with double-sided tape or the like, but in this case, an adhesive process is required to adhere the pocket member to the back surface of the skin.

[0022] In contrast, in the present invention, by sewing the edge of the pocket member together with the sewing portion that sews the outer skin pieces together, it is possible to provide the pocket member on the back surface of the outer skin using the sewing work that was originally required in forming the outer skin, regardless of whether or not the pocket member is present. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to eliminate the bonding work of adhering the pocket member to the back surface of the outer skin, and it is possible to reduce costs.

[0025] Claim 3 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to the invention described in claim 2 In the one-piece seat pad according to the invention described above, one end of the cover member along the depth direction of the pocket member is sewn together with the sewn portion.

[0026] Claim 3In the seat pad integrally molded with the skin according to the invention described above, one end of the cover member along the depth direction of the pocket member is sewn to the sewing portion, so that the bonding work of adhering the cover member to the back surface of the skin can be reduced, thereby reducing costs.

[0027] Claim 4 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to the invention described in claims 1 to 5 is 3 In the seat pad with integrally molded skin according to the invention described in any one of the above, a positioning means is provided for determining the position of the device relative to the pocket member.

[0028] Claim 4 The seat pad according to the invention described in (1) is provided with a positioning means, and the position of a device such as a sensor is set with respect to the pocket member by the positioning means.

[0029] Here, the pocket member is provided on the back surface of the upholstery, but if the pocket member is sewn to the upholstery, for example, the sewn portion of the pocket member will be visible on the design surface side of the upholstery-integrated seat pad. For this reason, for example, by sewing the side edge of the pocket member together with the sewn portion that sews the upholstery pieces together in the upholstery, the side edge of the pocket member can be sewn and the sewn portion dedicated to the pocket member can be eliminated, making the pocket member less noticeable.

[0030] On the other hand, the stitching portions for sewing the cover pieces together are generally formed at the center and both side edges of the seat cushion in the seat width direction, so if a pocket member is provided at the center of the seat cushion in the seat width direction, the pocket member may be too large for some devices such as sensors.

[0031] In such a case, when a device such as a sensor is housed in the pocket member, there will be play between the device and the pocket member. Therefore, it is necessary to position the device such as a sensor relative to the pocket member. For this reason, the present invention provides a positioning means, which allows the position of the device such as a sensor relative to the pocket member to be set.

[0032] Claim 5 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to the invention described in claim 4 In the invention of the seat pad with integrally molded upholstery, the device is a seat-shaped seating sensor unit capable of detecting the state of an occupant seated, and the seating sensor unit is configured to include a sensor portion that detects the state of an occupant seated, and a harness portion that is electrically connected to the sensor portion and a control device on the vehicle side, and the positioning means is configured to include a first positioning portion that is arranged in the pocket member along the opening through which the seating sensor unit is inserted and is formed to match the width of the harness portion.

[0033] Claim 5 In the seat pad of the present invention, the device operable when an occupant is seated is a seat-shaped seating sensor unit capable of detecting the seating state of an occupant. The seating sensor unit includes a sensor portion and a harness portion, and the sensor portion detects the seating state of an occupant. The harness portion electrically connects the sensor portion to a control device on the vehicle side.

[0034] The positioning means includes a first positioning portion that is disposed along the opening of the pocket member through which the seat occupancy sensor unit is inserted, and is formed to fit the width of the harness portion of the seat occupancy sensor unit.

[0035] When inserting the seat sensor unit into the pocket member, the harness portion of the seat sensor unit can be positioned using the first positioning portion formed at the opening of the pocket member, thereby determining the position of the seat sensor unit in the width direction of the pocket member.

[0036] Claim 6 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to the invention described in claim 5 In the one-piece seat pad according to the invention described above, the first positioning portions are a pair of first notch portions formed to match the width of the harness portion.

[0037] Claim 6 In the seat pad with integrally molded skin according to the invention described above, the first positioning portion is a pair of first notch portions formed to match the width of the harness portion of the seating sensor unit, and by arranging the harness portion of the seating sensor unit between the first notch portions, the position of the seating sensor unit can be determined in the width direction of the pocket member.

[0038] Claim 7 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to the invention described in claim 5 or claims 6 In the seat pad with integrally molded skin described above, the positioning means is further configured to include a second positioning portion formed in the harness portion and overlapping with the opening when the sensor portion is housed within the pocket member.

[0039] Claim 7 In the seat pad with an integrally molded cover according to the invention described above, the positioning means further includes a second positioning portion. The second positioning portion is formed on the harness portion of the seat sensor unit and is set to overlap with the opening of the pocket member when the sensor portion of the seat sensor unit is housed in the pocket member.

[0040] As mentioned above, since the pocket member is provided on the back surface of the upholstery, if the pocket member is sewn to the upholstery, the sewn portion of the pocket member will be visible on the design surface side of the upholstery-integrated seat pad. Therefore, by sewing the edge of the pocket member together with the sewn portion that sews the upholstery pieces together in the upholstery, it is possible to eliminate the sewn portion dedicated to the pocket member and make the pocket member less noticeable.

[0041] As described above, the cover is sewn to the center and both side edges of the seat cushion in the seat width direction, but in some cases, a sewn portion is provided along the seat width direction in the center of the seat cushion in the seat width direction. In this case, by co-sewing the bottom end of the pocket member with the sewn portion, the bottom end of the pocket member can be sewn and a sewn portion dedicated to the pocket member can be eliminated, making the pocket member less noticeable.

[0042] On the other hand, when the bottom edge of the pocket member is sewn together with the sewing portion, there may be play between the tip of the seat sensor unit and the bottom edge of the pocket member when the seat sensor unit is housed in the pocket member. In this case, it is necessary to position the seat sensor unit in the depth direction of the pocket member.

[0043] In the present invention, the position of the seat sensor unit can be determined in the depth direction of the pocket member by overlapping the second positioning portion formed on the harness portion of the seat sensor unit with the opening of the pocket member while the sensor portion of the seat sensor unit is housed within the pocket member using the second positioning portion.

[0044] Claim 8 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to the invention described in claim 7 In the one-piece skin molded seat pad according to the invention described above, the second positioning portion is a second notch portion formed in the harness portion.

[0045] Claim 8In the seat pad with integrally molded skin according to the invention described above, the second positioning portion is a second notch portion formed in the harness portion of the seat sensor unit, and the position of the seat sensor unit can be determined in the depth direction of the pocket member by overlapping the positions of the second notch portion and the opening of the pocket member.

[0046] Claim 9 The vehicle seat according to the invention described above is characterized in that the seat cushion on which the occupant sits is provided with: 8 The seat pad integrally molded with the surface skin according to any one of the above items is applied.

[0047] Claim 9 In the vehicle seat according to the invention described in (1), a seat pad integrally molded with a cover is applied to the seat cushion on which the occupant sits, thereby eliminating the need for covering work and reducing the number of parts. Also, in the vehicle seat, devices such as sensors can be housed inside the pocket member without affecting the design of the seat cushion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0048] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a seat pad and a vehicle seat in which devices such as sensors are integrally molded with the skin and pad material, and which can suppress malfunctions of devices such as sensors with a simple configuration without restricting the design of the seat cushion. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0049] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing a seat cushion of a vehicle seat to which an integrally molded seat pad according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a seat cushion of a vehicle seat to which an integrated seat pad according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied is cut along the vehicle front-rear direction. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is an exploded front view illustrating a main part of a seat pad integrally molded with a cover according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 5] 1 is a front view illustrating a main part of a seat pad integrally molded with a cover according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view corresponding to FIG. 5 and shown as a comparative example. [Figure 7] 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state when the integrally molded seat pad according to the embodiment is molded. FIG. [Figure 8] 1, showing a first modified example of a seat cushion for a vehicle seat to which the integrally molded seat pad according to the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 9] 5 is an exploded front view corresponding to FIG. 4, illustrating the main parts of the integrally molded seat pad according to the present embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 1, showing a second modified example of a seat cushion for a vehicle seat to which the integrally molded seat pad according to the present embodiment is applied. [Figure 11] 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line BB shown in FIG. 10. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0050] Hereinafter, an integrally molded seat pad according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the arrow FR shown as appropriate in these drawings indicates the forward direction of the vehicle seat (the direction in which the seated person faces), the arrow UP indicates the upward direction of the vehicle seat, and the arrow RH indicates the rightward direction of the vehicle seat. Hereinafter, when the directions of front / rear, up / down, and left / right are simply used in the description, they refer to the front / rear of the vehicle seat, the up / down of the vehicle seat, and the left / right of the vehicle seat when facing the direction of travel, unless otherwise specified.

[0051] (Configuration of the seat pad molded with the surface) First, the structure of the integrally molded seat pad according to this embodiment will be described.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 is a rear seat located rearward of the front seat (not shown) in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and is equipped with a seat cushion 12 on which an occupant sits, a seat back (not shown) that stands upright from a rear end 12A of the seat cushion 12 and supports the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat cushion 12, and a headrest that is attached to the upper end of the seat back and supports the head of the occupant seated on the seat cushion 12.

[0053] The headrest may be applied to a left and right separate type vehicle seat or a bench seat type vehicle seat. Therefore, the shape of the headrest can be changed appropriately depending on the seat to which it is applied. Of course, a headrest is not necessarily required.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 2, the seat cushion 12 includes a seat frame (not shown) which is a skeletal member, a seat pad (pad material) 14, and a seat skin (skin) 16 which covers the seat pad 14 (described later).

[0055] In this embodiment, the seat pad 14 and the seat cover 16 are integrally molded, and the upper surface 14A, the front surface 14B, the rear surface 14C, and both side surfaces 14D (see FIG. 1) of the seat pad 14 are covered with the seat cover 16. The seat pad 14 thus integrally molded with the seat cover 16 will hereinafter be referred to as an integrated cover pad (seat pad integrally molded with cover) 18.

[0056] 1, the seat cushion 12 includes a seat cushion 12R disposed on the right side of the vehicle and a seat cushion 12L disposed on the left side of the vehicle. For example, an armrest (not shown) can be disposed in a forward-folded state between the seat cushions 12R and 12L.

[0057] Here, each of the seat cushions 12R and 12L has a main portion 20 provided in the center in the seat width direction, and the buttocks and thighs of the occupant are placed on the main portion 20. Side portions 22 are provided on the outer sides of the main portion 20 in the vehicle width direction. A center portion 24 is provided between the main portion 20 of the seat cushion 12R and the main portion 20 of the seat cushion 12L, and an armrest can be placed above the center portion 24. However, this armrest is not necessarily required.

[0058] In this embodiment, the seat cover 16 is made up of a plurality of cover pieces 16A, 16B, and 16C to match the main portion 20, side portions 22, and center portion 24 of the seat cushion 12, and adjacent cover pieces 16A and 16B are sewn together by a stitching portion 26, and adjacent cover pieces 16A and 16C are sewn together by a stitching portion 28. The cover piece 16A is divided into cover pieces 16A1 and 16A2 at the front and rear in the seat longitudinal direction, and the cover pieces 16A1 and 16A2 are sewn together by a stitching portion 30.

[0059] 1 and 2, in this embodiment, a pocket member 32 is provided on the rear surface 17 of the seat cover 16 on the rear portion 20A side of the main portion 20 of the seat cushion 12L. Although the pocket member 32 is illustrated only on the seat cushion 12L side, a pocket member 32 is also provided on the seat cushion 12R side.

[0060] In this embodiment, the seat cushion 12R and the seat cushion 12L shown in FIG. 1 have substantially the same configuration, and therefore in the following description, the seat cushion 12R and the seat cushion 12L will not be distinguished from each other and will be described as the seat cushion 12.

[0061] The pocket member 32 provided in the seat cushion 12 has, for example, a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view, and is formed from a sheet member that is not impregnated with the raw material of the seat pad 14. For example, the material of the sheet member is preferably polyvinyl chloride (PVC), film-laminated slab urethane, or the like, which is non-breathable and has a hardness similar to that used for general covering materials.

[0062] In this embodiment, side edges 32A, 32B of the pocket member 32 are sewn together with the sewn portions 26, 28, respectively, and as shown in Fig. 3, a bottom edge 32C of the pocket member 32 is sewn together with the sewn portion 30. In this embodiment, a so-called pocket portion is formed between the pocket member 32 and the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16, but the pocket portion may be formed by the pocket member 32 alone. Here, Fig. 3 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main portion when cut along line AA shown in Fig. 1. Note that hatching of the seat pad 14 is not shown in Fig. 3 for ease of viewing.

[0063] In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 3 and 5, a seating sensor unit (device) 38 is housed inside 33 of pocket member 32, and the position of seating sensor unit 38 can be set relative to pocket member 32 by positioning portion 35.

[0064] 3 and 4, in this embodiment, a pair of notches 34, 36 cut out in a wedge shape toward the bottom end 32C of the pocket member 32 are arranged along the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 as first positioning portions 35A. The distance between the notches 34 and 36 is set to be approximately the same as the width dimension of a harness portion 40 of the seating sensor unit 38, which will be described later.

[0065] Here, the seat sensor unit 38 is illustrated as being thick to indicate that the seat sensor unit 38 is housed inside the pocket member 32, but the seat sensor unit 38 is sheet-shaped and is actually formed thin.

[0066] On the other hand, the seating sensor unit 38 is in the shape of a seat, and includes a sensor section 46 that is H-shaped when viewed from the front, and a belt-shaped harness section 40, and the presence of an occupant in the seat is detected by the sensor section 46. Note that, although the sensor section 46 is H-shaped in this embodiment, the shape of the sensor section 46 is not limited to H-shape.

[0067] Furthermore, the harness portion 40 has a second positioning portion 35B, which is a notch portion 48 cut out in a wedge shape along the width direction of the harness portion 40. Although not shown, the harness portion 40 is electrically connected to an in-vehicle ECU (Electronic Control Unit; hereinafter simply referred to as "ECU") serving as a vehicle-side control device, and the harness portion 40 connects the ECU and the sensor portion 46.

[0068] The ECU has a CPU, ROM, RAM, storage, and a communication interface, and these components are connected to each other via a bus so that they can communicate with each other. The ECU also has a control unit as a functional component. The control unit's functional component is realized by the CPU reading and executing a program stored in the ROM or storage. The control unit may be configured to detect the presence of an occupant sitting on the seat cushion 12 (see FIG. 1) and, for example, control an air conditioning device such as a heater on the rear seat side.

[0069] In the present embodiment, for example, the molding die (hereinafter referred to as the "mold") for molding the skin-integrated pad 18 (see FIG. 2) is made of an aluminum alloy. The mold includes a lower die 42 and an upper die (not shown) shown in FIG. 7, and a space 44 is formed between the upper die and the lower die 42, into which a foam material such as urethane, which is the raw material for the seat pad, is injected.

[0070] When molding the skin-integrated pad 18, the seat skin 16 is placed along the cavity surface 42A in the lower mold 42. In this state, a foaming material is injected and the upper mold is closed, and the foaming material is foamed, thereby molding the seat pad 14 (see FIG. 2) integrally with the seat skin 16.

[0071] (Actions and effects of the integrally molded seat pad) Next, the operation and effect of the integrally molded seat pad according to this embodiment will be described.

[0072] 2, in this embodiment, the seat cover 16 is molded integrally with the seat pad 14, and covers the design surface 19 (top surface 14A, front surface 14B, rear surface 14C, and both side surfaces 14D) of the seat cushion 12 of the seat pad 14. In this way, by molding the seat cover 16 and the seat pad 14 integrally, in this embodiment, the covering work is eliminated and the number of parts is reduced.

[0073] In this embodiment, a pocket member 32 is provided on the rear surface 17 of the seat cover 16, and a seating sensor unit 38 is housed in the pocket member 32. That is, in this embodiment, the seating sensor unit 38 is molded integrally with the seat pad 14 and the seat cover 16 in a housed state.

[0074] Therefore, in this embodiment, it is not necessary to form an opening for inserting the seating sensor unit 38 on the design surface 19 side of the seat cover 16, and no restrictions are imposed on the design of the seat cushion 12.

[0075] Here, the seat pad 14 and the seat cover 16 are integrally molded to form the cover-integrated pad 18, which is formed by placing the seat cover 16 on the side of a lower mold 42 that forms part of a mold 41 for molding the cover-integrated pad 18, and then injecting a foam material that is the raw material for the seat pad 14 (see Figure 2) into the mold 41, as shown in Figure 7, and foaming the foam material inside the mold 41 to integrate the seat cover 16 and the seat pad 14.

[0076] When molding the skin-integrated pad 18, the sheet skin 16 is placed on the lower die 42 side of the mold 41, and a pressing force (in the direction of the arrow) is generated via the foam material from the space 44 formed between the upper die (not shown) that constitutes the other part of the mold 41 and the sheet skin 16 toward the cavity surface 42A of the lower die 42.

[0077] As a result, the pressing force acts on the seat cover 16 arranged on the lower mold 42 side along the thickness direction (arrow direction) of the seat cover 16 from the back surface 17 side of the seat cover 16 toward the front surface (design surface 19) side.

[0078] That is, a pressing force acts on the pocket member 32 provided on the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16 in the thickness direction of the pocket member 32. Therefore, when the cover-integrated pad 18 is formed, the pocket member 32 is compressed in the thickness direction, and the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 is closed.

[0079] This makes it possible in this embodiment to prevent the raw material of the seat pad 14 from entering the interior 33 of the pocket member 32 when molding the skin-integrated pad 18. The harness portion 40 of the seating sensor unit 38 is arranged to be protruded outside a parting line (not shown) where the upper and lower dies 42 of the die 41 meet.

[0080] In this way, by preventing the raw material of the seat pad 14 (see FIG. 2) from entering the interior 33 of the pocket member 32 when molding the integrated pad 18, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the seat sensor unit 38 housed in the interior 33 of the pocket member 32. In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to mold the integrated pad 18 (see FIG. 2) with devices such as the seat sensor unit 38 housed in the interior 33 of the pocket member 32.

[0081] 2, according to this embodiment, devices such as the seat occupancy sensor unit 38 are integrally molded with the seat cover 16 and the seat pad 14, and malfunctions of devices such as the seat occupancy sensor unit 38 can be suppressed with a simple configuration without restricting the design of the seat cushion 12. This improves yield and ultimately reduces manufacturing costs.

[0082] According to this embodiment, as described above, when molding the skin-integrated pad 18, the pocket member 32 is compressed in the thickness direction, and the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 is closed. However, it goes without saying that after inserting a device such as the seating sensor unit 38 into the interior 33 of the pocket member 32, the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 may be closed by adhesive or the like, if necessary.

[0083] Also, as a comparative example, for example, when the surface of the seat pad 14 is covered with the seat cover 16, if the seat pad has an inverse shape (not shown), the seat cover will float relative to the seat pad, and it will be necessary to adhere the seat pad and the seat cover with adhesive.

[0084] In contrast, in this embodiment, the seat pad 14 and the seat cover 16 are integrally molded, so the seat cover does not float above the seat pad. In other words, in this embodiment, an inverse shape can be realized in the seat pad, and the degree of freedom in design of the seat cushion 12 is improved.

[0085] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, devices such as the seating sensor unit 38 can be integrally molded together with the seat cover 16 and the seat pad 14, so there is no need to arrange devices such as the seating sensor unit 38 between the seat cover 16 and the seat pad 14 after the seat cover 16 and the seat pad 14 are integrally molded, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

[0086] 1, the seat cover 16 is made up of a plurality of cover pieces 16A, 16B, and 16C, and adjacent cover pieces 16A and 16B are sewn together via a stitching portion 26, and adjacent cover pieces 16A and 16C are sewn together via a stitching portion 28. Side end portions 32A and 32B of a pocket member 32 are sewn together to these stitching portions 26 and 28, respectively.

[0087] For example, as a comparative example (not shown), the pocket member 32 can be provided on the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16 by adhering the pocket member 32 to the back surface 17 (see Figure 2) of the seat cover 16 using double-sided tape or the like, but in this case, an adhesive process is required to adhere the pocket member 32 to the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16.

[0088] In contrast to this, in the present embodiment, the side edges 32A, 32B of the pocket member 32 are sewn together with the stitching portions 26, 28 that sew the skin pieces 16A, 16B, 16C together, so that the pocket member 32 can be provided on the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16 by utilizing the sewing work that is originally required regardless of the presence or absence of the pocket member 32. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the bonding work of bonding the pocket member 32 to the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16 can be eliminated, making it possible to reduce costs.

[0089] 4 and 5, in this embodiment, the position of devices such as the seating sensor unit 38 is set with respect to the pocket member 32 by the positioning portion 35. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the pocket member 32 is provided on the back surface 17 of the seat cover 16.

[0090] For example, as a comparative example (not shown), when the pocket member 32 is sewn to the seat cover 16, the sewn portion of the pocket member 32 is exposed on the design surface 19 side of the cover-integrated pad 18.

[0091] 1, in the seat cover 16, the side edges 32A, 32B of the pocket member 32 are sewn together with the stitching portions 26, 28 that sew together the cover pieces 16A, 16B, 16C. This allows the side edges 32A, 32B of the pocket member 32 to be sewn together, and eliminates the need for stitching portions dedicated to the pocket member, making the pocket member 32 less noticeable.

[0092] On the other hand, the sewing portions 26, 28 that sew the skin pieces 16A, 16B, 16C together also sew the main portion 20, side portion 22, and center portion 24 of the seat cushion 12. Therefore, when a pocket member 32 is provided in the main portion 20 of the seat cushion 12, depending on the device such as the seating sensor unit 38, the pocket member 32 may be too large for the seating sensor unit 38.

[0093] In such a case, when a device such as the seating sensor unit 38 is housed in the pocket member 32, play will occur between the seating sensor unit 38 and the pocket member 32, and as shown in Figure 6, the seating sensor unit 38 may be positioned in a state where it is shifted or tilted in the seat width direction relative to the pocket member 32.

[0094] 5, it is necessary to position devices such as the seating sensor unit 38 with respect to the pocket member 32. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the positioning portion 35 is provided, and the position of devices such as the seating sensor unit 38 with respect to the pocket member 32 can be set by the positioning portion 35.

[0095] Here, as shown in FIG. 1, in addition to sewing the main portion 20, side portions 22, and center portion 24 of the seat cushion 12, a sewing portion 30 may be provided in the main portion 20 of the seat cushion 12 along the seat width direction.

[0096] In this case, as shown in Figure 3, by co-stitching the bottom end 32C of the pocket member 32 with the sewing portion 30, the bottom end 32C of the pocket member 32 can be sewn and the sewing portion dedicated to the pocket member can be eliminated, making the pocket member 32 less noticeable.

[0097] When the bottom end 32C of the pocket member 32 is sewn together with the sewing portion 30, as shown in Fig. 5, there may be play between the tip 38A of the seating sensor unit 38 and the bottom end 32C of the pocket member 32 when the seating sensor unit 38 is housed in the pocket member 32. In this case, it is necessary to position the seating sensor unit 38 in the depth direction of the pocket member 32.

[0098] As a result of the above, in this embodiment, the positioning portion 35 is configured to include a first positioning portion 35A provided on the pocket member 32 side and a second positioning portion 35B provided on the seating sensor unit 38 side.

[0099] More specifically, the first positioning portion 35A is a pair of notches 34, 36 that are arranged in the pocket member 32 along the opening 32D, into which the seating sensor unit 38 is inserted, and that are formed to match the width of the harness portion 40 of the seating sensor unit 38. By arranging the harness portion 40 of the seating sensor unit 38 between the notches 34 and 36, the position of the seating sensor unit 38 can be determined in the width direction of the pocket member 32.

[0100] In this embodiment, the harness portion 40 is belt-shaped, and the position of the seating sensor unit 38 in the width direction of the pocket member 32 is determined by the harness portion 40 and the notches 34, 36, but the shape of the harness portion 40 is not limited to a belt-like shape. For example, although not shown, the harness portion 40 may be linear. In this case, the position of the seating sensor unit 38 in the width direction of the pocket member 32 may be determined by one notch.

[0101] The second positioning portion 35B is a notch portion 48 that is formed in the harness portion 40 of the seating sensor unit 38 and that overlaps with the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 when the sensor portion 46 of the seating sensor unit 38 is housed in the pocket member 32. By overlapping the notch portion 48 with the opening 32D of the pocket member 32, the position of the seating sensor unit 38 in the depth direction of the pocket member 32 can be determined.

[0102] As described above, in this embodiment, the position of the seating sensor unit 38 can be determined in the width direction and the depth direction with respect to the pocket member 32. In the seating sensor unit 38 thus positioned in the width direction and the depth direction with respect to the pocket member 32, the sensor portion 46 is adhered to the inner surface side of the pocket member 32 via an adhesive such as double-sided tape.

[0103] Here, when the seating sensor unit 38 is being molded, there is a possibility that the raw materials, adhesives, etc. of the seat pad 14 may adhere to the sensor portion 46, causing malfunction. For this reason, it is preferable that the sensor portion 46 of the seating sensor unit 38 be disposed on the inner side of the pocket member 32. Therefore, the notch portion 48 is configured so that the notch portion 48 is not completely exposed from the pocket member 32.

[0104] In addition, in this embodiment, the wedge-shaped notch portions 34, 36, 48 are given as examples of the first positioning portion 35A and the second positioning portion 35B, but the present invention is not limited to this as long as it is possible to position the seating sensor unit 38 in the width direction and depth direction relative to the pocket member 32. For example, positioning lines serving as markers may also be used.

[0105] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, a pocket member 32 is provided on the rear part 20A side of the main part 20 of the seat cushion 12, and a seating sensor unit 38 is housed inside 33 of the pocket member 32.

[0106] (Supplementary information about this embodiment) In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the side end portions 32A, 32B of the pocket member 32 are sewn together with the sewing portions 26, 28, respectively, but only one of the side end portions 32A, 32B of the pocket member 32 may be sewn together with the sewing portions 26, 28.

[0107] As a first modification, as shown in Fig. 8, it is of course possible to adhere the pocket member 52 to the rear surface 17 of the seat cover 16 by using a double-sided tape 50 or the like. In this case, as shown in Fig. 9, the pocket member 52 is formed to match the size of the seat occupancy sensor unit 38. Therefore, the seat occupancy sensor unit 38 is positioned while being housed inside the pocket member 52. Therefore, in this case, the positioning portion 35 shown in Fig. 4 is not necessary.

[0108] As a second modification, a cover 54 that closes the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 may be provided as shown in Figures 10 and 11 to prevent the raw material of the seat pad 14 from entering the interior 33 of the pocket member 32. Note that Figure 11 shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part when cut along line BB shown in Figure 10. Also, in Figure 11, hatching of the seat pad 14 is not shown for ease of viewing.

[0109] 11, one end 54A of the cover 54 along the depth direction of the pocket member 32 is sewn together with the pocket member 32 at a sewn portion 56. As a result, in this embodiment, even when the cover 54 is provided, a sewn portion dedicated to the cover can be eliminated, and the cover 54 can be made inconspicuous.

[0110] The cover 54 is also formed with a notch 58, which is cut out in a substantially rectangular shape with an opening on the pocket member 32 side, for example, in the center of the width direction of the cover 54. The harness portion 40 can be exposed to the outside through this notch 58.

[0111] In this manner, in this embodiment, the cover 54 covers the opening 32D of the pocket member 32, into which the seating sensor unit 38 is inserted, from the outside of the pocket member 32 along the depth direction of the pocket member 32. This more reliably prevents the raw material of the seat pad 14 from entering the interior 33 of the pocket member 32 when the upholstery-integrated pad 18 is formed.

[0112] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the seating sensor unit 38 is given as an example of a device to be housed in the pocket member 32, but this is not limited to this and other sensors such as temperature sensors may also be housed, and even devices other than sensors such as seat-shaped heaters and voice coils may be housed.

[0113] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 can be set at any position. That is, the orientation of the opening 32D of the pocket member 32 (the insertion direction of a device such as a sensor) can be freely set. This makes it possible to prevent interference with components provided on the rear surface of the seat cushion 12 or on the vehicle floor when inserting a device such as a sensor, although not shown.

[0114] Furthermore, the position of the pocket member 32 is not limited to this. That is, the position of the pocket member 32 can be changed as appropriate depending on the device housed inside 33 of the pocket member 32. For example, the pocket member 32 may be provided on the front surface 14B side or the side surface 14D side of the seat cushion 12.

[0115] In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the seat cushion 12 of the vehicle seat 10 as shown in Fig. 1 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be applied to the seat back of the vehicle seat 10. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the vehicle seat 10 and may be applied to a massage seat or the like (not shown).

[0116] Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above and can be implemented in various other modified forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It goes without saying that the scope of the rights of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0117] 10 Vehicle seats 12 seat cushions 14 Seat pad (pad material) 16 Seat covering (covering) 16A Epidermal piece 16A1 Skin piece 16A2 Skin piece 16B Epidermal piece 16C Epidermis piece 17 Back side (back side of the skin) 18. Integrated seat pad (integrated seat pad) 20A Rear (rear part of the seat cushion in the front-to-rear direction) 26 Sewing section 28 Sewing section 30 Sewing section 32 Pocket member 32A Side end (end of pocket member) 32B Side end (end of pocket member) 32C Bottom end (end of pocket member) 32D Opening (pocket member opening) 34 Notch portion (first notch portion, first positioning portion, positioning means) 35 Positioning unit (positioning means) 35A First positioning portion (positioning means) 35B Second positioning portion (positioning means) 36 Notch portion (first notch portion, first positioning portion, positioning means) 38 Seating sensor unit (device) 40 Harness section (seat sensor unit) 46 Sensor unit (seat sensor unit) 48 Notch portion (second notch portion, second positioning portion, positioning means) 52 Pocket member 54 Cover (cover material) 54A One end (one end of cover member) 56 Sewing section

Claims

1. a padding material that constitutes a part of the seat cushion on which the occupant sits; a surface layer formed integrally with the pad material and covering the design surface side of the seat cushion of the pad material; a pocket member provided on the rear surface of the skin, accommodating a device that can be operated while an occupant is seated, and integrally formed with the pad material and the skin; Equipped with A seat pad integrally molded with a skin, wherein a cover member is provided on the back surface of the skin to cover the opening of the pocket member into which the device is inserted from the outside of the pocket member along the depth direction of the pocket member.

2. 2. The seat pad according to claim 1, wherein the surface is made up of a plurality of surface pieces, and the ends of the pocket members are sewn together at seams where adjacent surface pieces are sewn together.

3. A seat pad integrally molded with the surface as described in Claim 2, wherein one end of the cover member along the depth direction of the pocket member is sewn together with the sewing portion.

4. 4. The seat pad according to claim 1, further comprising a positioning means for determining the position of the device relative to the pocket member.

5. The device is a seat-shaped seating sensor unit capable of detecting a state in which an occupant is seated, The seating sensor unit includes: a sensor unit that detects that an occupant is seated; a harness portion electrically connected to the sensor portion and a vehicle-side control device; The invention comprises: The positioning means is 5. The seat pad according to claim 4, wherein the pocket member includes a first positioning portion that is arranged along an opening into which the seating sensor unit is inserted and that is formed to fit the width of the harness portion.

6. An integrally molded seat pad as described in Claim 5, wherein the first positioning portions are a pair of first notch portions formed to match the width of the harness portion.

7. The positioning means 7. The seat pad according to claim 5, further comprising a second positioning portion formed in the harness portion and overlapping with the opening when the sensor portion is housed in the pocket member.

8. A seat pad integrally molded with the surface as described in Claim 7, wherein the second positioning portion is a second notch portion formed in the harness portion.

9. A vehicle seat in which the seat cushion on which an occupant sits is provided with the integrally molded seat pad described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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