JP7185579B2 - vehicle seat - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat mounted on a vehicle.

Conventionally, vehicle seats are manufactured in a seating posture recommended by manufacturers without considering the seating posture of each occupant. If the occupant is not seated in a seated posture recommended by the manufacturer, the occupant feels tired in various parts of the body. In addition, this type of vehicle seat does not take into account the physique of the occupant.

In order to solve such problems, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a seat portion and a back support portion which are made of a flexible air-impermeable material and filled with powder in a flowable state. discloses a vehicle seat arranged in a In the vehicle seat disclosed in Patent Document 1, the powder in the bag body is made to flow by the weight of the seated person, and the surfaces of the seat portion and the back support portion are formed into uneven surfaces that match the seating posture of the occupant. Air is sucked from the bag to fix the position of the powder in the bag and to maintain the uneven surface of the seat and backrest.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a vehicle seat in which a plurality of airtight bags filled with foamed plastic particles as powder are arranged between an upholstery member and a cushion body. In the vehicle seat disclosed in Patent Document 2, the interior of a plurality of airtight bags is decompressed to adhere and solidify the foamed plastic particles, thereby maintaining an uneven surface that matches the seating posture of the occupant on the entire surface of the skin member. ing.

JP-A-10-229930 Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-115448

However, the vehicle seats disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 cause the powder on the backrest to move to the outer periphery of the backrest due to the weight of the seated passenger. For this reason, in the vehicle seats disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, even if the bag body is filled with air after the passenger leaves the seat, the position of the powder in the backrest remains at the position before sitting. There is a problem with resilience that it is difficult to return.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a vehicle seat that accommodates powder and that can improve the resilience of the powder in the seat back.

In order to achieve the above object, the vehicle seat of the present invention includes a seat cushion that supports the buttocks of an occupant, and a seat back that supports the back of the occupant. a bag-shaped flexible gas-impermeable material containing a powder; , wherein the air-supplying part fluidizes the powder stored in the storage part by supplying gas to the storage part, softens the shape of the bag body, and supplies the powder to the storage part. By sucking gas, the powder contained in the containing portion is solidified to harden the shape of the bag, and the containing portion fixes the outer edge of the containing portion to the interior of the seat back. an outer edge fixing portion, the outer edge fixing portion including a top portion arranged on the seat back; a pair of straight portions extending upward from the top portion toward both ends of the seat back; and the accommodating portion forms a substantially V-shaped bag by the top portion and the pair of straight portions of the outer edge fixing portion.

Advantageous Effects of Invention According to the present invention, in a vehicle seat containing powder, it is possible to improve the resilience of the powder in the seat back.

1 is a perspective view of the interior of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a conceptual perspective view of a seatback of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a conceptual perspective view of a seat back in a state where an occupant is seated on the vehicle seat according to the embodiment of the invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a state in which an occupant is seated on a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention, with the front-rear direction of the vehicle taken as the cross-sectional direction; FIG. FIG. 7 is a conceptual perspective view of a seat back of a vehicle seat according to a modified example of the embodiment of the present invention;

(embodiment)
A vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. FIG. However, the embodiments described below show some examples of the present invention and do not limit the content of the present invention. Moreover, not all the configurations and operations described in each embodiment are essential as the configurations and operations of the present invention. In addition, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and redundant explanations are omitted.

[Schematic Configuration of Vehicle Seat]
A schematic configuration of a vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the interior of a vehicle 1 having a vehicle seat 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the vehicle seat 10. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a vehicle 1 has a front seat 3 located behind an instrument panel 2 and a rear seat 4 located behind the front seat 3 . . The front seat 3 has a front seat 3a for the driver's seat and a front seat 3b for the passenger's seat. A vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment is applied to at least one of the front seat 3 and the rear seat 4 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle seat 10 includes a seat cushion 20 fixed on the structure of the vehicle body, and a seat back 30 provided to extend upward from the rear end side of the seat cushion 20 . and a headrest 40 provided at the upper end of the seat back 30. - 特許庁

The seat cushion 20 supports the buttocks and legs of the occupant, and the seat back 30 supports the waist and back of the occupant. The headrest 40 supports the head of the occupant.

[Seat back configuration]
Next, the configuration of the seat back 30 according to the embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a conceptual perspective view of the seat back 30 of the vehicle seat 10. As shown in FIG. In the following description, FIG. 2 will be referred to as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 3, the seat back 30 includes a back support portion 31 with which the occupant's back is in contact, a plurality of bag-shaped containing portions 32 for containing powder, and gas in each of the plurality of containing portions 32 . and an air supply/intake unit 33 for supplying air.

The backrest portion 31 is covered with an upholstery member 31a made of cloth, genuine leather, or synthetic leather.

A plurality of accommodating portions 32 are provided along the vertical direction so as to be positioned behind the backrest portion 31 and on the opposite side facing the back of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat 10 . It is formed of a bag of permeable material.

Further, the accommodation portion 32 includes a connecting portion 34 for circulating the gas supplied and inhaled from the air supply portion 33 and an outer edge fixing portion 35 for fixing the outer edge of the accommodation portion 32 to the inside of the seat back 30. have.

In the present embodiment, the gas supplied to and sucked into the storage section 32 corresponds to air (outside air), but may be a medium gas that serves as a medium for enhancing fluidization and solidification of powder.

Since the accommodating portion 32 is a bag made of a flexible gas-impermeable material, the inside is kept airtight.

When the inside of the storage portion 32 is filled with gas through the air supply portion 33, the shape of the storage portion 32 expands and deforms. The powder is accommodated in the accommodating portion 32 in a flowable state by deforming the accommodating portion 32 so as to swell.

On the other hand, when the gas is sucked from the inside of the accommodation portion 32 through the air supply/intake portion 33, the shape of the accommodation portion 32 is deformed so as to contract. The powder particles are stored in the storage part 32 in a fixed state by the powder particles coming into close contact with each other due to the contraction of the shape of the storage part 32 .

The outer edge fixing portion 35 includes a top portion 32a arranged substantially in the center of the seat back 30 in the horizontal direction, and a pair of straight portions 32b extending upward from the top portion 32a toward both ends of the seat back 30. and Thereby, the accommodating part 32 is formed in a substantially V-shaped bag body. Further, end portions 32c of the straight portions 32b are provided on both end sides of the seat back 30. As shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the outer edge fixing portion 35 fixes the accommodating portion 32 to the inside of the seat back 30 by sewing the accommodating portion 32 and the seat back 30 together. It may be fixed inside the bag 30 .

In the vertical direction of the seat back 30, three accommodating portions 32 each having a substantially V-shaped bag body are arranged. In addition, the number of storage units 32 may be one, two, or four or more.

When the occupant is not seated on the vehicle seat 10 , the containing portion 32 is filled with gas, and therefore contains the powder in a flowable state. The powder stored in a flowable state stays at the top 32a due to its own weight. Therefore, the shape of the storage portion 32 is deformed so as to swell at the top portion 32a due to the powder staying at the top portion 32a.

The air supply/intake unit 33 is composed of, for example, a compressor or the like, and is connected to the connecting portion 34 of the housing portion 32 via a flow pipe 36 . The air supply/intake unit 23 also supplies/inhales the gas to the storage unit 32 in response to a control signal from the controller 100, which will be described later.

The air supply/intake unit 33 supplies gas to the storage unit 32 through the flow pipe 36, thereby deforming the storage unit 32 so as to swell and fluidize the powder stored therein. Since the contained powder is fluidized, the shape of the containing portion 32 is softened.

On the other hand, the air supply unit 33 sucks the gas from the storage unit 32 through the flow pipe 36, thereby deforming the storage unit 32 so as to contract and solidify the powder stored therein. . Since the contained powder is solidified, the shape of the containing portion 32 is hardened.

[Electrical Configuration of Vehicle Seat]
Next, the electrical configuration of the vehicle seat 10 according to the embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the vehicle seat 10. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the vehicle seat 10 is provided with a controller 100 .
The controller 100 includes an air supply unit 33, a seat pressure sensor 101 for detecting the pressure applied to the seat cushion 20, an in-vehicle photographing camera 102 for photographing the occupants in the vehicle 1, and an exterior photographing for photographing the traveling direction of the vehicle 1. It is communicably connected to the camera 103 for use.

The in-vehicle photographing camera 102 constitutes a posture detection unit that detects the posture of the passenger seated on the vehicle seat 10 . The seat pressure sensor 101 can also estimate the posture of the seated occupant by the pressure portion.

The controller 100 includes a processor, memory, storage, and the like (not shown), and performs control processing for comprehensively controlling various components included in the vehicle seat 10 and realizing various functions of the vehicle seat 10 . to run. The processor calls up the programs in the present embodiment from the storage, expands them in the memory, and executes them in a predetermined order, thereby executing seatback control processing according to the seating posture of the occupant.

Specifically, when the controller 100 acquires the pressure applied to the seat cushion 20 from the seat pressure sensor 101 or the image of the occupant from the in-vehicle camera 102, the controller 100 detects the seating of the occupant based on the acquired pressure or image. Posture detection. Based on the detected sitting posture, the controller 100 then executes a gas supply/inhalation control that causes the air supply/inhalation unit 33 to supply and inhale gas.

[Description of the mode in which the powder is restored]
Next, in the seat back 30 of the vehicle seat 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the manner in which the powder stored inside the storage portion 32 is restored will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. In addition, in the following description, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are appropriately referred to.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual perspective view of the seat back 30 in a state where an occupant 50 is seated on the vehicle seat 10. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6 shows changes in the state of the seat back 30 in chronological order when the occupant 50 is seated on the vehicle seat 10 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , when the occupant 50 is seated on the vehicle seat 10 , the powder stored inside the storage portion 32 is pressed by the back of the occupant 50 so that the end portion of the straight portion 32 b is bias toward 32c.

The shape of the accommodation portion 32 at the end portion 32c deforms so as to swell as the powder accommodated therein is biased toward the end portion 32c of the linear portion 32b.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6A, immediately before the occupant 50 sits on the vehicle seat 10, the shape of the housing portion 32 is softened. Therefore, the powder stored in a flowable state stays at the top 32a due to its own weight.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6B , immediately after the occupant 50 is seated on the vehicle seat 10 , the powder remaining at the top portion 32 a is pressed by the back of the occupant 50 and is It flows upward from 32a to the end 32c of the straight portion 32b and is biased toward the end 32c of the straight portion 32b.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6(c), when the controller 100 determines that the amount of change in the seating posture of the occupant 50 detected by the in-vehicle camera 102 or the seat pressure sensor 101 is small, the seat is accommodated in the air supply section 33. By sucking gas from the portion 32, the powder is solidified and the shape of the storage portion 32 is hardened.
As a result, the seating posture of the occupant 50 is fixed by the shape of the hardened housing portion 32 at the end portion 32c, so that the sense of stability of the occupant 50 seated can be improved. In particular, the swelling of the end portions 32c on both end sides of the seat back 30 suppresses the shaking of the seated posture of the occupant 50 due to the vehicle running environment.

The shaking of the occupant 50 due to the vehicle running environment includes an inertial force (so-called lateral G) caused by acceleration in the left-right direction of the vehicle while the vehicle is running.

Then, when the controller 100 determines that the occupant 50 has left the seat via the in-vehicle photographing camera 102 or the seat pressure sensor 101 as a seating determination unit, the air supply unit 33 is caused to supply gas to the storage unit 32, thereby causing powder to be removed. The body is fluidized, and the shape of the housing portion 32 is softened. As a result, the powder stored in a flowable state flows downward from the end portion 32c of the linear portion 32b to the top portion 31c due to its own weight.
Therefore, the position of the powder stored in the storage portion 32 reliably returns to the position just before the passenger 50 sits down, thereby improving the resilience.

[Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the plurality of storage portions 32 are arranged vertically inside the seat back 30, but the plurality of storage portions 32 may be arranged horizontally.
FIG. 7 is a conceptual perspective view of the seat back of the vehicle seat.

In this modified example, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of storage portions 32 are arranged inside the seat back 30 in vertical and horizontal directions. Further, when the occupant is not seated on the vehicle seat 10, the powder stored inside each storage portion 32 stays at the top portion 32a.

Also in this modification, as described with reference to FIGS. Gas is supplied to the storage portion 32 through the intake portion 33 to fluidize the powder.
Therefore, when the controller 100 detects that the occupant leaves the seat, the powder contained in the container 32 is fluidized, so that the position of the powder returns to the top portion 32a due to its own weight.
As a result, when the occupant 50 leaves the seat, the controller 100 reliably returns the position of the powder to the position before the occupant 50 is seated, thereby improving resilience.

Further, since a plurality of storage portions 32 are provided in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, the storage portions 32 are subdivided and the end portions 32c of the pair of straight portions 32b arranged on both end sides of the seat back 30 are increased.
As a result, the back of the seated occupant 50 is fixed by the powder biased from both sides of the seat back 30 to the end 32c of the straight portion 32b, so that the occupant 50 feels more stable in the seating posture.

As described above, in each of the above-described embodiments, inside the vehicle seat 10 seat back 30,
A storage portion 32 is provided which is formed in the shape of a bag made of a flexible gas-impermeable material and stores powder. The accommodation portion 32 has an outer edge fixing portion 35 that fixes the outer edge of the accommodation portion 32 to the inside of the seat back 30 . The outer edge fixing portion 35 has a top portion 32 a and a pair of straight portions extending upward from the top portion 32 a toward both ends of the seat back 30 in the horizontal direction of the seat back 30 . 32b. The powder accommodated in the accommodation portion 32 is switched between fluidization and solidification by the air supply portion 33 . When the occupant 50 is not seated, the powder stored in the storage portion 32 stays on the top portion 32a. When the occupant 50 leaves the seat, the powder stored in the storage section 32 is fluidized by the air supply section 33, so that the powder reliably returns to the top section 32a by its own weight.
As a result, in the vehicle seat containing the powder, it is possible to improve the resilience of the powder in the seat back 30 .

[others]
In the above-described embodiment, the storage portion 32 is formed in a substantially V-shaped bag body, but the present invention is not limited to this. The shape of the housing portion 32 is such that when the occupant is not seated, the powder is biased toward the top portion 32a, and when the occupant is seated, the powder is biased toward both ends of the straight portion 32b of the seat back 30, so that the occupant 50 is not seated. Any shape may be used as long as the powder, which has been biased toward both end sides of the seat back 30 in the linear portion 32b, returns to the top portion 32a when the user leaves the seat.

1: vehicle, 3: front seat, 4: rear seat, 10: vehicle seat, 20: seat cushion, 30: seat back, 31: back support, 31a: skin member, 32: housing, 32a: top, 32b : straight part, 32c: end part, 33: intake air part, 34: connection part, 35: outer edge fixing part, 36: circulation pipe, 40: headrest, 50: occupant, 100: controller (control part, seating determination part) , 101: seat pressure sensor (posture detection unit), 102: camera for photographing inside the vehicle (posture detection unit), 103: camera for photographing outside the vehicle

Claims (2)

A vehicle seat comprising a seat cushion supporting the buttocks of an occupant and a seat back supporting the back of the occupant,
a plurality of storage units formed in the interior of the seat back in the form of bags made of a flexible gas-impermeable material for storing powder;
a supply/intake unit that supplies gas to the storage unit and sucks gas from the storage unit;
The air supply/intake unit is
The powder stored in the storage portion is made fluid by supplying gas to the storage portion to soften the shape of the storage portion,
By sucking gas into the storage portion, the powder stored in the storage portion is solidified to harden the shape of the storage portion;
The plurality of storage units are
outer edge fixing portions arranged in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction of the seat back so as to face the back of a seated occupant, and fixing the outer edge to the inside of the seat back ;
The plurality of storage portions are substantially V-shaped bags having a top portion and a pair of straight portions extending upward from the top portion toward both ends of the seat back by the outer edge fixing portion. fixed to form a body,
A vehicle seat characterized by: a control unit that performs air supply/inhalation control for causing the air supply/air supply unit to perform air supply to/from the accommodation unit;
a seating determination unit that determines whether the occupant is seated,
The control unit
After the seating determination unit determines that the occupant is seated, control is performed to cause the air supply/intake unit to inhale the storage unit.
The vehicle seat according to claim 1, characterized in that:

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