JPH09109740A - Cushion unit for automobile seat and manufacture thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a surface prescribed part so as to have a good soft feeling, by connecting a soft part to an end of a main unit part by a movable manner, folding the movable member, and superposing the soft part in a main unit part surface. SOLUTION: A soft part 21 comprises an upper side soft part 21a arranged in an upper side recessed part 12a and a lower side soft part 21b arranged in a lower side recessed part 12b, of a main unit part 11. The upper side soft part 21a, in its end part, is connected to an upper end of the upper side recessed part 12a by a movable member 31, to be superposed, by its folding, in a surface of the upper side recessed part 12a. On the other hand, the lower side soft part 21b, in its end part, is connected to a lower end of the lower side recessed part 12b by the movable member 31, to be superposed, by its folding, in a surface of the lower side recessed part 12b. Here, the upper/lower side soft parts 21a, 21b are connected to an end of the main unit part 11 by the member 31, so as to limit movement, and positioning relating to a surface of the main unit part 11 is facilitated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automobile seat cushion and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to an automobile seat cushion having a soft portion on its surface and applied to a seat or a backrest. It relates to a manufacturing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a seat portion or a backrest of an automobile seat, a cushion body made of foam is covered with an outer skin. Some of the cushion seats for an automobile seat (including both a seat portion and a backrest) have a predetermined surface portion made soft in order to improve riding comfort. An example of the cushion body is shown in FIG. 9 and a sectional view taken along the line 10-10 in FIG.
It is shown in FIG. This cushion body 90 is for a backrest, and has a body portion 91 having a substantially backrest shape and the body portion 9 thereof.
It is composed of a soft portion 92 provided on a portion of one surface which is in contact with an occupant. The soft portion 92 is made of a foam material that is softer than the foam material that forms the main body portion 91, and improves the feel when the occupant leans back. Further, the cushion body both side portions 93, 93 on both sides of the soft portion 92 are constituted by the main body portion 91, which is harder than the soft portion 92, to the surface of the cushion body, and thus serve to enhance the posture retention of the occupant.

Conventionally, there are the following cushioning sheets for automobile seats having a soft portion on the surface. As the first one, there is one in which a main body part and a soft part, which are separately molded in advance, are integrated by using an adhesive. Secondly, a soft part made of a slab polyurethane foam formed into a predetermined shape by cutting or the like is placed in a foam molding space in a foam molding die, and a foaming raw material for a main body is injected into the foam molding space to foam. There is one in which a main body unit integrated with the soft unit is molded by molding. Thirdly, the foaming raw material for the soft part is injected into the foaming molding space in the foaming mold, and then the foaming raw material for the main body part is injected onto the foaming raw material for the soft part to form the soft part and the main body. There is one in which the parts are integrally foam-molded.

However, the above-mentioned conventional cushioning member for an automobile seat has the following problems. The first one has a problem that when the soft portion is bonded to the surface of the main body portion, the soft portion is likely to be displaced, and the quality of the cushion body is difficult to be constant. Further, when manufacturing the cushion body, there is a problem that attention must be paid to the positioning of the soft portion when the soft portion is bonded.

In the second type, the foaming raw material for the main body injected into the soft part in the foaming mold is impregnated into the soft part and hardened, and the impregnated and cured layer is formed at the boundary between the main part and the soft part. Since it is formed, the original soft feeling of the soft part is impaired, and there is a problem that the desired improvement in riding comfort cannot be obtained. Further, when the soft portion is arranged in the foam molding space in the foam molding die, or after the arrangement, the position of the soft portion may be displaced, which causes a problem that the quality of the cushion body becomes poor or is not constant.

In the third type, since the foaming raw material for the main body portion is injected into the foaming molding die after the foaming raw material for the soft portion, both foaming raw materials are easily mixed in the foaming molding die, and the cushion body is formed. There is a problem that the quality is not constant. It is also conceivable that after the soft part is foam-molded in the foam molding die, the foaming raw material for the body part is injected onto the soft part to foam-mold the body part integrated with the soft part. Has
After injecting the foam raw material for the soft part, the foam mold is temporarily closed by the lid mold for the soft part, and after the foam molding of the soft part is finished, the lid mold for the soft part is opened to inject the foam raw material for the main part, and then the main part The foam mold must be closed by the lid mold for. Therefore, not only the manufacturing work of the cushion body is complicated, but also the structure of the foam molding die becomes complicated, and there is a problem that the price of the cushion body increases.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and a cushioning body for an automobile seat, which has a favorable soft feeling at a predetermined surface portion and is inexpensive and easy to manufacture, and a method for manufacturing the same. Is to provide.

[0008]

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a cushioning body for an automobile seat, wherein a predetermined body surface portion of a foam body has a soft portion made of a foam body softer than the body portion. The soft portion is connected to the end of the portion by a flexible member, and the flexible member is bent to overlap the soft portion on the surface of the main body portion.

In a second aspect of the present invention, a foaming raw material is injected into a foaming molding space in a foaming mold to cause foaming, so that a predetermined surface portion of a main body made of foam is made of a softer foam than the main body. In the method of manufacturing a cushion for an automobile seat having a soft portion, the foam molding space has a main body foam molding space and a soft portion foam molding space partitioned by a partition wall standing on a mold surface. , A flexible member is arranged so that both ends of the main body foam molding space and the soft portion foam molding space project so that the main body foam molding space becomes a foam having a predetermined hardness. Along with injecting raw materials, the soft part foaming molding space is injected with a soft part foaming raw material that is a softer foam than the main body part foaming raw material, and the main body part and the soft part are foamed by foaming each of the foaming raw materials. Yes Forming a linked molded article sexual member, then the molded article was demolded, and wherein the overlap on the main body surface soft portion by bending the flexible member.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an unfolded state of an example of a cushion member for a vehicle seat according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is the same position as 2-2 in FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line of FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a foaming mold showing the time of injecting a foaming raw material in an example of the method for manufacturing a cushion body for an automobile seat of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.
FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a foaming mold showing another example of the manufacturing method of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the expanded state of the cushion body thus obtained, and FIG. It is a fragmentary sectional view of a cushion body after.

The cushioning body 10 for an automobile seat shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is for a backrest and is attached to an automobile with its surface covered with a skin (not shown) such as a fabric. The cushion body 10 includes a body portion 11 made of elastic foam such as polyurethane foam.
The soft part 21 is superposed on a predetermined part of the surface of the.

The main body portion 11 forms the main body of the cushion body 10 and has a substantially backrest shape, and a concave portion 12 is formed from the upper end to the lower end when the cushion body 10 is used, on the central surface contacting the back of an occupant. There is. The concave portion 12 is a portion where the soft portion 21 is arranged, and is formed with a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the soft portion 12. The concave portion 12 of this embodiment has an upper concave portion 12 formed by a central protrusion 13.
It is partitioned into a and a lower recess 12b. By partitioning the concave portion 12 in this manner, the soft portion 21 disposed in the concave portion 12 is separated from the upper soft portion 21a and the lower soft portion 21.
Since it can be divided into b,
By making the hardnesses of 1b different from each other, the riding comfort can be further improved.

The soft portion 21 is for softening a predetermined portion of the surface of the cushion body 10.
It is composed of a foam that is softer than the foam that constitutes 1.
It has a size that fits into the recess 12 of the main body 11. The degree to which the soft portion 21 is made softer than the main body portion 11 is appropriately determined depending on the hardness of the main body portion 11 and the cushioning property of a seat required for an automobile.

The soft portion 21 of this embodiment includes the upper soft portion 21a arranged in the upper concave portion 12a of the main body portion 11 and the lower soft portion 21b arranged in the lower concave portion 12b as described above. Consists of. The upper soft part 21a
At the end of the flexible member 31 and the upper end of the upper recess 12a.
And the flexible member 31 is bent to be overlapped on the surface of the upper recess 12a. On the other hand, the lower soft part 21b is connected at its end to the lower end of the lower recess 12b by a flexible member 31, and is bent to be superposed on the surface of the lower recess 12b. At that time, the upper soft part 21a and the lower soft part 21b are
Since the flexible member 31 is connected to the end of the main body 11, the movement is restricted and the positioning of the main body 11 on the surface is facilitated. Further, since the upper soft portion 21a and the lower soft portion 21b are fitted in the upper concave portion 12a and the lower concave portion 12b formed on the surface of the main body portion 11, the soft portion 21 can be positioned more accurately. An adhesive may be applied to the superposed surfaces of the recess 12 and the soft portion 21 to bond the soft portion 21 and the main body portion 11 together.

The flexible member 31 has a function of a hinge, and a sheet-like or film-like one such as non-woven fabric, woven fabric, plastic sheet or film is used.
As will be described later, the flexible member 31 is integrated with the main body 11 and the soft portion 21 when the main body 11 and the soft portion 21 are foam-molded. As in this embodiment, the flexible member 31 includes the soft portion 21 and the main body portion 1.
It is provided only near the end of 1, and the soft portion 21 and the main body portion 11
It is preferable that it is not provided on the entire overlapping surface of the above because it does not impair the soft feeling of the soft portion 21.

In this way, the soft section 21 is replaced by the main body section 11.
The cushioned body 10 overlapped with the occupant is provided with a soft portion 21 which is softer than the side portions 14 and 14 of the surface in the center portion of the surface which comes into contact with the occupant's back. Side 1 of the body 11 which is harder than
Since the occupant's posture is maintained by 4, 14, the riding comfort is improved. The surface of the cushion body 10 is covered with a skin made of fabric or the like.

Next, an example of a method of manufacturing the cushion body will be described. First, the foaming mold used will be described. The foam molding die 40 shown in FIG. 3 to FIG.
1 and the upper mold 61, and has a foam molding space 41 constituted by the mold surface 52 of the lower mold 51 and the mold surface 62 of the upper mold 61.

The foam molding space 41 is formed by partition walls 53 and 54 provided upright on the mold surface 52 of the lower mold 51 at predetermined intervals, and the main body foam molding space 42 and the soft part foam molding spaces 43a on both outer sides thereof. It is divided into 43b. The main body foaming space 42 is a portion for foaming the main body 11 of the cushion body 10, and has the same shape as the main body 11. On the other hand, in the soft part foam molding spaces 43a and 43b, one 43a is an upper soft part foam molding space for foam-molding the upper soft part 21a of the cushion body 10, and the other 43b is the lower soft part 21b. Is a foam molding space for the lower soft part for foam molding, and has the same shape as the upper soft part 21a and the lower soft part 21b. As shown in FIG. 4, on the mold surface 62 of the upper mold 61, a concave groove 63 for forming the protrusion 13 of the cushion main body 11 is formed in a portion forming the main body molding space 42. There is. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the central portion of the upper die 61 has the die surfaces 64, 6 on both sides.
4 has a shape that swells upward, and a mold surface 65 between both side portions thereof has a convex shape toward the lower mold 51, whereby the both side portions 14 and 14 of the cushion body portion 11 and the concave portion 12 are formed. To form.

A pin 55 for locking a flexible member is provided upright on the upper ends of the partition walls 53 and 54. The pin 55 is provided on the mold surface 62 of the upper mold 61 facing the pin 55.
A hole (not shown) for inserting the is formed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the flexible member 31 is pierced and held by the pins 55 of the partition walls 53 and 54 with the foaming mold 40 opened. At that time, both ends of the flexible member 31 are on both sides of the partition walls 53, 54, that is, the main body foam molding space 42 and the upper soft foam molding space 43a, or the main body foam molding space 4.
2 and the lower soft part foam molding space 43b.

Next, in the main body foam molding space 42, a main body foam raw material P ₁ , in the upper soft foam foam molding space 43a, an upper soft foam foam material P ₂ , and in the lower soft foam foam molding space 43b. Is the foaming material P for the lower soft part
Inject ₃ . Each foaming raw material comprises a known foaming raw material such as polyurethane foaming raw material. Further, the foaming raw material P ₂ for the upper soft portion and the foaming raw material P for the lower soft portion
₃ forms a foam that is softer than the foam formed by the foaming raw material P ₁ for the main body. The hardness of the formed foam can be easily adjusted by changing the composition of the foaming raw material or by reducing the injection amount. Furthermore, the foaming raw material P for the upper soft part
Regarding ₂ and the foaming raw material P ₃ for the lower soft part, the hardness of the foams formed may be different from each other.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the foaming mold 40 is closed to foam the foaming raw materials P ₁ , P ₂ , and P ₃ . As a result, the main body 11 in the main body foam molding space 42, the upper soft portion 21a in the upper soft foam foam molding space 43a, and the lower soft foam foam molding space 4a.
In 3b, the lower soft portions 21b are formed, respectively, and these are connected by the flexible member 31 to form a molded product.

After the foaming is completed, the foaming mold 40 is opened and the molded product is demolded to obtain the cushion body 10 before the soft parts 21 are superposed as shown in FIG. After that, the flexible member 31 is bent so that the upper soft part 21a and the lower soft part 21b are recessed in the main body 11.
When it is placed on the surface of the above, it becomes a desired cushion for a car seat. At that time, an adhesive may be applied to the overlapping surfaces of the upper soft portion 21a, the lower soft portion 21b, and the main body portion 11.

In the above embodiment, the partition walls 53, 5
4 shows an example in which each of them is erected only from the mold surface 52 of the lower mold 51, but the partition walls 53 and 54 are respectively divided into upper and lower parts to divide the mold surface 52 of the lower mold 51 and the mold surface 62 of the upper mold 61. Set it in both,
The flexible member 31 may be held between the upper and lower partitions.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of a foaming mold of an example in which the partition wall is divided into an upper mold and a lower mold, and FIG. 7 is a part showing a developed state of a cushion body manufactured using the foaming mold. FIG. 8 is a sectional view, and FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of the cushion body after overlapping the soft portions.

In the manufacturing method of this embodiment, the foam molding die 71 has partition walls 76, 77 at positions where the mold surface 73 of the lower mold 72 and the mold surface 75 of the upper mold 74 face each other, and the partition wall 7 is formed.
The flexible member 31 is held between 6 and 77. Reference numeral 78
Is a body part foam molding space, 79 is a soft part foam molding space, a is the height of the partition wall 77 from the upper mold surface 75 in the body part foam molding space 78, and b is the upper part of the soft part foam molding space 76. It is the height of the partition wall 77 from the mold surface 75. Then, in the same manner as described above, the foaming raw materials P ₁ and P ₂ are injected into the main body foam molding space 78 and the soft part foam molding space 79 in the foam molding die 71 to foam mold the cushion body.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the obtained cushion body 80, the flexible member 31 connecting the main body portion 81 and the soft portion 82 has the overlapping surface 81a of the main body portion 81 and the soft portion 82. 82a to a, b at the body portion 8
1 and the end portion of the soft portion 82 are embedded. Therefore, when the flexible member 31 is bent and the soft portion 82 is superposed on the main body portion 81, the flexibility that is exposed between the main body portion 81 and the soft portion 82, that is, the portion sandwiched between the partition walls 76 and 77. The member 31c overlaps the end surfaces of the main body 81 and the soft portion 82 as shown in FIG. 8, and the slack is reduced. Therefore, not only the positioning of the soft portion 82 becomes more accurate when the soft portion 82 is overlaid on the main body portion 81, but also the slack in the bent portion of the flexible member 31 when the cushion body 80 is covered with the skin thereafter. The bulge due to the part does not occur and the appearance becomes good.

Particularly, if the thickness c of the partition walls 76 and 77, that is, the length of the flexible member 31c exposed between the main body 81 and the soft portion 82 is made equal to the sum of a and b, Since the flexible member 31c between the main body portion 81 and the soft portion 82 can be loosened when the soft portion 82 is overlaid on the main body portion 81, the positioning of the soft portion 82 becomes more accurate, and the cushion body 80 is provided. The appearance when the outer skin is covered becomes better.

In the above embodiment, the soft portion is provided on a part of the surface of the main body, but it may be provided on the entire surface of the main body on the side in contact with the occupant. Further, although the cushion body for the backrest has been described in the above embodiment, the present invention is similarly applied to the cushion body for the seat portion.

[0030]

As shown and described above, according to the cushion member for an automobile seat of the present invention, the soft portion connected to the main body portion by the flexible member is superposed on the surface of the main body portion. The positioning of the soft part is easy and accurate, and the quality is constant. In addition, since the soft part and the body part do not have the impregnated and hardened part of the foaming raw material, which has been generated during foam molding of the soft part, the original soft feeling of the soft part is not impaired and good riding comfort is obtained. . Further, since the soft portion and the main body portion are not integrally foam-molded by sequentially injecting the respective foam raw materials into the foam mold, the foam raw materials of the soft portion and the main body are mixed and foam-molded. Without a doubt, the software department will give the desired softness.

On the other hand, according to the method for manufacturing a cushion body for an automobile seat of the present invention, a foam molding die in which a foam molding space is partitioned into a main body foam molding space and a soft portion foam molding space by a partition wall is used. In order to mold the cushion body by injecting the foaming raw material for the main body into the foam molding space and injecting the foaming raw material for the soft part into the soft foam molding space,
Since the main body portion and the soft portion are foam-molded without the foaming raw materials being mixed with each other, it is possible to obtain a cushion body having a desired softness with a constant quality.

Further, according to the method for manufacturing a cushion body for an automobile seat of the present invention, the flexible member is arranged in the partition wall so that both ends of the foam molding space of the main body portion and the foam molding space of the soft portion are projected. The main body and the soft portion are connected to each other and the cushion body is superposed on the main body. The feeling is not lost. Moreover, since the soft portion is connected to the main body portion by the flexible member during the superposition, the movement of the soft portion is restricted, and the soft portion can be easily placed at the correct position on the surface of the main body portion. A cushion body of constant quality is obtained. Furthermore, since the structure of the foaming mold is simple and the manufacturing work is easy, an inexpensive cushion body can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an expanded state of an example of a cushioning body for an automobile seat of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cushion body for an automobile seat after the soft parts are overlapped with each other, cut along the same position as 2-2 in FIG. 1 in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a foam molding die showing an example of a method for manufacturing a cushion body for an automobile seat according to the present invention when a foaming raw material is injected.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a foaming mold showing foaming in the example.

5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a foaming mold showing another example of the manufacturing method of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a developed state of a cushion body obtained by the manufacturing method of the same example.

FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cushion body after overlapping the soft portions.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conventional back cushion body.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 9;

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Automotive Seat Cushion 11 Body 21 Soft Part 31 Flexible Member 40 Foam Mold 41 Foam Mold Space 42 Body Foam Mold Space 43 Soft Part Foam Mold Space 51 Lower Mold 52 Lower Mold Face 53 Partition 54 Partition 61 Upper mold 62 Upper mold surface P ₁ Main body foaming raw material P ₂ Upper soft foaming raw material P ₃ Lower soft foaming raw material

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A predetermined surface portion of a main body made of foam,
In a cushioning body for an automobile seat having a soft portion made of foam softer than the main body portion, the soft portion is connected to an end of the main body portion by a flexible member, and the flexible member is bent to form the main body. A cushioning body for an automobile seat, characterized in that a soft portion is overlaid on the surface of the portion. 2. A cushion body for an automobile seat according to claim 1, wherein a recess is formed in a surface of the main body portion on which the soft portion is overlapped. 3. A soft part made of foam softer than the main body part is provided on a predetermined surface portion of the main body part made of foam by injecting a foaming raw material into the foam molding space in the foam molding die to cause foaming. In the method of manufacturing a cushion body for an automobile seat, the foam molding space has a main body foam molding space and a soft part foam molding space partitioned by a partition wall standing on the mold surface, and the partition wall, the main body. After arranging the flexible member so that both ends thereof are projected to the partial foam molding space and the soft foam molding space, the foaming raw material for the main body to be a foam having a predetermined hardness is injected into the main body foam molding space. At the same time, a soft material foaming raw material that is a foam softer than the main body foaming raw material is injected into the soft part foam molding space, and each of the foaming raw materials is foamed so that the main body portion and the soft material are flexible members. In a row A method of manufacturing a cushion body for an automobile seat, which comprises forming a bonded molded product, releasing the molded product, bending the flexible member, and superimposing a soft portion on a surface of a main body portion.