Seat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9493095-B2
Application number	US-201414546640-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 18, 2014
Priority date	Nov 18, 2013
Publication date	Nov 15, 2016
Grant date	Nov 15, 2016

Abstract

A seat cushion is arranged on a riser. A strut is coupled, at lower end, to the rear end of the riser, and is provided at the back of the seat cushion. The seatback is secured to the strut, and is isolated from the seat cushion. The seatback and the seat cushion can therefore move, independent of each other. The seatback or the seat cushion, or both are lifted or lowered by a lifting/lowering means. Thus, the seatback and the seat cushion are lifted or lowered relative to each other. The lower half of the seatback, which supports the hips and lower ribs in the main, is made narrow than the upper half that supports the shoulder blades in the main. The seat cushion has, in the middle part of the rear end, a U-notch which loosely holds the narrow lower half.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A seat for use by an occupant, the seat comprising:
a riser used as a base;
a seat cushion arranged on the riser;
a strut coupled at lower end to a rear end of the riser and provided at a rear of the seat cushion;
a seatback secured to the strut and at the front surface thereof configured to hold the occupant's hips, lower ribs and shoulder blades; and
a lifting/lowering means for lifting and lowering the seat cushion and the seatback relative to each other,
wherein the seatback comprises a lower half structured to support the occupant's hips and lower ribs, and an upper half, integral with the lower half, structured to support the occupant's shoulder blades, the lower half being narrower than the upper half,
the seat cushion has a U-notch formed in a middle part of a rear end for holding the narrow lower half of the seatback, not the upper half of the seatback, to lift and lower the seat cushion and the seatback relative to each other;
left and right parts of the rear end of the seat cushion bulge to support the occupant's buttocks from the left and right sides and are located on the left and right sides of the U-notch.

2. The seat according to claim 1 , wherein the strut comprises a fixed main unit coupled at the lower end to the rear end of the riser, and a movable pole securing the seatback at the front and guided by and slided along the fixed main unit; and
the lifting/lowering means comprises a seatback lifting/lowering mechanism which is configured to lift and lower the seatback and the movable pole, which has a fixed rail and a movable rail, the fixed rail is secured to the fixed main unit, and the movable rail is mounted on or in, guided by and slided along the fixed rail.

3. The seat according to claim 2 , further comprising an inclination mechanism configured to incline the seatback forward with respect to the movable pole,
left brackets and right brackets provided on a middle part and lower end of the back of the seatback, respectively, and spaced apart in up-down direction, and
a pair of pins extending from the movable pole and pivotally supported on the lower brackets of the back of the seatback, respectively, and serving as rotation center of the seatback, wherein the inclination mechanism comprises:
first and second main links pivotally supported, by pins, on the upper brackets provided on the seatback, and connected together, at one end, by a connecting rod, having a section gear at a free end of the first main link;
a regulation link secured to the other end of the first main link, outside the first main link; and
an actuator incorporating a motor having a pinion gear, secured to the movable pole and configured to drive the pinion gear and set in mesh with the section gear of the first main link, to rotate the main link, thereby to incline the seatback with respect to the movable pole, and the regulation link has an arching elongated hole, through which a pin extends from the other end of the first main link.

4. The seat according to claim 3 , wherein the actuator of the inclination mechanism has a torque limiter that controls the output of the motor and transmits the output so controlled to the pinion gear.

5. The seat according to claim 2 , further comprising an inclination mechanism configured to incline the seatback forward with respect to the movable pole, and
left brackets and right brackets provided on a middle part and lower end of the back of the seatback, respectively, and spaced apart in up-down direction, and
a pair of pins extending from the movable pole and pivotally supported on the lower brackets of the back of the seatback, respectively, and serving as rotation center of the seatback,
wherein the inclination mechanism comprises:
first and second main links pivotally supported, by pins, on the upper brackets provided on the seatback, and connected together, at one end, by a connecting rod;
a drive link secured to the other end of the first main link and having a section gear at a free end;
a regulation link secured to the other end of the first main link, outside the drive link;
an actuator incorporating a motor having a pinion gear, secured to the movable pole and configured to drive the pinion gear and set in mesh with the section gear of the drive link, to rotate the drive link and the main link, thereby to incline the seatback with respect to the movable pole; and
a pin extending from the other end of the first main link and passing through two holes made in the drive link and regulation link, respectively, the hole made in the regulation link being an arching elongated hole.

6. The seat according to claim 5 , wherein the actuator of the inclination mechanism has a torque limiter that controls the output of the motor and transmits the output so controlled to the pinion gear.

7. The seat according to claim 2 , further comprising an inclination mechanism configured to incline the seatback forward with respect to the movable pole,
left brackets and right brackets provided on a middle part and lower end of the back of the seatback, respectively, and spaced apart in up-down direction, and
a pair of pins extending from the movable pole and pivotally supported on the lower brackets of the back of the seatback, respectively, and serving as rotation center of the seatback,
wherein the inclination mechanism comprises:
first and second main links pivotally supported, by pins, on the upper brackets provided on the seatback, and connected together, at one end, by a connecting rod, the first main link having a section gear at a free end;
a regulation link secured to the other end of the first main link, outside the first main link; and
an actuator incorporating a motor having a pinion gear, secured to the movable pole and configured to drive the pinion gear and set in mesh with the section gear of the first main link, to rotate the main link, thereby to incline the seatback with respect to the movable pole, and
the regulation link has an arching elongated hole, through which a pin extends from the other end of the first main link.

8. The seat according to claim 7 , wherein the actuator of the inclination mechanism has a torque limiter that controls the output of the motor and transmits the output so controlled to the pinion gear.

9. The seat according to claim 1 , wherein the strut comprises a fixed main unit coupled at the lower end to a rear end of the riser, and a movable pole securing the seatback at the front and guided by and slided along the fixed main unit; and
the lifting/lowering means comprises:
a seat lifter provided between the riser and the seat cushion and configured to lift and lower the seat cushion, and
a seatback lifting/lowering mechanism which is configured to lift and lower the seatback and the movable pole, which has a fixed rail and a movable rail, the fixed rail is secured to the fixed main unit, and the movable rail is mounted on or in, guided by and slided along the fixed rail.

10. A seat for use by an occupant, the seat comprising:
a riser used as a base;
a seat cushion arranged on the riser;
a strut coupled at lower end to a rear end of the riser and provided at a rear of the seat cushion;
a seatback secured to the strut and at the front surface thereof configured to hold the occupant's hips, lower ribs and shoulder blades; and
a lifting/lowering means for lifting and lowering the seat cushion and the seatback relative to each other,
wherein the seatback comprises a lower half structured to support the occupant's hips and lower ribs, and an upper half, integral with the lower half, structured to support the occupant's shoulder blades, the lower half is narrower than the upper half,
the seat

Assignees

• Tachi S Co
• Tachi S Co

Inventors

• Koike Atsushi
• Amano Tomohiro
• Ishii Atsushi
• Kumagai Kotaro

Classifications

• B60N2002/2204

  Adjustable back-rest height or length · CPC title

• B60N2/162

  Scissors-like structure · CPC title

• B60N2/68

  Seat frames · CPC title

• B60N2/2245

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

• B60N2/16

  height-adjustable · CPC title