Vehicle seat

• US 9,815,386 B2
• Filed: 03/25/2014
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Hozumi, Soichiro, Maeda, Toshiro
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITE, RODNEY BARNETT
• Application Number:
  US15/022,756
• Publication Number:
  US 20160229313A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 2972161, 29721613, 29721614, 29721615, 2972849, 2973611, 297362, 29736211, 29736212, 29736213, 29736214
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0224 Non-manual adjustments, e.g. with electrical operation
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor
• 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 2/06 slidable B60N2/12 , B60N2/2209 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/12 slidable and tiltable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/20 the back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access B60N2/04, B60N2/22 , B60N2/3002 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/99 adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/995 Lower-leg-rests, e.g. calf-rests

Abstract

A vehicle seat is capable of being shifted to a walk-in state without side support parts or a tilt part hindering the seat back from folding forward. A seat includes a seat cushion, a seat back, and a leg rest part. The seat is provided with side support parts at left and right sides of an occupant, and a tilt part that moves a front portion of the seat cushion upward and downward. The seat is further provided with a detecting part that detects a state of the seat back, and a control unit that causes at least one of the side support parts and the tilt part to transit from a deployed state to a housed state when the detecting part detects that a forward turn of the seat back is started.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion that is slidable with respect to a vehicle in a front and rear direction of the vehicle, and includes a seat surface on which an occupant is seated;

a seat back that is turnable in the front and rear direction, and includes a back surface with which a back of the occupant is supported;

a detecting part that detects a turning state of the seat back;

at least one of a side support part and a tilt part, the side support part being provided to at least one of the seat cushion and the seat back and being switchable between a deployed state in which the side support part protrudes to a region between the seat surface and the back surface and a housed state in which the degree of the protrusion to the region is smaller than that in the deployed state, the tilt part being configured to allow a front portion of the seat cushion to move upward and downward, and being switchable between a deployed state where the front portion is moved upward and a housed state where the front portion is moved downward; and

a control unit that causes at least one of the side support part and the tilt part to transit from the deployed state to the housed state when the detecting part detects that a forward turn of the seat back is started,

wherein the detecting part includes a first detecting part for detecting that the forward tum of the seat back is started, and a second detecting part for detecting that the forward turn of the seat back is completed,

the first detecting part is a first limit switch and the second detecting part is a second limit switch, and

the first limit switch switches between ON and OFF states near a start of the forward turn of the seat back, and the second limit switch switches between ON and OFF states near a completion of the forward turn of the seat back.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the seat cushion to slide forward when the detecting part detects that the forward turn of the seat back is completed or the forward turn of the seat back is started.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, further comprising a recliner mechanism, the recliner mechanism including an operating part that is operable by an occupant, a driving part that turns the seat back, and an actuation control unit that controls an actuation of the operating part based on an operation of the operating part, wherein

the actuation control unit controls the operation of the driving part such that the forward turn of the seat back is completed after the housing operation of the side support part or the tilt part is completed.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the first detecting part switches to one of the ON and OFF states after a predetermined time elapsed from a time when the forward turn of the seat back is started.

5. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion that is slidable with respect to a vehicle in a front and rear direction of the vehicle, and includes a seat surface on which an occupant is seated;

a seat back that is turnable in the front and rear direction, and includes a back surface with which a back of the occupant is supported;

a detecting part that detects a turning state of the seat back;

at least one of a side support part and a tilt part, the side support part being provided to at least one of the seat cushion and the seat back and being switchable between a deployed state in which the side support part protrudes to a region between the seat surface and the back surface and a housed state in which the degree of the protrusion to the region is smaller than that in the deployed state, the tilt part being configured to allow a front portion of the seat cushion to move upward and downward, and being switchable between a deployed state where the front portion is moved upward and a housed state where the front portion is moved downward; and

a control unit that causes at least one of the side support part and the tilt part to transit from the deployed state to the housed state when the detecting part detects that a forward turn of the seat back is started,

wherein the detecting part includes a first detecting part for detecting that the forward turn of the seat back is started, and a second detecting part for detecting that the forward turn of the seat back is completed, and

the first detecting part switches to an OFF state after a predetermined time elapsed from a time when the forward turn of the seat back is started.

6. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion that is slidable with respect to a vehicle in a front and rear direction of the vehicle, and includes a seat surface on which an occupant is seated;

a seat back that is turnable in the front and rear direction, and includes a back surface with which a back of the occupant is supported;

a detecting part that detects a turning state of the seat back;

at least one of a side support part and a tilt part, the side support part being provided to at least one of the seat cushion and the seat back and being switchable between a deplored state in which the side support part protrudes to a region between the seat surface and the back surface and a housed state in which the degree of the protrusion to the region is smaller than that in the deployed state, the tilt part being configured to allow a front portion of the seat cushion to move upward and downward, and being switchable between a deployed state where the front portion is moved upward and a housed state where the front portion is moved downward; and

a control unit that causes at least one of the side support part and the tilt part to transit from the deployed state to the housed state when the detecting part detects that a forward turn of the seat back is started,

wherein the detecting part includes a first detecting part for detecting that the forward turn of the seat back is started, and a second detecting part for detecting that the forward turn of the seat back is completed, and

the seat back has a forward folding mechanism that turns the seat back in the front and rear direction when the seat back transmits to or from the housed state, and

the forward folding mechanism has a rotation number sensor as the first and second detecting parts provided to an axis of the forward folding mechanism, the rotation number sensor detecting a start and a completion of the forward turn of the seat back on a basis of a detected rotation number.