JP2664604B2 - Seat equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seat apparatus which can be adjusted to a thorax support position which gives a comfortable seating feeling to a driver of an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many studies have been made on the shape of a seat for providing a comfortable sitting feeling to a occupant. As shown in FIG. 11, the back of the person M when standing upright has a so-called S-shape with the upper back of the waist inside. Based on the idea that maintaining this posture is the most comfortable,
As shown in FIG. 1, it is common to provide a seat 1 with a lumbar support 2 for holding the back of the waist in a forward direction, and it was believed that this alone provided comfort.

On the basis of such a concept, attempts have been made to provide the seated person with as much freedom as possible, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Sho 59-168816 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. Sho 62-159768. Various seat devices have been proposed.

[0004]

However, according to the study of the inventors, such a conventional technique is a theory biased to static observation in which the user merely sits, It has been found that it is not always adaptable to dynamic situations, such as a driver driving a car.

[0005] That is, since the driver grasps the steering wheel and operates, it is general that the driver raises his upper body as shown by the arrow in FIG. 13, so that the driver becomes a so-called stoop and fixes his waist. If you are stooped, your abdomen will be squeezed because of the pressure on your abdomen, so the so-called ass shift phenomenon will occur in which the buttocks are raised, and the back of the buttocks will be separated from the seat back. According to the above-mentioned theory, in the case of a driver, the driver's body is rather unsupported and unstable, and it is easy to get tired in long-time driving, and it is not possible to drive after obtaining a comfortable sitting feeling. was there.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Even when a driver sits for a long time and performs a driving operation, the driver is less tired and has a comfortable seating feeling. It is an object to provide a seat device that can be obtained.

[0007]

According to the research of the inventors, when the driver takes a driving posture for a long time, it is verified that the posture in which the back is rounded and the buttocks are slightly shifted forward is most comfortable. Has been obtained. That is, the seating sensation varies from person to person, and there are also time factors. Even if it is comfortable at first, the comfort does not always last. Is not always comfortable and accumulates fatigue.

Therefore, as a result of studying what kind of posture is comfortable for the driver, as shown in FIG. 9, when the hip point C is at the position shown in FIG. It is comfortable to raise the torso and raise the lower back as shown in A, and to lower the buttocks forward in the lower part as shown in range B. In this state, the person M is held as shown in FIG. Is the least fatigued posture,
This state is called a thorax support posture.

Based on the above conclusion, the gist of the present invention to achieve the above object is to provide a seat apparatus which can be adjusted to a thorax support position which gives a comfortable seating feeling to a driver of an automobile. The back (10) is divided into a main back (11) corresponding to the back of the seated driver and back side portions (12, 12) provided on both sides to suppress the lateral movement of the driver. Back side (12,
12) is fixed to a back frame (13, 13) incorporated in the seat back (10), and the back frame (13, 13) is provided with a thorax adjusting mechanism for displacing the main back (11); The thorax adjustment mechanism is mounted at a position above the main bag (11) and at the top of the driver's back or at a position below the main bag (11) and at a position corresponding to the back of the driver's hips. The thorax unit (20), and the thorax unit (20) is provided with the back frame (1).
3) a rear panel (22) fixed to the rear panel (22) and being swingably attached to the rear panel (22).
Front upper panel (23a) supporting the back surface of 1)
A front lower panel (23b) which is further swingably attached to a swing end of the front upper panel (23a) and supports the back surface of the main back (11) together with the front upper panel (23a); Between the main back (1a) and the front upper panel (23a) or the front lower panel (23b).
In order to tilt the upper or lower part of 1) to the front position forming the thorax support posture, the two panels are bent while bending each other so that the front lower panel (23b) rocks forward from the front upper panel (23a). And a drive mechanism (30) for moving the seat device.

[0010]

The driver of the automobile operates the thorax adjusting mechanism to tilt and displace the upper or lower portion of the main back (11) or both the upper and lower portions in two stages, thereby appropriately setting the optimal thorax support posture. By adjusting it, it is possible to obtain a very comfortable sitting feeling even when sitting for a long time.

That is, when the drive mechanism (30) of the thorax unit constituting the thorax adjustment mechanism is operated, the front upper panel (23a) and the front lower panel (23b) swing while bending each other. The upper or lower part of the bag is tilted stepwise to displace it to a forward position forming a thorax support position.

[0012] Therefore, it is possible to form and hold the thorax support posture that the driver has a rounded back and the butt is slightly shifted forward, and the driver favors the thorax support posture.

Further, since the thorax adjusting mechanism is constituted by a unitized thorax unit (20), only this thorax unit (20) is separately assembled, and finally the rear panel (22) is mounted on the rear panel (22). By the procedure of fixing the thorax unit (20) to the back frame (13), a thorax adjustment mechanism can be easily provided.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 show a seat apparatus according to a first embodiment.

[0015] As shown in FIGS.
The cushion body 10 of the seat back is divided into a main back 11 which contacts the back of the seated driver, and back side portions 12 provided on both sides to suppress the lateral movement of the driver. Numerals 12 and 12 are provided with a thorax adjusting mechanism for displacing the main back 11 on the back frame 13 while fixing to the both side plates 13a and 13a of the back frame 13 built in the cushion body 10.

The cushion body 10 of the seat back
In FIG. 1 (not shown in FIG. 1), the back side portions 12
a, 13a so as to be fitted therein. In addition, the main back 11 is attached to the upper pipe 14 laid laterally above the back frame 13 and the front upper panel 23a and the front lower panel 23b of the thorax adjustment mechanism, which will be described later, with the back surface supported.

The thorax adjusting mechanism comprises a thorax unit 20 provided at a position below the main bag 11 and behind the driver's hips. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the thorax unit 20 has a rear panel 22 screwed to the back frame 13 at a mounting portion 21, and is swingably mounted on the front surface of the rear panel 22 so that the rear surface of the main back 11 is fixed to the rear panel 22. A front upper panel 23a to be supported, a front lower panel 23b attached to a swinging end of the front upper panel 23a so as to be swingable and supporting the back surface of the main back 11 together with the front upper panel 23a, a rear panel 22, and a front upper Panel 23a or front lower panel 23b
, And a thorax sensor 37 that swings the front upper panel 23a and the front lower panel 23b while bending them relative to each other.

The front upper panel 23a is swingable by being connected to both upper ends of the rear panel 22 by stepped bolts 24 on both sides thereof. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the front lower panel 23b is hinged by a shaft 25 and a push nut 26.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the driving mechanism 30 includes a pinion driving device 31 mounted on a side plate of the rear panel 22 and a pinion driving device 31 from the pinion driving device 31.
The pinion 32 is disposed so as to protrude inward and is pivotally supported and driven by a pinion driving device 31, and the center of the rod-shaped member is curved in a U-shape, and is pivotally supported between the side plates on both sides of the rear panel 22. A swing shaft 33 and a sector gear 34 fixed to one end of the swing shaft 33 and meshed with the pinion 32.

Here, the pinion drive unit 31 includes a motor and a gear reduction mechanism, and rotates the pinion 32 at low speed and high torque. The U-shaped curved portion of the swing shaft 33 is bent forward so as to avoid interference with the front panel during swing as shown in FIG. 3, and the bent center is fixed to the inner surface of the front lower panel 23b. And swingably engaged with the hook member 35.

Thorax sensor 37 (shown in FIG. 4)
Is a sensor that is attached to the inner surface of the rear panel 22 and detects that the main back 11 has been displaced in a range that forms the thorax support posture by detecting the swing position of the sector gear 34. Specifically, For example, a limit switch can be used.

The specifications (for example, the number of teeth and the meshing position) of the pinion 32 or the length of the swing shaft 33 can be changed from the state where the pinion 32 is rotated and the swing shaft 33 is pulled down to the front. When swinging upward, the front upper panel 23a and the front lower panel 23b
Are set so that they can be bent forward from the state parallel to the rear panel 22 (vertical state) and tilted forward to form a thorax support posture.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described.
With the seat device described above, the driver of the automobile operates the thorax adjusting mechanism (pinion driving device 31) to tilt and displace the lower portion of the main back 11 in two stages, and finely adjusts to the optimal thorax support position as appropriate. In addition, a very comfortable sitting feeling can be obtained even when sitting for a long time.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, by operating the pinion drive 31, the swing shaft 33 is swung so as to protrude forward with the rotation of the pinion 32, and the front upper panel 23a and the front lower panel 23 are rotated. 23b can be tilted forward while bending each other. Moreover, at this time, when the main back 11 is displaced to a position forming the thorax support posture, the sector gear 34 has moved to the detection range of the thorax sensor 37, and a signal is output from the thorax sensor 37. If an appropriate display is given to the driver or the like based on the signal, the driver or the like can objectively determine that the driver is in the thorax posture. For this reason, a problem that the driver is not adjusted to the thorax support position due to inexperience or an illusion of the driver is eliminated, and the adjustment to the thorax support position is reliably performed.

Therefore, the lower part of the main back 11 corresponding to the driver's hips is tilted forward in two stages, so that the driver has a thorax support posture in which the hips are shifted slightly forward, and the driver prefers. The thorax support posture can be maintained finely.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The device of the second embodiment is similar to the device of the first embodiment, and the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The second embodiment is characterized by a position where the thorax unit 20 as a thorax adjusting mechanism is located above the main bag 11 and above the back of the driver, as compared with the first embodiment. Are arranged in a vertically symmetrical direction with the position corresponding to the back of the tail.

According to the apparatus of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper portion of the main bag 11 corresponding to the upper rear portion of the driver and the lower portion of the main bag 11 corresponding to the rear portion of the driver's back. Is independently tilted forward in two steps, so that the driver has a rounded back and a slightly shifted buttocks in front of the driver, and also keeps the driver's favorite thorax support position extremely detailed. Can be. That is, in this case, the main back 11 is tilted and displaced in five stages, so that the degree of freedom of the holding posture is extremely high.

The present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments, but may have various modifications. For example, the thorax unit 20 may be provided only at a position corresponding to the back of the driver.

In the above embodiment, the above-mentioned thorax sensor 37 is provided in order to ensure the adjustment to the thorax support posture, but instead or together with this configuration, the thorax sensor 37 is provided at an appropriate position on the surface of the apparatus. A scale or an indicating line indicating a preferable angle range of the main back 11 may be formed.

[0030]

According to the seat device of the present invention, the driver of the automobile operates the thorax adjusting mechanism to tilt and displace the upper or lower portion of the main back or both the upper and lower portions in two stages. It is possible to obtain an extremely comfortable seating feeling even when sitting for a long time by carefully adjusting the optimal thorax support posture as appropriate.

In addition, since the thorax adjusting mechanism is constituted by a unitized thorax unit, only the thorax unit is separately assembled, and the thorax unit is fixed to the back frame on the rear panel. Thus, the thorax adjusting mechanism can be easily assembled, and the assembling work can be simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a seat device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a thorax unit of the seat device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a thorax unit of the seat device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing a thorax unit of the seat device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a connection configuration of a front upper panel and a front lower panel in a thoroughlux unit of the seat device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a cushion body of the seat device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a seat device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side sectional view showing a seat device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a thorax support posture.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a thorax support posture.

FIG. 11 is a view for explaining a state of a spine of a human body in an upright posture.

FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a support posture in a conventional seat device.

FIG. 13 is a view for explaining a support posture in a conventional seat device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Cushion body 11 ... Main back 12 ... Back side part 20 ... Solar lux unit 21 ... Rear panel 22a ... Front upper panel 22b ... Front lower panel 30 ... Drive mechanism

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A seat device that can be adjusted to a thorax support position that gives a comfortable seating feeling to a driver of an automobile, comprising: a main back that strikes a back of a seated driver; And a back side portion provided on both sides so as to suppress the movement to the back side portion. The back side portion is fixed to a back frame incorporated in a seat back, while the main frame is displaced by the back frame. A mechanism is provided, wherein the thorax adjusting mechanism is mounted at a position corresponding to an upper portion of the main bag and corresponding to an upper portion of a driver's back or a lower portion of the main bag and corresponding to a position behind a driver's ass. A rear panel fixed to the back frame, and a swingably mounted to the rear panel. A front upper panel that supports the rear surface of the main back, and a front lower panel that is further swingably attached to a swing end of the front upper panel and supports the rear surface of the main back together with the front upper panel; The front lower panel is provided between the rear panel and the front upper panel or the front lower panel, and the front lower panel swings forward from the front upper panel so as to tilt the upper or lower part of the main back to a front position forming the thorax support posture. And a drive mechanism for causing both panels to swing while bending each other.