Abstract:
A child seat attachment structure comprising a lower anchor comprising a fixing portion that is fixed to a configuration member configuring a vehicle body or a vehicle seat, a leg portion that extends from the fixing portion towards a vehicle top side, and a coupling portion that is provided at an upper end portion of the leg portion and that fixes a child seat to the vehicle body or the vehicle seat by connecting to a connector of the child seat; and a contacted portion that restricts displacement of the coupling portion of the lower anchor towards a vehicle front side with respect to the fixing portion by making contact with a portion of the lower anchor when the child seat fixed to the vehicle body or the vehicle seat has moved towards the vehicle front side.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priorities under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Applications, No. 2011-268199 filed on Dec. 7, 2011 and No. 2012-112194 filed on May 16, 2012, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a child seat attachment structure for attaching a child seat to a vehicle seat. 
     2. Related Art 
     Child seat attachment structures provided with a lower anchor for attaching a child seat to a vehicle seat are known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2009-12552 discloses a child seat attachment structure provided with a lower anchor that is in compliance with ISOFIX, an ISO standard regarding methods for fixing child seats to vehicle seats (hereafter, referred to simply as “ISOFIX”). 
     However, if there is a large separation distance between a fixing portion of the lower anchor (an attachment portion of the lower anchor to a configuration member configuring the vehicle body or the vehicle seat) and a coupling portion of the lower anchor (a portion to which the child seat is fixed), it is conceivable that there could be a large amount of deformation of the lower anchor due to load input to the coupling portion from the child seat. 
     In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention is directed towards obtaining a child seat attachment structure capable of suppressing deformation of the lower anchor due to load input to the coupling portion from the child seat. 
     SUMMARY 
     A child seat attachment structure of a first aspect of the present invention is equipped with: a lower anchor including a fixing portion that is fixed to a configuration member configuring a vehicle body or a vehicle seat, a leg portion that extends from the fixing portion towards the vehicle top side, and a coupling portion that is provided at an upper end portion of the leg portion and that fixes a child seat to the vehicle body or the vehicle seat by connecting to a connector of the child seat; and a contacted portion that restricts displacement of the coupling portion of the lower anchor towards the vehicle front side with respect to the fixing portion by making contact with a portion of the lower anchor when the child seat fixed to the vehicle body or the vehicle seat has moved towards the vehicle front side. 
     In the child seat attachment structure of the first aspect, a tension load towards the vehicle front side acts on the coupling portion of the lower anchor when the child seat fixed to the vehicle body or the vehicle seat moves towards the vehicle front side. As a result, the coupling portion of the lower anchor may deform so as to move towards the vehicle front side with respect to the fixing portion. When this occurs, a portion of the lower anchor contacts the contacted portion. As a result, further deformation of the lower anchor is restricted by the contacted portion. 
     A child seat attachment structure of a second aspect of the present invention is the child seat attachment structure of the first aspect wherein the contacted portion is formed by a portion of the configuration member configuring the vehicle body or the vehicle seat. 
     In the child seat attachment structure of the second aspect, there is no need to provide a dedicated member as a separate contacted portion since the contacted portion is formed by the portion of the configuration member configuring the vehicle body or the vehicle seat. 
     A child seat attachment structure of a third aspect of the present invention is the child seat attachment structure of the first aspect wherein the contacted portion is formed by a plate shaped flange extending from the configuration member configuring the vehicle body or the vehicle seat. 
     In the child seat attachment structure of the third aspect, there is no need to provide a dedicated member as a separate contacted portion since the contacted portion is formed by the plate shaped flange extending from the configuration member configuring the vehicle body or the vehicle seat. 
     A child seat attachment structure of a fourth aspect of the present invention is the child seat attachment structure of the third aspect wherein displacement of the coupling portion of the lower anchor towards the vehicle front side with respect to the fixing portion is restricted by a portion of the lower anchor which is configured to contact the flange from a different direction to the plate thickness direction of the flange. 
     In the child seat attachment structure of the fourth aspect, a portion of the lower anchor contacts the flange from a different direction to the plate thickness direction of the flange. The flange can accordingly bear load input from the portion of the lower anchor by distributing the load in the plate thickness direction of the flange and in a direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction. As a result, the plate thickness of the flange can be reduced by appropriately setting the direction from which the portion of the lower anchor contacts the flange such that the set direction is within a range which is different from the plate thickness direction. 
     A child seat attachment structure of a fifth aspect of the present invention is the child seat attachment structure of any one of the first aspect to the fourth aspect wherein the lower anchor includes a pair of the leg portions disposed in the vehicle width direction, and the pair of leg portions are coupled together by a lower anchor bracket extending in the vehicle width direction. 
     In the child seat attachment structure of the fifth aspect, providing the lower anchor bracket of the above configuration allows load input to the coupling portion of the lower anchor to be borne distributed between the pair of leg portions. 
     A child seat attachment structure of a sixth aspect of the present invention is the child seat attachment structure of the third aspect, wherein an upper end portion of the plate shaped flange extends so as to approach the portion of the lower anchor more than a lower end portion of the flange. 
     In the child seat attachment structure of the sixth aspect, an upper end portion of the plate shaped flange extends so as to approach the portion of the lower anchor more than a lower end portion of the flange. The flange can accordingly bear load input from the portion of the lower anchor by distributing the load in the plate thickness direction of the flange and in a direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction. 
     The child seat attachment structure of the first aspect exhibits the excellent advantageous effect of enabling deformation of the lower anchor due to load input to the coupling portion from the child seat to be suppressed. 
     The child seat attachment structures of the second aspect and the third aspect exhibit the excellent advantageous effect of enabling a saving to be made in the cost involved in providing the contacted portion. 
     The child seat attachment structure of the fourth aspect exhibits the excellent advantageous effect of enabling a reduction in the weight of the contacted portion to be achieved. 
     The child seat attachment structure of the fifth aspect exhibits the excellent advantageous effect of enabling the rigidity of the lower anchor to be enhanced. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a child seat attachment structure of a present exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a child seat attachment structure of the present exemplary embodiment; 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged side view illustrating a child seat attachment structure of the present exemplary embodiment; and 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged face-on view illustrating a child seat attachment structure of the present exemplary embodiment, as viewed from the vehicle front. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Explanation follows regarding a child seat attachment structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, with reference to  FIG. 1  to  FIG. 3 . Note that in the drawings an arrow FR indicates a vehicle front-rear direction front side, an arrow OUT indicates a vehicle width direction outside, and an arrow UP indicates a vehicle top-bottom direction top side. Unless specifically indicated, in the following explanation “front-rear” and “top-bottom” directions indicate front-rear in the vehicle front-rear direction and top-bottom in the vehicle top-bottom direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , a child seat attachment structure  10  of the present exemplary embodiment is applied to a rear seat  12  of a vehicle. The rear seat  12  is capable of sliding in the vehicle front-rear direction with a seat rail, not shown in the drawings, and a seatback  14  is configured so as to be capable of reclining with respect to a seat cushion  16 . Explanation is first given regarding the rear seat  12  to which the child seat attachment structure  10  is applied, followed by explanation regarding the child seat attachment structure  10 . 
     Rear Seat  12   
     The rear seat  12  is configured with principle elements including the seat cushion  16  on which an occupant sits, the seatback  14  that supports a back of the occupant seated on the seat cushion  16 , and a headrest  18  that is attached above the seatback  14  and supports a head of the occupant. 
     The seat cushion  16  is provided with a seat cushion frame  20  forming a framework of the seat cushion  16 . The seat cushion frame  20  is formed in a rectangular frame shape as viewed from above the vehicle, and is provided with a rear side frame  20 A disposed at the vehicle rear side of the seat cushion  16  and extending in the vehicle width direction. A pair of lateral frames  20 B extends towards the vehicle front side from both vehicle width direction outside end portions of the rear side frame  20 A. A front side frame  20 C connects together front end portions of the pair of lateral frames  20 B in the vehicle width direction. Plural reinforcement members and seat cushion springs, not shown in the drawings, are also attached to the seat cushion frame  20 . A seat cushion pad  16 A formed for example from urethane foam is also attached to the seat cushion frame  20 . The seat cushion pad  16 A, together with the seat cushion springs, secures cushioning properties of the seat cushion  16 , and forms the external shape of the seat cushion  16  itself. A covering material formed from for example fabric or leather is also attached to the seat cushion pad  16 A. 
     The seatback  14  is provided with a seatback frame  22  forming a framework of the seatback  14 . The seatback frame  22  is formed in an inverted substantially U-shape that is open towards the vehicle bottom side, and includes a top side frame  22 A disposed at an upper portion of the seatback  14  and extending in the vehicle width direction, and a pair of lateral frames  22 B extending from both vehicle width direction outside end portions of the top side frame  22 A towards the vehicle bottom side. Lower end portions of the lateral frames  22 B are formed with attachment portions  22 C that are attached to side hinge brackets  24 , described later. Plural reinforcement members and seatback springs, not shown in the drawings, are attached to the seatback frame  22 , similarly to the seat cushion frame  20  above. A seatback pad  14 A formed from for example urethane foam is also attached to the seatback frame  22 , and a covering material is attached so as to cover the seatback pad  14 A. 
     The side hinge brackets  24  are fixed to vehicle width direction outside end portions of the rear side frame  20 A of the seat cushion frame  20 . Each of the side hinge brackets  24  is provided with a base portion  24 A that extends in the vehicle width direction and is fixed to the rear side frame  20 A. A vehicle width direction outside end portion of the base portion  24 A is provided with a side wall portion  24 B that is bent around and extends towards the vehicle top side. An upper end portion of the side wall portion  24 B is formed with an attached-to portion  24 C, to which the attachment portion  22 C of the seatback frame  22  is attached. Namely, the rear seat  12  is configured with the seatback  14  attached to a rear edge portion of the seat cushion  16  through the side hinge brackets  24 . 
     Child Seat Attachment Structure  10   
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the child seat attachment structure  10  is configured with principle elements including a lower anchor  26  that is attached to the side hinge bracket  24  and a flange  28  formed to the side hinge bracket  24 . 
     The lower anchor  26  is formed by bending circular cross-section steel wire into a substantially inverted U-shape, opens towards the vehicle bottom side as viewed from the front of the vehicle. More specifically, the lower anchor  26  is provided with a first extension portion  26 A extending in the vehicle width direction. The first extension portion  26 A configures a coupling portion  32  to which a connector  30  (see  FIG. 3B ) of a child seat is coupled. The lower anchor  26  is further provided with a second extension portion  26 B and a third extension portion  26 C, serving as a pair of leg portions, that extend from both vehicle width direction end portions of the first extension portion  26 A towards the vehicle bottom side and towards the vehicle rear side. Moreover, the second extension portion  26 B and the third extension portion  26 C of the lower anchor  26  are fixed to a lower anchor bracket  34 . The lower anchor bracket  34  is formed in a substantially L-shape as viewed from the vehicle side, and is provided with a vertical wall portion  34 A that connects the second extension portion  26 B and the third extension portion  26 C of the lower anchor  26  together in the vehicle width direction. The lower anchor bracket  34  is further provided with a fixing wall portion  34 B, serving as a fixing portion, that extends from a lower end portion of the vertical wall portion  34 A towards the vehicle rear side and is fixed to the base portion  24 A of the side hinge bracket  24 . Namely, the lower anchor  26  is fixed to the base portion  24 A of the side hinge bracket  24  through the lower anchor bracket  34 . 
     The flange  28 , serving as a contacted portion, is integrally formed to the side hinge bracket  24 . More specifically, the flange  28  is bent around to extend towards the vehicle width direction inside from a front end portion of the side wall portion  24 B of the side hinge bracket  24 . A projection portion  28 A is further formed at a lower end portion of the flange  28  so as to extend projecting further towards the vehicle width direction inside. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3A , in a state in which the lower anchor  26  is fixed to the base portion  24 A of the side hinge bracket  24  through the lower anchor bracket  34 , the projection portion  28 A of the flange  28  is disposed so as to overlap along the vehicle front-rear direction with the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  and with a vehicle width direction outside end portion of the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34 . Moreover, as shown in  FIG. 3B , the projection portion  28 A of the flange  28  extends to incline such that an upper end portion of the projection portion  28 A approaches the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  and the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34 . 
     Operation and Advantageous Effects of the Present Exemplary Embodiment Explanation is given next regarding operation and advantageous effects of the present exemplary embodiment. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3B , in the child seat attachment structure  10  of the present exemplary embodiment, when a child seat, not shown in the drawings, that is fixed to the rear seat  12  moves towards the vehicle front side, a tension load towards the vehicle front side acts on the coupling portion  32  (the first extension portion  26 A) of lower anchor  26 . Namely, the coupling portion  32  of the lower anchor  26  is pulled by the connector  30  of the child seat. As a result, the lower anchor  26  deforms such that the coupling portion  32  (the first extension portion  26 A) of the lower anchor  26  moves towards the vehicle front side with respect to the fixing wall portion  34 B of the lower anchor bracket  34 . When this occurs, the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  contacts the projection portion  28 A of the flange  28  through a vehicle width direction outside end portion of the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34 . Namely, in the child seat attachment structure  10 , deformation of the lower anchor  26  due to load input to the coupling portion  32  from the child seat can be suppressed. 
     Further, in the child seat attachment structure  10 , the contacted portion which is contacted by the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  through the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34  is formed by the flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A that extend from the side wall portion  24 B of the side hinge bracket  24  configuring the rear seat  12 . Accordingly, in the present exemplary embodiment, there is no need to include a dedicated member in order to provide the contacted portion. Namely in the present exemplary embodiment, a saving can be made in the cost involved in providing the contacted portion. 
     In the child seat attachment structure  10 , the flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A extend to be inclined such that the upper end portion of the projection portion  28 A approaches the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  and the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34 . When the child seat moves towards the vehicle front side, the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  accordingly contacts the projection portion  28 A from a direction that is a different direction to the plate thickness direction (the arrow T direction in  FIG. 3 ) of the flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A. The flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A formed thereto are accordingly able to bear load input from the second extension portion  26 B of the lower anchor  26  such that the load is distributed in the plate thickness direction and in a direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction of the flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A formed thereto. In the present exemplary embodiment the plate thickness of the flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A can be reduced as a result. Namely, in the present exemplary embodiment a reduction in weight can be achieved for the flange  28  and the projection portion  28 A forming the contacted portion. 
     In the child seat attachment structure  10 , the second extension portion  26 B and the third extension portion  26 C of the lower anchor  26  are connected in the vehicle width direction by the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34 . Accordingly, load input to the coupling portion  32  (the first extension portion  26 A) of the lower anchor  26  can be borne distributed between the second extension portion  26 B and the third extension portion  26 C. 
     Note that whereas in the present exemplary embodiment explanation has been given of an example wherein the lower anchor  26  is fixed to the side hinge bracket  24  configuring the rear seat  12 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, configuration may be made wherein the side hinge bracket  24  is fixed to a floor panel configuring a vehicle body. The fixing location of the lower anchor  26  may accordingly be appropriately set in consideration of such factors as the attachment structure of the vehicle seat to the vehicle body. 
     Whereas in the present exemplary embodiment explanation has been given of an example wherein the flange  28  serving as the contacted portion is integrally formed to the side hinge bracket  24 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, configuration may be made wherein a dedicated member serving as the contacted portion is separately provided to a member configuring the vehicle body or the vehicle seat. 
     Moreover, whereas in the present exemplary embodiment explanation has been given of an example wherein the second extension portion  26 B and the third extension portion  26 C of the lower anchor  26  are coupled together in the vehicle width direction by the vertical wall portion  34 A of the lower anchor bracket  34 , and the lower anchor  26  is fixed to the side hinge bracket  24  through the lower anchor bracket  34 , the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, configuration may be made wherein a lower end portion of the lower anchor  26  is directly fixed to the side hinge bracket  24  and the lower anchor bracket  34  is not provided. The provision or otherwise of the lower anchor bracket  34  may be appropriately set in consideration of such factors as the rigidity of the lower anchor  26 . 
     Explanation has been given above regarding an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, however the present invention is not limited by the above and obviously various modifications other than those mentioned above may be implemented within a range not departing from the spirit of the present invention.