Chairs and seats – Bottom or back with means to alter contour – Providing support for lower back region
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-20
2001-08-07
Brown, Peter R. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Bottom or back with means to alter contour
Providing support for lower back region
C297S284700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06270158
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for fixing a lumbar support in relation to a car seat, and more particularly, to a lumbar support locking apparatus for a car seat in which a lumbar support is easily fixed to the seat frame for supporting the lumbar region of a driver, thereby simplifying the construction of the apparatus to improve the productivity and achieving comfort driving with less fatigue.
2. Background of the Invention
In general, a driver's seat and its assistant seat are separated by means of a console box, which is interposed therebetween. These seats are designed considering comfort to properly support the users by absorbing vibration from the road and thereby reducing fatigue. Because the weight and cost of a seat rate high in relation to the whole car, a lightweight and economical design is required.
In addition, stationary ride comfort which makes it possible for a driver to take a stable pose when seated in the car, driving comfort considering the vibration characteristics of the seat while driving, that is, dynamic ride comfort, and holding capability makes it possible for the driver to keep his stable pose when he turns or drives winding roads.
In general, the construction of the driver's seat and the assistant seat is typically divided into a seat cushion, seat back, and headrest. As for the seat cushion and the seat back, it has been widely spread that a seat spring is mounted in a seat frame and a trim cover assembly is covered on the seat frame. A lumbar support may be fixed inside the seat frame of the seats. The lumbar support serves to reduce fatigue of the driver during extended travel by variably supporting the lumbar region of the driver.
Conventionally, prior art lumbar supports have been formed of a rigid material, which lacks elasticity in the shape of an arc and are generally fixed in the seat frame at a position to support the driver's lumbar region. The lumbar support may have a two-position controllable lever, which is exposed at one side, so that the driver may adjust its height in the seat frame with the lever. In order to fix the position of conventional lumbar supports, a user may purchase an additional bracket which is fixed by means of a locking member or a clip member for fixation by inserting.
However, there are disadvantages in conventional lumber supports in that it is usually necessary to form an additional fixing bracket and a fixing member such as a bolt utilized to fix the lumbar support to a car seat, thereby increasing required manpower and decreasing the overall productivity of the support.
If a clip member is utilized to fix the lumbar support to the car seat, the required manpower may be reduced. However, an additional bracket should also be formed for mounting the clip member to the car seat frames. Further, there are still problems in that the lumbar support is likely to be departed from the seat frames or the clip member may be damaged since the lumbar support is fixed by being simply inserted into the circle clip member.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is derived in order to resolve the problems of the prior art and has an object to provide a lumbar support locking apparatus for a car seat, in which a lumbar support is easily fixed to a car seat frame for comfortably supporting the lumbar region of a driver thereby facilitating comfort and non-fatigue driving. The apparatus of the present invention also improves workability in fixing a lumbar support to a car seat frame by simplifying the construction of the apparatus thus achieving a fixing operation of the lumbar support to a car seat by means of a very simple operation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a lumbar support locking apparatus for a car seat, in which the lumbar support is easily fixed to the car seat frames. In particular, it is possible to keep the lumbar support stable in relation to the car seat frames by protecting the lumbar support without departing from the car seat frames due to a shift in the driver's weight.
The present invention has a further object to provide a lumbar supporting locking member for a car seat, which improves the market value and convenience of the lumbar support.
In order to achieve the above objects of the present invention, a lumbar support comprising a supporting member having a plurality of support wing parts that is formed with an elastic plate spring interposed between upper and lower seat frames of a car seat for supporting the lumbar region of a driver. The plurality of support wings are folded at both side end parts for surrounding the driver's lumbar region. A supporting plate is provided which protrudes in the center part by selective curving and has locking grooves at both upper and lower end parts of its main body, In addition, a support height control member is provided at one side part of the support plate for controlling the height of the protruded center part of the support plate by selective curving. A lumbar support locking apparatus is also provided which includes fixing members for fixing the respective upper and lower locking grooves of the main body of the support plate and the locking grooves of the locking member. Front fixing pieces are formed in a pair at both side parts of its main body to be inserted into the seat frames. Rear fixing pieces are formed between each pair of the front fixing pieces by folding downward and a connecting plate which is folded inward in a predetermined angle in the center part of the main body is also provided having a connecting groove at a lower part.
The foregoing and other advantages and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent by examination of the following description of the presently preferred embodiments and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5518294 (1996-05-01), Ligon, Sr. et al.
patent: 5769491 (1998-06-01), Schwarzbich
patent: 6036265 (2000-03-01), Cosentino
Brown Peter R.
Madson & Metcalf
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