Seatbelt assist device and vehicle seat

• US 10,668,893 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2019
• Issued: 06/02/2020
• 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:
  US16/253,864
• Publication Number:
  US 20190152428A1
• Time in Patent Office: 497 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 vehicle seat comprising:

a support portion configured to support a back of a seated passenger from behind the back of the seated passenger;

a lateral portion positioned at a side of the support portion; and

a seatbelt that includes a belt portion;

wherein;

at least one of a front surface of the support portion and a front surface of the lateral portion has an opposing region that opposes the 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 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 another end of the belt portion in the width direction, and another end of the recessed portion in the horizontal width direction is positioned between the one end of the belt portion and the another end of the belt portion in the width direction.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

the horizontal width direction of the recessed portion is along a width direction of the vehicle seat; and

a length in a direction intersecting the horizontal width direction of the recessed portion is longer than a length in the horizontal width direction of the recessed portion.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

the space formation portion is formed by the recessed portion;

the recessed portion comprises i) an opening that faces the belt portion, and ii) a bottom surface positioned opposite to the opening; and

an area of the opening of the recessed portion is larger than an area of the bottom surface of the recessed portion.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising:

an airbag module that includes an airbag and is disposed on a back side of the opposing region,

wherein the space formation portion is provided at a portion in the opposing region different from a portion of the opposing region behind which the airbag module is disposed.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising:

an airbag module that includes an airbag and is disposed on a back side of the opposing region,

wherein the space formation portion is provided at a portion in the opposing region behind which the airbag module is disposed.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising:

a belt pusher that is mounted in the opposing region and configured to push a portion of the belt portion forward,

wherein the space formation portion is provided at a portion in the opposing region that is different in an upper-to-lower direction from a portion in the opposing region where the belt pusher is mounted.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein a component that forms the space formation portion and a peripheral component around the space formation portion are separate components from each other that are assembled and integrated.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

the vehicle seat further comprises a movable member that has a recessed portion formation surface that forms the recessed portion; and

the movable member is configured to oscillate between a position at which the recessed portion formation surface is exposed in the opposing region and a position at which the recessed portion formation surface deviates from the opposing region.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein:

the movable member is provided with a positioning portion configured to hold a position of the movable member; and

the positioning portion is configured to hold the movable member at a position where a portion of the movable member surrounding the recessed portion pushes a portion of the belt portion forward.

10. The vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein the recessed portion formed by the recessed portion formation surface is configured to provide a housing space for storage of a small product.

11. The vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein the movable member is a rotary member that is rotatably supported, and by rotating, oscillates between the position at which the recessed portion formation surface is exposed in the opposing region and the position at which the recessed portion formation surface deviates from the opposing region.

12. The vehicle seat according to claim 11, wherein a surface of the rotary member that is arranged on an opposite side of the recessed portion formation surface relative to a rotary shaft of the rotary member is formed by a cover material attached to the rotary member.

13. A vehicle seat comprising:

a support portion configured to support a back of a seated passenger from behind the back of the seated passenger;

a lateral portion positioned at a side of the support portion; and

a seatbelt that includes a belt portion;

wherein;

at least one of a front surface of the support portion and a front surface of the lateral portion has an opposing region that opposes the 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;

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 space formation portion is formed by the recessed portion; and

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

14. A vehicle seat comprising:

a support portion configured to support a back of a seated passenger from behind the back of the seated passenger;

a lateral portion positioned at a side of the support portion; and

a seatbelt that includes a belt portion;

wherein;

at least one of a front surface of the support portion and a front surface of the lateral portion has an opposing region that opposes the 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;

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 space formation portion is formed by the recessed portion;

the recessed portion comprises i) an opening that faces the belt portion, and ii) a bottom surface positioned opposite to the opening; and

an area of the opening of the recessed portion is larger than an area of the bottom surface of the recessed portion.