Chairs and seats – Headrest – Angularly movable about horizontal axis
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-10
2002-12-31
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Headrest
Angularly movable about horizontal axis
C297S391000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06499805
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a headrest and a method for manufacturing the headrest that is attached to a seat used as an automobile seat, a business seat, a consultation seat or a seat for house use. In particular, the present invention relates to a headrest that has a head angle adjusting mechanism and is manufactured by foaming and molding an expandable material together with a surface material and a method for manufacturing such a headrest.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
A headrest of the art comprises a metallic or plastic stay frame as a skeleton of the headrest, a box like shaped surface material and a foamed cushion pad molded together with the surface material. Note that the surface material is seamed into a desirable box like shape, and a top part of the stay frame is capped with the surface material. Then, a liquid expandable material such as urethane is injected inside the box like shaped surface material and is foamed and molded together with the surface material. (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Heisei 3(1991)-295617)
The surface material is manufactured by seaming several sheet materials into a box like shape corresponding to an outline of the headrest. Its margin is seamed as necessary to hide inside the box like shaped surface material to make the appearance of the surface material better. Thus, the seat materials are firstly seamed so as to appear in the inner side of the box like shaped surface material and provide an opening in a part corresponding to a bottom of the headrest. Then, the inner side of the surface material is disappeared by passing the surface material through the opening so as to appear as its outer side. Also, the top part of the stay frame is inserted in the surface material through this opening. The stay frame comprises the U-shaped top part and a pair of leg parts extending downward from both ends of this top part.
The foamed cushion pad is molded together with the surface material as follows. The top part of the stay frame is inserted in the box like surface material. Then, a liquid expandable material is injected in the surface material and is foamed. In Japanese Patent Laying Open No. Heisei 3(1992)-295617 described above, means for preventing a leakage of the liquid expandable material injected through the opening are described. The means comprise upper and lower plates having an opening for a liquid expandable material injecting nozzle and two holes for passing the leg parts of the stay frame, respectively. The leg parts of the stay frame pass through the holes of those plates so as to place those plates at a predetermined position corresponding to the bottom of the headrest. One plate is disposed in parallel to another plate, and a gap is provided between those plates. Note that the upper plate has a window as a fluid passage communicating with the gap between those plates. The opening of the surface material is inserted and freely held in the gap between those plates, and the upper plate having the fluid passage is disposed inside the surface material. Then, the liquid expandable material injecting nozzle is inserted in the inner space of the surface material through the openings coaxially provided in both plates and the liquid expandable material is injected and foamed therein. Note that the liquid expandable material injected passes through the fluid passage of the upper plate and is introduced between the upper plate and a circumferential portion of the opening of the surface material. This liquid expandable material is foamed and cured, and thereby, the opening of the surface material is completely closed.
Recently, a vehicle having a variety of functions has been developed. For example, in order to contain more passages or the like in a vehicle, a seat back is used as a part of a bed such that a rear seat is collapsed forward to create more space for containing more passages.
In such a vehicle, a rear seat must be tilted forward completely to make more space. However, if a non-tilt type headrest of the art as described above is attached to the rear seat, the rear seat touches on a seat back of a front seat when the rear seat is tilted. Thus, the rear seat cannot be tilted completely so that enough space cannot be created. In addition, in this case, if the headrest is detached from the rear seat, the rear seat can be tilted completely. However, additional space for putting the detached headrest will be required.
In view of those problems, it has been presented to attach a headrest having a head angle adjusting mechanism to a rear seat. This is because the rear seat can be tilted forward completely by tilting the headrest attached to the rear seat.
However, in a headrest incorporating such a head angle adjusting mechanism, the head angle adjusting mechanism is attached to the top part of the stay frame and, as well as a headrest of the art described above, the top part of the stay frame is capped with a surface material. Thus, if the liquid expandable material is injected inside the surface material and is foamed therein, a foamed cushion pad is formed so as to introduce into structural components of the head angle adjusting mechanism, and as a result, this pad hampers the functions of the head angle adjusting mechanism.
In addition, in order to recycle parts used for a vehicle, it is demanded to make components of a vehicle such as a headrest into pieces without taking much time and costing much labor. However, if a headrest has complex structures, it becomes difficult to make such a headrest into pieces, and thus, such a demand cannot be achieved.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel headrest and a headrest manufacturing method in which a foamed cushion pad is molded together with a surface material so as not to introduce a liquid expandable material into structural components of a head angle adjusting mechanism and it can be done to make the headrest into pieces without taking much time and costing much labor in order to recycle its components.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A headrest according to the present invention comprises:
(1) a stay frame assembly as a skeleton of the headrest comprising a base frame having at least one leg part extending downward, the leg part serving to attach the headrest to a seat; a head frame connected to a top part of the base frame so as to freely rotate the head frame backward and forward with respect to the base frame; and a head angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting an angle of the head frame with respect to the base frame;
(2) an inner cover comprising a box part for containing the head frame and the head angle adjusting mechanism; and a plate part connected to a bottom of the box part so as to leave a gap between the plate part and the bottom of the box part, at least one slot being formed in the plate part and this slot communicating with an inner space of the box part;
(3) a surface material having an inner space and an opening communicating with this inner space, an outline of the surface material corresponding to an outline of the headrest; and
(4) a foamed cushion pad molded together with the surface material such that a liquid expandable material is foamed in the inner space of the surface material so as to cover around the box part of the inner cover.
The head frame is covered with the inner cover such that the leg part of the base frame passes through the slot and extends outside the box part. The head angle adjusting mechanism of the stay frame is also covered with the box part so as to rotate the head frame backward and forward together with the inner cover.
Such a headrest can be manufactured as follows.
(Step 1)
The head frame is covered with the inner cover such that the leg part of the base frame passes through the slot and extends outside the box part, and the head angle adjusting mechanism of the stay frame is covered with the box part so as to rotate the head frame backward and forward together with the inner cover.
Note that the box part of the inner cover comprises two portions such as a first portion and a secon
Brown Peter R.
Namba Press Works Co. Ltd.
Renner Kenner Greive Bobak Taylor & Weber
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