Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Body shell
Reexamination Certificate
1998-10-13
2001-01-23
Dayoan, D. Glenn (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Body shell
C296S063000, C296S068100, C297S216100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06176543
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat for a vehicle, and more particularly to a seat for a vehicle for protecting a seated occupant of the vehicle from the impact occurring at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, among seats for vehicles such as automobiles, there has been known a seat for a vehicle for protecting a seated occupant of the vehicle from an impact occurring at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle, and one example thereof is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 7-132767.
As shown in
FIG. 13
, this seat
100
for a vehicle is arranged such that a strip-shaped wavelike reinforcing rib section
108
is formed at a lower end portion of a seat back frame
102
in such a manner as to extend along an inner surface of a supporting bracket
104
and zigzag toward a pivotally supporting portion
106
of the seat back frame
102
in an orthogonal direction to the axial direction of the pivotally supporting portion
106
. Each bent portion of the reinforcing rib section
108
close to the supporting bracket
104
is attached to the inner surface of the supporting bracket
104
. As a result, when the vehicle is hit by another vehicle or the like from the rear of the vehicle (namely, during a rear collision of the vehicle), and an impact is applied to the seat
100
in the direction going from the front of the vehicle towards the rear (in the direction of arrow W in FIG.
13
), a zigzag portion
108
A of the reinforcing rib section
108
undergoes contracting deformation by following the buckling deformation of the supporting bracket
104
, so as to absorb the impact which cannot be borne by the rigidity of the reinforcing rib section
108
.
However, with this seat
100
for a vehicle, if an impact of a predetermined value or greater is applied during the rear collision, the zigzag portion
108
A of the reinforcing rib section
108
undergoes contracting deformation by following the buckling deformation of the supporting bracket
104
, thereby inclining a seat back
100
A backwardly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above-described circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seat for a vehicle which is capable of absorbing the impact without the middle of the seat back itself bending during the rear collision of the vehicle.
To this end, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a seat for a vehicle comprising: a side wall portion of a seat cushion frame for supporting a seat back, the side wall portion being deformable when a load applied to the seat back during a rear collision of the vehicle has reached a predetermined value or greater, so as to absorb an impact applied to a seated vehicle occupant.
Accordingly, when a vehicle is hit by another vehicle or the like from the rear, and the load applied to the seat back during a rear collision of the vehicle has reached a predetermined value or greater, a downward bending moment is applied by the seat back to the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame for supporting the seat back, so that a compressive force acting in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is applied to a lower portion of the side wall portion. As a result, the lower portion of the side wall portion is deformed by that compressive force, thereby making it possible to absorb the impact. For this reason, it is possible to absorb the impact without buckling and deforming the seat back itself. In addition, the back of the occupant can be supported by the seat back while maintaining a seated position.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, in the seat for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the invention, a fragile portion where the deformation begins to take place first is formed in the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame.
Accordingly, in addition to the arrangement provided for the seat for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the invention, when the load during the rear collision of the vehicle has reached a predetermined value or greater, the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame starts to deform beginning at the fragile portion, so that stable deformation is made possible by the fragile portion, and it is possible to reliably effect stable absorption of the impact.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, in the seat for a vehicle according to the second aspect of the invention, the fragile portion is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction of the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame, and has a step in the transverse direction of the vehicle.
Accordingly, in addition to the arrangement provided for the seat for a vehicle according to the second aspect of the invention, since the fragile portion has a step in the transverse direction of the vehicle in the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame, and is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the vertical direction, a large deformation area can be provided, so that the amount of absorption of the impact can be increased.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the seat for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the invention, the side wall portion of the seat cushion is fixed to a vehicle body at two front and rear fixing portions, and undergoes deformation between the fixing portions.
Accordingly, in addition to the arrangement provided for the seat for a vehicle according to the first aspect of the invention, since the arrangement provided is such that when the load during the rear collision of the vehicle has reached a predetermined value or greater, the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame undergoes deformation at the two front and rear fixing portions, in a state where the compressive force in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is not loaded onto the lower portion of the side wall portion between the two fixing portions, i.e., when there ceases to be any leeway in the compressive deformation of the side wall portion fixed at the two fixing portions, the compressive force in the longitudinal direction is no longer applied to the lower portion of the side wall portion, and the load is supported merely at the two fixing portions. Thus, it is possible to suppress the deformation of the side wall portion by a predetermined amount or more.
In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, the seat for a vehicle according to the fourth aspect of the invention further comprises: a pair of front and rear links which are respectively disposed at the fixing portions to connect the vehicle body and the side wall portions of the seat cushion frame, wherein the front links have an extendable portion which extends in a direction in which a distance between link connecting points formed at opposite ends of the link is enlarged when the load applied to the seat back during the rear collision of the vehicle has reached the predetermined value or greater.
Accordingly, in addition to the arrangement provided for the seat for a vehicle according to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the load during the rear collision of the vehicle has reached a predetermined value or greater, the extendable portion formed in the front link is extended in the direction in which the distance between the link connecting points is enlarged, so that it is possible to increase the amount of absorption of the impact by virtue of the deformation of the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame, and the deformation can be stabilized further.
In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, the seat for a vehicle according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention further comprises: deformation-amount adjusting means for preventing the side wall portion of the seat cushion frame from becoming deformed by a predetermined value or greater.
Accordingly, in addition to the arrangement provided for the seat for a vehicle according to a
Hiroshige Atsushi
Nawata Katsumi
Sekizuka Makoto
Tamura Hiroshi
Yamasaki Hiroki
Blankenship Greg
Dayoan D. Glenn
Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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