Seatbelt assist device and vehicle seat

• US 10,449,926 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2015
• Issued: 10/22/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamabe, Atsushi, Yamato, Noriyuki, Mochizuki, Haruki
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming, Faye M
• Application Number:
  US15/501,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20170225648A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,539 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/90 Details or parts not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/919 Positioning and locking mechanisms B60N2/16, B60N2/18, B60N2/22, B60N2/225 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2002/924 using electric or hydraulic energy
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/1818 Belt guides
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/266 Rear seats, e.g. benches
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/03 Means for presenting the belt or part thereof to the wearer , e.g. foot-operated
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/26 secured to the seat

Abstract

Provided is a belt assist device having a compact configuration and being configured to move a seatbelt to an easily reachable position. A vehicle seat includes a belt assist device attached to a lateral portion of a seat back and configured to move a portion of a seatbelt placed on the lateral portion to the easily reachable position. The belt assist device includes a rotary member attached to a recessed housing portion of the lateral portion via a rotary shaft and configured to rotate up and down between a housing position at which the rotary member is housed in the seat back and a protruding position at which the rotary member rotates to protrude forward of the seat back to push out a portion of the seatbelt. The rotary member is disposed forward of a belt guide provided at the periphery of an upper end of the seat back.

Claims

1. A seatbelt assist device configured to attach to a seat back that is a backrest of a vehicle seat, and configured to move at least a portion of a seatbelt placed on the seat back to a position reachable by a seated passenger, comprising:

a rotary member that is attached to the seat back via a rotary shaft, and is configured to move between a housing position at which the rotary member is housed in the seat back and a protruding position at which the rotary member protrudes forward of the seat back to push out the portion of the seatbelt;

wherein the rotary member is disposed forward of a belt guide provided at an upper end of the seat back or at a periphery of the upper end of the seat back, and

wherein an outer surface of the rotary member is disposed substantially integrally and continuously with an outer surface of the seat back when the rotary member is located at the housing position;

wherein;

the rotary member is attached to a lateral portion of the seat back in a right-to-left direction,

the rotary member is, via the rotary shaft, attached to a recessed housing portion provided at the lateral portion, the rotary member being configured to be housed in the recessed housing portion,

the rotary shaft is supported to extend in the right-to-left direction in the recessed housing portion,

a support plate that is configured to rotatably support the rotary member is attached between the rotary member and the recessed housing portion, and

the rotary shaft is attached to an upper end portion or a lower end portion of the rotary member, and is pivotally supported by the support plate.

2. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein

the rotary member is attached to an upper portion of the seat back, and

when moving to the protruding position, the rotary member pushes out the portion of the seatbelt from behind of the portion of the seatbelt such that a clearance is formed both between a front surface of the seat back and the seatbelt and between the upper end of the seat back and the seatbelt.

3. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein

the rotary shaft is attached to an upper end portion of the rotary member,

the rotary member is configured to rotate, when moving from the housing position to the protruding position, upward about the rotary shaft to protrude forward of the seat, and

the rotary member is configured such that when moving to the protruding position, an angle of the rotary member with respect to the seat back is equal to or smaller than about 90 degrees.

4. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein the rotary member is disposed at a lower position of a lower end of a head rest provided as a head portion of the vehicle seat, and is disposed at a lower position of the upper end of the seat back.

5. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein the rotary member is provided with a position restriction portion that is configured to restrict a position of the seatbelt in a right-to-left direction on a surface that contacts the seatbelt when the rotary member is located at the protruding position.

6. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein

the rotary member is attached to a lateral portion of the seat back in a right-to-left direction, and

one end portion of the rotary member in the right-to-left direction adjacent to a center portion of the seat back is provided with a cutout portion that is cut out toward another end portions in the right-to-left direction farther from the center portion of the seat back.

7. The seatbelt assist device of claim 6, wherein

the rotary member is attached to a recessed housing portion provided at the seat back, the rotary member being configured to be housed in the recessed housing portion,

a support plate that is configured to support the rotary member is attached between the rotary member and the recessed housing portion, the support plate being capable of housing the rotary member, and

a portion of the support plate that corresponds to the cutout portion is provided with a protruding raised portion that protrudes toward the rotary member.

8. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein

the rotary member is attached to a recessed housing portion provided at the seat back, the recessed housing portion being capable of housing the rotary member,

the seatbelt assist device further includes

a motor that is housed in the recessed housing portion, and

a drive shaft that is interposed between the motor and the rotary member, and is configured to move up and down in association with driving of the motor to rotate the rotary member.

9. A vehicle seat comprising:

the seatbelt assist device and the seat back of claim 1.

10. The seatbelt assist device of claim 1, wherein the rotary member is housed in a recessed housing portion provided at the seat back and substantially covers an opening of the recessed housing portion when the rotary member is located at the housing position.

11. A seatbelt assist device configured to attach to a seat back that is a backrest of a vehicle seat, and configured to move at least a portion of a seatbelt placed on the seat back to a position reachable by a seated passenger, comprising:

a rotary member that is attached to the seat back via a rotary shaft, and is configured to move between a housing position at which the rotary member is housed in the seat back and a protruding position at which the rotary member protrudes forward of the seat back to push out the portion of the seatbelt,

wherein the rotary member is disposed forward of a belt guide provided at an upper end of the seat back or at a periphery of the upper end of the seat back, and

wherein an indicator section that is configured to indicate that the rotary member is located at the protruding position;

wherein the indicator section includes a light emission device attached to the rotary member of a periphery of the rotary member, and

the indicator section is configured to cause the light emission device to emit light when the rotary member is located at the protruding position.

12. The seatbelt assist device of claim 11, wherein:

the light emission device is attached to the rotary member, and

the indicator section is configured to cause the light emission device to continuously emit light while the rotary member is at the protruding position.

13. The seatbelt assist device of claim 11, wherein:

the rotary member is attached to a lateral portion of the seat back in a right-to-left direction,

the rotary member protrudes to push out the portion of the seatbelt placed on the lateral portion of the seat back from behind when the rotary member is located at the protruding position, and

the light emission device is attached to a lateral side of the rotary member in the right-to-left direction, wherein the lateral side is a side adjacent to a center portion of the seat back.

14. The seatbelt assist device of claim 11, wherein the light emission device is attached on a protruding tip end side of the rotary member.

15. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seatbelt assist device;

a seat back,

wherein;

the seatbelt assist device is configured to attach to the seat back, and configured to move at least a portion of a seatbelt placed on the seat back to a position reachable by a seated passenger,

the seatbelt assist device includes a rotary member that is attached to the seat back via a rotary shaft, and is configured to move between a housing position at which the rotary member is housed in the seat back and a protruding position at which the rotary member protrudes forward of the seat back to push out the portion of the seatbelt,

the rotary member is disposed forward of a belt guide provided at an upper end of the seat back or at a periphery of the upper end of the seat back,

the seat back includes a support portion that is configured to support a back of a seated passenger from behind of the back of the seated passenger, and a lateral portion positioned at a side of the support portion,

at least one of front surfaces of the support portion and the lateral portion has an opposing region that opposes a belt portion of the seatbelt when the seatbelt is at a standby position in an unlocked state,

at least a portion of the opposing region is provided with a space formation portion formed by a recessed portion or a raised portion, and

when the seatbelt is at the standby position in the unlocked state, the space formation portion forms a space between the opposing region and the belt portion,

the rotary member is attached to a lateral portion of the seat back in a right-to-left direction,

the rotary member is, via the rotary shaft, attached to a recessed housing portion provided at the lateral portion, the rotary member being configured to be housed in the recessed housing portion,

the rotary shaft is supported to extend in the right-to-left direction in the recessed housing portion,

a support plate that is configured to rotatably support the rotary member is attached between the rotary member and the recessed housing portion, and

the rotary shaft is attached to an upper end portion or a lower end portion of the rotary member, and is pivotally supported by the support plate.

16. The vehicle seat of claim 15, wherein

the space formation portion is formed by the recessed portion, and

when the seatbelt is at the standby position in the unlocked state, one end of the recessed portion in a horizontal width direction is positioned farther from one end of the belt portion in a width direction of the belt portion than from the another end of the belt portion in the width direction, and the another end of the recessed portion in the horizontal width direction is positioned between the one end and the another end of the belt portion in the width direction.

17. The vehicle seat of claim 15 wherein:

the space formation portion is the recessed portion, and

one end and another end of the belt portion in a width direction is positioned between one end and another end of the recessed portion in a horizontal width direction when the seatbelt is at a standby position in an unlocked state.