JPS61291233A - Air-pressure control type seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve comfortableness by automatically controlling the charged air pressure in a plurality of bags buried into a seat according to the car operation conditions and the driver's getting-off condition, thus permitting the fine setting of the body pressure distribution. CONSTITUTION:Air bags 1-10 are buried into the shoulder support, side support for back, lumber support, side support for cushion, and the side support of a seat S for car, and said air bags 1-10 are connected to a valve unit 24 by a conduit 25. A pressure sensor 28 and a motor-driven pump unit 27 are installed onto the valve unit 24, and said unit 24 is controlled by a control unit 41 having a keyboard 43. The control unit 41 adjusts the charged air pressure in each air bag 1-10 according to the output of the car operation condition detecting sensors such as car vibration sensor 29, car speed sensor 30, and a steering sensor 31, and the driver's getting-off condition detecting sensor.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a seat for a vehicle, etc., which uses pneumatic pressure to control the feeling or body pressure distribution of an occupant, and in particular to a control means that operates according to the driving conditions of the vehicle. The present invention relates to a pneumatically controlled seat of the above type.

(-line margin) Vehicle seats with various adjustment functions include those that are equipped with a refiner, tilt, lifter, etc. to adjust the position and posture of the occupant, and those that are equipped with thigh supports, side supports, lumbar supports, etc. There are devices that can measure the occupant's feeling and body pressure distribution. These are further classified into those in which adjustment is performed manually6 and those in which adjustment is performed by external power.

The present invention particularly relates to a seat for a vehicle, etc., which can adjust the feeling and body pressure distribution of an occupant using external power made of air pressure, and further prevent an increase in air pressure due to a rise in temperature inside the vehicle when the occupant exits the vehicle. It is something.

<Prior art> Most of the conventional vehicle seats of this type have a power element consisting of a motor, gears, etc. installed in each target area as an adjustment mechanism to operate a mechanical adjustment mechanism. Moreover, they were large, heavy, complex, and therefore expensive. A method using air pressure as a power element was also considered, but a pressure regulating valve was required to reduce the air pressure from the air pressure source to the desired pressure, so there were many parts to adjust. As a result, the structure becomes complicated, the adjustment work takes time, and the manufacturing cost increases.

Therefore, in Japanese Patent Application No. 59-264319 by the same applicant, an air pressure control type seat was proposed in which the filling air pressure of each air bag can be controlled by suitable air pressure control means. With such pneumatically controlled seats, the filling air pressure of each airbag can be quickly and freely adjusted, making it possible to vary the body pressure distribution or feel of the seat according to various driving conditions. If so, the comfort or usability of the vehicle can be improved.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> Based on such knowledge, the main object of the present invention is to variably control the adjustment of the filling air pressure of each airbag according to the driving conditions of the vehicle or the conditions for exiting the vehicle. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved pneumatically controlled seat.

<Means for Solving the Problems> According to the present invention, the present invention aims to improve the feeling or body pressure distribution of the person sitting by selectively filling air into a plurality of bags embedded in the seat. In a controllable type of vehicle seat, a sensor detects the operating conditions of the vehicle, a sensor detects the conditions for getting off the vehicle, and a program that adjusts the filling air pressure of each bag according to the output of the sensor. This is achieved by providing a pneumatically controlled seat characterized in that it is equipped with a control unit.

Detection targets of the sensor include vehicle speed, acceleration, vibration, steering angle, inclination, accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals, and the filling air pressure of each airbag is controlled according to these detection outputs. For example, it improves occupant comfort, supports the driver against lateral acceleration, longitudinal acceleration, or inclination, thereby enabling reliable driving operations.
Alternatively, effects such as reducing driver fatigue can be obtained. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent an abnormal increase in air pressure within the airbag during parking, such as in summer.

<Embodiments> Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the entire pneumatically controlled seat according to the invention. Vehicle seat S includes shoulder support 1 for the upper part of the seat back, side supports L to back 2.3 for left and right backs, and lamper the boat bag 4.
~6. Side support bags for left and right cushions 7.8
and left and right thigh support bags 9 and 10 are buried, and each air bag is connected to the valve unit 24 by a pipe 25.
It is connected to the.

A pressure sensor 28 and an electric pump unit 27 are attached to the valve unit 24, and these pump unit 27, valve unit 24, and pressure sensor 28 are controlled by a control unit 41 having a keyboard 43. .

Furthermore, a photographic sensor 29 consisting of an acceleration sensor that detects the vertical vibration of the vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 30 that generates an output corresponding to the running speed of the vehicle, a steering sensor 31 that generates an analog signal in response to steering operation, and a sensor that detects the side of the vehicle. Acceleration sensors 32 and 33 that generate outputs corresponding to acceleration in the direction and longitudinal direction; Tilt sensor 34 that generates outputs that correspond to the degree of inclination of the vehicle; Temperature sensor 40 that generates outputs that correspond to the temperature inside the vehicle; accelerator, brake,
Each pedal sensor 3 detects the operation of each pedal of the clutch
5 to 37, a parking brake sensor 38 that detects the operation of the parking brake, and an ignition switch sensor 39 that detects the operation of the ignition switch.
It is connected to a control unit 41.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The discharge side of the pump unit 27 is connected to a conduit 26, and each airbag 1-10 is connected to this conduit 26 via a 2-point 1-2 position solenoid valve 11-20 that is spring-biased in the closing direction. It is connected to the. In addition, the pump unit 27
An accumulator 23 for storing the discharge pressure of is also connected to the line 26 via a similar solenoid valve 21.

Furthermore, this conduit 26 is also connected to an exhaust valve 22 which is a two-point, two-position solenoid valve which is also spring-biased in the opening direction.

Further, the output end of a pressure sensor 28 provided to detect the pressure in the pipe line 26 is connected to the control unit 41 .

The control unit 41 is a CPU consisting of a microprocessor.
51, and its data bus 47 and address bus 48 are connected to a RAM 49 and a ROM 50. A pressure signal from the pressure sensor 28 re-digitized by the AD converter 44, a vibration signal from the vibration sensor 29, a vehicle speed signal from the vehicle speed sensor 30, a steering signal from the steering sensor 31, a lateral acceleration sensor 32,
Each acceleration signal from the longitudinal acceleration sensor 33, the tilt signal from the tilt sensor 34, and the temperature signal from the temperature sensor 40 are input to the CPU 51 via the input/output port 45.
Since inputs from each sensor are switched and processed according to commands from the CPU 51, only one AD converter is required. Furthermore, an instruction signal input from the keyboard 43 via the input circuit 42, each pedal signal from each pedal sensor 35 to 37, a parking brake signal from the parking brake sensor 38, and an ignition switch signal from the ignition switch sensor 39 are input. The signals are input to the CPLI 51 via the output port 45, and the CPU 51 controls the pump unit 27 and the solenoid valves 11 to 22 via the drive unit 46 based on these signals.
It is designed to operate.

Note that among the above-mentioned sensors, the analog type sensor is not limited to the analog type, and a digital type sensor can also be used.
Naturally, the sensor switched to the digital type is inputted to the CPU 51 from the input circuit 42 via the input/output port 45 without going through the AD converter.

Next, the operation of the pneumatically controlled seat according to the present invention will be explained.

When filling the airbags 1 to 10 with air, the pump unit 27 is activated and at the same time any one of the solenoid valves 11 to 20 is opened, and the corresponding airbag is filled with pressurized air. In particular, when trying to rapidly supply pressurized air to any of the airbags 1 to 10, by opening the corresponding solenoid valves 11 to 20 and opening the solenoid valve 21 connected to the accumulator 23,
The airbag can be rapidly filled with pressurized air previously stored in the airbag. When it is desired to reduce the pressure in any of the airbags 1 to 10, by opening the corresponding solenoid valves 11 to 20 and the exhaust valve 22, the pressurized air in the airbag is released to the atmosphere and its pressure is reduced. be able to.

By sequentially performing such operations for each airbag, it is possible to set all the airbags to a desired pressure value.

The high pressure air in the accumulator 23 is replenished by the pump unit 27 while no operation is being performed to increase or decrease the air pressure of the air bag.

The pressurization and exhaust operations described above are performed by the CPU 51 sequentially controlling the pump unit 27 and/or the solenoid valves 11 to 22 via the drive unit 46 based on the output of the pressure sensor 28 installed in the pipe line 26 and a given program. This is achieved by activating. The air pressure to be filled into each airbag 1 to 10 can be adjusted manually from the keyboard 43, by adjusting the air pressure based on the set value stored in the RAM 49 or ROM 50, or by sequentially adjusting the air pressure of each airbag 1 to 10. Examples of automatic seat adjustment according to the degree of the road surface, automatic seat adjustment to prevent drowsy driving, automatic seat adjustment to reduce driver fatigue, etc. are by the same applicant. Special request 1986
It is described in detail in the specification of No. 022497, and its detailed explanation will be omitted.

Next, an embodiment of the operation according to the present invention will be described.

Since lateral acceleration is applied to the driver when the vehicle turns, it is preferable to support the driver in a direction that resists the acceleration. In this embodiment, the lateral acceleration sensor 3 attached to the vehicle body
2, an acceleration signal representing the lateral acceleration of the vehicle body is obtained, and this is converted into a digital signal by an AD converter 44,
Based on this digitized acceleration data, the CPU 51 instructs to supply air pressure to a required airbag in accordance with the magnitude of the acceleration so as to support the occupant.

For example, when the lateral acceleration applied to the driver exceeds a predetermined value, the side support bag 7 or 8 facing the opposite direction may be rapidly filled with pressurized air. In this case, air is supplied by high pressure air in the accumulator 23, and its operation is performed by opening the solenoid valve 21 as described above.

A longitudinal acceleration sensor 33 is attached to the vehicle body to detect longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle. For example, when longitudinal acceleration is applied when the vehicle is running uphill or downhill, the longitudinal acceleration can be detected. . Depending on the longitudinal acceleration detected in this way, for example, a side support bag 7.8, a thigh support bag 9.10,
If you fill shoulder support bag 1 with pressurized air,
Since the driver is supported against the longitudinal acceleration applied to the driver, reliable driving operation can be ensured.

When the vehicle travels on an incline due to the condition of the road surface, it is preferable to support the driver according to the inclination. In this embodiment, a detection signal of the inclination of the vehicle body is obtained by the inclination sensor 34 attached to the vehicle body, and in accordance with this inclination detection signal, for example, if the inclination of the vehicle body exceeds a predetermined value, the system detects the inclination of the vehicle body. It is preferable to fill the side support bags 2 or 3 and 7 or 8 with pressurized air.

When driving at a slow pace during traffic jams, the accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals are frequently operated, and the steering and other operations cause a large degree of driver fatigue. The vehicle speed is transmitted from the speed sensor 30 to the CPU.
51, the operation of each pedal is detected by each pedal sensor 35 to 37, and the slow driving is determined based on the relationship with the vehicle speed. By lowering the air pressure of 9.10 and side supports 2.3, 7.8 and periodically increasing and decreasing the filling air pressure of lumbar supports 4 to 6, the driver's body pressure distribution will change and the driver's fatigue will be reduced. can do.

If you leave the windows of your parked vehicle closed during the summer,
It is known that the temperature inside the vehicle becomes abnormally high.
At this time, if the occupant exits the vehicle with the seat shape adjusted, that is, the air pressure inside the air bag remains high, the air pressure inside the air bag will rise due to the rise in temperature inside the vehicle, causing the piping system to etc. may have an adverse effect.

Therefore, in the present invention, for example, the ignition switch sensor 39 detects the OFF state of the ignition switch, the pressure sensor 28 detects a rapid drop in the air pressure inside the airbag, and furthermore, the OFF state of the ignition switch is detected by the pressure sensor 28. When detected by the built-in clock, the CPU 51 determines that the occupant has exited the vehicle, and reduces the air pressure in each airbag 1 to 10 to a predetermined pressure or below, or to atmospheric pressure, thereby suppressing an abnormal increase in air pressure in the airbag. becomes possible. In this case, the air is discharged while measuring the air pressure inside each airbag one by one, but it is also possible to discharge the air by simultaneously opening each solenoid valve for each airbag. Further, it is also possible to determine whether the occupant exits the vehicle by detecting that the parking brake is applied and that the ignition switch remains OFF for a certain period of time or more.

Further, when the temperature inside the vehicle exceeds a predetermined value by the temperature sensor 40 inside the vehicle, it is also possible to reduce the air pressure in the airbag by using each of the methods described above.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, according to the present invention, since it is possible to control the driver's body pressure distribution according to various driving conditions, it is possible to set the body pressure distribution more precisely. Not only can it improve the comfort of the occupants while driving, improving the comfort of the seat, but also the airbag inside the airbag can be used to prevent the air pressure from increasing in the airbag due to the rise in temperature inside the vehicle when the vehicle is parked. Since the air pressure is kept lowered, the air pressure in each part of the seat is lowered even when the next time you get on the seat, making it easier to get on the seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire pneumatically controlled seat according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment of FIG. 1. S... Seats 1-10... Bag 11-22... Solenoid valve 23
...Accumulator 24...Pulp unit 26...
...Pipe line 27...Pump unit 28...
・Pressure sensor 29... Vibration sensor 30... Vehicle speed sensor 31... Steering sensor 32... Lateral acceleration sensor 33... Longitudinal acceleration sensor 34... Tilt sensor

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A seat for a vehicle, etc., in which a plurality of bags embedded in the seat are selectively filled with air to control the feeling or body pressure distribution of a person sitting on the seat; A pneumatically controlled seat comprising: a sensor for detecting a condition; a sensor for detecting a condition for an occupant to get off the vehicle; and a program control unit for adjusting the filling air pressure of each bag according to the outputs of the respective sensors.