Abstract:
A head restraint assembly for a vehicle seat has a head restraint post adapted to be mounted to the vehicle seat. A support member is coupled to the head restraint post. The support member having a plurality of attachment receptacles to mount the head restraint post to one of the plurality of attachment receptacles. A compressible pad member is mounted to the support member. A convex outer surface provides support for a head of an occupant. The support member is mounted to head restraint post at one of the plurality of attachment receptacles positions the compressible pad at a distance from the convex outer surface.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    1. Technical Field 
         [0002]    Multiple embodiments relate to inserts for vehicle seat head restraints. 
         [0003]    2. Background Art 
         [0004]    Occupants of motor vehicles have long suffered head, neck and spinal injuries during events such as rear vehicle impact or sudden deceleration. Typically, a vehicle head restraint is constructed with compressible foam surrounding a head restraint post. In a rear impact event, the occupant&#39;s head contacts the top of the vehicle head restraint with sufficient force to result in a significant deflection of the foam. The magnitude of neck deflection increases as the head further compresses the foam. Furthermore, because the foam is sufficiently resilient, the energy imparted to the foam by the occupant&#39;s head is mostly stored and not dissipated. As such, when the rear collision event has ended, the energy stored within the foam is released into the occupant&#39;s head, which causes the occupant&#39;s head to move rapidly forward possibly causing further injury to the vehicle occupant. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a vehicle seat assembly having a head restraint assembly; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the vehicle seat assembly of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of another embodiment of a vehicle seat assembly having a head restraint assembly; 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the vehicle seat assembly of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of an embodiment of a vehicle head restraint assembly; 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a side elevation view of another embodiment of the vehicle head restraint assembly of  FIG. 5 ; 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is a side elevation view of the vehicle head restraint assembly of  FIG. 6  in an alternate configuration; 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a front perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of a vehicle head restraint assembly; 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  is a rear perspective view of the vehicle head restraint assembly of  FIG. 8 ; 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  is a front perspective view of another embodiment of a vehicle head restraint assembly; 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  is a rear perspective view of the vehicle head restraint assembly of  FIG. 10 ; 
           [0016]      FIG. 12  is a front perspective view of a portion of an embodiment of a vehicle head restraint assembly; and 
           [0017]      FIG. 13  is another perspective view of the portion of the vehicle head restraint assembly of  FIG. 12 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0018]    As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for the claims and/or as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. 
         [0019]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , a vehicle seat is illustrated and referenced generally by numeral  20 . The vehicle seat may include a seat bottom secured to a floor of an associated vehicle for seating an occupant upon the seat bottom. A seat back  22  extends from the seat bottom and is secured relative to the seat bottom for supporting a back of the occupant against the seat back  22 . The seat back  22  may pivot relative to the seat bottom to permit ingress and egress to and from a rear seating row and/or to permit an occupant to select a comfortable riding position while sitting in the vehicle seat  20 . 
         [0020]    In the depicted embodiments, a head restraint assembly  24  is mounted to the seat back  22  of the vehicle seat  20 . The head restraint assembly  24  has a head restraint  26  supported by head restraint posts  28 . The head restraint assembly  24  need not be directly mounted to the seat back  22  and may be mounted indirectly to the seat back  22  in any suitable manner, such as via a secondary frame or support. Alternatively, the head restraint assembly  24  can be mounted directly to the vehicle body. The head restraint post  28  may be constructed from a metal tube or rod bent to resemble the shape shown in  FIGS. 1-4 . Head restraint post  28  includes a pair of substantially parallel, upright portions  30  interconnected by a substantially horizontally oriented crossbar portion  32 . 
         [0021]    As illustrated, the head restraint  26  may have a support member  34  mounted to a base member  36 . The head restraint posts  28  can be mounted to the support member  34 . The support member  34  can be employed in various head restraints  26  having various thicknesses. The support member  34  may be an injection molded plastic component. However, support member  34  may be constructed from sheet steel, aluminum or any other suitable structural material such as expanded polypropylene (EPP) or expanded polyethylene (EPE). In at least one embodiment, the support member  34  is mounted to a base member  36 . 
         [0022]    As illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the support member  34  has attachment receptacles  40  provided therein, which are sized to receive a portion of the head restraint post  28  to mounts the head restraint  26  to the seat back  22 , as discussed in detail below. In at least one embodiment, the attachment receptacles  40  are sized to receive the crossbar portion  32  of the head restraint post  28 . The attachment receptacles  40  are provided at various locations within the support member  34  so that one support member  34  can be employed in various head restraints  26  having various thicknesses T. In  FIG. 2 , the thickness T of the head restraint  26  is relatively small compared to the thickness T of the head restraint  26  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0023]    As depicted in  FIGS. 1-7 , a compressible pad member  38  may surround the support member  34 . Compressible pad member  38  may encompass support member  34  to provide an aesthetically pleasing and comfortable surface for supporting the vehicle occupant&#39;s head. Compressible pad member  38  may be separately molded and slit to accept support member  34  or may be directly injection molded over support member  34  and the uppermost section of head restraint post  28 . Compressible pad member  38  may be constructed from urethane foam of a type typically used to make head restraint pads. Compressible pad member  38  is sized and shaped to minimize the deflection of the vehicle occupant&#39;s neck during a rear end collision. A trim cover  42  may enclose the compressible pad member  38 . The compressible pad member  38  may include an outer convex surface  44  to support a posterior side of an occupant&#39;s head and neck, as illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 . 
         [0024]    In at least one embodiment, the trim cover  42  is mounted directly to the support member  34  so that the compressible pad member  38  is eliminated and a distance D is measured between an inner surface  52 , illustrated in  FIGS. 5-7 , and the trim cover  42 . The support member  34  may be made out of a compressible foam material such as EPP or EPE to support the posterior side of an occupant&#39;s head and neck. 
         [0025]    Referring now to  FIGS. 2 ,  4 , and  5 - 7 , the support member  34  includes a front wall  46  bounded by side walls  48 . Front wall  46  and side walls  48  define a generally hollow shell  50 . The support member  34  may have a longitudinal portion  47  extending from the front wall  46  and includes a lower portion  49  and an upper portion  51 . As illustrated, the longitudinal portion  47  is formed in the upper portion  51 . Of course, the longitudinal portion  47  may extend from the front wall  46  at any location of the support member  34  as desired. 
         [0026]    Attachment receptacles  40  may be integrally formed within an inner surface  52  of the front wall  46 . Each attachment receptacle  40  may include an inner arcuate surface  54  that can engage the crossbar portion  32  of head restraint post  28 . The inner arcuate surface  54  may define an arc length of at least 180 degrees so that the attachment receptacles  40  can be snap-fit to crossbar portion  32  to connect the support member  34  and the head restraint post  28 . 
         [0027]    As illustrated, the attachment receptacles  40  may be formed in the longitudinal portion  47  of the support member  34 . In at least one embodiment, illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 5 , an attachment receptacle  40  can be formed in the lower portion  49  of the support member  34 . Of course, any suitable location within the support member  34  is contemplated within the scope of the disclosed embodiments. Providing multiple locations of the attachment receptacles  40  allows for one support member  34  to be employed in head restraints  26  having various thicknesses T while allowing the support member  34  to be mounted a desired distance D from an outer surface  44  of the compressible pad member  38 . 
         [0028]    The compressible pad member  38  may include the outer convex surface  44 , which is spaced apart from the front wall  46  of support member  34 . The outer convex surface  44  defines a radius sized to conform to the geometry of the posterior side of the occupant&#39;s head and neck. The outer convex surface  44  of the compressible pad member  38  is provided a distance D from the front wall  36  of the support member  34 . The distance D can be at large as approximately 60 millimeters. This range of distance assures that a vehicle occupant&#39;s head is sufficiently cushioned during the collision while at the same time assuring that load is transferred to support member  34  to resist further neck deflection of the vehicle occupant. In at least one embodiment, the distance D is approximately equal to 20 millimeters to comfortably support the posterior side of the occupant&#39;s head and neck. In another embodiment, the distance D is occupant&#39;s head and neck is approximately 10 millimeters. 
         [0029]    The support member  34  effectively reduces the distance D so that maximum neck-deflection of the occupant is reduced. Furthermore, because the support member  34  includes the front wall  46 , the magnitude of load imparted to the posterior side of the vehicle occupant&#39;s head is maintained within reasonable limits. Additionally, the amount of foam between the vehicle occupant&#39;s head and the support member  34  has been reduced by the disclosed embodiments to store less energy within the foam during a rear impact event. As such, tendency of the compressed foam  38  to fling the vehicle occupant&#39;s head forward after the rear impact event is reduced. 
         [0030]    With reference now to  FIGS. 8-9 , a portion of an embodiment of the head restraint assembly  24  is illustrated. The head restraint assembly  24  includes a head restraint post  28  including a pair of substantially parallel upright portions  30  interconnected by a crossbar portion  32 . The crossbar portion  32  has a serpentine shape having two peaks  56  interconnected by a trough  58 . 
         [0031]    The attachment receptacles  40  of support member  34  may be provided between the opposing side walls  48  to engage the peaks  56  of head restraint post  28  and/or portions of the crossbar portion  32  of head restraint post  28 . 
         [0032]    Referring to  FIGS. 10-11 , another embodiment of a portion of the head restraint assembly  24  is illustrated. As illustrated, the support member  34  includes a living hinge  60  mounted between a moveable portion  62  of the support member  34  and a fixed portion  64  of the support member  34 . The living hinge  60  within the support member  34  is a joint that allows for adjustment of the front wall  46  so that the front wall  46  can be provided a distance from the outer convex surface of the compressible pad member, as described above. 
         [0033]    In at least one embodiment, the fixed portion  64  has receptacles  66  provided therein to receive the moveable portion  62 . The receptacles  66  can retain the moveable portion  62  therein to retain the moveable portion  62  in a fixed orientation, which allows for the front wall  46  of the support member  34  to be provided at a distance from the outer convex surface of the compressible pad member, as described above. 
         [0034]    In  FIGS. 12-13 , another embodiment of the support member  34  is illustrated. The support member  34  has side walls  48  that are upright portions and define an aperture  68  therebetween. As illustrated, a support wire  70  is mounted to the side walls  48  across the aperture to support the compressible pad member  38  and allow movement thereof. As illustrated, the support wire  70  may be mounted directly to the front wall  46  of the support member  34 . The support wire  70  can extend beyond the surface of the front wall  46  of the support member  34 . Of course, any suitable support wire  70  may be employed within the scope of the embodiments disclosed. 
         [0035]    While embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described, it is not intended that these embodiments illustrate and describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.