Patent Application
20250187502
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0179205, filed on Dec. 12, 2023, which application is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a seat for a vehicle.
With the advent of purpose-built vehicles (PBV) and autonomous vehicles, the use and convenience of vehicles are increasing, and accordingly, various technologies are being developed to utilize the space within the vehicles.
One of the technologies may be a seat including a rear-facing function utilizable in the rear seats of a vehicle. Currently, a swivel seat to enable swivel motion and a structure to slide a cushion rearward using a center rail and side guides have been introduced. In case of the swivel seat, there are restrictions as a package that require no interference with the rotation trajectory of the seat. The structure to slide a cushion rearward also has restrictions in that sliding is only possible when there is enough space behind the seat.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Korean patent 10-2485935 and U.S. counterpart publication 2020/062148 disclose subject matter related to subject discussed herein.
The present disclosure relates to a seat. More particularly, it relates to a seat for a vehicle.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure can solve the above-described problems associated with the prior art, and accordingly an embodiment of the present disclosure can provide a rotation mechanism, capable of implementing rear-facing mode and full-bed mode of a seat, and the seat including the same.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure can provide a rotation mechanism, capable of putting a seat into rear-facing mode within a limited package space, and the seat including the same.
Some embodiments of the present disclosure can provide a rotation mechanism, capable of reducing cost and weight compared to existing structures, and a seat including the same.
Advantages of the present disclosure are not limited to the foregoing, and other advantages not mentioned herein can be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains (hereinafter, “those skilled in the art”) based on the description below.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a seat can include a seat rest, a backrest rotatable with respect to the seat rest, and a rotation mechanism configured to rotate the backrest with respect to the seat rest, wherein, by the rotation mechanism, the backrest is configured to be rotatable in a first direction within a preset angle range and be rotatable in a second direction within the angle range. Here, the first direction may be opposite the second direction.
In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a rotation mechanism can include a leg bracket, a seat frame disposed to be spaced apart from the leg bracket, a front link configured to connect the leg bracket to the seat frame at a first location and configured to be rotatable with respect to the leg bracket and to the seat frame, respectively, a rear link configured to connect the leg bracket to the seat frame at a second location and configured to be rotatable with respect to the leg bracket and to the seat frame, respectively, a rotation link rotatably coupled to the seat frame at a third location of the seat frame, and a connection link. Here, the connection link may have a first side fixed to the seat frame and may have a second side fixed to the rotation link.
It can be understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar terms as used herein can be inclusive of motor vehicles in general, such as passenger automobiles including sport utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, tractors, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and can include hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles, and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example, a vehicle powered by both gasoline and electricity.
The above and other features of the present disclosure will now be described in detail with reference to certain example embodiments thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings which are given hereinbelow by way of illustration only, and thus are not necessarily limitative of the present disclosure, and in which:
It can be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of example embodiments of the present disclosure. For an embodiment, the specific design features of the present disclosure, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes, can be determined in part by the particular intended application and usage environment.
In the figures, the reference numbers can refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present disclosure throughout the several figures of the drawing.
Descriptions of specific structures or functions presented in the example embodiments of the present disclosure are merely examples for the purpose of explaining the present disclosure, and other embodiments according to the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms. In addition, the descriptions should not be construed as being limited to the example embodiments described herein, and can be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes falling within the ideas and scopes of the present disclosure.
In the present disclosure, terms such as “first” and/or “second” may be used to describe various components, but the components are not necessarily limited by such terms. Such terms can be merely used to distinguish one component from another. For example, a first component could be termed a second component, and similarly, a second component could be termed a first component, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
It can be understood that, when a component is referred to as being “connected to” or “brought into contact with” another component, the component may be directly connected to or brought into contact with the other component, or intervening components may also be present. In contrast, when a component is referred to as being “directly connected to” or “brought into direct contact with” another component, there is no intervening component present. Other terms used to describe relationships between components can be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).
Throughout the specification, like reference numerals can indicate like components. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrating embodiments and is not intended to necessarily limit the present disclosure. In this specification, the singular form can include the plural sense, unless specified otherwise. The terms “comprises” and/or “comprising” used in this specification mean that the cited component, step, operation, and/or element does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more of other components, steps, operations, and/or elements.
Hereinafter, the present disclosure is described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As illustrated in
The seat 1 can be configured to be put into rear-facing mode and/or full-bed mode. According to an implementation of the present disclosure, a rotation mechanism 100 may put the seat 1 into rear-facing mode and full-bed mode. In rear-facing mode, the seat 1 can be rotatable and thus an occupant may sit on the seat 1 to face forward or to face rearward. In full-bed mode, the seat 1 can be fully unfolded in a direction substantially parallel to the horizontal direction, allowing the occupant to lie down.
Specifically, rear-facing mode and full-bed mode may be implemented by the rotation mechanism 100. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the rotation mechanism 100 may rotate the backrest 2 in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) within a preset angle range. For example, when the backrest 2 is fully unfolded from the seat rest 4 to form 180°, such as in full-bed mode, a first angle range may be 0° to 180°. Moreover, the backrest 2 may rotate in a second direction (e.g., counterclockwise) within a preset angle range. In other words, the backrest 2 may rotate in an angle range of approximately 0° to 180° in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Therefore, the seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be put into rear-facing mode and full-bed mode. However, the rotation angle in the first direction and the rotation angle in the second direction do not have to be completely the same, and may be different from each other.
The rotation mechanism 100 can include a four-bar linkage. The four-bar linkage may include a seat frame 10, a leg bracket 20, a front link 30, and a rear link 40.
The seat frame 10 may be in the seat rest 4. The seat frame 10 may form the skeleton of the seat rest 4 to support the seat rest 4. In one example, the seat frame 10 may include portions extending from opposite sides of the seat rest 4, respectively. Moreover, the seat frame 10 may further include a rod 12 configured to connect the portions, each extending from a corresponding one of the opposite sides of the seat rest 4, to each other. In some implementations, the seat frame 10 may not be intended to support the seat rest 4 but may be a structure separately provided on the seat rest 4.
The leg bracket 20 can be at a set, selected, or predetermined distance from the seat frame 10. The leg bracket 20 may be supported by a floor or a support surface (e.g., a floor in a vehicle compartment) and may be fixed. That the leg bracket 20 may be fixed can include that the leg bracket 20 is fixed to the other components of the rotation mechanism 100. In other words, in some implementations, the leg bracket 20 may be provided on a moving rail of the vehicle. The leg bracket 20 installed on the moving rail may move together with the moving rail.
The front link 30 can connect the seat frame 10 to the leg bracket 20 at a first location. For example, the first location may be one end sides of the seat frame 10 and leg bracket 20.
The front link 30 can be configured to be rotatable with respect to the seat frame 10 and to the leg bracket 20, respectively. In one implementation, the front link 30 can include a first pivot point 32 and a second pivot point 34.
The front link 30 may rotate about the first pivot point 32. To allow the front link 30 to rotate about the first pivot point 32, the first pivot point 32 of the front link 30 may be mounted to the leg bracket 20.
The front link 30 may rotate about the second pivot point 34. To allow the front link 30 to rotate about the second pivot point 34, the second pivot point 34 of the front link 30 may be mounted to the seat frame 10.
The rear link 40 can be rotatably connected to the seat frame 10 and to the leg bracket 20, respectively. The rear link 40 may connect the seat frame 10 to the leg bracket 20 at a second location. The second location may be spaced apart from the first location. For example, as in the illustrated implementation, the first location may be front and the second location may be rear.
A first side of the rear link 40 may be mounted to the seat frame 10 and rotatable with respect to the seat frame 10. In one implementation, the first side of the rear link 40 may rotate about the rod 12.
A second side of the rear link 40 may be rotatable with respect to the leg bracket 20. In one implementation, the rear link 40 may be rotatably connected to the leg bracket 20 via a guide bracket 50.
The guide bracket 50 may be mounted to the leg bracket 20. In one implementation, the guide bracket 50 may include a guide 52, which can limit a rotational range of the rear link 40. The second side of the rear link 40 can be mounted to the guide bracket 50 to be rotatable along the guide 52. In some examples, the guide bracket 50 may be integrated with the leg bracket 20. In some examples, the guide bracket 50 may be separate from the leg bracket 20 and be detachably coupled to the leg bracket 20.
As illustrated in
The rotation mechanism 100 can include a rotation link 70. The rotation link 70 can connect the seat frame 10 to the leg bracket 20 at a third location. In one example, the third location may be between the first location and the second location. For example, the third location may be a point offset by a set, selected, or predetermined distance from the mid-point between the first location and the second location.
The rotation link 70 can be rotatably coupled to the seat frame 10. The rotation link 70 can include a pivot point 72 and may be mounted to the seat frame 10 via the pivot point 72 to be rotatable about the pivot point 72.
A first side of the rotation link 70 may be coupled to the backrest 2, and a second side 74 may be coupled to a connection link 80. When the rotation link 70 rotates, the backrest 2 may rotate together with the rotation link 70. Moreover, the rotation link 70 can be configured to rotate about the second side 74 with respect to the connection link 80.
The rotation mechanism 100 can include the connection link 80. The connection link 80 may be coupled to the seat frame 10 and to the rotation link 70. A first side 82 of the connection link 80 can be fixed to the rotation link 70, and a second side 84 of the connection link 80 can be fixed to the seat frame 10. In one example, between the front link 30 and the rear link 40, the first side 82 of the connection link 80 may be coupled to the second side 74 of the rotation link 70.
Referring to
On the top left of
Referring to
As illustrated in
In some implementations of the present disclosure, the seat 1 may include the rotation mechanism 100. The seat 1 including the rotation mechanism 100 may be put into rear-facing mode and full-bed mode.
The seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided in a vehicle. According to an implementation of the present disclosure, the seat 1 may be applied in the rear seats of a vehicle. However, application of the seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to vehicles.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, provided can be a rotation mechanism, capable of implementing rear-facing mode and full-bed mode of a seat, and the seat including the same.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, provided can be a rotation mechanism, capable of putting a seat into rear-facing mode within a limited package space, and the seat including the same.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, provided can be a rotation mechanism, capable of reducing cost and weight compared to existing structures, and a seat including the same.
Advantages of the present disclosure are not limited to what has been described above, and other advantages not mentioned herein can be clearly recognized by those skilled in the art based on the above description.
It can be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains that the present disclosure described above is not limited by the above-described example embodiments and the accompanying drawings, and various substitutions, modifications, and changes are possible within a range that does not depart from the technical ideas of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0179205 | Dec 2023 | KR | national |
