Vehicle seat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10518683-B2
Application number	US-201815962369-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 25, 2018
Priority date	May 23, 2017
Publication date	Dec 31, 2019
Grant date	Dec 31, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle seat includes an air bag, and a controller. The air bag is for holding a posture of an occupant and configured to inflate as air flows in or deflate as air flows out of the air bag. The controller is configured to receive an input of a signal based on a steering angle of the vehicle and to control inflation or deflation of the air bag based on the signal. The controller is configured to enable an active-support mode to cause air to flow inside the air bag in response to the steering angle becoming greater than or equal to a predefined given angle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat for a vehicle comprising:
an air bag for holding a posture of an occupant and configured to:
inflate as air flows into the air bag; and
deflate as air flows out of the air bag;

a controller configured to:
receive an input of a first signal based on a steering angle of the vehicle,
control inflation or deflation of the air bag based on the first signal,
enable an active-support mode to cause air to flow into the air bag in response to the steering angle becoming greater than or equal to a first given angle, and
cause air to flow out of the air bag in response to the steering angle continuing to be less than a second given angle for a predefined period of time,

wherein the air bag comprises a first inflation chamber, and a second inflation chamber that is located closer to a center of the vehicle seat along a width of the vehicle seat than the first inflation chamber is; and
wherein the controller causes air to flow into the second inflation chamber when the active-support mode is enabled.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a surge tank configured to reserve air that is compressed to a pressure greater than or equal to a first predefined pressure; and
a valve configured to control communication between the surge tank and the air bag, wherein the controller opens the valve to cause air to flow into the air bag when the active-support mode is enabled.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein a volume of the second inflation chamber at inflation is smaller than a volume of the first inflation chamber at inflation.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a pad,
wherein the second inflation chamber is disposed so as to be interposed between the first inflation chamber and the pad in a thickness direction of the pad.

5. A vehicle seat for a vehicle comprising:
an air bag for holding a posture of an occupant and configured to:
inflate as air flows into the air bag; and
deflate as air flows out of the air bag;

a surge tank configured to reserve air that is compressed to a pressure greater than or equal to a first predefined pressure;
a valve configured to control communication between the surge tank and the air bag; and
a controller configured to control inflation or deflation of the air bag and to enable an active-support mode for opening the valve to cause air to flow into the air bag, and cause air to flow out of the air bag in response to the steering angle continuing to be less than a second given angle for a predefined period of time,
wherein the air bag comprises a first inflation chamber, and a second inflation chamber that is located closer to a center of the vehicle seat along a width of the vehicle seat than the first inflation chamber is; and
wherein the controller causes air to flow into the second inflation chamber when the active-support mode is enabled.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a pad,
wherein the second inflation chamber is disposed so as to be interposed between the first inflation chamber and the pad in a thickness direction of the pad.

Assignees

• Toyota Boshoku Kk

Inventors

• Kojima Teruhiko
• Torikai Hirotaka
• Fujimura Takuya
• Iida Kenji

Classifications

• B60N2/99

  adjustable · CPC title

• B60N2/914 Primary

  Hydro-pneumatic adjustments of the shape · CPC title

• B60N2/0228

  Hand-activated mechanical switches (B60N2/0229 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B60N2002/026

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/026

  varying hardness or support of upholstery, e.g. for tuning seat comfort when driving curved roads · CPC title