U.S. patent application number 12/320120 was filed with the patent office on 2009-07-23 for armrest structure for vehicle seat.
This patent application is currently assigned to MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Kouichi Nakaya, Daisaku Tochigi.
Application Number | 20090184559 12/320120 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40565068 |
Filed Date | 2009-07-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090184559 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nakaya; Kouichi ; et
al. |
July 23, 2009 |
Armrest structure for vehicle seat
Abstract
In an armrest structure for a vehicle seat, an armrest is
mounted at a mounting portion on the outboard side of a seat back
and is arranged close to a door trim panel. The armrest is capable
of moving inboard upon receipt of an inboard load.
Inventors: |
Nakaya; Kouichi; (Hiroshima,
JP) ; Tochigi; Daisaku; (Hiroshima, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
STAAS & HALSEY LLP
SUITE 700, 1201 NEW YORK AVENUE, N.W.
WASHINGTON
DC
20005
US
|
Assignee: |
MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION
Hiroshima
JP
|
Family ID: |
40565068 |
Appl. No.: |
12/320120 |
Filed: |
January 16, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
297/411.32 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60N 2/753 20180201;
B60N 2/427 20130101; B60N 2/4235 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
297/411.32 |
International
Class: |
A47C 7/54 20060101
A47C007/54 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 23, 2008 |
JP |
2008-012806 |
Claims
1. An armrest structure, comprising: a mounting portion provided on
an outboard side in a car width direction of a seat back; an
armrest mounted at the mounting portion; and a door trim panel
provided outboard of the seat back, wherein the armrest is arranged
close to the door trim panel and is movable inboard upon receipt of
an inboard load.
2. The armrest structure of claim 1, wherein the door trim panel is
provided at a sliding door and is located close to an outboard
surface of the armrest when the sliding door is closed.
3. The armrest structure of claim 1, wherein the armrest includes a
swing mechanism capable of swinging inboard about the mounting
portion as a center upon receipt of the inboard load, and the swing
mechanism includes a biasing member for always pushing back the
armrest outboard.
4. The armrest structure of claim 3, wherein the swing mechanism is
mounted at the seat back, and the armrest is provided at the swing
mechanism.
5. The armrest structure of claim 4, wherein the armrest is mounted
at the swing mechanism so as to be capable of turning vertically
relative to the swing mechanism.
6. The armrest structure of claim 3, wherein the swing mechanism
includes: a base plate mounted at a seat back frame; and a swing
plate pivotally supported by the base plate so as to be capable of
swinging inboard relative to the base plate, and the armrest is
mounted at the swing plate so as to be capable of turning
vertically relative to the swing plate.
7. The armrest structure of claim 3, wherein the armrest includes a
cushion, the seat back includes another cushion, the armrest is
mounted at the mounting potion so as to be in contact at an inboard
surface thereof with an outboard surface of the seat back, and the
cushion of the armrest and the cushion of the seat back are in
contact with each other before the mounting portion.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This non-provisional application claims priority from
Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-012806 filed on Jan. 23, 2008,
the discloser of which application is hereby incorporated by
reference into this application in its entirety for all
purposes.
BACKGROUND
[0002] A technique disclosed in the present specification relates
to an armrest structure for a vehicle seat in which an armrest is
mounted on the outboard side of a seat back.
[0003] It is general to provide an armrest at a side door in a
conventional armrest structure for a vehicle seat. In a side door
of a vehicle disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent
Application Publication 2006-56424, a support shaft serving as a
swinging support axis is provide at the lower side part of a
support member (the armrest) to allow the armrest to be capable of
swinging and shifting about the support shaft as the support
axis.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0004] In the conventional armrest structure for a vehicle seat,
however, the armrest is provided at the side door to necessitate
operation for accommodating the armrest in operating to open/close
the side door, which is laborious. Automation of this operation
makes the structure of the side door more complicated than a case
with an armrest merely provided at a resin-made trim panel and
increases its weight to make the opening/closing operation
difficult.
[0005] While on the other hand, when the armrest is provided at a
seat without narrowing the width of the seat, a hand or the like
may be caught between the side door and the armrest in
opening/closing the side door.
[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing
and has its object of securely preventing a hand and the like from
being-caught by an armrest in opening/closing a door in a simple
structure with no narrowing of the width of a seat involved.
[0007] To attain the above object, an armrest provided outboard of
a seat back is arranged close to a door trim panel and is made
capable of moving inboard.
[0008] Specifically, an armrest structure includes: a mounting
portion provided on an outboard side in a car width direction of a
seat back; an armrest mounted at the mounting portion; and a door
trim panel provided outboard of the seat back, wherein the armrest
is arranged close to the door trim panel and is movable inboard
upon receipt of an inboard load.
[0009] With the above arrangement, the armrest moves inboard upon
receipt of an inboard load caused when a hand or the like
intervening between the door trim panel and the armrest pushes the
armrest in opening/closing the door. Hence, the hand or the like is
not caught even though the width of the seat is not reduced.
[0010] The door trim panel may be provided at a sliding door and is
located close to an outboard surface of the armrest when the
sliding door is closed.
[0011] The above arrangement eliminates the need to form the
armrest at the door trim panel of the sliding door to lead to
reduction in the amount of outboard ejection in opening of the
sliding door and to eliminate the need to form in the door trim
panel a large armrest releasing clearance for preventing a hand and
the like from being caught. Hence, the width of the seat is need
not to be narrowed to increase the degree of freedom of design.
[0012] The armrest may include a swing mechanism capable of
swinging inboard about the mounting portion as a center upon
receipt of the inboard load, and the swing mechanism may include a
biasing member for always pushing back the armrest outboard.
[0013] With the above arrangement, when no inboard load is applied,
the armrest returns self-operatively to the original position by
the operation of the biasing member, thereby eliminating the need
to return the armrest manually.
[0014] The swing mechanism may be mounted at the seat back, and the
armrest is provided at the swing mechanism.
[0015] In the above arrangement, it is unnecessary to provide the
swing mechanism at the armrest to lead to reduction in size and
weight of the armrest, thereby facilitating its swinging.
[0016] The armrest may be mounted at the swing mechanism so as to
be capable of turning vertically relative to the swing
mechanism.
[0017] In the above arrangement, vertical turning of the armrest
does not accompany turning of the swing mechanism. Hence, the
armrest can swing smoothly when a load in the horizontal direction
is applied regardless of the turning position of the armrest.
[0018] The swing mechanism may include: a base plate mounted at a
seat back frame; and a swing plate pivotally supported by the base
plate so as to be capable of swinging inboard relative to the base
plate, wherein the armrest is mounted at the swing plate so as to
be capable of turning vertically relative to the base plate.
[0019] With the above arrangement, the swing plate swings relative
to the base plate mounted at the seat back frame to cause the
armrest to swing relative to the seat back frame. Vertical turning
of the armrest means mere turning of the arrest relative to the
swing plate and does not cause the swing mechanism to turn. Hence,
the armrest is prevented from unintentional inboard swinging at
vertical turning of itself and can swing smoothly upon receipt of a
load in the horizontal direction regardless of the turning position
of the armrest.
[0020] The armrest may include a cushion while the seat back may
include another cushion, wherein the armrest is mounted at the
mounting potion so as to be in contact at an inboard surface
thereof with an outboard surface of the seat back, and the cushion
of the armrest and the cushion of the seat back are in contact with
each other before the mounting portion.
[0021] With the above arrangement, the mounting portion to which
the armrest and the seat back are mounted is not covered with any
cushions to reduced the width of the seat as a whole and to
facilitate swinging of the armrest by deforming the cushion of the
armrest and the cushion of the seat back.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the interior of a
vehicle having an armrest structure for a vehicle seat in
accordance with an embodiment.
[0023] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a right seat and a
right side door.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III in
FIG. 2.
[0025] FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in
FIG. 3.
[0026] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a seat from which a seat
back cushion is taken off.
[0027] FIG. 6 is an enlarged exploded view of a swing
mechanism.
[0028] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an armrest frame.
[0029] FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in
FIG. 5.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] An example embodiment of the present invention will be
described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0031] FIG. 1 shows the interior of a passenger compartment of a
vehicle having an armrest structure 1 for a vehicle seat 2 in the
present embodiment, wherein the vehicle seat 2 is composed of three
rear seats connected in series. The three rear seats are
independent of each other and are capable of sliding back and forth
relative to a floor plate 3, and an armrest 4 is provided on each
outboard side in the car width direction of the vehicle seat 2.
[0032] FIG. 2 to FIG. 4 show in enlarged scales one of the rear
seats as the right side part of the vehicle seat 2. On each
outboard side of the vehicle seat 2, a sliding door 5 is arranged,
which includes an inner panel 5a, an outer panel 5b, and a door
reinforcement 5c. The inboard surface of the inner panel 5a is
covered with a door trim panel 6 made of resin or the like. The
sliding door 5 is opened by sliding it once outward and sliding it
rearward then. When the sliding door 5 is closed, the door trim
panel 6 is located close to the outboard surface of the armrest 4.
Since the armrest 4 is unnecessary to be provided at the door trim
panel 6, the door trim panel 6 has a simple structure including
less protrusions other than a sliding door handle portion 6a. Each
rear seat includes therebelow a sliding mechanism 2a fixed to the
floor plate 3 to be allowed to slide back and forth.
[0033] The armrest 4 is capable of moving inboard upon receipt of
an inboard load, which is a significant feature of the present
embodiment. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, which shows the left
side part of the vehicle seat 2, a seat back 7 of a left rear seat
of the vehicle seat 2 is so composed that a seat back frame 7a as a
framework formed of a cylindrical pipe and a steel plate is covered
with a seat cushion 7b. The armrest 4 is mounted at the steel plate
on the outboard side in the car width direction of the seat back
frame 7a. As shown in FIG. 8, at a mounting portion 8 of the seat
back 7, a swing mechanism 10 is provided which is capable of
swinging inboard about the mounting portion 8 as a center upon
receipt of an inboard load.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 6, the swing mechanism 10 includes a base
plate 11 mounted at the seat back frame 7a. The base plate 11 is
bent outboard at the upper and lower parts thereof to form bent
portions, and a through hole 11a is formed in each of these bent
portions. A swing plate 12 is supported by the base plate 11
pivotally to be capable of swinging inboard (horizontally). The
swing plate 12 is bent inboard at upper and lower parts thereof to
form bent portions, and a through hole 12a is formed in each of
these bent portions. A swing pin 13 is fitted from below in each of
the through holes 11a and the through holes 12a with them aligned,
and a nut 14 is fastened from above. A torsional coil spring 15 as
a biasing member is fitted around the swing pin 13. Though a
detailed mounting structure of the torsional coil spring 15 is not
shown, the torsional coil spring 15 includes a catch formed at one
end thereof and a catch formed at the other end thereof. In a state
that the torsional coil spring 15 is wound up from an original
natural state (in a state that the bias force in a direction in
which the winding is released applied), the catch at the one end is
engaged with a hole, a notch, or the like formed in the base plate
11 while the catch at the other end is engaged with a hole, a
notch, or the like formed in the swing plate 12. The torsional coil
spring 15 always pushes back the armrest 4 outboard. As shown in
FIG. 8, a stopper 12b is formed in the rear end part of the swing
plate 12. The stopper 12b comes in contact with the outboard
surface of the base plate 11, thereby restricting the swinging
range of the swing plate 12.
[0035] From the outboard surface of the swing plate 12, an armrest
supporting shaft 16 and a turning range restricting pin 17 are
protruded. As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, an armrest frame 18 in a
angular C-shape in section of which the lower part is opened is
mounted at the swing plate 12. A support shaft insertion hole 18a
as a through hole is formed in each side plate of the armrest frame
18 so as to allow the armrest supporting shaft 16 to pass
therethrough. An arc-shaped pin hole 18b is formed in the inboard
side plate so as to receive the turning range restricting pin 17.
The armrest supporting shaft 16 is inserted in each supporting
shaft insertion hole 18a with a spacer 19 intervening around the
armrest supporting shaft 16 while the turning range restricting pin
17 is inserted in the pin hole 18b, and a tip end screw part of the
armrest support shaft 16 is fastened with a nut 20 and a spring
washer 21. Whereby, the armrest 4 is mounted at the swing plate 12
to be capable of vertically turning relative to the swing plate 12.
Vertical turning of the armrest 4 means only turning thereof
relative to the swing plate 12 and causes no turning of the swing
mechanism 10 itself. This prevents unintentional inboard swinging
of the armrest 4 in vertical turning of the armrest 4.
[0036] In the armrest 4, a part of the armrest frame 18 other than
the vicinity of the mounting portion 8 is covered with an arm
cushion 4a. The armrest 4 in this state is mounted at the mounting
portion 8 so as to be in contact at the inboard surface thereof to
the outboard surface of the seat back 7, so that the seat cushion
7b and the arm cushion 4a are in contact with each other before the
mounting portion 8. The seat cushion 7b and the arm cushion 4a are
thus provided at a part of the seat back 7 except the mounting
portion 8 to which the armrest 4 and the seat back 7 are mounted,
thereby reducing the total width of the seat 2.
[0037] Provision of the armrest 4 at the seat back 7 means that it
is unnecessary to form the armrest 4 at the door trim panel 6 of
the sliding door 5, thereby reducing the amount of outboard
ejection in opening the sliding door 5 and eliminating the need to
form a large armrest releasing clearance in the door trim panel 6.
Hence, the degree of freedom in design increases.
[0038] --Operation--
[0039] An operation of the armrest structure 1 for a vehicle seat
in accordance with the present embodiment will be described
next.
[0040] There are two cases in closing the sliding door 5, namely:
the case where a passenger sitting on the seat 2 closes the sliding
door 5; and the case where a person outside the vehicle closes the
sliding door 5. Particularly, in the latter case, a passenger
sitting on the seat 2 may put on his/her arm on the armrest 4. When
the sliding door 5 is closed in such a state, the door trim panel 6
may push the passenger's hand if the hand is put between the door
trim panel 6 and the armrest 4. If so, the armrest 4 is pushed,
namely, receives an inboard load, thereby causing the swing plate
12 to swing inboard relative to the base plate 11 mounted at the
seat back frame 7a. This causes the armrest frame 18 to swing in
the direction indicated by open arrows in the drawings relative to
the seat back frame 7a to deform the seat cushion 7b and the arm
cushion 4a. Thus, the armrest 4 swings inboard in this way to
prevent the passenger's hand from being caught by the sliding door
5.
[0041] The armrest 4 is turned vertically according to the posture
of a passenger. Such vertical turning of the armrest 4, however,
causes no turning of the swing mechanism 10. Therefore, the armrest
4 can swing smoothly upon receipt of a load in the horizontal
direction regardless of the turning position of the armrest 4. The
swing mechanism 10 is provided at the seat back 7 rather than at
the armrest 4, and the armrest 4 is mounted at the swing mechanism
10. This leads to compaction and weight reduction of the armrest 4,
thereby facilitating swinging and vertical turning of the armrest
4.
[0042] When an inboard load ceases, namely, when a passenger
removes his/her hand from the armrest 4, or so, the torsional coil
spring 15 returns the armrest 4 self-operatively to the original
position.
Effects of Embodiment
[0043] In the armrest structure 1 for the vehicle seat 2 of the
present embodiment, the armrest 4 mounted at the mounting portion 8
on the outboard side of the seat back 7 is arranged close to the
door trim panel 6 and is allowed to move inboard upon receipt of an
inboard load. Hence, a hand and the like is securely prevented from
being caught by the armrest 4 in opening/closing the door in such a
simple structure with no narrowing of the width of the seat 2
involved.
Other Embodiments
[0044] The above embodiment may employ any of the following
structures.
[0045] The armrest 4 is provided at each side of the seat 2 of the
three rear seats connected in series in the above embodiment but
may be provided at each side of a bench seat. Wherein, in a case of
the three seats connected in series which can slide independently
of each other, the total width thereof is great, and therefore, the
present invention can exhibit the effects prominently. The armrest
4 may be provided on the outboard side of the front passenger
seat.
[0046] The above embodiments are essentially preferable examples
and are not intended to limit each scope of the present invention,
applicable subject, and use.
* * * * *