Arm rest having a crash protection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9751436-B2
Application number	US-201514829475-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2015
Priority date	Aug 20, 2014
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

An arm rest for a vehicle seat includes a console part and an arm support mounted at the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position and a rest position. Latching teeth fixedly arranged at the console part or at the arm support engage a latching engagement member mounted at the arm support or at the console part so as to be shiftable. An inertia member mounted so as to be shiftable between at least one release position and at least one blocked position. The inertia member, in the blocked position, prevents unlatching of the latching engagement member from a latched status, wherein inertia member is shifted from the release position into the blocked position upon an acceleration of the arm rest due to the inertia of the inertia member.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An arm rest for a vehicle seat, said arm rest comprising:
a console part;
an arm support mounted to the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position, into which said arm support has been swiveled down, and a rest position, into which said arm support has been swiveled up;
latching teeth fixedly arranged on the console part or on the arm support,
a latching engagement member mounted to the arm support or the console part so as to be shiftable, and which is able to engage the latching teeth in at least one intermediate position when the arm support is swiveled up, out of the use position, and is able to prevent swiveling down of the arm support, and which can be retained in an unlocked status for swiveling the arm support down, from the rest position into the use position;
and an inertia member mounted so as to be shiftable between at least one release position and at least one blocked position, said inertia member, in the at least one blocked position, preventing unlatching of the latching engagement member from a latched status, wherein said inertia member is shifted from the at least one release position into the at least one blocked position upon an acceleration of the arm rest due to the inertia of the inertia member.

2. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which the latching engagement member engages the latching teeth in at least two intermediate positions.

3. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which a shift into the at least one blocked position is effected upon an acceleration in a direction of the swivel axis of the arm support and/or in a direction of a longitudinal axis of the arm support that is situated in the use position.

4. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which the inertia member is mounted so as to be displaceable within a plane.

5. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which from at least two sides at the inertia member, elastic restoring forces act, said elastic forces retaining the inertia member in the at least one release position.

6. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which the latching engagement member engages the latching teeth in multiple intermediate positions.

7. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which the inertia member is mounted in such a manner that a movement from the at least one release position into the at least one blocked position is effected without any deceleration and that a movement from the at least one blocked position into the at least one release position is effected in a decelerated fashion, wherein in particular at least one dampening member engages with the inertia member, which dampening member decelerates the movement into the at least one release position.

8. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which the inertia member, when there is no acceleration, is shifted from the at least one blocked position into the at least one release position in an automated fashion, due to a weight of the inertia member and/or due to an elastic restoring force acting on the inertia member.

9. The arm rest according to claim 8 , in which said elastic restoring force is caused by a spring.

10. The arm rest according to claim 1 , in which the latching engagement member includes a bearing surface, which, in the at least one release position, is able to immerse into a clearance of the inertia member and, in the at least one blocked position, is able to abut on one of a first abutment surface or a second abutment surface of the inertia member.

11. The arm rest according to claim 10 , wherein the first abutment surface is provided on one side of the clearance and the second abutment surface is provided on another side of the clearance.

12. The arm rest according to claim 10 , wherein the bearing surface, the first abutment surface and the second abutment surface are shaped in such a manner that the inertia member is prevented from being restored into the at least one release position out of the at least one blocked position when the bearing surface abuts upon one of the first abutment surface or the second abutment surface.

13. The arm rest according to claim 10 , in which the inertia member is mounted so as to be swivelable about a swing axis or about a swing pivot, wherein the center of gravity of the inertia member is situated below the swing axis or below the swing pivot.

14. The arm rest according to claim 13 , in which in the at least one release position, the clearance is situated between the bearing surface and the swing axis or the swing pivot, and in the at least one blocked position, one of the first abutment surface or the second abutment surface is situated between the bearing surface and the swing axis or the swing pivot.

15. An arm rest for a vehicle seat, said arm rest comprising:
a console part;
an arm support mounted to the console part so as to be swivelable about a swivel axis between a use position, into which said arm support has been swiveled down, and a rest position, into which said arm support has been swiveled up;
latching teeth fixedly arranged on the console part or on the arm support,
a latching engagement member mounted to the arm support or to the console part so as to be shiftable, and which is able to engage the latching teeth in at least one intermediate position when the arm support is swiveled up, out of the use position, and is able to prevent swiveling down of the arm support, and which can be retained in an unlocked status for swiveling the arm support down, from the rest position into the use position;
and an inertia member mounted so as to be shiftable between at least one release position and at least one blocked position, said inertia member, in the at least one blocked position, preventing unlatching of the latching engagement member from a latched status, wherein said inertia member is shifted from the at least one release position into the at least one blocked position upon an acceleration of the arm rest due to the inertia of the inertia member,
wherein the inertia member has two protrusions that protrude from an upper portion of the inertia member, each of the two protrusions having an abutment surface and wherein the two protrusions are spaced apart from one another such that a recessed space is provided between the two protrusions, the recessed space forming a clearance of the inertia member, and
wherein the latching engagement member has a protrusion that protrudes from a lower portion of the latching engagement member that faces the inertia member, the protrusion of the latching engagement member having a bearing surface, which, in the at least one release position, is able to immerse into the clearance of the inertia member and, in the at least one blocked position, is able to abut on one of the abutment surfaces of the two protrusions.

16. The arm rest according to claim 15 , wherein the inertia member and the two protrusions that protrude therefrom form a single, monolithic member.

17. The arm rest according to claim 15 , wherein the bearing surface of the latching engagement member abuts on the abutment surface of a first one of the two protrusions of the inertia member during a rear-end collision of a vehicle in which the arm rest is provided and wherein the bearing surface of the latching engagement member abuts on the abutment surface of a second one of the two protrusions of the inertia member during a front-end collision of the vehicle.

Assignees

• Volkswagen Ag

Inventors

• Hessdörfer Thomas

Classifications

• B60N2/43

  Safety locks (for back-rests B60N2/433) · CPC title

• B60N2/4606 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/4633

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/753 Primary

  movable to an inoperative position · CPC title

• B60N2/767

  Angle adjustment · CPC title