JP2005144010A - Headrest device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a headrest device capable of simultaneously realizing an adjustment of a position of a headrest and the protection of a neck part, without requiring to enlarge a driving motor, while expecting simplification of a structure. <P>SOLUTION: This headrest device has the headrest 3 installed on a seat 2 of a vehicle 1 and movably arranged in the longitudinal direction to the seat 2 by driving of a motor 41, and is provided with a driving mechanism 4 for moving the headrest 3 in the forward direction to the seat 2 by the driving of the motor 41 when receiving a predicting-detecting signal from a sensor 6 for predicting and detecting a collision of the vehicle 1 and capable of moving and adjusting the headrest 3 in the longitudinal direction to the seat 2 by intermittently controlling the driving of the motor 41 by operation of an occupant at ordinary time of receiving no predicting-detecting signal from the sensor 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a headrest device provided on a seat of a vehicle, and more specifically, while reducing the burden on the neck of an occupant when the vehicle is subjected to a collision (during a rear collision), the headrest position is adjusted in a normal state. The present invention relates to a headrest device that makes it possible.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, headrests provided on vehicle seats are known to be capable of position adjustment in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat, and headrest devices equipped with such a position adjustment mechanism are increasing. The position adjustment in such a headrest device is generally performed by manually operating an adjustment handle provided on the side of the headrest or the like. In addition, a technique is also known in which a moving mechanism using an electric motor or the like is provided inside the headrest in place of such manual operation so that the position adjustment can be performed electrically.

On the other hand, a technique for forcibly moving the headrest in the forward direction with respect to the seat is known in order to reduce the burden on the occupant's neck at the time of the rear collision of the host vehicle. According to such a headrest device, the headrest moves forward at a high speed at the time of a rear collision, and the distance between the headrest and the occupant's head is reduced, thereby reducing the burden on the occupant's neck. (For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-334439 (paragraphs 0032 to 0039, FIG. 2, etc.) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-127823 (paragraphs 0011 to 0042, FIG. 1, etc.)

The conventional headrest device can adjust the position of the headrest and protect the neck. However, the mechanisms for realizing these are independent mechanisms, and the structures of the seat and the headrest are complicated when these functions are obtained simultaneously. Therefore, it is desired to develop a headrest device that can combine these mechanisms and realize the functions at the same time.
However, when these two mechanisms are combined into one, the following problems occur.

That is, the operating speed of the headrest for realizing each function is greatly different. For example, in order to cope with neck protection, it is necessary to move the headrest at a high speed. On the other hand, for the purpose of adjusting the position of the headrest, in order to accurately move the headrest to a position that suits the passenger's preference, it is necessary to move at least at a low speed.
As a method for meeting these two conditions, a method of changing the operating speed of the headrest by changing the voltage input to the drive motor can be considered. However, with this method, when the operating speed is reduced, the torque of the drive motor tends to decrease, and the drive motor may stop. In this case, if the torque at the low speed is ensured, it is possible to avoid the stop of the drive motor, but for that purpose, the drive motor needs to be enlarged. Therefore, another problem such as difficulty in mounting in a narrow space in the seat occurs.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a headrest device that can be expected to simplify the structure, and can simultaneously adjust the position of the headrest and protect the neck without the need to increase the size of the drive motor. The purpose is to provide.

  A headrest device according to a first aspect of the present invention that solves the above-described problems is a headrest device that has a headrest that is attached to a vehicle seat and is movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat by driving a motor. When a prediction detection signal is received from a sensor that predicts and detects the collision of the vehicle, the headrest is moved forward with respect to the seat by driving the motor, and prediction detection is performed from the sensor. It is characterized in that a moving mechanism is provided that allows the headrest to move in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat by intermittently controlling the driving of the motor by an occupant's operation during normal times when no signal is received.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the movement mechanism receives a prediction detection signal from a sensor that predicts and detects the collision of the vehicle, the moving mechanism drives the headrest in a forward direction with respect to the seat by driving the motor. Move with. Thereby, the space | interval of a passenger | crew's head and a headrest can be shortened instantaneously, and the burden which generate | occur | produces in a passenger | crew's neck at the time of a collision can be reduced.
In addition, the movement mechanism controls the movement of the headrest in the front-rear direction relative to the seat by controlling intermittently the motor drive by the occupant's operation during normal times when no prediction detection signal is received from the sensor that predicts and detects the collision of the vehicle. Because it is configured so that the motor is not continuously driven when adjusting the movement of the headrest during normal times without receiving a prediction detection signal, the headrest is accurately moved to a position that matches the passenger's preference. Will be able to. Therefore, the position of the headrest can be adjusted well as when the headrest is moved at a low motor speed without adopting a method for changing the speed of the motor. Note that the movement adjustment of the headrest can be performed by, for example, an operation switch disposed near the hand when the occupant is seated on the seat. When such an operation switch is provided, the occupant can adjust the position of the headrest without losing the seated posture (driving posture or the like), and an advantage is obtained that the operation posture can be easily taken.

  The headrest device according to a second aspect is the headrest device according to the first aspect, wherein the moving mechanism includes a drive control unit that intermittently moves the headrest in the front-rear direction of the seat.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the moving mechanism includes the drive control unit that intermittently moves the headrest in the front-rear direction of the seat, the prediction detection signal is received from the sensor that predicts and detects the collision of the vehicle. When it is not, the position can be adjusted by intermittently moving the headrest, and the headrest can be moved more accurately to a position that suits the passenger's preference. Therefore, position adjustment with higher reliability is possible.

  According to the present invention, simplification of the structure can be expected, and it is not necessary to increase the size of the drive motor, and headrest position adjustment and neck protection can be realized simultaneously.

  Hereinafter, the headrest device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, “front and back” is based on the state in which the headrest is provided on the seat.

  In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a structure of a seat provided with a headrest device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A and 2B are diagrams illustrating the moving state of the headrest, where FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating a normal state, and FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating a state at the time of collision prediction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the headrest device according to the present embodiment includes a headrest 3 provided on a seat 2 of a vehicle 1 such as an automobile so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and a drive mechanism 4 for driving the headrest 3. A control unit 5 (drive control unit) that controls the driving of the drive mechanism 4; a prediction detection sensor 6 that predicts and detects a collision of the vehicle 1 and sends a prediction signal to the control unit 5; It has.

The seat 2 includes a seat cushion frame 2a on which a seat cushion is provided, a seat back frame 2b on which a seat back is provided, and a headrest frame 2c for holding the headrest 3, and a driver seat or a passenger seat of the vehicle 1, or It is provided as a rear seat.
A space is formed below the seat cushion frame 2a, and the control unit 5 is arranged using this space. The seat back frame 2b is provided so as to be swingable with respect to the seat cushion frame 2a via a lock mechanism (not shown). In the present embodiment, the drive mechanism 4 is provided on the seat back frame 2b.
The headrest frame 2 c is a rod-shaped frame formed in a U-shape when viewed from the front, and can be inserted into a mounting pipe 47 described later of the drive mechanism 4. The headrest 3 has the headrest frame 2c inside, and does not have any other special mechanism or structure. Therefore, the headrest 3 can divert the general headrest used conventionally.

The drive mechanism 4 includes a motor 41, a link plate 42 fixed to the drive shaft 41a of the motor 41, a link bar 43 connected to the link plate 42, and the link bar 43 as shown in FIG. A crank-shaped shaft 44 connected to the upper end portion of the shaft 44 through a connecting portion 43a, a rod 46 that is pivotably connected to the crank portion 44a of the shaft 44 and cannot be removed by a pin 45a, and an upper portion of the rod 46 It is comprised from the attachment pipe 47 attached to.
Such a drive mechanism 4 raises the headrest 3 toward the diagonally forward side, which has a height equivalent to or higher than the position of the center of gravity of the occupant's head.

The motor 41 is driven by using a battery (not shown) of the vehicle 1 as a power source. In this embodiment, a stepping motor capable of reversible rotation with high output and high rotation is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the motor 41 is integrally provided with a gear portion 41b, and a link plate 42 is fixed to a drive shaft 41a serving as an output shaft of the gear portion 41b by a bolt or the like (not shown). . As a result, the link plate 42 can swing in the directions of arrows A1 and A2 in FIG. 1 about the drive shaft 41a.
The link rod 43 is connected between the link plate 42 and the shaft 44 via the connecting portion 43a, and is moved up and down obliquely by the swing of the link plate 42 in the directions of arrows A1 and A2 in FIG. The shaft 44 is rotated by this up-and-down movement.
As shown in FIG. 3, the shaft 44 has both end portions 44b (only one shown in FIG. 3) inserted into a shaft hole (not shown) of the seat back frame 2b (see FIG. 1). With the movement, it can rotate in the directions of arrows B1 and B2 in FIG.
The rod 46 and the pipe 47 are provided so as to move up and down while rotating as the shaft 44 rotates. As shown in FIG. 1, the rotation is provided on the upper portion of the seat back frame 2b. This is performed in the front-rear direction (X1, X2 direction) of the seat 2 with the vicinity of the inserted holes 2d, 2d (see FIG. 1) as a fulcrum.

According to the drive mechanism 4 having such a configuration, when the motor 41 is driven, the link plate 42 is rotated in the direction of the arrow A1 or A2 in FIG. 43 moves up and down. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, when the link bar 43 moves downward in the direction of the arrow Y1, the shaft 44 rotates in the direction of the arrow B1, and accordingly, the rod 46 and the pipe 47 are moved in FIG. As shown in b), it rotates while slightly protruding forward of the seat 2 while using the vicinity of the insertion hole 2d as a fulcrum.
Further, when the link bar 43 moves upward in the direction of arrow Y2 in FIG. 3, the shaft 44 rotates in the direction of arrow B2 in the figure, and as a result, the rod 46 and the pipe 47 are moved as shown in FIG. Rotating while slightly sinking in the rearward direction of the seat 2 while using the vicinity of the insertion hole 2d as a fulcrum.

The control unit 5 is a unit for controlling the driving of the motor 41 of the drive mechanism 4 and, as shown in FIG. 4, based on a signal from the prediction detection sensor 6 that predicts a collision (mainly a rear collision), The motor 41 is driven and controlled according to a program stored therein, and the motor 41 is controlled based on the operation of the operation switch 20 provided on the side of the seat cushion frame 2a of the seat 2 (see FIG. 1). 41 is driven and controlled.
Here, the drive control of the motor 41 in the control unit 5 has the following two control modes. One of them is a control mode based on a signal from the prediction detection sensor 6, which is a collision prediction mode in which the motor 41 is driven and controlled so that the headrest 3 moves at the highest speed relative to the seat 2. is there. The other is a control mode based on the occupant's operation switch 20, and the headrest 3 will be described later in the front-rear direction (X1, X2 direction (see FIGS. 1 and 2B)) with respect to the seat 2. In this normal mode, the motor 41 is driven and controlled so as to be moved by intermittent driving. In normal times when the signal from the prediction detection sensor 6 is not sent, the headrest device is configured to operate in this normal control mode, and when a collision is predicted, the headrest device is changed from the normal control mode to the collision prediction mode. Has been configured to work.

The control unit 5 has a determination unit for determining a collision timing (not shown) inside, and inputs measurement data from the prediction detection sensor 6 to actually collide from a predicted point of collision (rear collision). Is determined by calculation.
The prediction detection sensor 6 is configured to perform measurement data of relative distance and relative speed with another vehicle for predicting a rear-end collision of the host vehicle using ultrasonic waves and the like, and send the data to the control unit 5. It is supposed to be sent out. In addition, as the prediction detection sensor 6, a G sensor, an infrared sensor, a radar, or the like may be used. The control unit 5 performs a rear-end collision based on the measurement data sent from these sensors together with the measurement data. May be configured to predict or detect.

The operation of the headrest device configured as described above will be described in detail below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.
In the first step S1, the control unit 5 (see FIGS. 1 and 4) starts detection by the prediction detection sensor 6, and in the next second step S2, the collision prediction is performed based on the output of the prediction detection sensor 6. It is determined whether or not When YES is determined (the output of the prediction detection sensor 6 is present), the process proceeds to the third step S3, and when NO is determined, the process proceeds to the fourth step S4.

  When the determination is YES, in the third step S3, the control unit 5 continuously drives the motor 41, swings the link plate 42 in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 1, and lowers the link bar 43 in the direction of arrow Y1. The shaft 44 is rotated in the direction of arrow B1 in FIG. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 2B, the headrest 3 rotates while protruding in the forward direction X <b> 1 with respect to the seat 2. Therefore, the distance between the head of the occupant H seated on the seat 2 and the headrest 3 is reduced, and the burden on the occupant's neck when a collision occurs thereafter can be reduced. The situation at this time (emergency operation) will be described with reference to FIG. 6A. When the motor 41 is turned on by the control unit 5, the motor 41 is continuously driven, and its work amount L (mm), in this case, The motor 41 is continuously driven until the value is detected by the step value of the motor 41 or the like so that the movement of the headrest 3 to the forefront becomes the work amount L. Thereafter, when it is detected from the step value of the motor 41 that the predetermined work amount L has been reached, the driving of the motor 41 is automatically stopped.

At the time of NO determination, it is determined in a fourth step S4 whether or not the operation switch 20 has been operated. When YES is determined, the process proceeds to the fifth step S5. When NO is determined, the process returns to the step S2.
In step S4, when YES is determined, control is performed so that the motor 41 is intermittently driven by the control of the control unit 5. In this case, if the operation switch 20 is operated by one click so that the headrest 3 moves in a desired direction, for example, the headrest 3 moves in the forward direction, the motor 41 is driven by a predetermined one step by the control of the control unit 5, and FIG. As shown, the headrest 3 is moved by one click (work amount La (mm)), and the system (control unit 5) is turned off. Therefore, when a predetermined work amount La · n of the headrest 3 is to be obtained, the click operation is performed a desired number of times n. Thereby, the headrest 3 can be moved to a desired position. In addition, you may comprise so that one intermittent drive may be intermittently controlled at intervals by 1-click operation.

  Returning to step S3, when the motor 41 is driven, it is determined in step S6 whether or not a collision has occurred. When YES is determined, the process returns to the start. When NO is determined, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed in step S7. Here, the predetermined time is a time from a collision prediction to a collision set in advance in the control unit 5 or a time calculated by the determination unit, and is usually about 1 to 2 seconds. If NO is determined in step S7, the process returns to step S6 to determine again whether or not a collision has occurred. On the other hand, at the time of YES determination at step S7, it is determined that no collision has occurred even after a predetermined time has elapsed. The motor 41 is prepared for reverse driving in order to move it to the position or the rearmost position.

  Thereafter, the headrest 3 is returned in step S9, the headrest 3 is returned to the original position or the rearmost position, and the process returns to the start. Here, when the headrest 3 is returned to the original position (preferred position by the occupant's operation), the motor 41 is reversely driven based on the position information stored in the memory built in the control unit 5. Is done.

According to the headrest device described above, the drive mechanism 4 moves the headrest 3 to the seat 2 by driving the motor 41 when receiving a prediction detection signal from the prediction detection sensor 6 that predicts and detects the collision of the vehicle 1. On the other hand, it moves at high speed in the forward direction (X1 direction in FIGS. 1 and 2B). Thereby, the space | interval of the passenger | crew's H head and the headrest 3 can be shortened instantaneously, and the burden which generate | occur | produces in the neck of the passenger | crew H at the time of a collision can be reduced.
Further, the drive mechanism 4 intermittently drives the motor 41 by the operation of the occupant when the prediction detection signal is not received from the prediction detection sensor 6 (normal time), so that the headrest 3 is moved back and forth with respect to the seat 2. Since the movement of the headrest 3 is adjustable, the motor 41 is not continuously driven, and the headrest 3 can be accurately moved to a position according to the preference of the occupant H. Therefore, the position of the headrest 3 can be adjusted well as when the headrest 3 is moved at a low speed of the motor 41 without adopting a method of changing the speed of the motor 41. In addition, since the headrest 3 is moved and adjusted by intermittent driving, an advantage that the headrest 3 can be more easily combined with the position according to the preference of the occupant H can be obtained.
Thus, according to the headrest device of the present embodiment, the position adjustment of the headrest 3 and neck protection can be realized simultaneously.

  Such movement adjustment of the headrest 3 can be performed by, for example, the operation switch 20 disposed near the hand when the occupant H is seated on the seat 2. By using such an operation switch 20, the occupant H can adjust the position of the headrest 3 without losing the seated posture (driving posture or the like), thereby obtaining the advantage that the operation posture is easy to take.

  Furthermore, according to the headrest device of the present embodiment, since it is not necessary to provide a driving mechanism inside the headrest 3, it can be expected to simplify the structure. In addition, since it is not necessary to change the speed of the motor 41, there is an advantage that the motor 41 does not need to be enlarged. Further, since it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for adjusting the inside of the headrest 3, the degree of freedom in the appearance design of the headrest 3 is increased, and the weight of the headrest 3 is not increased, so that operability such as attachment / detachment is improved. There are also benefits.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which concerns on this invention was described, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention is not limited to these, and can change suitably according to the main point of invention. For example, the work amount of the headrest 3 that moves by one-click operation by intermittent drive can be arbitrarily set. Moreover, it can also set so that it may become the work amount for 2 click operation by 1 click operation.

It is the perspective view which showed the structure of the sheet | seat in which the headrest apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention is provided. It is the figure which showed the movement state of a headrest, (a) is the schematic diagram which showed the normal state, (b) is the schematic diagram which showed the state at the time of collision prediction. FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the front portion of the vehicle body for explaining a subframe mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an expansion schematic diagram of the principal part of a moving mechanism. It is a block diagram which shows the headrest apparatus which concerns on one embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of a headrest apparatus. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the operation | movement or operation | movement at the time of the front-rear adjustment operation | movement of a headrest, or the emergency operation, and work amount.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Seat 3 Headrest 4 Movement mechanism 5 Control unit 6 Prediction detection sensor 20 Operation switch 41 Motor 41a Drive shaft 41b Gear part 42 Link plate 43 Link rod 43a Connection part 44 Shaft 44a Crank part 44b Both ends 45a Pin 46 Rod 47 Pipe

Claims (2)

A headrest device having a headrest attached to a vehicle seat and provided to be movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat by driving a motor,
When a prediction detection signal is received from a sensor that predicts and detects the collision of the vehicle, the headrest is moved forward with respect to the seat by driving the motor, and a prediction detection signal is output from the sensor. A headrest device comprising a moving mechanism that allows the headrest to be moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat by intermittently controlling the driving of the motor by an occupant's operation during normal times.   The headrest device according to claim 1, wherein the moving mechanism includes a drive control unit that intermittently moves the headrest in the front-rear direction of the seat.

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