Head restraint

• US 6,688,697 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2001
• Issued: 02/10/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Original Assignee: DaimlerChrysler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Lasi, Ulrich, Justen, Rainer, Baumann, Karl-Heinz
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITE, RODNEY BARNETT
• Application Number:
  US09/962,457
• Publication Number:
  US 20030057758A1
• Time in Patent Office: 867 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.12, 297/408, 297/409, 297/404, 297/391
• US Class Current: 297/391
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/865 providing a fore-and-aft movement with respect to the occupant's head
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/888 with arrangements for protecting against abnormal g-forces, e.g. by displacement of the head-rest

Abstract

A head restraint for a motor vehicle has a fixed support part and a movable, prestressed part. The parts are connected to each other via at least one upper and one lower lever, in which case the movable part can be moved from a normal position into a protective position and vice versa. The movable head-restraint part can be shifted forwards in a simple manner in that the levers are arranged parallel to each other. In order to prestress the movable part at least one spring is provided that engages at its one end on the fixed support part and at its other end directly or indirectly on one of the two levers.

Claims

1. Head restraint for a motor vehicle, which has a fixed support part and a movable, prestressed part, which parts are connected to each other via at least one upper and one lower lever, in which case the movable part can be moved from a normal position into a protective position and vice versa,

wherein the levers are arranged parallel to each other,

wherein, in order to prestress the movable part a spring is provided that engages at one end on the fixed support part and at another end at least indirectly on one of the two levers, and

wherein a connecting lever is provided between the upper and the lower lever.

5. Head restraint according to claim 1, wherein the spring is a spiral spring.

20. Head restraint according to claim 1,

wherein the movement of the movable part from the normal position into the protective position is triggered when a crash is sensed.

21. Head restraint according to claim 1,

wherein a triggering device is fixed to the support part, said triggering device being operable to trigger movement of the movable part to the protective position utilizing forces from the spring.

22. Head restraint according to claim 21,

wherein the triggering device is a small magnet.

23. Head restraint according to claim 22,

wherein the triggering device is triggered by an electric pulse of a crash sensor.

24. Head restraint according to claim 21,

wherein the triggering device is triggered by an electric pulse of a crash sensor.

2. Head restraint for a motor vehicle, which has a fixed support part and a movable, prestressed part, which parts are connected to each other via at least one upper and one lower lever, in which case the movable part can be moved from a normal position into a protective position and vice versa,

wherein the levers are arranged parallel to each other,

wherein, in order to prestress the movable part a spring is provided that engages at one end on the fixed support part and at another end at least indirectly on one of the two levers, and

wherein the spring engages at one end on a fixed head-restraint bracket and at other end on the lower lever.

3. Head restraint according to claim 2, wherein the spring is a spiral spring.

4. Head restraint according to claim 2,

wherein the spring is locked in a stressed position via a release lever in the normal position.

6. Head restraint for a motor vehicle, which has a fixed support part and a movable, prestressed part, which parts are connected to each other via at least one upper and one lower lever, in which case the movable part can be moved from a normal position into a protective position and vice versa,

wherein the levers are arranged parallel to each other,

wherein, in order to prestress the movable part a spring is provided that engages at one end on the fixed support part and at another end at least indirectly on one of the two levers, and

wherein the spring is locked in a stressed position via a release lever in the normal position.

7. Head restraint according to claim 6,

wherein the release lever is held in the normal position via a torsion spring which counteracts the force of the spring.

8. Head restraint according to claim 6,

wherein a triggering device is fixed to the support part, said triggering device being operable to trigger movement of the movable part to the protective position utilizing forces from the spring, and

wherein the triggering device acts upon the release lever.

9. Head restraint according to claim 8,

wherein the triggering device is a small magnet.

10. Head restraint according to claim 8,

wherein the triggering device is triggered by an electric pulse of a crash sensor.

11. Head restraint for a motor vehicle, which has a fixed support part and a movable, prestressed part, which parts are connected to each other via at least one upper and one lower lever, in which case the movable part can be moved from a normal position into a protective position and vice versa,

wherein the levers are arranged parallel to each other,

wherein, in order to prestress the movable part a spring is provided that engages at one end on the fixed support part and at another end at least indirectly on one of the two levers, and

wherein the spring engages on one of the levers via a spring lever.

12. Head restraint according to claim 11,

wherein the spring lever is mounted at a same bearing point as the lever on which the spring lever engages.

13. Head restraint according to claim 11,

wherein two shaft rings are arranged between the spring lever and the lever on which the spring lever engages.

14. Head restraint according to claim 12,

wherein the spring lever has a carry-along pin via which the spring lever carries along the lever on which the spring lever engages during a pivoting movement about the bearing point.

15. Head restraint according to claim 12,

wherein the spring lever has a latching portion which, when the movable part of the head restraint is shifted, interacts with a latching portion of a latching lever.

16. Head restraint according to claim 11,

wherein the spring lever has a carry-along pin via which the spring lever carries along the lever on which the spring lever engages during a pivoting movement about a bearing point.

17. Head restraint according to claim 16,

wherein the spring lever has a latching portion which, when the movable part of the head restraint is shifted, interacts with a latching portion of a latching lever.

18. Head restraint according to claim 16,

wherein two shaft rings are arranged between the spring lever and the lever on which the spring lever engages.

19. Head restraint according to claim 11,

wherein the spring lever has a latching portion which, when the movable part of the head restraint is shifted, interacts with a latching portion of a latching lever.

25. A motor vehicle head restraint assembly comprising:

a fixed support part,

a movable part engageable in use with a vehicle occupant head region,

an upper lever connected to the movable part and pivotally connected to the fixed support part at a first position spaced from the movable part,

a lower lever connected to the movable part and pivotally connected to the fixed support part at a second position spaced from the movable part and the movable part,

a spring interposed between the fixed support part and said levers,

a selectively releasable latching mechanism operable to hold said spring in a prestressed condition with said levers holding the movable part in a normal driving position, and

a collision condition actuable release mechanism operable to release the latching mechanism with consequent automatic forcing of said levers to move the movable part from the normal driving position, and

wherein a connecting lever is provided between the upper and the lower lever.

26. A motor vehicle head restraint assembly, according to claim 25,

wherein said upper lever and lower lever are disposed parallel to one another and disposed to maintain a substantially constant angular orientation of the movable part during movement thereof between the normal position and the protective position.

27. A motor vehicle head restraint assembly according to claim 26,

wherein said levers and release mechanism are configured to accommodate manual movement of the moveable part from the protective position to the normal position against spring forces of the spring without damaging the head restraint assembly.

28. A motor vehicle head restraint assembly according to claim 25,

wherein said spring is a coil spring.

29. A motor vehicle head restraint assembly according to claim 25,

wherein one end of said spring is fixed to said fixed support part and an opposite end of said spring is operatively engageable with said lower lever.

30. Head restraint according to claim 29,

wherein the spring is locked in a stressed position via a release lever in the normal position.

31. Head restraint according to claim 30,

wherein the release lever is held in the normal position via a torsion spring which counteracts the force of the spring.

32. Head restraint according to claim 30,

wherein the spring engages on one of the levers via a spring lever.

33. Head restraint according to claim 32,

wherein the spring lever is mounted at a same bearing point as the lever on which the spring lever engages.