Headrest for vehicle seat

• US 7,954,893 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2009
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fuji Electric Company Limited (Fuji Electric Systems Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Tachi-S Company Limited
• Inventors: Koike, Atsushi, Yokota, Masaaki
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITE, RODNEY BARNETT
• Application Number:
  US12/407,036
• Publication Number:
  US 20090200843A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.12, 297/391, 297/452.2
• US Class Current: 297/216.12
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4228 due to impact coming from the rear
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/888 with arrangements for protecting against abnormal g-forces, e.g. by displacement of the head-rest

Abstract

A headrest for vehicle seat includes: a generally inverted-U-shaped frame having a pair of headrest stays defined therein; and an impact absorption bar fixedly connected between those two headrest stays. The impact absorption bar is located in a predetermined spaced relation with an upper horizontal frame portion of the generally inverted-U-shaped frame. When a rear-end collision or the like occurs, a head of seat occupant is stably received by those impact absorption bar and upper horizontal frame portion, while the impact absorption bar being readily deformed by backward excessive great load applied thereto from the seat occupant'"'"'s head to thereby absorb and reduce a corresponding impact energy to be imparted to the head.

Claims

1. A headrest adapted to be mounted on a vehicle seat, comprising:

a generally inverted-U-shaped frame provided in said headrest, said generally inverted U-shaped frame having, defined therein, a horizontal frame portion disposed at an upper side of said headrest, and a pair of spaced-apart vertical frame portions extending vertically and continuous from said horizontal frame portion in a direction downwardly of the headrest;

a pair of spaced-apart headrest stays defined integrally in two lower portions respectively of said pair of spaced-apart vertical frame portions, said pair of spaced-apart headrest stays being adapted to be mounted in said vehicle seat;

a single impact absorption bar element having two endpoints that are fixedly connected to said pair of spaced-apart vertical frame portions in such a manner as to extend transversely of said pair of spaced-apart vertical frame portions, while being disposed under, spaced apart from, and substantially parallel to said horizontal frame portion, said impact absorption bar element being of a property prone to deformation only by an excessive great load applied thereto from said head of the seat occupant in case of a rear-end collision or a factor for causing said excessive great load;

a headrest body including a foam padding filled therein;

wherein a substantially midway point of said impact absorption bar element thereof is a recessed or cut-away region, thereby defining a readily deformable region in said substantially midway point,

wherein said horizontal frame portion, said pair of spaced-apart vertical frame portions, and said single impact absorption bar element are embedded integrally in said foam padding of said headrest body, while said pair of spaced-apart headrest stays extend outwardly from said headrest body.