JP2013147101A - Lock mechanism for headrest of vehicle seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the strength of locking a headrest of a vehicle seat.SOLUTION: A headrest includes a rod-like stay 30 extended downward, and is mounted on a frame member of a seatback via a support member 40 for supporting the stay 30 to move up/down. A lock mechanism 50 for regulating vertical movement of the stay 30 with respect to the support member 40 is mainly formed of positioning grooves 32 formed in three-directional axially orthogonal positions on the outer circumferential surface of the stay 30, and three lock plates 54, 54, 55 provided at the top 40b of the support member 40. The three lock plates 54, 54, 55 arranged around the stay 30 in accordance with the three-directional positioning groove 32. Each of the lock plates slides close to or away from the stay 30. The lock plates 54, 54, 55 slide into the positioning groove 32 to be engaged with the positioning groove 32, to regulate vertical movement of the stay 30.

Description

  The present invention relates to a headrest locking mechanism in a vehicle seat. More specifically, the present invention relates to a headrest locking mechanism in a vehicle seat, in which a headrest that supports a head of a seated person is provided at an upper portion of a seatback, and the headrest is disposed so as to be movable up and down with respect to the seatback.

  Some headrests provided in a vehicle seat are arranged so as to be movable up and down with respect to the seat back so that the height position upward from the seat back can be adjusted. As a lock mechanism for positioning and fixing the height position of the headrest, a notch portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the stay that supports the headrest, and a locking member is inserted into the notch portion to allow the stay to be fixed. The one that regulates the vertical movement is conventionally used. Such a lock mechanism technique is disclosed in, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-038305 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 06-046551

  However, in the above technique, the notch portion is formed only in one or two directions on the outer peripheral surface of the stay, so the contact area between the notch portion and the locking member is small, and force is applied to the headrest. In this case, there is a problem that the lock strength is weak. In particular, when the stay that has received the force rotates around the axis, the above problem becomes conspicuous as the locking member rides on the position where the notch is not formed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and a problem to be solved by the present invention is to increase the lock strength of the headrest.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the headrest locking mechanism in the vehicle seat according to the present invention employs the following means.
The lock mechanism for the headrest in the vehicle seat according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a headrest that supports the head of the seated person at an upper portion of the seatback, and the headrest is arranged to be movable up and down with respect to the seatback. A locking mechanism for a headrest in a vehicle seat, which is seen in a cross section of a rod-like stay that extends downward from the headrest and supports the headrest, a support member that supports the stay so as to be movable up and down, and an axial section of the rod-like stay. And a notch provided on the outer peripheral surface of the stay in three directions orthogonal to the axis center, and a locking member disposed on the support member and entering the notch to restrict the vertical movement of the stay And a support member that is in a position in one direction different from the three orthogonal directions, and the locking member is released into the notch portion by a release operation. Al is exited, characterized in that it comprises a release button for releasing the locking by.
According to this configuration, the locking member enters the notch portion provided at the position in the three directions orthogonal to the axis center when viewed from the axial cross section on the outer circumferential surface of the stay and restricts the vertical movement of the stay. Increased lock strength.

A headrest locking mechanism in a vehicle seat according to a second aspect of the present invention is the headrest locking mechanism in the vehicle seat according to the first invention, wherein the locking member is positioned in the three orthogonal directions. Corresponding to the cutouts provided, they are individually arranged as separate members, and the individually arranged locking members are mechanically connected to operate in conjunction with the release operation of the release button. It is characterized by being arranged.
According to this structure, the operation | movement of the latching member of another member structure act | operates mutually in conjunction. Therefore, the locking mechanism can be made to function by operating a single release button while the locking member is configured as a separate member.

A headrest locking mechanism for a vehicle seat according to a third aspect of the present invention is a headrest locking mechanism for a vehicle seat according to the second aspect of the present invention, and is a mechanical mechanism for the individually disposed locking members. The connection is an inclined surface engagement.
According to this configuration, the interlocking of the locking member can be realized simply by engaging the inclined surface.

According to the first invention, the lock strength of the headrest can be increased.
According to the second invention, the locking mechanism can be made to function by operating a single release button while the locking member is configured as a separate member.
According to the third invention, the interlocking of the locking member can be realized simply.

It is a front view which shows the back row seat of a motor vehicle. It is a perspective view which shows a support member. It is sectional drawing of the support member of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows a stay. It is sectional drawing which shows a stay. It is sectional drawing which shows a locking mechanism. (A) shows the locked state, and (B) shows the unlocked state.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows the upper part of the rear row seat 10 of the automobile. The rear row sheet 10 shown in FIG. 1 is divided into two left and right sheets 10L and 10R. Each of the left and right seats 10L and 10R includes a seat cushion (not shown) on which an occupant is seated and a seat back 12 that serves as a backrest for the seat occupant. Each of the left and right seats 10L, 10R is configured to be independently adjustable in angle with respect to the seat cushion by including a reclining mechanism (not shown).

  Three headrests 20 </ b> L, 20 </ b> C, and 20 </ b> R that support the head of the seated person are disposed on the upper portion of the seat back 12 of the rear row seat 10. That is, the rear row sheet 10 is a seat for three people. Here, in particular, the center seated person sits across the left and right seats 10L, 10R. Accordingly, the central headrest 20C is disposed at the upper part of the boundary between the divided left and right seat backs 12,12.

Each headrest 20L, 20C, 20R is attached to the seat back 12 via a metal stay 30 having a pair of left and right leg portions 30a and two resin support members.
The stay 30 is a round pipe-shaped member provided integrally with the headrests 20L, 20C, 20R. The intermediate portion of the stay 30 is passed through the inside of the headrests 20L, 20C, and 20R in the width direction while being bent. Both end portions (a pair of leg portions 30a) of the stay 30 go out from the lower portions of the headrests 20L, 20C, 20R and extend downward. The stays 30 included in the left and right headrests 20L and 20R among the three headrests are formed in a bilaterally symmetric gate shape, and both leg portions 30a extending downward also protrude from left and right symmetrical positions with respect to the headrests 20L and 20R. Yes. The left and right headrests 20L and 20R are attached to the left and right seat backs 12 via the stays 30, respectively.
On the other hand, the stay 30 provided in the central headrest 20C is different from the one provided in the left and right headrests 20L and 20R, and is formed in an asymmetrical flag shape, and both leg portions 30a extending downward are biased to the right side of the headrest 20C. Out of the position. The central headrest 20C is attached to the right seat through the leg 30a of the stay 30 biased to the right in this way. For this reason, when the center headrest 20C receives a rearward force from the head of the seated person when the vehicle receives a rear collision, the torsional moment corresponding to the above-described bias amount acts on the leg 30a of the stay 30. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the support member 40 has a cylindrical support tube portion 40a in the vertical direction, and the leg portion 30a of the stay 30 in the shape of a round pipe is vertically supported on the support tube portion 40a. It is slidably inserted in the direction. As shown in FIG. 1, the support member 40 is inserted into the seat back 12 while leaving the head 40 b (see FIG. 2) at the upper end on the upper portion of the seat back 12, and forms the skeleton of the seat back 12 in this state. It is integrally fixed to a frame member (not shown).

  The leg portion 30 a of the stay 30 that can be slid can be positioned and fixed by the lock mechanism 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the lock mechanism 50 mainly includes a positioning groove 32 provided in the leg 30 a of the stay 30 and lock plates 54, 54, 55 provided in the head 40 b of the support member 40. Configured as In the present invention, the notch portion corresponds to the positioning groove 32, and the locking member corresponds to the lock plates 54, 54, 55.

As shown in FIG. 4, the positioning groove 32 is formed by cutting out the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 30 a of the stay 30. The positioning groove 32 is an elongated groove formed in the circumferential direction of the leg 30a with the longitudinal direction (height direction) of the leg 30a as the width direction. When viewed in the axial cross section of the leg portion 30a shown in FIG. 5, the formation position of the positioning groove 32 is a position in three directions (every 90 degrees) orthogonal to the axis. The shape of the bottom of the positioning groove 32 is linear, and the bottom line of the groove in the three directions as viewed in the axial cross section forms a U-shape.
As shown in FIG. 4, the positioning grooves 32 are formed at a plurality of height positions of the legs 30 a of the stay 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, the head 40b of the support member 40 has an outer shape that bulges outward from the upper end of the support cylinder 40a. As shown in FIG. , 54 and 55 are accommodated. Note that the case 51 has a vertically divided structure, and FIG. 6 shows a state in which the upper case is removed. In this case 51, in addition to the lock plates 54, 54, 55, a release button 53 and a biasing spring 56 are accommodated. It should be noted that the release button 53 is exposed from the window on the side of the case to the place where it is pushed. The central part in the case 51 is connected to the cylindrical shape inside the support cylinder part 40a. Therefore, the leg part 30a of the stay 30 penetrates the central part vertically.
The release button 53 and the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are disposed around the leg 30 a of the stay 30 in the case 51. Among these, the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 have three separate members, and are disposed at positions corresponding to the three-direction positioning grooves 32 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the leg 30a. The release button 53 is disposed at the remaining one-direction position where the positioning groove 32 is not formed.

The release button 53 and the three lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are each slidable relative to the case 51 in the radial direction of the stay 30 (direction approaching and separating from the axis). The sliding movement of the release button 53 and the lock plates 54, 54, 55 is guided by providing a well-known guide means between them and the case 51. As the guide means, various modes such as a pin and a guide hole, a rail and a groove can be applied, but specific illustration and description are omitted.
When the stay 30 is slid up and down and the position of one of the positioning grooves 32 is adjusted to the height of the lock plates 54, 54, and 55, the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are moved into the positioning grooves 32 by the above-described sliding movement. It is possible to enter the positioning groove 32 and to exit from the positioning groove 32. In FIG. 6, in this state, the leg 30a of the stay 30 is shown cut at the height position of the positioning groove 32.
When the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 slide into the positioning groove 32 as shown in FIG. 5A, the stay 30 and the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are engaged with each other. Vertical movement is restricted. Thereby, the headrest 20 is positioned and fixed at a certain height position.
When the lock plates 54, 54, 55 slide out of the positioning groove 32 as shown in FIG. 5B, the engagement between the stay 30 and the lock plates 54, 54, 55 is released, and the stay 30 Vertical movement is possible. Thereby, the height position of the headrest 20 upward from the seat back 12 can be changed and adjusted.

The retraction operation of the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 is activated by the pushing operation of the release button 53, and the entry operation is actuated by the biasing force of the biasing spring 56 by the operation of loosening the pushing of the release button 53. Further, the release button 53 and the three lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are connected to each other so that the slide movements are interlocked with each other by contact via the inclined surfaces 54a, 54b, and 55b.
The inclined surfaces 54a, 54b, and 55b of the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are all inclined with respect to the slidable direction of the lock plates 54, 54, and 55, as shown in FIG. The lock plates 54, 54, and 55 are slid by the action of the inclined surfaces 54a, 54b, and 55b being pushed from the direction orthogonal to the slidable direction.
Here, the operation of the lock plates 54, 54, and 55 is different between one sheet at the facing position and two sheets at the remaining positions on the basis of the position of the release button 53. For this reason, the positioning groove 32 in the direction opposite to the release button 53 is called the opposite side 32b, and the remaining two positioning grooves 32 are called the side sides 32a and 32a. The lock plate 55 and the side lock plates 54 and 54 are called separately.

The side lock plate 54 has an inclined surface 54 a at a location facing the release button 53. As shown in FIG. 6B, when the release button 53 is pushed and slides inward (in the direction approaching the stay 30) and the inclined surface 54a of the side lock plates 54 and 54 is pushed, the positioning groove 32 is obtained. The side lock plates 54, 54 that were in the side sides 32a, 32a slide outward and away from the stay. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 5A, when the side lock plates 54 and 54 slide inward and enter the side 32a and 32a of the positioning groove 32, the corner 53a of the release button 53 is pushed. The release button 53 slides outward.
Further, the side lock plate 54 and the opposite side lock plate 55 have inclined surfaces 54b and 55b at locations facing each other. As shown in FIG. 5A, when the opposite side lock plate 55 slides inward and enters into the opposite side 32b of the positioning groove 32, when the inclined surface 54b of the side lock plate is pushed, the side lock plate 54 is pushed. , 54 also slides inward and enters into the sides 32a, 32a of the positioning groove 32. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, the side lock plates 54 and 54 are slid outward to retract from the sides 32a and 32a of the positioning groove 32, and the inclined surface 55b of the opposite side lock plate 55 is removed. When is pressed, the opposite side lock plate 55 is also slid outward and retracted from the opposite side 32b of the positioning groove 32.
The urging spring 56 is provided between the inner wall surface of the lower case 51 and the end face of the opposite side lock plate 55, and urges the opposite side lock plate 55 in the entering direction. In the present embodiment, the biasing spring 56 is configured as a leaf spring. When the release button 53 is depressed, the urging spring 56 pushes the opposite side lock plate 55 and slides it inward, and the opposite side lock plate 55 enters the opposite side 32 b of the positioning groove 32.

The embodiment of the lock mechanism configured as described above has the following operational effects.
According to this configuration, the lock plates 54, 54, 55 enter the positioning groove 32 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the stay 30 at three positions perpendicular to the axis center when viewed in the axial section of the rod-shaped stay 30. Thus, the vertical movement of the stay 30 is restricted. For this reason, the contact area of the lock plates 54, 54, 55 and the positioning groove 32 is large, and the lock strength of the headrest 20 is increased.
Further, even when the stay 30 rotates around the axis, the lock plates 54, 54, 55 can be prevented from coming out of the positioning groove 32. In particular, both the leg portions 30a of the stay 30 included in the central headrest 20C of the present embodiment protrude from the position biased to the right side of the headrest 20C as described above. For this reason, when a force from the seated person's head to the rear acts on the central portion of the headrest 20C, a torsional moment corresponding to the amount of deviation acts on the leg portion 30a of the stay 30 and rotates around the axis. In the headrest having such a biased stay, the above effect is particularly effective.
Further, the lock plates 54, 54, 55 have a separate member configuration divided into three pieces, and are arranged at positions corresponding to the three-direction positioning grooves 32 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the stay 30. The case 51 is slidable in the radial direction of the stay 30. For this reason, the stroke amount of the slide movement required for the lock plates 54, 54, 55 to enter and exit from the positioning groove 32 is small. Therefore, the pushing amount required for the release operation by the release button 53 is small, and the operability of the lock mechanism is good.
Further, the forward and backward movements of the lock plates 54, 54 and 55 operate in conjunction with each other. Therefore, while the lock plates 54, 54, 55 are configured as separate members, the lock mechanism can be locked and released by an operation of pushing the single release button 53 and an operation of loosening it. Further, the interlocking of the lock plates 54, 54, 55 can be realized simply by contact through the inclined surfaces 54a, 54b, 55b.

The locking mechanism according to the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be implemented in various other forms.
The stay 30 may be in the shape of a bar, and may be, for example, a square bar instead of the round bar as in the present embodiment. Similarly, if the support member has a cylindrical shape, it may be, for example, a rectangular tube shape instead of the cylindrical shape.
In the positioning groove 32 according to the present embodiment, the opposite side 32b and the side edges 32a and 32a are connected to each other at adjacent ends, and are integrated as a whole, but the depth of the groove is reduced. Thus, the grooves in the three directions may be separated.
Further, the positioning groove 32 according to the present embodiment has a linear bottom shape, and the bottom line of the groove in the three directions has a U-shape when viewed in the axial section of the leg 30a shown in FIG. However, the bottom shape may be curved. For example, the groove depth may be uniform so that the bottom line of the groove forms an arc shape (C shape) when viewed in the axial section. In the case of such a configuration, the positioning groove 32 has a length extending in three directions (every 90 degrees) orthogonal to the axis when viewed in the axial section, and the same effect as in the present embodiment is obtained.
The inclined surfaces of the lock plates 54, 54, 55 are all inclined with respect to the slidable direction of the lock plates 54, 54, 55, and are orthogonal to the slidable direction. It slides by being pushed from the direction. In the present embodiment, the portion of the release button 53 that faces the side lock plate 54 is a corner, but the interlocking mechanism is established even when this is an inclined surface. On the other hand, the opposite sides of the side lock plate 54 and the opposite side lock plate 55 are both inclined surfaces, but the interlocking mechanism is established even if this one is a corner.
Further, the lock plates 54, 54, 55 of the present embodiment are divided into three pieces, that is, two side lock plates 54, 54 and one opposite side lock plate 55, and the directions of these slide movements are the respective arrangement positions. It was different from each other in the direction of approaching and separating from the stay 30. However, instead of this, it is also possible to have a configuration including one lock plate in which these three plates are integrally coupled. When this integral lock plate is used, the engaging portion with the positioning groove 32 is also integrated in three directions, and has a shape corresponding to the U-shape of the positioning groove 32 in advance. Further, the direction of slide movement of the lock plate is also a single direction, and naturally a mechanism for interlocking the slide movement of a plurality of lock plates is not required. The single sliding direction needs to be a direction that approaches and separates from the position opposite to the release button 53 with respect to the stay 30, similar to the sliding direction of the opposite side lock plate 55 in the present embodiment. Therefore, the portion that enters the side sides 32a and 32a in the engaging portion with the positioning groove 32 is different from the side lock plate in the present embodiment, and the portion that enters parallel to the side sides 32a and 32a of the positioning groove 32. Become.
Further, when the lock plate is configured as a separate member, the number of divisions may be two or four or more in addition to the three in the present embodiment.

10 (10L, 10R) Rear row seat 12 Seat back 20 (20L, 20C, 20R) Headrest 30 Stay 30a Leg 32 Positioning groove (notch)
32a Side 32b Opposite side 40 Support member 40a Support cylinder 40b Head 50 Lock mechanism 51 Case 53 Release button 53a Corner 54 Side lock plate (locking member)
54a, 54b Inclined surface 55 Opposite side lock plate (locking member)
55b Inclined surface 56 Biasing spring

Claims (3)

A headrest locking mechanism in a vehicle seat provided with a headrest that supports the head of a seated person at the upper part of the seatback, the headrest being arranged to be vertically movable with respect to the seatback,
A rod-like stay that extends downward from the headrest and supports the headrest;
A support member for supporting the stay so as to be movable up and down;
A notch portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the stay at a position in three directions orthogonal to the axis center when viewed in the axial section of the rod-shaped stay;
A locking member that is disposed on the support member and enters the notch to restrict the vertical movement of the stay;
A release button that is disposed on a support member that is in a position in one direction different from the three orthogonal directions, and that releases the locking member by releasing the locking member from the notch by a releasing operation. A lock mechanism for a headrest in a vehicle seat. A lock mechanism for a headrest in the vehicle seat according to claim 1,
The locking members are individually disposed as separate members corresponding to the notches provided in the three orthogonal positions, and the individually disposed locking members are used to operate the release button. A mechanism for locking a headrest in a vehicle seat, wherein the lock mechanism is mechanically coupled so as to be operated in conjunction with each other. A lock mechanism for a headrest in the vehicle seat according to claim 2,
A locking mechanism for a headrest in a vehicle seat, wherein the mechanical connection of the individually arranged locking members is inclined surface engagement.

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