Seat apparatus for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10479233-B2
Application number	US-201815881978-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 29, 2018
Priority date	Feb 10, 2017
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

A seat apparatus for a vehicle includes a conversion mechanism that converts a disposition of a seatback between a normal position to a converted position, the normal position being a position at which the seatback is disposed at a rear section of the seat cushion and a sitting direction of an occupant is facing forward, the converted position being a position at which the seatback is disposed at a front section of the seat cushion and a sitting direction of an occupant is facing rearward, and a reclining mechanism that biases the seatback toward a neutral position at which the seatback stands upward and that reclines the seatback forward and rearward from the neutral position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A seat apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
a seat cushion;
a seatback standing upward from the seat cushion and that supports a back of a person sitting on the seat cushion;
a conversion mechanism that converts a disposition of the seatback between a normal position to a converted position, the normal position being a position at which the seatback is disposed at a rear section of the seat cushion and a sitting direction of an occupant is facing forward, the converted position being a position at which the seatback is disposed at a front section of the seat cushion and a sitting direction of an occupant is facing rearward; and
a reclining mechanism that biases the seatback toward a neutral position at which the seatback stands upward and that reclines the seatback forward and rearward from the neutral position,
wherein the reclining mechanism comprises:
a reclining shaft that is provided at a lower end of the seatback and that is a shaft about which the seatback is reclined forward and rearward from the neutral position, and
a biasing member disposed in a radial direction of the reclining shaft when the seatback is disposed at the neutral position,
a first end of the biasing member is engaged with an eccentric section of the seatback separated from the reclining shaft and a second end of the biasing member is engaged with a non-reclining member that reclinably support the seatback, and
the biasing member elongates when the seatback is reclined forward or rearward from the neutral position to accumulate a biasing force.

2. The seat apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1 ,
wherein the reclining mechanism is able to adjust a reclining angle of the seatback and to lock the reclining of the seatback at the adjusted reclining angle, and
the reclining mechanism is further able to unlock the reclining when the seatback moves between the normal position and the converted position.

3. The seat apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising: a locking mechanism that fix the seatback at the normal position and the converted position, and an unlocking operator that performs an unlocking operation of the locking mechanism,
wherein the unlocking operator is installed on an upper end of the seatback.

4. A seat apparatus for a vehicle comprising:
a seat cushion;
a seatback standing upward from the seat cushion and that supports a back of a person sitting on the seat cushion;
a conversion mechanism that converts a disposition of the seatback between a normal position to a converted position, the normal position being a position at which the seatback is disposed at a rear section of the seat cushion and a sitting direction of an occupant is facing forward, the converted position being a position at which the seatback is disposed at a front section of the seat cushion and a sitting direction of an occupant is facing rearward; and
a reclining mechanism that biases the seatback toward a neutral position at which the seatback stands upward and that reclines the seatback forward and rearward from the neutral position,
wherein the reclining mechanism comprises:
a reclining shaft that is provided at a lower end of the seatback and that is a shaft about which the seatback is reclined forward and rearward from the neutral position, and
a biasing member that comprises a first spiral spring and a second spiral spring that apply biasing forces to the seatback in opposite directions with each other, and
the first spiral spring and second spiral spring bias the seatback toward the neutral position, and accumulate a biasing force in only one of the first spiral spring and second spiral spring when the seatback is reclined forward or rearward from the neutral position.

5. The seat apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 4 ,
wherein the reclining mechanism is able to adjust a reclining angle of the seatback and to lock the reclining of the seatback at the adjusted reclining angle, and
the reclining mechanism is further able to unlock the reclining when the seatback moves between the normal position and the converted position.

6. The seat apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 4 , further comprising: a locking mechanism that fix the seatback at the normal position and the converted position, and an unlocking operator that performs an unlocking operation of the locking mechanism,
wherein the unlocking operator is installed on an upper end of the seatback.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Minato Muneatsu
• Ishihara Hajime
• Matsumoto Manabu
• Nishimura Yosuke

Classifications

• B60N2/2245

  provided with a lock mechanism on the upper part of the back-rest · CPC title

• B60N2/02 Primary

  the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable (adjustable arm-rests B60N2/75; adjustable head-rests B60N2/806) · CPC title

• B60N2/203 Primary

  taking a position opposite to the original one · CPC title

• B60N2/22

  the back-rest being adjustable {(B60N2/2878 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B60N2002/0208

  the seat or seat part turning about or moving along an inclined axis · CPC title