Headrest and vehicle seat provided therewith, and method of manufacturing headrest

• US 9,539,923 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2013
• Issued: 01/10/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Haga, Kouichiro, Ishimoto, Manabu
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Jose V
• Application Number:
  US14/427,850
• Publication Number:
  US 20150246628A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,238 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.12
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/1238 and having flexible and solid areas
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 44/1271 the preformed parts being partially covered
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2075/00 Use of PU, i.e. polyureas or polyurethanes or derivatives thereof, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/04 cellular or porous
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2009/00 Layered products
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/3023 Head-rests
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/64 Back-rests or cushions B60N2/2222 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/682 Joining means
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/7017 characterised by the manufacturing process; manufacturing upholstery or upholstery springs not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/80 Head-rests
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/809 vertically slidable

Abstract

It is obtained a headrest and a vehicle seat provided therewith and a method of manufacturing a headrest, that can reduce load to a neck portion of a vehicle occupant at a time of a rear collision while ensuring NV performance. A first urethane and a second urethane are disposed at an inner side of a headrest skin of a vehicle seat, and structure a headrest pad. The first urethane is embedded in the second urethane, and is elastically deformable, and supports a mass body. An elastic coefficient of the second urethane is set to be higher than that of the first urethane.

Claims

1. A headrest comprising:

a headrest stay that has leg portions supported at a seat back, the leg portions extending in a seat height direction;

a first cushion material that is covered by a headrest skin on an inner side of the headrest skin, the first cushion material supporting a mass body and being formed of an elastically deformable urethane, the first cushion material being fixed to the headrest stay by an adhesive force of the elastically deformable urethane on the leg portions of the headrest stay; and

a second cushion material that is covered by the headrest skin on the inner side of the headrest skin, the first cushion material and the second cushion material forming a headrest pad within the headrest skin, the second cushion material being formed of a urethane having a higher elastic coefficient than the first cushion material.

2. The headrest of claim 1, wherein:

the first cushion material has a first overlap portion that is set at a position that overlaps the mass body as seen in a seat front view of the seat back in a seat longitudinal direction of the seat back; and

the second cushion material has a second overlap portion that is set at a position that overlaps the mass body and the first overlap portion as seen in the seat front view of the seat back.

3. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the first cushion material covers an entire periphery of a peripheral edge of the mass body.

4. The headrest of claim 1, wherein the first cushion material is embedded in the second cushion material.

5. The headrest of claim 1, wherein a volume of the second cushion material is set to be greater than a volume of the first cushion material.

6. The headrest of claim 1, wherein:

the leg portions are provided as a left/right pair at the headrest stay; and

the mass body is disposed between the pair of left and right leg portions, the mass body being set at a position that overlaps the pair of left and right leg portions as seen in a seat side view of the seat back in a seat transverse direction of the seat back.

7. The headrest of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of bodies.

8. The headrest of claim 7, wherein respective resonance frequencies of the plurality of mass bodies are supported by the first cushion material differ.

9. The headrest of claim 7, wherein the plurality of mass bodies are disposed so as to be lined-up apart at both left and right sides in a seat transverse direction of the seat back with respect to a seat transverse direction central line of the headrest.

10. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion for a vehicle occupant to sit;

a seat back that is supported at a rear end portion of the seat cushion; and

the headrest of claim 1 that is disposed at an upper end portion of the seat back, the headrest of claim 1 for supporting a head portion of the vehicle occupant.

11. A method of manufacturing a headrest, the method comprising:

a first step of setting a mass body between a pair of leg portions of a headrest stay;

a second step of, after the first step, connecting the mass body to the leg portions at respective mass body sides of the leg portions by a first cushion material disposed at an outer peripheral side of the mass body, the mass body being connected to the respective mass body sides of the leg portions by supplying and foam-molding a first urethane, which is a raw material of the first cushion material;

a third step of, after the second step, inserting the headrest stay, the first cushion material, and the mass body into an interior of a headrest skin such that the headrest skin covers the headrest stay, the first cushion material, and the mass body;

a fourth step of, after the third step, forming a headrest pad within the headrest skin that includes the first cushion material and a second cushion material by injecting and foam-molding a second urethane, the second urethane being a raw material of the second cushion material having an elastic coefficient that is higher than an elastic coefficient of the first cushion material.