Vehicle seat and vehicle provided with vehicle seat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11858392-B2
Application number	US-202017434895-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2020
Priority date	Mar 1, 2019
Publication date	Jan 2, 2024
Grant date	Jan 2, 2024

Abstract

To provide a vehicle seat with a function of reducing fatigue regardless of the physique of the seated person, a vehicle seat includes: an ischial tuberosity support device that is driven to change a position of a part of a seat cushion corresponding to ischial tuberosities of a seated person; a sacrum/ilium support device that is driven to change a position of a part of a seat back corresponding to the sacrum and ilia of the seated person; a ninth thoracic vertebra support device that is driven to change a position of a part of the seat back corresponding to a ninth thoracic vertebra of the seated person; and a control device, wherein the control device sequentially executes: an information acquisition step of acquiring physique information of the seated person; a decision step of deciding parameters regarding a driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the acquired physique information; and an output step of driving the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the corresponding parameters.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat provided with a seat cushion and a seat back, comprising:
an ischial tuberosity support device configured to be driven to change a position of a part of the seat cushion corresponding to ischial tuberosities of a seated person;
a sacrum/ilium support device configured to be driven to change a position of a part of the seat back corresponding to a sacrum and/or ilia of the seated person;
a ninth thoracic vertebra support device configured to be driven to change a position of a part of the seat back corresponding to a ninth thoracic vertebra part of the seated person; and
a control device configured to control driving of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device,
wherein the control device is configured to sequentially execute:
an information acquisition step of acquiring physique information of the seated person;
a decision step of deciding at least three parameters regarding respective driving amounts of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the physique information acquired in the information acquisition step to make each of the positions conform to a physique of the seated person;
an output step of driving the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the corresponding parameters,
each of the seat cushion and the seat back includes a pad member and a skin member covering a surface of the pad member;
each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device includes an air cell disposed between the skin member and the pad member, a sensor configured to acquire an internal pressure value of the air cell, and an air supply and exhaust device configured to supply and exhaust air to and from the air cell to make the internal pressure value a prescribed pressure value;
the driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device is the prescribed pressure value of the internal pressure value of the corresponding air cell;
the physique information includes information regarding a height, a weight, a body type, and a seating posture of the seated person; and
the control device acquires the information regarding the seating posture according to the internal pressure value acquired by the sensor of the air cell of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device, and corrects the driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device according to the corresponding internal pressure value acquired by the sensor.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein, in the decision step, the control device decides the driving amounts of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device so as to reproduce a shape of a back of a human body model in a neutral posture based on the physique information.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the physique information includes information regarding a height and a weight of the seated person, and
in the decision step, the control device decides the driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the information regarding the height and the weight of the seated person.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 3 , comprising a terminal configured to display information to the seated person based on a signal from the control device and to receive an input from the seated person to output the received input to the control device,
the terminal being configured to display a reception area to receive an input or selection of the height and the weight from the seated person.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 4 , wherein the terminal determines a body type of the seated person based on the information regarding the height and the weight, and
in the decision step, the control device decides the driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the height, the weight, and the determined body type.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the physique information includes information regarding a height, a weight, and a body type of the seated person, and
in the decision step, the control device decides the driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the information regarding the height, the weight, and the body type of the seated person.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 6 , comprising a terminal configured to display information to the seated person based on the signal from the control device and to receive an input from the seated person to output the received input to the control device,
the terminal being configured to display a reception area to receive an input or selection of the information regarding the height, the weight, and the body type of the seated person.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the physique information includes information regarding a height, a weight, a body type, and a seating posture of the seated person, and
in the decision step, the control device decides the driving amount of each of the ischial tuberosity support device, the sacrum/ilium support device, and the ninth thoracic vertebra support device based on the information regarding the height, the weight, the body type, and the seating posture of the seated person.

9. A vehicle provided with the vehicle seat according to claim 1 and an armrest provided to be positioned on a side of the seated person, the vehicle comprising an armrest driving device configured to change at least one of a vertical position of the armrest, a lateral position of the armrest, and an amount of protrusion of the armrest toward the seated person,
wherein the control device is configured:
to decide, in the decision step, the position of the armrest based on the physique information acquired in the information acquisition step, and
to control, in the output step, driving of the armrest driving device toward the position decided in the decision step.

Assignees

• Ts Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Mizoi Kensuke
• Yamauchi Naoto

Classifications

• B60N2/0274

  movement of the seat following a virtual reality simulation · CPC title

• B60N2/0273

  taking into account user data, e.g. knee height or physical state · CPC title

• B60N2/0235

  Joysticks · CPC title

• B60N2/66 Primary

  Lumbar supports · CPC title

• B60N2/0268

  using sensors or detectors for adapting the seat or seat part, e.g. to the position of an occupant · CPC title