JP7103586B2 - Vehicle armrest device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle armrest device.

Patent Document 1 below discloses an armrest support structure that moves an armrest in use in a vehicle seat up and down. This armrest support structure includes a link mechanism provided with a ratchet link and a pole with which the ratchet teeth of the ratchet link are engaged, and the armrest can be adjusted up and down stepwise.

JP-A-2009-274646

However, in such a structure, the height position of the arm support portion of the armrest is adjusted stepwise, so that the adjustment position is limited.

An object of the present invention is to obtain a vehicle armrest device capable of steplessly adjusting the height position of the arm support portion in consideration of the above facts.

The vehicle armrest device of the present invention according to claim 1 is an upper open portion that is arranged with the seat front-rear direction as the longitudinal direction at a position on the side of the seat on the vehicle seat and opens upward. A case-shaped armrest main body having a It has a cylinder provided inside the armrest main body and filled with gas, and a rod protruding from the cylinder, and one end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the armrest main body and the other end in the longitudinal direction. A gas spring whose side is connected to the arm support portion and which displaces the arm support portion in the vertical direction of the seat with respect to the armrest main body portion according to the amount of protrusion of the rod, and movement of the rod directly or via a member. It is equipped with a lock mechanism that locks and unlocks the lock. In addition, "displace in the vertical direction of the seat" means to change the position in the vertical direction of the seat.

In the vehicle armrest device according to claim 1, the armrest main body is arranged in the vehicle seat with the seat front-rear direction as the longitudinal direction at a position on the side of the seated person. The armrest main body is formed in a case shape having an upper opening portion that opens upward. An arm support portion that supports the arm portion of the seated person is provided on the upper portion of the armrest main body portion, and this arm support portion can be arranged at a position that closes the upper open portion of the armrest main body portion. Further , a gas spring is provided inside the armrest main body. In the gas spring, the rod protrudes from the cylinder filled with gas, and one end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the armrest main body and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the arm support portion, depending on the amount of protrusion of the rod. Displace the arm support in the vertical direction of the seat with respect to the armrest body. Further, the lock mechanism locks the movement of the rod of the gas spring directly or via a member, and can release the lock. Therefore, the height position of the arm support portion is adjusted steplessly.

In the vehicle armrest device according to the invention of claim 2, in the configuration of claim 1, the gas spring is a locked gas spring having the locking mechanism, and an unlocking member is attached to the tip of the rod. The movement of the rod is locked when the unlocking member is not pushed to the operating position, and the locked state of the rod is released when the unlocking member is pushed to the operating position. The armrest main body is provided with an operation unit that can be operated by a seated person and an operation mechanism that pushes the unlocking member in response to the operation of the operation unit.

In the vehicle armrest device according to claim 2, the gas spring is a gas spring with a lock having a locking mechanism, and has an unlocking member at the tip of the rod. In this gas spring with a lock, the movement of the rod is locked when the unlocking member is not pushed to the operating position, and the locked state of the rod is released when the unlocking member is pushed to the operating position. Further, the armrest main body is provided with an operation mechanism for pushing the unlocking member in response to the operation of the operation unit by the seated person. Therefore, although the configuration is simple, the height position of the arm support portion can be adjusted steplessly by operating the operation portion by the seated person.

The vehicle armrest device according to the third aspect of the present invention has the configuration according to the second aspect, wherein the operation portion overlaps a portion of the arm support portion on the end side in the front-rear direction of the seat in a plan view of the device. It is located in.

In the vehicle armrest device according to claim 3, since the operation unit is arranged at a position where the arm support portion overlaps with the portion of the arm support portion on the end side in the front-rear direction of the seat in the device plan view, erroneous operation is performed while ensuring operability. Is prevented or effectively suppressed.

The vehicle armrest device according to the invention according to claim 4 has a front link and a rear link that are parallel to each other in the seat width direction in the configuration according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A parallel link mechanism is provided in which the arm support portion is vertically connected to the armrest main body portion, and the gas spring has one or both of the front link and the rear link when viewed in the seat width direction. One end side in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected to the lower part of the armrest main body around the axis along the seat width direction, and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the arm support portion. On the other hand, they are rotatably connected around the axis along the seat width direction.

In the vehicle armrest device according to claim 4, a parallel link mechanism having a front link and a rear link that are parallel to each other when viewed in the seat width direction connects the arm support portion to the armrest main body portion so as to be able to move up and down. ing. Further, the gas spring is arranged so as to intersect one or both of the front link and the rear link when viewed in the seat width direction, and one end side in the longitudinal direction is around the axis along the seat width direction with respect to the lower part of the armrest main body. The other end side in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected to the arm support portion around the axis along the seat width direction. Therefore, the arm support portion can be stably moved up and down by using the gas spring without saving space and complicating the structure.

As described above, the vehicle armrest device according to the present invention has an excellent effect that the height position of the arm support portion can be adjusted steplessly.

It is a side view of the vehicle seat provided with the vehicle armrest device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the armrest device for a vehicle of FIG. 1 in a state where it is partially broken when viewed from the oblique side side. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the vehicle armrest device of FIG. 1 in a state of being viewed from an obliquely upper side with the movable body removed. It is sectional drawing corresponding to the cut surface along the F4-F4 line of FIG. FIG. 5A is a front view showing a vehicle armrest device in a state where the movable body is located at the lower most position. 5 (B) is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the cut surface along the line 5B-5B of FIG. 5 (A). FIG. 6A is a front view showing a vehicle armrest device in a state where the locked gas spring is unlocked. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the cut surface along the line 6B-6B of FIG. 6A. FIG. 7A is a front view showing a vehicle armrest device in a state where the movable body is located at the upper most position. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the cut surface along the line 7B-7B of FIG. 7A.

Hereinafter, the vehicle armrest device 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. The arrows FR, UP, and W appropriately shown in each drawing indicate the front, upper, and width directions of the vehicle seat 10, respectively. Hereinafter, when the description is simply made using the front-rear, left-right, up-down directions, the directions with respect to the vehicle seat 10 are shown.

(Structure of vehicle seat 10)
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 according to the present embodiment includes a seat cushion 12 that supports the buttocks and thighs of the seated person P, a seat back 14 that supports the back of the seated person P, and a seat. A headrest 16 for supporting the head of the person P and a vehicle armrest device 20 for supporting the arm PW of the seated person P are provided.

The vehicle armrest device 20 includes an armrest main body 22 attached to the side of the seat back 14, and a movable portion 30 attached to the armrest main body 22.

(About the armrest body 22)
The armrest main body 22 is arranged at a position on the vehicle seat 10 on the side of the seater P. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the armrest main body 22 is composed of a main body frame 24 formed in a long shape and a main body cover 26 in which the upper side is opened and the main body frame 24 is housed inside. There is.

The main body frame 24 is formed by, for example, press-molding a sheet metal. The main body frame 24 is formed in a substantially U shape when viewed from the front, and includes an underframe portion 24A forming a lower wall and a side frame portion 24B forming a side wall. The rear portions of the pair of left and right side frame portions 24B on the lower end side are bridged by the lower shaft member 28 shown in FIG. 2 in the seat width direction. Further, the parts on the rear end side (rear side of the lower shaft member 28) of the pair of left and right side frame portions 24B in the vertical direction are bridged by the pipe member 25 in the seat width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, in the armrest main body 22, the pipe member 25 projects toward the side surface of the seat back 14 (see FIG. 1). Then, the armrest main body 22 is attached to the side surface side of the seat back 14 (see FIG. 1) so as to be rotatable around the axis of the shaft member 100 inserted in the pipe member 25 shown in FIG. Has been done.

When the armrest main body 22 is located at the used position, the front / rear / left / right / up / down directions of the vehicle armrest device 20 and the front / rear / left / right / up / down directions of the vehicle seat 10 (see FIG. 1) coincide with or substantially coincide with each other. It has become. In the description of the present embodiment, the front-back, left-right, up-down directions described with respect to the vehicle armrest device 20 indicate the direction with respect to the vehicle seat 10 (see FIG. 1) in a state where the armrest main body 22 is located at the use position. do.

The main body cover 26 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is made of resin as an example. Although each wall portion of the main body cover 26 is shown solidly in FIG. 2, each wall portion of the main body cover 26 may be formed in a hollow shape. In the main body cover 26 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a portion of the upper portion from the front end to the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction is open. The main body cover 26 has a lower wall portion 26A (see FIG. 2) fixed to the lower surface of the underframe portion 24A and a pair of left and right side wall portions fixed to the outer surfaces of the pair of left and right side frame portions 24B in the seat width direction. 26B (see FIG. 3) and. Further, the main body cover 26 has a rear wall portion 26C that connects the rear end portions of the side wall portions 26B, and a rear upper wall portion that connects the upper end portions of the rear portions of the pair of left and right side wall portions 26B and the upper end portions of the rear wall portion 26C. It is equipped with 26D. As shown in FIG. 3, in the pair of left and right side wall portions 26B, the outer surface in the seat width direction of the first portion 26B1 set on the front side of the posterior upper wall portion 26D is on the posterior side of the first portion 26B1. The second portion 26B2 set to is recessed one step inward in the sheet width direction from the outer surface in the sheet width direction.

Further, the front wall portion 26E arranged between the pair of left and right side wall portions 26B near the end of the main body cover 26 on the front side of the seat is arranged to face the rear wall portion 26C and is slidably displaced in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction of the seat. It is possible. As shown in FIG. 2, a recess 26E1 for arranging a switch is formed on the upper portion of the front wall portion 26E so that the surface on the front side of the seat is concave. Further, a front upper wall portion 26F extending to the front side of the seat is formed from the upper end portion of the front wall portion 26E. Further, a convex portion 26G is formed which protrudes downward from the front end portion of the front upper wall portion 26F and has a convex curved shape on the protruding tip side when viewed from the side surface of the seat.

(About moving part 30)
The movable portion 30 attached to the armrest main body portion 22 is composed of a movable body 32 and a vertical adjustment mechanism 40. The movable body 32 is arranged on the front side of the rear upper wall portion 26D of the armrest main body portion 22. Further, the vertical adjustment mechanism 40 is a mechanism for stably displaces the movable body 32 with respect to the armrest main body 22 in the vertical direction of the seat. Hereinafter, each configuration will be described.

(About movable body 32)
The movable body 32 includes a movable frame 34 made of sheet metal and a movable cover 36 made of resin. Although each wall portion of the movable cover 36 is shown solidly in the drawing, each wall portion of the movable cover 36 may be formed in a hollow shape.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the movable frame 34 is formed in a substantially inverted U shape when viewed from the front, and includes an upper frame portion 34A forming an upper wall and a side frame portion 34B forming a side wall. , Is equipped. The upper frame portion 34A can be arranged at a position that closes the upper open portion 22U (see FIG. 3) of the armrest main body portion 22. As shown in FIG. 5B, the portion of the upper frame portion 34A on the front end side is in contact with the upper surface side of the front upper wall portion 26F. As shown in FIG. 5A, the side frame portion 34B is arranged adjacent to the outer surface in the seat width direction of the first portion 26B1 of the side wall portion 26B of the armrest main body portion 22.

The movable cover 36 is formed in a substantially inverted U shape when viewed from the front, and has an upper wall portion 36A fixed to the upper surface of the upper frame portion 34A and a pair of left and right side frame portions 34B on the outer surfaces in the seat width direction. It is provided with a pair of left and right side wall portions 36B fixed to. Here, in the movable body 32, the upper wall portion 36A of the movable cover 36 and the upper frame portion 34A of the movable frame 34 support the arm portion PW of the seater P (both refer to FIG. 1). Is configured. That is, the arm support portion 32A is provided on the upper portion of the armrest main body portion 22. The upper surface of the arm support portion 32A shown in FIG. 2 (the upper surface of the movable cover 36) is an arm support surface that supports the arm portion PW of the seater P (both refer to FIG. 1). In the present embodiment, the front end portion of the arm support portion 32A is arranged at a position aligned with the front end portion of the front upper wall portion 26F.

(About the vertical adjustment mechanism 40)
The vertical adjustment mechanism 40 includes a parallel link mechanism 42 in which the arm support portion 32A of the movable body 32 is connected to the armrest main body 22 so as to be able to move up and down, and a gas spring with a lock that urges the movable body 32 diagonally upward in front of the seat. It has a 70 and an operating mechanism 80 for operating the gas spring 70 with a lock. The "rotation" described in the following description is the rotation around the axis along the seat width direction.

The parallel link mechanism 42 is housed in the main body cover 26 of the armrest main body 22 on the lower side of the seat of the arm support 32A. In the parallel link mechanism 42, the sheet metal lower brackets 44 and 46 fixed to the underframe portion 24A and the sheet metal upper brackets 48 and 50 fixed to the upper frame portion 34A are connected by the parallel link 60. It is configured.

The first lower brackets 44 are arranged in pairs on both sides in the seat width direction at a portion on the front end side of the underframe portion 24A. The second lower bracket 46 is arranged in pairs on both sides in the seat width direction in the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the underframe portion 24A. Shafts 52 and 54 arranged along the seat width direction are bridged between the pairs of the lower brackets 44 and 46. Further, the first upper bracket 48 is arranged in pairs on both sides in the seat width direction in the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the upper frame portion 34A (in FIG. 2, only the first upper bracket 48 on the left side is shown). The second upper bracket 50 is arranged in pairs on both sides in the seat width direction at the rear end side portion of the upper frame portion 34A (in FIG. 2, only the second upper bracket 50 on the left side is shown). Shafts 56 and 58 (see FIG. 3) arranged along the seat width direction are bridged between the pairs of the upper brackets 48 and 50.

The parallel link 60 has a pair of left and right front links 62 arranged on the front side and a pair of left and right rear links 64 arranged on the rear side. The front link 62 and the rear link 64 are parallel to each other when viewed in the seat width direction. One end (lower end) of the pair of left and right front links 62 in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected to the first lower bracket 44 via a shaft 52, respectively. The other ends (upper ends) of the pair of left and right front links 62 in the longitudinal direction are rotatably connected to the first upper bracket 48 via the shaft 56, respectively. Further, one end portion (lower end portion) of the pair of left and right rear links 64 in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected to the second lower bracket 46 via a shaft 54, respectively. The other ends (upper ends) of the pair of left and right rear links 64 in the longitudinal direction are rotatably connected to the second upper bracket 50 via the shaft 58, respectively.

In the parallel link mechanism 42 having the above configuration, the front link 62 and the rear link 64 rotate in the same direction, so that the arm support portion 32A to which the upper brackets 48 and 50 are fixed changes with respect to the lower brackets 44 and 46. And, it is configured to move up and down between the lower most position shown in FIG. 6 and the upper most position shown in FIG.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a gas spring 70 with a lock is housed in the main body cover 26 of the armrest main body 22 in the intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction thereof. In the lower right ellipse of FIG. 2, the gas spring 70 with a lock and a part of the peripheral portion thereof are drawn out from the armrest device 20 for a vehicle.

The gas spring 70 with a lock is arranged so as to intersect the rear link 64 when viewed in the seat width direction. The lockable gas spring 70 includes a cylinder 74 in which a high-pressure gas (for example, nitrogen gas) is sealed, and a rod 76 that protrudes from one end side in the axial direction of the cylinder 74 and is expandable and contractible. Further, the mounting portion 72 extends from the end portion of the cylinder 74 opposite to the side on which the rod 76 protrudes. The lower shaft member 28 penetrates the mounting portion 72, so that the gas spring 70 with a lock is rotatably connected to the lower shaft member 28. In other words, the lower end portion (one end portion in the longitudinal direction) side of the gas spring 70 with a lock is rotatably connected to the lower portion of the armrest main body portion 22 around the axis along the seat width direction.

The gas spring 70 with a lock has a lock mechanism 78, and the lock mechanism 78 directly locks the movement of the rod 76 and can release the lock. The gas spring 70 with a lock has a lock release pin 78P as an unlock member forming a part of the lock mechanism 78 at the tip end portion of the rod 76. Then, in the gas spring 70 with a lock, the movement of the rod 76 is locked when the unlock pin 78P is not pushed to the operating position, and the locked state of the rod 76 is locked when the unlocking pin 78P is pushed to the operating position. It is configured to be released. Further, in the gas spring 70 with a lock, when the locked state of the rod 76 is released, the amount of protrusion of the rod 76 from the cylinder 74 is increased by the action of the gas reaction force. As for the basic configuration of the gas spring 70 with a lock, for example, the basic configuration of a known gas spring with a lock disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-106674 can be applied, so detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The rod 76 of the gas spring 70 with a lock is rotatably connected to the shaft 56 via a substantially U-shaped (U-shaped) mounting bracket 66. The mounting bracket 66 includes a pair of left and right side wall portions 66A through which the shaft 56 penetrates, and a connecting wall portion 66B through which the rod 76 of the gas spring 70 with a lock penetrates by connecting the ends of the pair of left and right side wall portions 66A. ing. The pair of left and right side wall portions 66A are rotatably connected to the shaft 56, and the connecting wall portion 66B is fixed to the rod 76 by the fastener 68. As a result, the upper end portion (the other end portion in the longitudinal direction) side of the gas spring 70 with a lock is rotatably connected to the arm support portion 32A around the axis along the seat width direction.

As described above, the gas spring 70 with a lock provided inside the armrest main body 22 displaces the arm support 32A with respect to the armrest main body 22 in the vertical direction of the seat according to the amount of protrusion of the rod 76. There is.

(About the operation mechanism 80)
The operating mechanism 80 for operating the locked gas spring 70 is provided on the lower side of the seat in the front portion of the arm support portion 32A. The operation mechanism 80 has an operation switch 82 as an operation unit that can be operated by the seated person P (see FIG. 1), and is configured to push the unlock pin 78P in response to the operation of the operation switch 82. The operation switch 82 is arranged at a position where the arm support portion 32A overlaps with a portion of the arm support portion 32A on the front end side in the front-rear direction of the seat in a plan view of the device. The operation switch 82 is displaceable in the front-rear direction of the seat, and is ergonomically formed into a shape that is easy to push so that it can be pushed with a small amount of finger force. The rear side of the operation switch 82 is arranged in the recess 26E1 in the upper part of the front wall portion 26E. A switch opening located on the outer peripheral side of the operation switch 82 is formed on the front side of the recess 26E1, but in FIG. 2, a part of the switch opening is formed in order to make the operation switch 82 easy to see. Is shown in the excised state. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation switch 82 is connected to the unlock piece 86 via a connecting shaft member 84 that penetrates the front wall portion 26E and extends to the rear side of the seat.

An axial end portion (front end portion) of the connecting shaft member 84 is rotatably connected to the rear portion of the operation switch 82 around an axis along the seat width direction. A portion of the unlocking piece 86 on the outer peripheral side is rotatably connected to the other end (rear end) of the connecting shaft member 84 in the axial direction around the axis along the seat width direction via a pin 88. .. The unlock piece 86 has a flat plate shape and is arranged so that the sheet width direction is the plate thickness direction. The portion of the unlock piece 86 near the center is rotatably connected to the shaft 56. Then, when the operation switch 82 is pressed in the state shown in FIG. 5 (B) and the connecting shaft member 84 is displaced, the unlocked piece 86 rotates around the shaft 56 and is shown in FIG. 6 (B). It is configured to reach the indicated position and press the unlock pin 78P (see FIG. 5B) (in other words, unlock the locked state).

(Action / effect)
Next, the operation and effect of the above embodiment will be described.

In the vehicle armrest device 20 shown in FIG. 1, the armrest main body 22 is arranged at a position on the vehicle seat 10 on the side side of the seater P. As shown in FIG. 2, an arm support portion 32A is provided on the upper portion of the armrest main body portion 22, and a gas spring 70 with a lock is provided inside the armrest main body portion 22. In the gas spring 70 with a lock, the rod 76 protrudes from the cylinder 74 in which the gas is sealed, and one end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the armrest main body 22 and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the arm support 32A. There is. Then, as shown in FIGS. 5 (B) and 7 (B), the gas spring 70 with a lock causes the arm support portion 32A to move the arm support portion 32A in the vertical direction of the seat with respect to the armrest main body portion 22 according to the amount of protrusion of the rod 76. Displace. The gas spring 70 with a lock has a lock mechanism 78, and the lock mechanism 78 can directly lock the movement of the rod 76 and release the lock. Therefore, the height position of the arm support portion 32A is adjusted steplessly.

More specifically, the gas spring 70 with a lock has a lock release pin 78P (see FIG. 5B) that forms a part of the lock mechanism 78 at the tip end portion of the rod 76. Then, in the gas spring 70 with a lock, the movement of the rod 76 is locked when the unlock pin 78P is not pushed to the operating position as shown in FIG. 5 (B), and as shown in FIG. 6 (B). When the lock release pin 78P (see FIG. 5B) is pushed to the operating position, the lock state of the rod 76 is released. When the locked state of the rod 76 is released, the rod 76 moves as shown in FIG. 7B, and the amount of protrusion from the cylinder 74 increases. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 (B) and 6 (B), the armrest main body 22 has an unlock pin 78P (FIG. 5) in response to an operation of the operation switch 82 by the seater P (see FIG. 1). An operation mechanism 80 for pressing (see (B)) is provided. Therefore, although it has a simple configuration, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the height position of the arm support portion 32A is steplessly adjusted by operating the operation switch 82 by the seated person P (see FIG. 1). be able to.

Further, in the present embodiment, the parallel link mechanism 42 having the front link 62 and the rear link 64 which are parallel to each other in the seat width direction connects the arm support portion 32A to the armrest main body portion 22 so as to be able to move up and down. ing. Further, the gas spring 70 with a lock is arranged so as to intersect the rear link 64 when viewed in the seat width direction, and one end side in the longitudinal direction rotates around the axis along the seat width direction with respect to the lower part of the armrest main body 22. It is movably connected, and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected to the arm support portion 32A around the axis along the seat width direction. Therefore, the arm support portion 32A can be stably moved up and down by using the gas spring 70 with a lock without saving space and complicating the structure.

As described above, according to the vehicle armrest device 20 according to the present embodiment, the height position of the arm support portion 32A can be adjusted steplessly. Further, in the present embodiment, the number of parts can be suppressed and the mass can be suppressed.

Further, in the present embodiment, the operation switch 82 is arranged at a position where the arm support portion 32A overlaps the portion of the arm support portion 32A on the end side in the front-rear direction of the seat in the device plan view. Therefore, erroneous operation is prevented or effectively suppressed while ensuring operability.

(Supplementary explanation of the embodiment)
In the above embodiment, the gas spring is a gas spring 70 with a lock, but as a modification of the above embodiment, the gas spring does not have a lock mechanism, and a lock mechanism is provided separately from the gas spring. At the same time, the locking mechanism may be configured such that the movement of the rod is locked directly or via a member (for example, a movable body (32)) and the lock can be released.

Further, as a modification of the above-described embodiment, the vehicle armrest device 20 shown in FIG. 2 and the like of the above-described embodiment is inverted in the front-rear direction except for the structural portion for attaching to the seat back 14 (see FIG. The composition can also be adopted.

Further, as a modification of the above embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which the operation switch (82) is arranged at a position that does not overlap with the arm support portion (32A) in the plan view of the device.

Further, as a modification of the above embodiment, the operation mechanism has an operation lever as an operation unit that can be operated by the seated person (P), and an unlock member (for example, an unlock pin (for example,) The operation mechanism may be such that the 78P) or the unlock button) is pressed.

Further, as a modification of the above embodiment, the gas spring (70) may be arranged so as to intersect the front link (62) when viewed in the seat width direction, or the front link may be arranged so as to intersect the front link (62) when viewed in the seat width direction. A configuration may be adopted in which the configuration is arranged so as to intersect both the (62) and the rear link (64).

Further, as a modification of the above embodiment, instead of the parallel link mechanism 42, an X-link mechanism in which the arm support portion (32A) is vertically connected to the armrest main body portion (22) may be provided.

Further, the vehicle armrest device 20 of the above embodiment can be applied not only to the front seat but also to the rear seat.

The above-described embodiment and the above-described modification can be combined and implemented as appropriate.

Although an example of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be variously modified and implemented within a range not deviating from the gist thereof. ..

10 Vehicle seat 20 Vehicle armrest device 22 Armrest body
22U upper open part
32A Arm support 42 Parallel link mechanism 62 Front link 64 Rear link 70 Gas spring with lock (gas spring)
74 Cylinder 76 Rod 78 Lock mechanism 78P Unlock pin (unlock member)
80 Operation mechanism 82 Operation switch (operation unit)
P seated person PW seated person's arm

Claims (4)

A case-shaped armrest main body that is arranged with the front-rear direction of the seat as the longitudinal direction at a position on the side of the seat on the vehicle seat and has an upper opening portion that opens upward .
An arm support portion that is provided on the upper part of the armrest main body portion and can be arranged at a position that closes the upper open portion of the armrest main body portion to support the arm portion of the seated person.
It has a cylinder provided inside the armrest main body and filled with gas, and a rod protruding from the cylinder. One end side in the longitudinal direction is connected to the armrest main body and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is connected. A gas spring that is connected to the arm support portion and displaces the arm support portion in the vertical direction of the seat with respect to the armrest main body portion according to the amount of protrusion of the rod.
A locking mechanism that locks the movement of the rod directly or via a member and allows the lock to be released.
Armrest device for vehicles equipped with. The gas spring is a gas spring with a lock having the lock mechanism, has an unlock member at the tip of the rod, and locks the movement of the rod when the unlock member is not pushed to the operating position. Then, when the unlocking member is pushed to the operating position, the locked state of the rod is released.
The vehicle armrest device according to claim 1, wherein the armrest main body has an operation unit that can be operated by a seated person and is provided with an operation mechanism that pushes the unlocking member in response to the operation of the operation unit. .. The vehicle armrest device according to claim 2, wherein the operation unit is arranged at a position where the arm support portion overlaps with a portion of the arm support portion on the end side in the front-rear direction of the seat in a plan view of the device. A parallel link mechanism having a front link and a rear link that are parallel to each other when viewed in the seat width direction and connecting the arm support portion to the armrest main body portion so as to be able to move up and down is provided.
The gas spring is arranged so as to intersect one or both of the front link and the rear link when viewed in the seat width direction, and one end side in the longitudinal direction is along the seat width direction with respect to the lower portion of the armrest main body. Claims 1 to 3, wherein the other end side in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected around the axis and the other end side in the longitudinal direction is rotatably connected around the axis along the seat width direction with respect to the arm support portion. The vehicle armrest device according to any one of the following items.

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