Retractable headrest for vehicle

• US 7,234,778 B1
• Filed: 12/07/2005
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Toba, Eiji
• Primary Examiner(s): BARFIELD, ANTHONY DERRELL
• Application Number:
  US11/295,814
• Publication Number:
  US 20070132300A1
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• Field of Search: 297/403, 297/408
• US Class Current: 297/403
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/844 Release mechanisms, e.g. buttons
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/859 specially adapted for rear seats

Abstract

A retractable headrest for vehicle having a general versatility. All the components of a retracting mechanism for retracting a headrest body are provided inside the headrest body. Thus, any additional component does not need to be provided inside a seatback. Accordingly, even if the seatback can take various forms according to the type of a vehicle, yet the headrest body can be made retractable by an actuator simply by attaching the headrest to an upper portion of the seatback, using a pillar. Thus way, there can be provided a retractable headrest for vehicle with a high versatility.

Claims

1. A retractable headrest for vehicle including a pillar having a horizontal shaft, said pillar being provided in an upper portion of a seatback;

a headrest body having a lower portion rotatably provided around said horizontal shaft of said pillar; and

a retracting mechanism provided inside said headrest body for retracting said headrest body backward, said retracting mechanism comprising;

a headrest body biasing means for biasing an upper portion of said headrest body backward;

a lock plate provided on the horizontal shaft of said pillar, said lock plate having a first locking part;

a latch provided in said headrest body, said latch having a second locking part engageable with said first locking part;

a latch biasing means for biasing said latch so as to engage said second locking part with the first locking part of said lock plate when said headrest body is erected in a substantially vertical state;

an actuator for disengaging the second locking part of said latch from the first locking part of said lock plate against a basing force from said latch biasing means;

wherein said headrest body is retracted backward by disengaging the second locking part from the first locking part of said lock plate, and is kept in a backwardly retracted state by abutting the rear surface of said headrest body against the upper portion of said seatback.

2. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said actuator comprises:

a motor driven in response to a command from an operation part;

a rack to which a driving force from said motor is transmitted; and

an arm for disengaging the second locking part of said latch from the first locking part of said lock plate in response to a sliding action of said rack.

3. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said headrest body is arranged in a concave portion formed in an upper portion of said seatback, while said pillar allows said horizontal shaft to protrude from the sides of said headrest body, extending through opposite surfaces of said concave portion and attached to a seatback frame provided inside seat seatback.

4. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 3, wherein said headrest body is accommodated into said concave portion by being retracted backward such that the upper portion of said headrest body is substantially aligned with the upper portion of said seatback.

5. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said seatback is a rear seat while said operation part is provided on a front seat side.

6. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said headrest biasing means is a backward-retracting torsion coil spring, while said actuator drives said motor to rotate slightly so as to disengage the second locking part of said latch from the first locking part of said lock plate so that said headrest body is retracted backward by a basing force from said backward-retracting torsion coil spring.

7. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 2, wherein said latch is rotatably provided in said latch bracket, with said actuator being arranged above said latch bracket.

8. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 7, wherein said rack is arranged horizontally so as to be substantially parallel with the horizontal shaft of said pillar, having an engagement through-hole at a distal end, while said arm takes a substantially letter L shape, having a corner rotatably provided, said arm having a headed shaft on one end thereof to be inserted into said engagement hole of said rack to work in association with said rack, while an other end thereof being arranged in an undersurface of a press-up part of said latch bracket.

9. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said actuator allows said motor to be rotated positively momentarily and then reversely, so that said rack is reciprocated to thereby lift or lower the other end of said arm, while said latch is rotated by lifting the press-up portion of said latch by the other end of said arm, to thereby disengage the second locking part from the first locking part of said lock plate in response to the rotation of said latch.

10. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said headrest body is arranged in a concave portion formed in an upper portion of said seatback, while said pillar allows said horizontal shaft to protrude from the sides of said headrest body, extending through opposite surfaces of said concave portion and attached to a seatback frame provided inside seat seatback.

11. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 10, wherein said headrest body is accommodated into said concave portion by being retracted backward such that the upper portion of said headrest body is substantially aligned with the upper portion of said seatback.

12. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said headrest body comprises a first casing rotatably provided around said horizontal shaft and a second casing that is fitted into said first casing, and wherein a lock plate stopper made of a rubber member is provided in an interior lower side of said first casing so that when said headrest body is in an erected state, a lower part of said lock plate is allowed to abut to an upper surface of said lock plate stopper.

13. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said latch is rotatably provided in said latch bracket, while said lock plate comprises a stopper so that a positive rotation of said headrest body is regulated by said stopper abutting to said latch bracket when said headrest body is in an erected state.

14. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 1, wherein said headrest biasing means is a backward-retracting torsion coil spring, biasing said headrest body backward.

15. A retractable headrest for vehicle including a pillar having a horizontal shaft, said pillar being provided in an upper portion of a seatback;

a headrest body having a lower portion rotatably provided around said horizontal shaft of said pillar; and

a retracting mechanism provided inside said headrest body for retracting said headrest body backward, said retracting mechanism comprising;

a headrest body biasing means for biasing an upper portion of said headrest body backward;

a lock plate provided on the horizontal shaft of said pillar, said lock plate having a first locking part;

a latch provided in said headrest body, said latch having a second locking part engageable with said first locking part;

a latch biasing means for biasing said latch so as to engage said second locking part with the first locking part of said lock plate when said headrest body is erected in a substantially vertical state; and

an actuator for disengaging the second locking part of said latch from the first locking part of said lock plate against a basing force from said latch biasing means,

wherein said actuator comprises;

a motor driven in response to a command from an operation part;

a rack to which a driving force from said motor is transmitted; and

an arm for disengaging the second locking part of said latch from the first locking part of said lock plate in response to a sliding action of said rack,

wherein said latch is rotatably provided in said latch bracket, with said actuator being arranged above said latch bracket, and

wherein said rack is arranged horizontally so as to be substantially parallel with the horizontal shaft of said pillar, having an engagement through-hole at a distal end, while said arm takes a substantially letter L shape, having a corner rotatably provided, said arm having a headed shaft on one end thereof to be inserted into said engagement hole of said rack to work in association with said rack, while an other end thereof being arranged in an undersurface of a press-up part of said latch bracket.

16. The retractable headrest for vehicle according to claim 15, wherein said actuator allows said motor to be rotated positively momentarily and then reversely, so that said rack is reciprocated to thereby lift or lower the other end of said arm, while said latch is rotated by lifting the press-up portion of said latch by the other end of said arm, to thereby disengage the second locking part from the first locking part of said lock plate in response to the rotation of said latch.