Vehicle seat arrangement with partial seat surface lifting and belt tightening
Patent Information
- Application Number
- PCT/EP2025/054277
- Authority / Receiving Office
- WO · WO
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2024-03-07
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-18
- Publication Date
- 2025-10-02
Smart Images
Figure EP2025054277_02102025_PF_FP_ABST
Abstract
Description
[0001] Vehicle seat arrangement with partial seat cushion lifting and belt tensioning
[0002] Description
[0003] The invention relates to a vehicle seat arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1.
[0004] Such a vehicle seat assembly naturally comprises a vehicle seat and a safety belt device associated with the vehicle seat. The vehicle seat has a seat element and a backrest extending from the seat element. The seat element has a supporting structure, typically designed as a spring-loaded frame arrangement, and upholstery supported by this supporting structure. According to the definitions given here, the seat element has a section near the backrest and a section remote from the backrest. The section remote from the backrest is typically the front section of the seat element.The safety belt device of the vehicle seat assembly assigned to the vehicle seat is typically a so-called three-point belt system and comprises a belt strap, a belt tongue slidably mounted on the belt strap, a belt buckle arranged on a first side of the vehicle seat into which the belt tongue can be inserted, and a retractor for the belt strap arranged on the second side of the vehicle seat opposite the first side. In use, i.e., when the belt tongue is inserted into the belt buckle, the belt strap of such a three-point belt comprises a shoulder belt section and a lap belt section.
[0005] It is a known problem that in the event of a frontal collision, the belted person, especially if they are relatively small and light, can "dive" under the lap belt section (this is also known as "submarining"), so that they are then of course not held in the intended position in which their upper body is restrained by the shoulder belt section (and usually additionally by a front airbag).
[0006] To solve this problem, it is known to provide a gas bag in the section of the seat element remote from the backrest, between the supporting structure and the upholstery. This gas bag is inflated by an inflator in the event of an accident, so that the front end of the seat element is raised, thus counteracting the aforementioned submarining effect. Such a vehicle seat is described, for example, in the generic EP 1 566 313 A1.
[0007] Based on this, the present invention has the object of further developing a generic vehicle seat arrangement in such a way that the risk of the lap belt section submerging is further counteracted.
[0008] This object is achieved by a vehicle seat arrangement having the features of claim 1.
[0009] According to the invention, the gas bag assembly, which serves to raise the front end of the seat surface in the event of an accident, is further used to tighten the lap belt section of the belt webbing and to stiffen the section of the seat surface element near the backrest, in order to clamp the pelvic area of the occupant more tightly from above and below, making it virtually impossible for the occupant to dive between the lap belt section and the seat surface. For this purpose, in addition to the section arranged in the section remote from the backrest between the supporting structure and the upholstery, the gas bag assembly has a further section, referred to as the second section, which is arranged in the section of the seat surface element near the backrest below the supporting structure.Furthermore, the belt strap has a tensioning section which extends from the lap belt section via a deflection device to a fastening device and extends sectionally along this second section of the gas bag arrangement, so that when the second section of the gas bag arrangement is inflated, it presses on a section of the tensioning section of the belt strap and thus tensions it, which, due to the connection to the lap belt section, also tensions the lap belt section. The fastening device is generally located on the first side of the vehicle seat (i.e. on the side on which the belt buckle is located). Furthermore, this second section of the gas bag arrangement forms a support for the supporting structure in the section of the seat element near the backrest, so that the latter cannot deflect downwards at all or at least only slightly, whereby the above-mentioned clamping from above and below is achieved.
[0010] According to the definitions made for the present patent application, the gas bag arrangement is indeed built into the seat element, but is not part of it, but acts on it.
[0011] Preferably, the first section of the airbag assembly and the second section of the airbag assembly are sections of a common airbag, which are connected to each other by means of an overflow section. This has the particular advantage that only one inflator (which is usually a gas generator) is required.
[0012] The supporting structure usually defines a plane and the overflow section passes through this plane.
[0013] The overflow section preferably has a reduced width compared to the first section and the second section. This reduces the total volume of the gas bag to be filled and also facilitates the transition between the levels in which the first and second sections of the gas bag are positioned.
[0014] To precisely position the tensioning section relative to the second section of the gas bag assembly and to ensure that it does not slip off the second section of the gas bag during expansion, it may be preferable for the second section of the gas bag to have a guide tunnel through which the tensioning section passes. Typically, the support structure is formed by a spring grid arrangement with a plurality of spring wires.
[0015] Since the seat surface element is generally relatively high, it is generally preferred to design the deflection device with at least two deflection elements, so that the tensioning section has a first section extending between the two deflection elements and a second section extending at least partially along the second section of the gas bag arrangement. The deflection elements are preferably designed as rollers.
[0016] Additionally, the airbag can be used for indirect belt tensioning via the belt buckle. In this case, an additional tension strap extends from the belt buckle, which is connected to the vehicle seat, in particular its frame, by means of an additional fastening device on the second side of the vehicle seat opposite the first side of the vehicle seat. A section of this additional tension strap extends along the second section of the airbag, so that tensioning via the belt buckle occurs analogously to the direct tightening of the belt strap using the tensioning section.
[0017] The term “fastening device” (this applies both to the fastening device for fastening the tensioning section and to the further fastening device of the further tension band) is to be understood as broadly as possible: In principle, such a fastening device could simply be formed by a knot (although this is usually not practical).
[0018] The invention will now be explained in more detail using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the figures.
[0019] Figure 1 is a highly schematic representation of a vehicle seat arrangement according to the invention in a front view, with some elements arranged inside the seat surface element being shown (mostly in dashed lines),
[0020] Figure 2 is a plan view of the gas bag assembly arranged in the seat element of the vehicle seat arrangement of Figure 1,
[0021] Figure 3 shows the gas bag assembly from Figure 2 in a view of its lower layer, further showing a part of the second section of the tensioning section of the belt strap of the safety belt device shown in Figure 1,
[0022] Figure 4 is a plan view of the seat element and the gas bag assembly from Figure 1, but showing neither the upholstery nor the cover of the seat element,
[0023] Figure 5 shows the vehicle seat arrangement from Figure 1 with a person sitting on the vehicle seat in a buckled state,
[0024] Figure 6 shows what is shown in Figure 5 after operating the inflator of the gas bag assembly,
[0025] Figure 7 shows a further embodiment in a representation corresponding to Figure 1,
[0026] Figure 8 shows the gas bag used in the embodiment of Figure 7 in a representation essentially corresponding to Figure 3 and
[0027] Figure 9 shows a vehicle seat arrangement according to the prior art.
[0028] In order to clarify the definitions of the terms used here, a vehicle seat arrangement according to the generic prior art is briefly described with reference to Figure 9: This vehicle seat arrangement 5 has a vehicle seat 10 with a seat surface element 20 and a backrest 40, a gas bag arrangement arranged in the seat surface element 20 and consisting of a gas bag 50, an inflator for filling this gas bag 50 (not shown in Figure 7), and a safety belt device 80 assigned to the vehicle seat. As already mentioned, the gas bag arrangement is built into the seat surface element 20, but by definition is not part of it.
[0029] The seat surface element 20 comprises a frame 22, a support structure 25 supported by the frame 22, which is formed by a spring grid arrangement consisting of a plurality of spring wires 25, a padding 28 supported by the support structure 25, and a cover 30. The gas bag 50 is arranged in a section of the seat surface element 20 remote from the backrest (i.e., the front section) between the support structure 25 and the padding 28, so that upon actuation of the inflator (not shown), the front seat surface of the seat surface element 20 is raised.
[0030] The safety belt device 80 is a classic three-point belt system and has a retractor 86 (only symbolically indicated) with a belt spool 86a, a belt webbing 90 wound in sections on the belt spool 86a, a belt tongue 82 slidably held on the belt webbing 90, and a belt buckle 84 for this belt tongue 82, so that the belt webbing 90, when fastened, has a shoulder belt section 92 and a lap belt section 94. According to the definitions given here, the belt buckle is located on a first side of the vehicle seat, and the retractor is located on a second side of the vehicle seat opposite the first side. In the specifically illustrated embodiment, the retractor 86 is arranged substantially at the level of the headrest 42 of the vehicle seat 10; however, it is frequently arranged significantly lower, and a deflection device is provided.However, this is irrelevant to the present invention, and for the sake of simplicity, the selected embodiment is shown without such an upper deflection device. The retractor can be integrated into the backrest 40, but it is often arranged on the vehicle body. This naturally applies not only to the just-described prior art vehicle seat arrangement, but also to the embodiments according to the invention.
[0031] Figures 1 to 6 show an exemplary embodiment according to the invention, wherein only the differences from the prior art will be discussed below to avoid repetition. The same reference numerals are used for identical or similar components. The first difference is that the gas bag 50 has a first section 61 and a second section 62, wherein the first section 61 essentially corresponds in function and position to the gas bag 50 of the previously described exemplary embodiment of the prior art. The second section 62 is arranged in the section of the seat element 20 near the backrest, not between the support structure 25 (i.e. the spring wires) and the upholstery 28, but below the support structure 25, as can best be seen in Figures 1 and 4.First section 61 and second section 62 can be configured with essentially the same size and are connected to each other by means of an overflow section 65, which is arranged centrally here. However, an off-center arrangement of the overflow section 65 would also be possible. The overflow section 65 is configured with a significantly smaller width (in the Y direction) than the first section 61 and the wide section 62. This makes it easier to pass through plane E, which is defined by the support structure 25, and furthermore, fill volume is saved.
[0032] The gas bag 50, as is conventional, has a circumferential, non-inflatable edge 51, an upper layer 52, and a lower layer 54 (each relative to the installation position). In the illustrated embodiment, the gas bag 50 is composed of two originally independent layers (in particular, sewn together); however, it could also be folded from a single blank. In this case, a section of the edge would be formed as a fold line, as is known, for example, from the field of side gas bags. The first section 61 encloses a first chamber 61a, the wide section encloses a wide chamber 62a, and the overflow section 65 encloses an overflow channel 65a.
[0033] In the illustrated embodiment, the gas bag 50 is part of a gas bag assembly 45, which further comprises an inflator 70, for example in the form of a gas generator, which is in flow communication with one of the chambers or the overflow channel (or is arranged directly in a chamber or the overflow channel). In the illustrated embodiment, the inflator 70 is in flow communication with the second chamber 62 via a filling section 67. In principle, the inflator 70 could also be arranged spatially separate from the gas bag 50 and connected to it via a gas line.
[0034] Essential to the invention is that two sections of a gas bag arrangement are provided. In principle, these could be designed separately—i.e., as separate gas bags—and filled separately. This would mean that the gas bag arrangement in this case would have two gas bags. In the illustrated embodiment, however, and this is generally preferred, the two sections are sections of a common gas bag 50, so that this gas bag 50 in this embodiment forms the gas bag arrangement within the meaning of the definitions given here.
[0035] The second difference from the prior art concerns the safety belt device and its connection to the gas bag arrangement just described. As can be seen in particular from Figures 1, 5 and 6, the belt webbing 90 has a further section which extends from the lap belt section 94 via a deflection device to a fastening device. This fastening device is located on the first side of the vehicle seat, on which the belt buckle 84 is also located. The deflection device, which here is designed in the form of two deflection rollers 88a, 88b, is located on the opposite side of the vehicle seat (according to the definitions given here of the second side of the vehicle seat) and is preferably integrated into the seat surface element 20.The additional section of the belt webbing 90 is referred to as the tensioning section 96 and can in turn be considered to consist of a first section 96a located in the region of the deflection device, i.e., essentially between the two deflection rollers 88a, 88b, and a second section 96b extending essentially parallel to the support structure 85. In contrast to the shoulder belt section 92 and the lap belt section 94, the position of the tensioning section is essentially independent of the buckle-fastened state. The second section 96b is held in the longitudinal direction (X direction) on the second section 62 of the gas bag 50 by means of two tunnel sections formed by sewn-on textile strips 56, wherein displaceability in the Y direction is provided. This is illustrated in particular in Figure 3.
[0036] If, in the event of an accident, in particular a frontal collision, the inflator 70 is actuated and the chambers 61a and 62a of the gas bag 50 are thus filled, then, on the one hand, as is known in the prior art, the seat surface is raised in the section of the seat surface element remote from the backrest and, on the other hand, the lap belt section 94 is tensioned by means of the tensioning section 96 and the support structure 25 (i.e. the spring grid arrangement or the spring wires in the section of the seat surface element near the backrest) is supported from below, since the second section 62 of the gas bag expands substantially upwards and downwards between the second section 96b of the tensioning section 96 and the support structure 25 (Fig. 6).
[0037] With regard to the belted occupant, this means that the knees and thighs are raised and, at the same time, a certain clamping in the pelvic area occurs both from above (by the lap belt section) and from below - since the support structure 25 can yield less in this area - thus counteracting the previously described "submarining effect". This improvement is achieved with relatively little additional effort compared to the prior art, since only the belt strap needs to be slightly lengthened and an additional chamber needs to be added to the gas bag. It should also be noted that the additional weight of the vehicle seat arrangement is small compared to the prior art, which only features a seat lift in the front section of the seat surface element. Figures 7 and 8 show a further exemplary embodiment.Here, the airbag 50, namely its second section 62, serves not only to directly tighten the lap belt section 94 of the belt webbing, but also to tighten the shoulder belt section 92 and the lap belt section 94 by retracting the belt buckle 84 (so-called buckle tightening). For this purpose, a further tension strap 100 extends from the belt buckle 84 and is connected to the frame 22 of the vehicle seat 10 by means of a further fastening device (not shown in detail) on the second vehicle seat side (opposite the belt buckle). A further deflection pulley 102 is provided, which divides this further tension strap 100 into a first section 100a and a second section 100b, wherein the second section (like the second section 96b of the tensioning section of the belt webbing 90) is guided along the second section 62 of the airbag 50.In the schematic view of Figure 7, these two second sections are shown as lying one above the other (which would be possible in principle), but they could also be arranged side by side. A gas bag designed for the latter possibility is shown in Figure 8: Here, two pairs of textile strips 56a, 56b are provided, one for the second section 96b of the belt strap and one for the second section 100b of the further tension strap 100, so that a separate tunnel is formed for the second section 96b of the tensioning section 96 and the second section 100b of the further tension strap 100.
[0038] List of reference symbols
[0039] 5 Vehicle seat arrangement
[0040] 10 vehicle seat
[0041] 20 Seat element
[0042] 22 frames
[0043] 25 spring wires (spring grid arrangement, supporting structure)
[0044] 28 Upholstery
[0045] 30 Reference
[0046] 40 backrest
[0047] 42 Headrest
[0048] 45 Gasbag assembly
[0049] 50 gas bag
[0050] 51 rand
[0051] 52 upper layer (relative to the installation position)
[0052] 54 lower position (relative to the installation position)
[0053] 56, 56a, 56b textile strips
[0054] 61 first section
[0055] 61 a first chamber
[0056] 62 second section
[0057] 62a second chamber
[0058] 65 overflow section
[0059] 65a Overflow channel
[0060] 67 filling section
[0061] 70 Inflator
[0062] 80 Seat belt device
[0063] 82 Belt tongue
[0064] 84 Belt buckle
[0065] 86 Retractor
[0066] 86a Belt reel
[0067] 88a, b pulleys
[0068] 90 webbing
[0069] 92 shoulder strap section
[0070] 94 Lap belt section 96 Tensioning section
[0071] 96a first section of the tensioning section
[0072] 96b second section of the tensioning section
[0073] 100 additional tension band 100a first section of the additional tension band
[0074] 100b second section of the further tension band
[0075] 102 additional pulleys
[0076] P Person
Claims
1. A vehicle seat arrangement comprising a vehicle seat (10) having a seat surface element (20) and a backrest (40) extending from the seat surface element (20), wherein the seat surface element (20) has a supporting structure (25) and a padding (28) carried by the supporting structure (25), and wherein the seat surface element (20) has a section near the backrest and a section remote from the backrest, a gas bag arrangement arranged in the seat surface element (20), which gas bag arrangement has at least one gas bag (50), wherein at least a first section (61) of the gas bag arrangement is arranged in the section remote from the backrest above the supporting structure (25), between the supporting structure (25) and the padding (28), at least one inflator (70) for filling the gas bag arrangement, a safety belt device (80) assigned to the vehicle seat, which has a belt webbing (90),a belt tongue (82) slidably held on the belt strap (90) and a belt buckle (84) arranged on a first side of the vehicle seat (10), into which the belt tongue (82) can be inserted, so that the belt strap (90) has a shoulder belt section (92) and a lap belt section (94) when the belt tongue (82) is inserted, characterized in that the gas bag arrangement further comprises a second section (62) which is arranged in the section of the seat surface element (20) near the backrest below the support structure (25), the belt strap (90) further comprises a tensioning section (96) which extends from the lap belt section (94) via a deflection device to a fastening device, wherein a section (96b) of the tensioning section (96) extends along the second section (62) of the gas bag arrangement.
2. Vehicle seat arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the first section (61) of the gas bag arrangement and the second section (62) the gas bag arrangement are sections of a common gas bag (50) which are connected to one another by means of an overflow section (65).
3. Vehicle seat arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that the overflow section (65) has a reduced width compared to the first section (61) and the second section (62).
4. Vehicle seat arrangement according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that the support structure defines a plane (E) and that the overflow section (65) passes through this plane (E).
5. Vehicle seat arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second section (62) of the gas bag arrangement has a guide tunnel through which the tensioning section (96) passes.
6. Vehicle seat arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support structure (25) is formed by a spring grid arrangement with a plurality of spring wires.
7. Vehicle seat arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the deflection device has at least two deflection elements (88a, 88b), so that the tensioning section (96) has a first section (96a) extending between the two deflection elements (88a, 88b) and a second section (96b) extending at least in sections along the second section (62) of the gas bag arrangement.
8. Vehicle seat arrangement according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a further tension band (100) extends from the belt buckle (84), which is connected to the vehicle seat (10) by means of a further fastening device on the second side of the vehicle seat opposite the first side of the vehicle seat (10), wherein a section (100b) of this further tension band (100) extends along the second section (62) of the gas bag (50).