Abstract:
The invention relates to a vehicle seat, wherein a cushion cover that covers a seat cushion is provided to extend towards a floor along a side portion of the seat cushion facing a central control station, a hook which engages with the cushion cover at a cushion frame is provided on a portion of the cushion cover interposed between a cushion frame and the central control station, and a tab is provided on the cushion frame in order to engage with the hook, the tab being provided on a portion of the cushion frame facing the central control station.

Description:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE 
     The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-091085 filed on Apr. 25, 2014 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to a seat carried on a vehicle such as an automobile, an airplane, a ship and an electric train. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , in a front seat for an automobile, in order to prevent small items from falling from a gap between a seat cushion  110  and a central control station C towards an action area A of a lift mechanism (not shown) of the seat cushion  110 , a cover member  117  hanging towards the lower side of the seat cushion  110  is provided on the side portion of the seat cushion  110  so as to cover the gap (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2013-226932 (JP 2013-226932 A)). 
     In this case, the seat cushion  110  comprises a cushion frame  111  and a cushion cover  115  which covers an outer side of a cushion frame  111  that serves as a base body of the vehicle seat such that a soft cushion (not shown) is interposed between the cushion frame  111  and the cushion cover  115 . The cushion cover  115  is integrated with the cushion frame  111  by engaging a hook  116  with a lower end portion  111   a  of the cushion frame  111 . At this time, the lower end portion  111   a  of the cushion frame  111  is located lower than the position of the cushion cover  115  on the side of the central control station C, and is located on the inner side of the seat cushion  110 . Thus, the position of the hook  116  also is the same position, and the lower end portion of the cushion cover  115  is bent to be separated from the central control station C. Thus, the action area A of the lift mechanism on the lower portion of the seat cushion  110  is opened on the side of the central control station C, and small items can fall easily. As a countermeasure, in the invention of JP 2013-226932 A, the action area A is closed on the side of the central control station C by stitching the cover member  117  on the cushion cover  115 . 
     However, according to the vehicle seat described in JP 2013-226932 A, since the cover member  117  is newly provided, there exists a problem that the manufacture cost rises. For example, the time for trimming the cover member  117  is unnecessarily spent. Moreover, the time for stitching the cover member  117  on the cushion cover  115  is also unnecessarily spent. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to inhibit, in a vehicle seat which is provided with a structural body such as a central control station on a side of a seat cushion, falling of small items from a gap on the side of the seat cushion and the manufacture cost of the seat cushion by avoiding formation of such gap, from which the small items can fall, on the side of the seat cushion facing the structural body. 
     An aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle seat, which is provided with a structural body such as a central control station on a side of a seat cushion, wherein a cushion cover that covers the seat cushion is provided to extend towards a floor along a side portion of the seat cushion facing the structural body, a hook which engages with the cushion cover at a cushion frame is provided on a portion of the cushion cover interposed between the cushion frame and the structural body, and a tab which engages with the hook is provided on an outer peripheral side of a portion the cushion frame facing the structural body. 
     According to the aspect, the tab is provided on the portion of the cushion frame facing the structural body, so the position where the hook engages with the tab becomes a position close to the structural body, and the cushion cover is arranged on a side close to the structural body. Thus, the lower portion of the cushion frame is easily covered by the cushion cover, which can inhibit the falling of the small items from the side portion of the cushion frame towards the lower portion of the cushion frame. At this time, the side portion of the cushion frame is covered by the cushion cover itself, and there is no need to newly provide another cover member, which can inhibit the manufacture cost of the seat cushion. 
     The portion of the cushion frame facing the structural body refer to the portion facing the structural body among plural portions comprising whole surface of the cushion frame. 
     In the aspect of the invention, the cushion cover may haven an opening for an operation of engaging the hook with the tab at a position of the cushion cover corresponding to the hook. 
     The hook is provided on the inner surface side of the cushion cover, and thus will not be exposed to the outside, so that the operation of engaging the hook with the tab is to be blindly performed, and the operability is bad. According to the aspect of the invention, the hook is exposed to the outside through the opening, so the operator directly contacts the hook while observing the hook to perform the engaging operation, which can make the operability be good. 
     In the aspect of the invention, the cushion cover may has a cap to open and close the opening. 
     According to the aspect of the invention, since the opening is covered by the cap in normal times, falling of the small items towards the lower portion of the cushion frame through the opening can be suppressed , and it can prevent the hook from being seen through the opening so as to make the appearance be good. As a result, the opening can be enlarged, and the operability described in the aspect can be further improved. 
     In the aspect of the invention, the tab may protrude from an side surface of the cushion frame towards the structural body side. 
     According to the aspect, since the tab protrudes from the side surface of the cushion frame towards the structural body side, the position where the hook is engaged can be biased towards the structural body side, and the lower portion of the cushion frame is easily covered by the cushion cover, which can suppresses the falling of the small items from the side portion of the cushion frame towards the lower portion of the cushion frame. 
     In the aspect of the invention, the cushion frame may be configured to move relative to the floor along the structural body side via a slide rail, and the cushion frame may be arranged to be biased towards the structural body side relative to the slide rail. 
     According to the aspect, the cushion frame is arranged to be biased towards the structural body side relative to the slide rail, so the position where the hook is engaged can be biased towards the structural body side, and the lower portion of the cushion frame is easily covered by the cushion cover, which can suppress the falling of the small items from the side portion of the cushion frame towards the lower portion of the cushion frame. 
     In the aspect, the portion of the cushion frame facing the structural body may be a plate-shaped body, which has its plate surface facing the structural body side, and the tab may be provided on the plate surface. 
     According to the aspect, since the tab is provided on the plate surface of the plate-shaped body facing the structural body side, as compared with a structure where the tab is provided on the lower end portion of the plate-shaped body, the position where the hook is engaged with the tab becomes a position close to the structural body, and the cushion cover is arranged on a side close to the structural body. Thus, an effect the same as that achieved by the first invention can be achieved. 
     Another aspect of the invention relates to a vehicle seat, which is provided with a structural body such as a central control station on a side of a seat cushion, wherein a piece of cushion cover which covers the seat cushion is provided to extend in the up-down direction of the vehicle along a side portion of the seat cushion facing the structural body, and a hook is provided midway through the cushion cover in the up-down direction of the vehicle and on an inner surface side of a portion of the cushion cover facing the structural body, and a tab which engages with the hook is provided on the cushion frame. 
     In the other aspect, the cushion frame may configured to move in the front-rear direction of the vehicle via a slide rail arranged on the vehicle floor, and a leading end of the cushion cover in the up-down direction of the vehicle is arranged in a position having its horizontal height being less than the height of the upper surface of the slide rail. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of exemplary embodiments of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like numerals denote like elements, and wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a side view of a front seat for an automobile according to one embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view from one direction of the cushion frame according to the above embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view from another direction of the cushion frame according to the above embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the cushion frame according to the above embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional enlarged view from the V-V line in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional enlarged view from the VI-VI line in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective exploded view of the lower portion of the cushion cover according to the above embodiment; and 
         FIG. 8  is perpendicularly lateral sectional view of the seat cushion according to the related art of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       FIGS. 1-7  show one embodiment of the invention. This embodiment shows an example of applying the invention to a front seat for an automobile (hereinafter referred to as the seat). In the figures, the various directions of the seat fixed to the floor of the automobile are indicated by arrows. In the descriptions below, the depictions of the directions are given on the basis of those directions. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the seat mainly consists of a seat cushion  10  that forms a seat portion and a seatback  20  that forms a back. The seat cushion  10  is integrated with a cushion cover  15  by covering a cushion cover  15  on an outer side of a cushion frame  10 A such that a soft cushion (not shown) is interposed between the cushion frame  10 A and the cushion cover  15 . As shown in  FIGS. 2-5 , the cushion frame  10 A is formed by assembling a front panel  12  in the front and a back pipe  13  at the rear to side frames  11  on the left and right. The side frame  11  is formed by punching a metal plate (corresponding to the plate-shaped body in the invention) with a specified strength. Tabs  14  are integrally provided on the outer side surface of the side frame  11 . 
     A pair of slide rails  30  on the left and right are provided on the floor (not shown) of the automobile below the cushion frame  10 A. Each of the slide rails  30  is formed by a lower rail  31  and an upper rail  32  as well known, the lower rail  31  is fixed to the floor by fixing screws  34  via a floor bracket  33 , and the upper rail  32  is combined with the cushion frame  10 A via a front leg  41  and a rear leg  42 . 
     As can be known from  FIGS. 2-5 , the cushion frame  10 A is arranged to be biased towards the left side relative to the positions of the slide rails  30 . Thus, the manners of combining the front legs  41  with the upper rails  32  and the manners of combining the front legs  41  with the side frames  11  are respectively different on the left and right. Moreover, the shapes of the rear legs  42  are different from each other on the left and right. 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , a central control station C is arranged close to the left side of the seat cushion  10 . The central control station C is the same as the existing central control station C shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 6 and 7 , the cushion cover  15  extends downwardly towards the floor in a position corresponding to the central control station C on the left side of the seat cushion  10  to thereby form a lower portion  15   a  of the cushion cover. In a position midway through the cushion cover  15  in the up-down direction, a hook  16  that is long in the front-rear direction is stitched on the inner surface side of the cushion cover  15 , and can be caught at a tab  14  that is formed on the side surface of the side frame  11 . 
     The tabs  14  are formed by bending two parts in front and rear positions of the surface of the side frame  11  toward the central control station C to have their leading ends extending downwards. As shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the tab  14  is formed to protrude towards the side of the central control station C, and is bent at its leading end portion towards a direction opposite to the protruding direction of the tab  14  to form a pawl  14   a . Correspondingly, as shown in  FIG. 6 , the hook  16  has its cross section being J-shaped, and is engaged at the leading end portion of the tab  14 . When the hook  16  is engaged at the leading end portion of the tab  14 , the leading end portion of the hook  16  is pressed by the pawl  14   a  towards the plate surface side of the side frame  11 . The pawl  14 a functions such that the hook  16  is not likely to drop in a state where the hook  16  is engaged at the tab  14 . 
       FIG. 7  shows a part of the cushion cover  15  installed with the hook  16 . Two positioning holes  15   e  which penetrates the cushion cover  15  are provided at a distance in front and rear positions of the cushion cover  15 . The interval between the two positioning holes  15   e  is equal to the length of the hook  16  in the front-rear direction, and when the hook  16  is stitched on the cushion cover  15 , as shown by the imaginary line in  FIG. 7 , the positioning of the hook  16  relative to the cushion cover  15  can be performed by embedding corners in the front and rear positions of the hook  16  in the respective positioning holes  15   e . Moreover, two openings  15   b  are provided at a distance between the two positioning holes  15   e  in the front-rear direction. Each of the respective openings  15   b  is formed by opening a substantially U-shaped cut on the cushion cover  15 . As a result, each of the openings  15   b  is provided with a cap  15   c  corresponding to the opening. Each of the openings  15   b  is set to one having a size allowing for entrance of the finger of the operator. Thus, when the hook  16  stitched on the cushion cover  15  is to be engaged at the tab  14 , the cap  15   c  of each of the openings  15   b  is lifted to open the opening  15   b  such that the operator puts the finger in the opening to directly touch the hook  16  and hold the hook  16  in hand to thereby perform the engaging operation with a good operability. It should be noted that terminal holes  15   b  are formed at the respective terminals of the cut that forms the opening. Since the terminal holes  15   d  are formed at the respective terminals in this manner, even if the respective terminals undergo a splitting force when the finger is placed in the opening  15   b , the terminals will not be easily split. Moreover, since the opening  15   b  is covered by the cap  15   c  in normal times, the falling of the small items towards the lower portion of the cushion frame  10 A through the opening  15   b  can be suppressed, and it can prevent the hook  16  from being seen through the opening  15   b  so as to make the appearance be good. As a result, the opening  15   b  can be enlarged, and the effect of improving the operability produced by providing the opening can be further increased. 
     As mentioned above, in the above embodiment, the position where the hook  16  is engaged with the tab  14  is made to be close to the central control station C by biasing the cushion frame  10 A towards the side of the central control station C, providing the tab  14  on a surface of the side frame  11  opposite to the central control station C, and forming the tab  14  to protrude towards the central control station C. Moreover, the lower portion  15   a  of the seat cover extends towards the floor. Thus, the cushion cover  15  is prevented from being bent in the direction in which it is separated from the central control station C below the seat cushion  10 , and the gap on the lower portion of the seat cushion  10  is closed by the cushion cover  15 . Thus, the falling of the small items from the gap on the lower portion of the seat cushion  10  can be suppressed. Moreover, since the cushion cover  15  will not be bent in the direction in which it is separated from the central control station C below the seat cushion  10 , it is not required to additionally provide the cushion cover  15  with, for example, the cover member  117  for closing the area A as recited in the related art described with reference to  FIG. 8 , which can inhibit the manufacture cost. 
     Although a specific embodiment is described above, the invention is not limited to these appearances and structures, and various changes, additions or deletions can be made within the scope of not changing the gist of the invention. For example, with respect to the catching structure consisting of the hook and the tab, various structures can be adopted besides the structure recorded in the embodiment. Moreover, in the above embodiment, the invention is applied to a front seat for an automobile, but the invention can be also applied to a seat carried on an airplane, a vessel, an electric train and the like.