Headrest device, method of adjusting headrest position, and vehicle seat

• US 8,632,125 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2011
• Issued: 01/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NHK Spring Company Limited
• Original Assignee: NHK Spring Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamaguchi, Hiroyoshi, Yasuda, Kenzou, Hasegawa, Makoto, Ito, Takeshi, Shimizu, Eiji, Nishikido, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITE, RODNEY BARNETT
• Application Number:
  US13/197,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20120032487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.12
• US Class Current: 297/216.12
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0252 with relations between different adjustments, e.g. height of headrest following longitudinal position of seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/22 the back-rest being adjustable B60N2/2878 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/865 providing a fore-and-aft movement with respect to the occupant's head

Abstract

There is provided a headrest device including: a headrest main body that is provided at an upper end portion of a seat back of a seat in which a passenger sits; a pressure/flexure detecting section that is provided at a vehicle front side of the seat back; a headrest moving section; and a control section that estimates a current back-set, that is a distance between a head portion of a passenger and the headrest main body in a horizontal direction, on the basis of at least one of pressure and flexure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section and a predetermined relationship between back-set and the at least one of pressure and flexure, and controls the headrest moving section to move the headrest main body such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount.

Claims

1. A headrest device comprising:

a headrest main body that is provided so as to be moveable in a vehicle longitudinal direction, at an upper end portion of a seat back of a seat in which a passenger sits;

a pressure/flexure detecting section that is provided at a vehicle front side of the seat back, and that detects at least one of pressure that is applied to the seat back from a back portion of a passenger seated in the seat, or flexure of the seat back;

a headrest moving section that moves in the headrest main body in the vehicle longitudinal direction; and

a control section that estimates a current back-set which is a distance between a head portion of a passenger and the headrest main body in a horizontal direction, the estimated current back-set corresponding to at least one of pressure or flexure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section on the basis of a stored relationship between back-set-value and the at least one of pressure or flexure, and controls the headrest moving section to move the headrest main body such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount.

2. The headrest device of claim 1, further comprising an angle detecting section that detects a reclining angle of the seat back,

wherein the control section estimates the current back-set on the basis of at least one of pressure and flexure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section, and the reclining angle detected by the angle detecting section, and a predetermined relationship between the back-set and the reclining angle and the at least one of pressure and flexure.

3. The headrest device of claim 1, further comprising:

an angle detecting section that detects a reclining angle of the seat back; and

a seat back moving section that moves the seat back so as to change the reclining angle of the seat back,

wherein the control section controls movement of the headrest main body such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount, after the control section controls the seat back moving section to move the seat back until the at least one of pressure and flexure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section becomes a predetermined value or until the reclining angle becomes a predetermined angle prescribed in advance.

4. The headrest device of claim 1, wherein the pressure/flexure detecting section is a pressure sensor, a load cell, or a potentiometer.

5. The headrest device of claim 1, wherein the pressure/detecting section is disposed at a position corresponding to at least one of a pelvic region and a range of a fourth thoracic vertebra through eighth thoracic vertebra of a passenger seated in the seat.

6. The headrest device of claim 1, wherein the control section controls the headrest moving section to move the headrest main body such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount, after pressures that have been detected a plurality of times by the pressure/flexure detecting section converge, or after flexures that have been detected a plurality of times by the pressure/flexure detecting section converge.

7. The headrest device of claim 1, wherein the control section controls the headrest moving section to move the headrest main body such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount, when a difference between a pressure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section and a pressure detected again after a predetermined time is less than or equal to a predetermined value, or when a difference between a flexure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section and a flexure detected again after a predetermined time is less than or equal to a predetermined value.

8. The headrest device of claim 1, wherein, when at least one of the pressure and flexure detected by the detecting section exceeds a predetermined range, the control section controls the headrest moving section to move the headrest main body such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount again.

9. The headrest device of claim 1, wherein the headrest main body has a headrest rear section that is supported at the upper end portion of the seat back, and a headrest front portion that is provided so as to be able to approach and move away from the headrest rear portion and is moveable in the vehicle longitudinal direction between a fully closed position, at which the headrest front portion is nearest to the headrest rear portion, and a fully open position, at which the headrest front portion is furthest away from the headrest rear portion, and

the headrest moving section moves the headrest main body in the vehicle longitudinal direction by moving the headrest front portion between the fully open position and the fully closed position.

11. A vehicle seat comprising the headrest device of claim 1.

10. A method of adjusting headrest position comprising:

by a pressure/flexure detecting section that is provided at a vehicle front side of a seat back of a seat in which a passenger sits, detecting at least one of pressure applied to the seat back from a back portion of a passenger seated in the seat, or flexure of the seat back;

estimating a current back-set which is a distance between a head portion of a passenger and the headrest main body in a horizontal direction, the estimated current back-set corresponding to at least one of pressure or flexure detected by the pressure/flexure detecting section on the basis of a stored relationship between back-set value and the at least one of pressure or flexure; and

by a moving section, moving the headrest main body, that is provided at an upper end portion of the seat back so as to be moveable in a vehicle longitudinal direction, such that the back-set becomes a predetermined amount.