JP7649686B2 - Seat under box - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seat under-box.

A structure in which an under-box (under-tray) is provided below a vehicle seat so that it can be pulled out (slid out) has been known for some time (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Such an under-box is configured so that in the event of a vehicle collision or the like, due to inertial forces or the like, it does not jump out further forward than the pulled-out position during normal use.

For example, a locking portion is provided on the rail portion that guides both sides of the under-box so that the under-box can slide, and the locked portions provided on both sides of the under-box are locked to the locking portion, so that the under-box does not pop out further forward than the vehicle seat than the pulled-out position during normal use.

JP 2000-198391 A

However, although this type of configuration can prevent the under-box from flying out further forward of the vehicle seat (seat cushion) than the pulled-out position during normal use due to inertial forces during a collision, etc., it can be difficult to disengage the locked portion from the locking portion when it is necessary to remove the under-box from the underside of the vehicle seat (seat cushion). In other words, the removal work for removing the under-box can be difficult.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a seat under-box that can prevent the box body from popping out further forward than the pull-out position during normal use due to inertial force, etc., and that can easily remove the box body from the underside of the seat cushion when it is necessary to do so.

In order to achieve the above object, a seat under-box according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a case arranged below a seat cushion on which an occupant sits, and a box body configured to be capable of being in a stored state stored in the case and a pulled out state pulled out from the case to a front side of the seat cushion , the case having a top wall, a bottom wall, a left side wall and a right side wall whose longitudinal direction is the front-rear direction of the seat cushion, rail parts provided on each of the left side wall and the right side wall, the rail parts guiding the box body slidably in the front-rear direction of the seat cushion , and The box body has a locking mechanism that locks a locked portion provided on the box body when the box body is in the pulled-out state, and the locking mechanism is composed of a locking claw that is integrally formed with the rail portion and is capable of elastically deforming outward in the width direction of the seat cushion, and the locking claw locks the locked portion by preventing the locked portion from moving forward of the seat cushion, and when the box body is in a removed state in which it is removed from the lower side of the seat cushion, it elastically deforms outward in the width direction of the seat cushion, thereby releasing the lock on the locked portion .

According to the invention described in claim 1, the box includes a case disposed below a seat cushion on which an occupant sits, and a box body configured to be capable of being in a stored state stored in the case and in a pulled-out state pulled out from the case to the front side of the seat cushion. The case has a top wall, a bottom wall, a left side wall, and a right side wall with a longitudinal direction of the seat cushion, rail parts provided on the left side wall and the right side wall, respectively, for guiding the box body so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the seat cushion, and a locking mechanism provided on the rail parts for locking a locked part provided on the box body when the box body is in the pulled-out state. The locking mechanism is configured to include a locking claw integrally formed on the rail parts so as to be elastically deformable outward in the width direction of the seat cushion, and the locking claw is configured to lock the locked part by preventing the locked part from moving forward of the seat cushion, and to release the lock on the locked part by elastically deforming outward in the width direction of the seat cushion when the box body is in a removed state in which it is removed from the lower side of the seat cushion.

In this way, when the locking mechanism is configured with a locking claw that is integrally provided on the rail portion and capable of elastically deforming, the configuration of the locking mechanism is simplified compared to when the locking mechanism is configured with a locking claw that is provided on the rail portion as a separate entity from the rail portion.

Furthermore, if the locking claw is configured to lock onto the locked portion by preventing the locked portion from moving toward the front of the seat cushion, the box body is effectively prevented from popping out toward the front of the seat cushion beyond the pulled-out position during normal use due to inertial forces, etc.

Furthermore, when it is necessary to remove the box body from the underside of the seat cushion, if the locking claw is configured to move outward in the width direction of the seat cushion to release the lock on the locked portion, there is no need to lift the box body, and the release force required to release the lock is reduced, compared to a configuration in which the locking claw is released by moving, for example, in the vertical direction of the seat cushion.

Therefore, the removal work of the box body from the lower side of the seat cushion can be easily performed. Also, even if the box body is repeatedly removed from the lower side of the seat cushion, the rate of decrease in the removal force of the box body against the rail portion is suppressed.

In addition, the seat under-box described in claim 2 is the seat under-box described in claim 1 , wherein the front end surface of the locked portion is formed in a flat surface perpendicular to the fore-and-aft direction when viewed from the side, and the rear end surface is formed in an approximately semicircular arc shape when viewed in cross-section .

According to the invention described in claim 2 , the front end surface of the locked part is formed in a flat surface perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a side view. Therefore, even if a load is applied to the locking claw from the front end surface of the locked part, the load is appropriately received by the locking claw. In addition, the rear end portion of the locked part is formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape in a plan cross-sectional view. Therefore, when the box body is returned into the case, the locking claw is smoothly guided to the outside of the locked part .

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the box body from jumping out further forward of the seat cushion than the pull-out position during normal use due to inertial force, etc., and when it is necessary to remove the box body from the lower side of the seat cushion, the removal work can be easily performed.

1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle seat including a seat under-box according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a box body of the seat under-box according to the embodiment. 1 is a perspective view showing, in partial cross section, a case having a rail portion that slidably guides the box body of the seat under-box according to this embodiment, together with the box body. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a box body of the seat under-box according to the present embodiment has been pulled out from the case to a pulled-out position during normal use. FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a lock mechanism of the seat under-box according to the embodiment.

The following is a detailed description of an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings. As an example, the seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment is disposed below the vehicle seat 10 of an automobile or the like. For ease of explanation, the arrow UP shown in FIG. 1 indicates the upward direction of the vehicle seat 10, the arrow FR indicates the forward direction of the vehicle seat 10, and the arrow RH indicates the rightward direction of the vehicle seat 10. In other words, in the following description, when directions such as up/down, front/rear, and left/right are mentioned without special mention, they refer to the up/down, front/rear, and left/right directions of the vehicle seat 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle seat 10 has a seat cushion 12 on which the occupant sits (supporting the occupant's thighs and buttocks), a seat back 14 that supports the occupant's back, a headrest 16 that supports the occupant's head, and armrests 18 that support the occupant's arms. A resin seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment is disposed below the vehicle seat 10 (seat cushion 12).

The seat under-box 20 has a case 22 arranged below the seat cushion 12 and a box body 24 configured to be pulled out from within the case 22 toward the front side of the seat cushion 12.

As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4, the case 22 is formed in a generally cylindrical shape with the longitudinal direction being the front-to-rear direction, and has a generally rectangular, flat left side wall 22L and a right side wall 22R, a generally rectangular, flat top wall 22U (see Figure 1), and a bottom wall 22D (see Figure 4) that is installed between the front lower end of the left side wall 22L and the front lower end of the right side wall 22R.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom wall 22D is formed in a generally rectangular flat plate shape with the left-right direction as the longitudinal direction, and integrally connects the lower front end of the left side wall 22L with the lower front end of the right side wall 22R. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a generally rectangular housing-shaped rear wall 23 with the longitudinal direction in the left-right direction is integrally provided at the rear end of the case 22.

Specifically, the rear wall 23 is formed in a hollow block shape having a predetermined thickness, and integrally connects the upper rear end of the left side wall 22L with the upper rear end of the right side wall 22R. In a front view of the seat cushion 12 from the front side, the rear wall 23 protrudes in the left-right direction (outside the width direction of the seat cushion 12) beyond the case 22, and both protruding left and right ends are fixed to predetermined positions below and rearward of the seat cushion 12.

A pair of left and right rails 28 are arranged below the seat cushion 12 and spaced apart in the width direction of the seat cushion 12. That is, the upper part of the left side wall 22L and the upper part of the right side wall 22R of the case 22 are provided with resin rails 28 in the shape of a substantially rectangular flat plate with the longitudinal direction being the front-to-rear direction, each extending over substantially the entire length of the upper part of the left side wall 22L and the upper part of the right side wall 22R.

More specifically, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to 5, a plurality of openings 22A are formed at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction in the upper part of the left side wall 22L and the upper part of the right side wall 22R of the case 22. Each opening 22A is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the side in the width direction of the seat cushion 12.

The main body 28A of each rail portion 28 has a plurality of locking portions 29 formed at predetermined intervals (at positions corresponding to each opening 22A), and each locking portion 29 is formed in a hook shape that protrudes toward the outside widthwise of the seat cushion 12 (the outer side of the case 22) (see FIG. 5).

Therefore, each rail portion 28 is attached to the upper part of the left side wall 22L and the upper part of the right side wall 22R of the case 22 by inserting each locking portion 29 formed on its main body portion 28A into each opening 22A from the inside of the case 22 and locking to the lower edge and the front edge or rear edge of each opening 22A. A locking mechanism 30 is provided on each rail portion 28. The locking mechanism 30 will be described in detail later.

As shown in Figures 1, 3, and 4, the box body 24 is configured to be slidably guided in the front-rear direction by a pair of left and right rail portions 28 so that it can be placed in a stored state in which it is stored below the seat cushion 12, and in a pulled-out state in which it is pulled out from the lower side of the seat cushion 12 to the front side of the seat cushion 12.

Specifically, as shown in Figures 2 to 4, the box body 24 has a generally rectangular flat left side wall 24L and a right side wall 24R, a generally rectangular flat bottom wall 24D, a generally rectangular flat front wall 24F, and a generally rectangular flat rear wall 24B. The left side wall 24L, the right side wall 24R, and the rear wall 24B are formed at approximately the same height (the upper end faces of the left side wall 24L and the right side wall 24R are approximately flush with the upper end face of the rear wall 24B), and the rear end of the left side wall 24L and the rear end of the right side wall 24R are integrally connected by the rear wall 24B.

In addition, in a side view seen from the width direction of the seat cushion 12, the left side wall 24L and the right side wall 24R of the box body 24 are formed in approximately the same shape as the left side wall 22L and the right side wall 22R of the case 22, respectively, and are configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction at positions close to the inner surfaces of the left side wall 22L and the right side wall 22R.

The front wall 24F is formed so as to be higher than the left side wall 24L and the right side wall 24R (so as to protrude upward from at least the upper end faces of the left side wall 24L and the right side wall 24R), and integrally connects the front end of the left side wall 24L with the front end of the right side wall 24R. An insertion portion 25 is formed at the upper front surface of the front wall 24F, into which the occupant's fingers can be inserted. This insertion portion 25 makes it easier for the box body 24 to be pulled out from within the case 22.

The bottom wall 24D is integrally joined at its periphery to close the lower end of the substantially rectangular frame formed by the left side wall 24L, right side wall 24R, rear wall 24B, and front wall 24F. The space on the upper surface side of the bottom wall 24D and surrounded by the left side wall 24L, right side wall 24R, rear wall 24B, and front wall 24F forms the storage space S of the box body 24 (seat under-box 20).

In addition, guide portions 27 guided by rail portions 28 are integrally formed on the upper ends of the left side wall 24L and the right side wall 24R over almost the entire length of the upper ends of the left side wall 24L and the right side wall 24R. Each guide portion 27 is formed in a substantially "L" shape in a cross section perpendicular to its longitudinal direction, and the lower portion of each guide portion 27 is formed as a protruding portion 27D that protrudes outward in the width direction of the seat cushion 12.

The height positions of each guide portion 27 and each rail portion 28 are set so that the rail portion 28 is positioned on the upper surface side of the overhang portion 27D when the box body 24 is housed in the case 22. As shown in Figs. 2 and 5, a notch 27A having a generally rectangular shape in side view is formed near the rear end at the upper part of each guide portion 27, and a locked portion 26 is integrally provided on the upper surface of the overhang portion 27D rearward of each notch 27A.

The locked portion 26 is formed in a generally rectangular flat plate shape having a predetermined thickness whose normal direction is the width direction of the seat cushion 12, and has a certain degree of rigidity. The front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 is formed in a flat shape along the vertical direction (perpendicular to the front-rear direction in side view), and the rear end surface 26B of the locked portion 26 is formed in a generally semicircular arc shape in a horizontal cross-sectional view (see FIG. 5). The outer surface 26A of the locked portion 26 is also formed in a flat shape.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the rail portion 28 is provided with a locking mechanism 30 that locks the locked portion 26 formed on the box body 24 when the box body 24 is in the pulled-out state. The locking mechanism 30 has a locking claw 32 that prevents the locked portion 26 (box body 24) from moving forward when the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 comes into contact with the locking claw 32.

As shown in FIG. 5, the locking claw 32 is formed in a generally "L" shape in a planar cross-sectional view, with its front end 32F being integral with the main body 28A of the rail portion 28 and elastically deformable in the width direction of the seat cushion 12. The rear end 32B of the locking claw 32 is formed so that its bent portion 32A is on the upper surface side of the protruding portion 27D and protrudes toward the cutout portion 27A, and the rear end surface 32C facing the rear side is formed in a flat shape along the up-down direction (perpendicular to the front-rear direction in a side view).

Therefore, when the box body 24 is pulled out from within the case 22, the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 comes into surface contact with the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32, so that the box body 24 pulled out from within the case 22 does not protrude further forward of the seat cushion 12 than the pulled-out position during normal use.

The locking mechanism 30 is also configured to be able to release the lock on the locked portion 26 when the box body 24 is removed from the lower side of the seat cushion 12 (inside the case 22) and is in a detached state. In other words, the locking claw 32 not only functions as a locking portion, but also as an unlocking portion.

Specifically, an opening 22A is formed in the left side wall 22L and the right side wall 22R of the case 22 at a portion that faces the locking claw 32 in the left-right direction (width direction of the seat cushion 12). Therefore, when the box body 24 is removed, the occupant presses the bent portion 32A of the locking claw 32 toward the outside in the width direction of the seat cushion 12 with his or her fingers. Then, the rear end 32B of the locking claw 32 moves toward the outside in the width direction of the seat cushion 12 (into the opening 22A) with the elastically deformable front end 32F as a fulcrum.

As a result, the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32 retracts from the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26, and the locking claw 32 is released from the locked portion 26. In this state, the box body 24 is pulled out from inside the case 22, whereby the box body 24 is removed from the lower side of the seat cushion 12 (inside the case 22).

In this way, the locked portion 26 is locked and unlocked by the locking claw 32. In other words, the locking portion that locks the locked portion 26 and the unlocking portion that unlocks the locked portion 26 are both integrally configured as the locking claw 32.

The operation of the seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment, which is configured as described above, will now be explained.

When using the seat under-box 20, which is located below the vehicle seat 10 (seat cushion 12), the occupant inserts his or her fingers into the insertion portion 25 of the front wall 24F and pulls out the box body 24 from within the case 22. At this time, the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 provided on the box body 24 hits the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32 that constitutes the locking mechanism 30, restricting the forward movement of the box body 24 to a predetermined position.

Therefore, even if the box body 24 is caused to jump out of the case 22 toward the front of the seat cushion 12 due to inertial forces during a vehicle collision or the like, the box body 24 is prevented from jumping out further forward of the seat cushion 12 than the pulled-out position during normal use (from falling out of the case 22).

Moreover, the locked portion 26 has a certain degree of rigidity, and the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 and the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32 are both flat surfaces aligned in the vertical direction, so even if a load (pressure that compresses the locking claw 32 forward) is applied from the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 to the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32, the load can be adequately received by the locking claw 32.

When the occupant pulls out the box body 24 from inside the case 22, he or she places items in the storage space S of the box body 24 (on the upper surface of the bottom wall 24D) and then moves the box body 24 rearward (into the case 22). As a result, the items are stored inside the seat under-box 20.

On the other hand, when it is necessary to remove the box body 24 from within the case 22, the box body 24 is pulled out from within the case 22 until the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 abuts against the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32. Then, the occupant uses his or her fingers to push the bent portion 32A of the locking claw 32 outward in the width direction of the seat cushion 12 (into the opening 22A), and moves the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32 away from the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26.

This releases the lock on the locked portion 26 by the locking claw 32, and in this state, if the box body 24 is pulled further forward of the seat cushion 12, the box body 24 is removed from within the case 22 (from the lower side of the seat cushion 12).

When returning the box body 24 into the case 22, the box body 24 is inserted into the case 22 from the front side of the case 22. Then, the rear end 26B of the locked portion 26 abuts against the bent portion 32A of the locking claw 32, but because the rear end 26B is formed in a roughly semicircular arc shape in a plan cross-sectional view, the bent portion 32A can be smoothly guided to the outer surface 26A of the locked portion 26.

The locked portion 26 then presses the bent portion 32A of the locking claw 32 outward in the width direction of the seat cushion 12 while sliding against its outer surface 26A. When the box body 24 further moves rearward and the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 passes over the bent portion 32A of the locking claw 32, the locking claw 32 is returned to its original position (on the upper surface side of the protruding portion 27D and on the cutout portion 27A side) by its elastic restoring force.

Therefore, the next time the box body 24 is pulled out from within the case 22, as described above, the front end surface 26F of the locked portion 26 provided on the box body 24 comes into contact with the rear end surface 32C of the locking claw 32 that constitutes the locking mechanism 30, and the forward movement of the box body 24 is restricted to a predetermined position.

As explained above, the locking mechanism 30 (locking claw 32) that locks the locked portion 26 provided on the box body 24 when the box body 24 is in the pulled-out state is configured to be able to release the lock on the locked portion 26 when the box body 24 is in the removed state in which it is removed from the lower side of the seat cushion 12.

As described above, in the event of a vehicle collision or the like, the box body 24 can be prevented from jumping out further forward of the seat cushion 12 than the position in which it is pulled out during normal use due to inertial forces, etc., and when it is necessary to remove the box body 24 from the lower side of the seat cushion 12, the removal operation can be easily performed.

Moreover, in this locking mechanism 30, the locking section that locks the locked section 26 and the unlocking section that unlocks the locked section 26 are both configured as a single unit as the locking claw 32. Therefore, the configuration of the locking mechanism 30 can be simplified compared to when the locking section and the unlocking section are configured separately.

In addition, because the locking claw 32 is integrally provided on the rail portion 28 and is capable of elastic deformation, the configuration of the locking mechanism 30 can be further simplified compared to a configuration in which the locking claw 32 is provided on the rail portion 28 as a separate body, and the manufacturing costs of the locking mechanism 30 (rail portion 28) can be reduced.

The locking claw 32 (locking portion) also prevents the locked portion 26 from moving forward, thereby locking it to the locked portion 26. This effectively prevents the box body 24 from popping out (coming out of the case 22) forward of the seat cushion 12 beyond the pull-out position during normal use.

The locking claw 32 (unlocking portion) releases the lock on the locked portion 26 by moving outward in the width direction of the seat cushion 12. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the locking claw 32 releases the lock on the locked portion 26 by moving, for example, in the vertical direction, there is no need to lift the box body 24, and the release force required for unlocking can be reduced. This makes it even easier to remove the box body 24 from the lower side of the seat cushion 12.

Even if the box body 24 is repeatedly removed from the lower side of the seat cushion 12, the rate of decrease in the removal force of the box body 24 against the rail portion 28 can be suppressed. In other words, deterioration of the elastic deformation of the locking claw 32 can be suppressed, and the locking force of the locking claw 32 against the locked portion 26 can be suppressed from weakening, which makes it difficult for the box body 24 to come off from within the case 22.

The seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment has been described above with reference to the drawings, but the seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment is not limited to the one shown in the drawings, and the design can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention. For example, the external shapes of the case 22 and the box body 24 are not limited to the shapes shown in the drawings.

In addition, the unlocking direction of the locking claw 32 relative to the locked portion 26 is not limited to the outer width direction of the seat cushion 12, and may be in the vertical direction of the seat cushion 12 as long as it is not necessary to lift the box body 24. In addition, the seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment is not limited to being disposed on the lower side of the vehicle seat 10. Although not shown in the drawings, the seat under-box 20 according to this embodiment may be disposed on the lower side of a seat, for example, in an airplane, etc.

12 seat cushion 20 seat under-box 24 box body 26 locked portion 28 rail portion 30 lock mechanism 32 lock claw (lock portion/unlock portion)

Claims (2)

A case disposed below a seat cushion on which an occupant sits;
a box body configured to be capable of assuming a stored state in which the box is stored in the case and a drawn state in which the box is drawn out from the case toward a front side of the seat cushion;
Equipped with
The case is
A top wall, a bottom wall, a left side wall, and a right side wall, the longitudinal direction of which is the front-rear direction of the seat cushion;
a rail portion provided on each of the left side wall and the right side wall, the rail portion configured to guide the box body so as to be slidable in a front-rear direction of the seat cushion;
a locking mechanism that is provided on the rail portion and that locks a locked portion that is provided on the box body when the box body is in the pulled-out state;
having
The locking mechanism includes:
a lock claw formed integrally with the rail portion so as to be elastically deformable outward in the width direction of the seat cushion,
The locking claw is
The seat under-box is configured to lock onto the locked part by preventing the locked part from moving toward the front side of the seat cushion, and to release the lock on the locked part by elastically deforming outward in the width direction of the seat cushion when the box body is removed from the underside of the seat cushion to assume a detached state . The seat under-box according to claim 1 , wherein the locked portion has a front end surface formed in a flat shape perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction in a side view, and a rear end surface formed in a substantially semicircular arc shape in a planar cross-sectional view.