Vehicle seat system for a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle seat system for a motor vehicle, comprising a vehicle seat (10) and a seat underframe (18) by means of which the vehicle seat (10) is supported on a vehicle-side retaining device (22) and which comprises at least one deformation device (30) having a deformation element (38) and an associated support element (36) which, when subjected to a correspondingly high accident-induced force, can be displaced along a guide (34) between an initial position and an accident position, under deformation of the deformation element (38), wherein the deformation device (30) has a locking element (40) by means of which the support element (36), displaced along the guide (34), is fixed at least substantially in the accident position following introduction of the accident-induced force.

Description

[0001] Vehicle seating system for a motor vehicle

[0002] The invention relates to a vehicle seating system for a motor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0003] Such a vehicle seating system for a motor vehicle is already known from DE 102022 004499 A1 and comprises a vehicle seat and a seat frame by which the vehicle seat is held on a vehicle-side mounting device, which includes longitudinal rails attached to the vehicle body. In the area of ​​the seat frame, a deformation device with a deformation element and an associated support element is arranged, which, in the event of a sufficiently high force caused by an accident, can be displaced along a guide between an initial position and an accident position by deformation of the deformation element.

[0004] At least one deformation device is provided to reduce the impact on the occupant in the event of a collision. This device dissipates energy and often also moves the occupant into a safer position. These deformation devices are specifically designed to withstand a crash impact – usually resulting from a frontal or rear-end collision. However, they have the disadvantage that in a secondary impact – for example, a classic multi-vehicle crash in a traffic jam with an initial rear-end collision and a subsequent rear-end collision by the vehicle behind – the relative movement of the vehicle seat and thus the impact on the occupant is significantly greater.This is due to the fact that the support element, which is initially displaced into the accident position as a result of the correspondingly high force caused by the accident, moves back towards its original position within the guide. The object of the present invention is to create a vehicle seat system of the type mentioned above which has improved crash characteristics.

[0005] This problem is solved according to the invention by a vehicle seating system with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments with expedient further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0006] The vehicle seating system according to the invention for a motor vehicle comprises a vehicle seat and a seat frame by which the vehicle seat is held on a vehicle-side mounting device, for example, on respective longitudinal seat rails fixed to the body. The seat frame has at least one deformation device with a respective deformation element and an associated support element, which, in the event of a sufficiently high force caused by an accident, can be displaced along a guide between an initial position and an accident position by deformation of the deformation element.

[0007] In order to create a vehicle seating system with improved crash characteristics, the deformation device has a locking element by means of which the support element, which is displaced along the guide, is at least essentially fixed in the crash position after the introduction of the accident-related force.

[0008] According to the invention, it is therefore provided that, after an accident-related displacement of the support element along the guide into the accident position, the locking element is used to prevent the support element from moving back along the guide towards the initial position.

[0009] Consequently, after the deformation device is activated in the event of a crash, the free movement created in the seat adjuster / guide by shifting the support element into the crash position is blocked to prevent a load in the opposite direction. This blocking can be achieved via a locking element in the form of an actuator, the function of which is controlled by the crash control unit. Alternatively, the locking element can also function purely mechanically, for example, by preloading with a spring force.

[0010] Overall, this results in a reduction of occupant stress in a secondary crash.

[0011] This prevents additional stress on the seat occupant during the so-called rebound, so that, for example, no loose movement of the vehicle seat is possible after the crash-activated uprighting from the relaxed position.

[0012] In a further embodiment of the invention, the seat base has guide elements arranged on the underside of the seat section of the vehicle seat, which form the respective guides along which the associated support element can be displaced after the application of the accident-induced force. Thus, a relative movement of the seat section relative to the seat base can be used to deform the corresponding deformation element and to absorb accident energy.

[0013] A further advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the respective guides are arranged at the front end of the seat section of the vehicle seat and that the front end of the seat section can be moved downwards after the application of the force caused by the accident in the upward direction of the vehicle. This allows the front end of the seat section to be moved downwards in the event of an impact in the upward direction of the vehicle, in order to bring the seat occupant into an improved position and also to absorb energy. It is particularly advantageous if the support elements are arranged on a corresponding front link of the seat base.

[0014] It has proven advantageous if the respective locking element is designed around an axis by means of a locking lever pre-tensioned by a force. This allows the locking lever to be easily moved from a starting position to a locked position in order to hold the support element in the accident position. The design of the respective locking element is particularly simple if it is pre-tensioned by a spring force.

[0015] In a further embodiment of the invention, the respective locking element has a plurality of locking steps arranged one behind the other in a sawtooth pattern. This makes it particularly easy to fix the support element in the respective accident position.

[0016] Furthermore, it has proven advantageous if the vehicle seat can be moved into a comfort position in which the seat cushion and backrest are pivoted around a pivot axis from their normal position. The seat base advantageously features rear linkage levers that form the pivot axis around which the seat cushion and backrest can be moved from their normal position to the comfort position. This provides the occupant with a particularly comfortable seating position. Moreover, the respective deformation mechanism ensures that, in the event of a collision, the impact energy is absorbed and the occupant is simultaneously moved into a more favorable position with regard to the accident.

[0017] Further advantages, features, and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment and from the drawings. The features and combinations of features mentioned above in the description, as well as those mentioned below in the figure description and / or shown in the figures alone, can be used not only in the combinations specified, but also in other combinations or individually, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0018] This shows:

[0019] Fig. 1 shows a side view of a vehicle seating system for a motor vehicle, with a vehicle seat and a seat base, by means of which the vehicle seat is held on a vehicle-side holding device having longitudinal seat rails and which has a respective deformation device with a respective deformation element and an associated support element on front handlebar levers, which is in a starting position in this case;

[0020] Fig. 2 shows a side view of the vehicle seat system according to Fig. 1, wherein the vehicle seat and the support elements of the respective deformation devices are displaced from the initial position according to Fig. 1 to an accident position as a result of an accident-related, correspondingly high force under deformation of the respective associated deformation element along a guide,

[0021] Figs. 3a-c are schematic and enlarged side views of one of the deformation devices on the corresponding front handlebar lever of the seat base according to Figs. 1 and 2, where Fig. 3a shows only the guide of the support element supported against the deformation element, which is in its initial position, and where Fig. 3b additionally shows a locking element by means of which the support element, which has been displaced along the guide according to Fig. 3c, is at least substantially fixed in the accident position after the introduction of the accident-related force.

[0022] In the figures, identical or functionally equivalent elements are provided with the same reference symbols.

[0023] Fig. 1 showed a side view of a vehicle seating system for a motor vehicle. This comprises a vehicle seat 10 with a seat part 12 and a backrest part 14 articulated to it, at the upper end of which a headrest 16 is arranged.

[0024] The vehicle seat 10 is connected via the seat section 12 to a seat base 18, by means of which the vehicle seat 10 is held on a vehicle-side mounting device 22 having longitudinal seat rails 20. The seat base 18 comprises rail elements 24 which run in or along the corresponding longitudinal seat rail 20. At its front end, the seat base 18 includes two front control levers 26, and at its rear end, the seat base 18 includes two rear control levers 28, which are mounted on the corresponding laterally mounted rail element 24. This allows the seat section 12 and the vehicle seat 10 as a whole to be adjusted in a parallelogram-like manner, for example, in height and / or tilt.

[0025] The seat base 18 comprises two deformation devices 30, which are arranged in the area of ​​the two front handlebar levers 26. For this purpose, each of the deformation devices 30, or the seat base 18, has a guide element 32 arranged on the underside of the seat part 12, which forms a guide 34, here essentially designed as an elongated hole, along which an associated support element 36 can be displaced from an initial position shown in Fig. 1 to an accident position shown in Fig. 2 after the introduction of the accident-related force.

[0026] The support element 36 is, for example, designed as an axle, bolt, or the like, which is rigidly connected to the associated steering lever 26 and extends at least substantially in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Accordingly, the support element 36 is located in the lower part of the guide 34 in its initial position in Fig. 1, and further up in Fig. 2 within the guide 34 of the guide element 32. A corresponding deformation element 38 is arranged between the support element 36 and the guide element 32 or the seat part 12, which is deformable as a result of a force caused by an accident.

[0027] Such a crash-related force arises when the motor vehicle is involved in a collision, particularly a head-on collision. To reduce the load on the seat occupant in a crash, the two deformation elements 38 in the area of ​​the front steering levers 26 are selectively deformed, thereby dissipating energy. This causes the seat section 12 in the front area to shift from the initial position shown in Fig. 1 to the crash position shown in Fig. 2. This is achieved by shifting the support elements 36 within the associated guides 34 of the corresponding guide elements 32 from the initial position shown below in Fig. 1 within the guide 34 to the crash position shown further up in Fig. 2 within the guide 34 of the guide element 32.

[0028] On the one hand, energy is specifically dissipated by means of the two deformation elements 38 in the area of ​​the front steering levers 26, and on the other hand, the seat occupant is moved into a safer position. In the case shown here, the vehicle seat 10, or rather the seat occupant, is moved from a comfortable position shown in Fig. 1, in which the occupant assumes a relaxing reclining position with bent legs, into a correspondingly safer crash position according to Fig. 2 by moving the vehicle seat 10, or rather the seat section 12, downwards at its front end. The deformation devices 30 and their deformation elements 38 are specifically designed to withstand a crash impulse – usually in a frontal or rear-end collision.

[0029] However, in such collisions, where forces acting primarily in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are introduced into the vehicle and the seating system, a secondary crash often occurs in the opposite direction. A classic example is a multi-vehicle crash in a traffic jam, with an initial rear-end collision involving the vehicle in front, followed by a rear-end collision caused by a vehicle behind it. To prevent a significantly greater relative movement of the vehicle seat 10 or seat section 12 in the opposite direction in such a case, and thus a higher load on the occupant, the respective deformation device 30 has a locking element 40, as shown in Figures 3b and 3c. This locking element secures the support element, which is displaced along the guide, at least substantially in the crash position after the introduction of the accident-related force.

[0030] While Fig. 3a shows the deformation device 30 in a schematically enlarged side view for comparison without the locking element 40, this is shown in Fig. 3b in a schematically enlarged side view in a starting position and in Fig. 3c in a schematically enlarged side view in a locking position.

[0031] Fig. 3a shows that the respective guide element 32 associated with the seat base is pivotably arranged about an axis B on the underside of the front end of the seat section 12 of the vehicle seat 10, and that this forms the respective guide 34 along which the associated support element 36 can be displaced after the application of the accident-related force. In this process, the support element 36 moves downwards together with the front end of the seat section 12, or the support element 36 moves within the guide 34 from its initial position at the bottom of the guide 34 (Fig. 3b) to its accident position at the top of the guide (Fig. 3c).

[0032] As shown in Figures 3b and 3c, the locking element 40 of the corresponding deformation device 30 is designed as a locking lever 40, which is pivotable about an axis A. The locking element, or locking lever 40, is, for example, designed as a metal part and comprises a plurality of locking steps 42 arranged one behind the other in a sawtooth pattern. Depending on the distance the support element 36 travels upwards from its initial position within the guide 34 in the upward direction of the vehicle, the corresponding locking step 42 engages with the support element 36. To ensure that the locking lever 40 remains engaged with the support element 36 in the respective locking step 42, it is, as shown in Figures 3b and 3c, pre-tensioned or tensioned by a force acting counterclockwise about the axis A. This force is generated, for example, by a spring element.In order for the locking lever 40 to reach the next locking stage 42 when traveling between the starting position according to Fig. 3b and the locking position according to Fig. 3c, each saw tooth 44 has a sliding ramp 46 on the side opposite the respective locking stage, so that the support element 36 can slide along the respective sliding ramp 46.

[0033] As an alternative to the locking lever 40, an actuator or another locking element would also be conceivable. The objective is to ensure that, following an accident-related displacement of the support element 36 along the guide 38 into the accident position, the locking element 40 prevents the support element 36 from moving back along the guide 34 from the accident position towards its initial position. Consequently, after activation of the deformation device 30 in the event of a crash, the free movement created in the seat adjuster / guide 34 by the displacement of the support element 36 into the accident position is blocked from being subjected to a load in the opposite direction.

Claims

Patent claims 1. Vehicle seating system for a motor vehicle, comprising a vehicle seat (10) and a seat frame (18) by which the vehicle seat (10) is held on a vehicle-side mounting device (22) and which has at least one deformation device (30) with a respective deformation element (38) and an associated support element (36), which, in the event of a sufficiently high force caused by an accident, can be displaced along a guide (34) between an initial position and an accident position, wherein the deformation device (30) has a locking element (40) by means of which the support element (36) displaced along the guide (34) is at least substantially fixed in the accident position after the application of the force caused by the accident, characterized in that the respective locking element (40) is formed about an axis by means of a spring-loaded locking lever (40).wherein the locking element (40) has a plurality of sawtooth-like locking steps (42) arranged one behind the other.

2. Vehicle seat system according to claim 1, characterized in that the seat base (18) has respective guide elements (32) arranged on the underside of the seat part (12) of the vehicle seat (10), which form the respective guide (34) along which the associated support element (36) can be displaced after the introduction of the accident-related force.

3. Vehicle seating system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the respective guides (34) are arranged at the front end of the seat part (12) of the vehicle seat (10) and that the front end of the seat part (12) of the vehicle seat (10) can be moved downwards in the upward direction of the vehicle after the introduction of the accident-related force.

4. Vehicle seat system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the support elements (36) are arranged on a respective assigned front handlebar lever (26) of the seat base (18).

5. Vehicle seating system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the vehicle seat (10) can be moved into a comfort position in which the seat part (12) and the backrest part (14) are arranged pivoted about a pivot axis from a normal position.

6. Vehicle seat system according to claim 5, characterized in that the seat base (18) has respective rear control levers (28) which form the pivot axis about which the seat part (12) and the backrest part (14) can be moved from the normal position to the comfort position.

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