Headrest for seats

• US 5,364,164 A
• Filed: 08/25/1992
• Issued: 11/15/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koito Industries Limited
• Original Assignee: Koito Industries Limited
• Inventors: Kuranami, Shunji
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): JAYNE, DARNELL M
• Application Number:
  US07/920,435
• Time in Patent Office: 812 Days
• Field of Search: 297/391, 297/408, 297/220, 403/93, 403/95, 403/96, 16/324, 16/334
• US Class Current: 297/408
• CPC Class Codes: A47C 7/38 for the head adjustable coupled to reclining or easy chairs A47C1/036
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/847 with stepwise positioning
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/06 Arrangements of seats, or adaptations or details specially adapted for aircraft seats crew seat constructions for emergency purposes B64D25/04
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0642 Adjustable headrests

Abstract

A headrest for seats which is recessed in a central recess of the seat and is capable of tilting forward so as to be used as a headrest, and automatically returning this headrest to its original position by tilting it forward more than a predetermined angle with respect to the seat back. The headrest is formed on an upper portion of a seat back and is swingably supported by means of a hinge mechanism equipped with a ratchet mechanism. The hinge mechanism 8 includes a movable hinge portion fixed on a lower portion of a supporting frame of the headrest, and a hinge main body fixed on a seat back frame so as to be hingedly supported on a rotational shaft together with the movable hinge portion. Further, there is provided a return spring together with the supporting frame of the headrest that returns the headrest to its recessed position. Moreover, the ratchet mechanism is constituted in such a manner than, when the headrest is tilted forward beyond a predetermined angle, the ratchet gear is disengaged from the ratchet claw member so that the headrest can be returned to its original position by the pulling force of the return spring.

Claims

1. A headrest for a seat including a main frame, a seat back (1), a seat bottom (2), and arm rests (3), all supported on said main frame, said seat back includes an upper recessed portion (6) positioned in said seat back at a location corresponding to a rear head region of a person seated on said seat bottom, said headrest includes a supporting frame which is swingably supported on said main frame by a hinge mechanism equipped with a ratchet mechanism and said headrest is in an original position when the headrest is at a back-most position within said upper recessed portion (6),

said hinge mechanism includes a movable hinge portion (11) which is secured to said headrest supporting frame, a hinge main body (10) which is fixedly secured to said main frame, a rotational shaft (12) about which said movable hinge portion is movable, and a return spring (18) mounted around said rotational shaft which biases said headrest toward said recessed portion of said seat back;

said ratchet mechanism includes a ratchet gear and a ratchet claw member and is constituted in such a manner that when the headrest is tilted forward beyond a predetermined angle, said ratchet gear is disengaged from said ratchet claw member by a cam plate (19) so that the headrest can be returned to the original position by a pulling force of said return spring.

2. A headrest as set forth in claim 1 in which said ratchet gear and said ratchet claw member or pawl, which corresponds with said ratchet gear, positions said headrest in different positions.

3. A headrest as set forth in claim 2, which includes a cam plate (19) which releases said ratchet claw from said ratchet gear and said spring (18) automatically moves the headrest to its recessed position.