Abstract:
A lumbar support operation member comprising a shaft attachment portion that is configured so as to be fixed to a rotation shaft that transmits rotation force to a moving mechanism of a lumbar support provided to a seatback and that is positioned at a side portion of the seatback; and operation portions that are provided at an radial direction outside of the shaft attachment portion, that are separated from each other in a circumferential direction of the shaft attachment portion, and that make the shaft attachment portion rotate.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application, No. 2012-142075 filed Jun. 25, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to an operation member employed in moving a lumbar support provided to a seatback of a vehicle seat in directions towards and away from a seated occupant, and also relates to a vehicle seat. 
         [0004]    2. Related Art 
         [0005]    Technology exists, for example as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2006-168658 and in JP-A No. 2010-111244, in which a lumbar support is provided to a seatback of a vehicle seat of an automobile. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Conventional lumbar supports are configured such that a single lever provided to a side portion of the seatback is rotated to move the lumbar support. 
         [0007]    There is a need to increase an angle of operation of the lever in order to increase the movement amount of the lumbar support. However when a console box is disposed at the side of the vehicle seat where the lever is provided, the lever enters a narrow gap between the console box and the seatback, such that a large angle of operation of the lever is not possible. 
         [0008]    In consideration of the above circumstances, a subject of the present invention is to provide a lumbar support operation member that enables a large angle of operation, and a vehicle seat. 
         [0009]    A lumbar support operation member of a first aspect of the present invention includes: a shaft attachment portion that is configured so as to be fixed to a rotation shaft that transmits rotation force to a moving mechanism of a lumbar support provided to a seatback and that is positioned at a side portion of the seatback; and operation portions that are provided at a radial direction outside of the shaft attachment portion and that are separated from each other in a circumferential direction of the shaft attachment portion, and that make the shaft attachment portion rotate. 
         [0010]    The lumbar support operation member of the first aspect is configured such that the shaft attachment portion is fixed to the rotation shaft that transmits rotation force to the moving mechanism of the lumbar support provided to the seatback. The operation portions provided at the radial direction outside of the shaft attachment portion are separated from each other in the circumferential direction of the shaft attachment portion. The rotation shaft can accordingly be rotated using any of the operation portions. 
         [0011]    When it becomes difficult to operate one particular operation portion, the rotation shaft can be rotated using another of the operation portions, thereby enabling a large angle of operation for the rotation shaft with respect to the lumbar support moving mechanism. 
         [0012]    A second aspect of the present invention is the lumbar support operation member of the first aspect, wherein the operation portions are configured by two levers that extend from the shaft attachment portion towards the radial direction outside of the shaft attachment portion. 
         [0013]    In the lumbar support operation member of the second aspect, due to providing the two levers, either of the levers can be used to rotate the rotation shaft. When it becomes difficult to operate one lever, the other lever can be used to rotate the rotation shaft, thereby enabling the rotation shaft to be moved in a large angle of operation with respect to the lumbar support moving mechanism. 
         [0014]    A third aspect of the present invention is the lumbar support operation member of the first aspect, wherein the operation portion is configured by two protrusions provided at an outer peripheral portion of an operation plate that extends from the shaft attachment portion towards the radial direction outside of the haft attachment portion. 
         [0015]    In the lumbar support operation member of the third aspect, due to providing the two protrusions at the outer peripheral portion of the operation plate, either of the protrusions can be used to rotate the rotation shaft. When it becomes difficult to operate one protrusion, the other protrusion can be used to rotate the rotation shaft, thereby enabling the rotation shaft to be moved in a large angle of operation with respect to the lumbar support moving mechanism. 
         [0016]    A vehicle seat of a fourth aspect of the present invention includes: a moving mechanism that moves a lumbar support provided to a seatback; a rotation shaft that is positioned at a side portion of the seatback, and that operates the moving mechanism; and the lumbar support operation member of any one of the first aspect to the third aspect, which is attached to the rotation shaft. 
         [0017]    The vehicle seat of the fourth aspect is provided with the moving mechanism that moves the lumbar support at the seatback. The moving mechanism is provided with the rotation shaft at the side portion of the seatback and the rotation shaft operates the moving mechanism. Movement of the lumbar support can accordingly be performed by rotation operation of the rotation shaft. The lumbar support operation member of any one of the first aspect to the third aspect is attached to the rotation shaft, thereby enabling the rotation shaft to be moved in large angle of operation as explained above. 
         [0018]    According to the lumbar support operation member of the first aspect, a larger angle of operation for the rotation shaft is enabled than when a single operation portion is provided. The movement amount of the lumbar support can accordingly be increased. 
         [0019]    According to the lumbar support operation member of the second aspect, due to providing the two levers, either one of the levers can be operated to rotate the rotation shaft. When operation becomes difficult, the other lever can be used to rotate the rotation shaft, thereby enabling a larger angle of operation for the rotation shaft than in cases in which a single lever is provided. 
         [0020]    According to the lumbar support operation member of the third aspect, due to providing the two protrusions, either of the protrusions can be operated to rotate the rotation shaft. When operation becomes difficult, the other protrusion can be used to rotate the rotation shaft, thereby enabling a larger angle of operation for the rotation shaft than in cases in which a single protrusion is provided. 
         [0021]    According to the vehicle seat of the fourth aspect, the lumbar support operation member of any one of the first aspect to the third aspect is attached to the rotation shaft, thereby enabling a large angle of operation for the rotation shaft, and also enabling the movement amount of the lumbar support to be increased. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]    Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating a vehicle seat according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention and a console box; 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating a frame at an inside of a seat; 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is a front view of a seatback, illustrating a lumbar support mechanism; 
           [0026]      FIG. 4A  is a side view of a seatback, illustrating a lumbar support mechanism with an operation member at an initial position; 
           [0027]      FIG. 4B  is a side view of an operation member; 
           [0028]      FIG. 5  is a side view of a seatback, illustrating a lumbar support mechanism with an operation member in a state rotated further than the position illustrated in  FIG. 4A ; 
           [0029]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a seatback, illustrating a lumbar support mechanism with an operation member in a state rotated further than the state illustrated in  FIG. 5 ; and 
           [0030]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a seatback, illustrating an operation member according to another exemplary embodiment. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0031]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a vehicle seat  10  of the present exemplary embodiment is a vehicle seat of, for example, an automobile, and is configured including a seat cushion  12  on which an occupant H sits, a seatback  14  employed as a back support for the occupant H, that is provided at a rear end portion of the seat cushion  12  so as to be capable of reclining, and a headrest  16  that is disposed at an upper end portion of the seatback  14  so as to be height-adjustable. 
         [0032]    In the present exemplary embodiment, a console box  18  is disposed further to a vehicle central side (the arrow IN direction side) than the vehicle seat  10 . 
         [0033]    A seat cushion frame  20  such as that illustrated in  FIG. 2  is disposed inside the seat cushion  12 , and a seatback frame  22  such as that illustrated in  FIG. 2  is disposed inside the seatback  14 . The seatback frame  22  is equipped with an inside member  24  configuring a vehicle inside side portion, an outside member  26  configuring a vehicle outside (arrow OUT direction side) side portion, and a coupling member  28  that couples together an upper end of the inside member  24  and an upper end of the outside member  26 . 
         [0034]    A crank shaped rod  30  configuring a portion of a lumbar support mechanism  29  is disposed between the inside member  24  and the outside member  26 . As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the crank shaped rod  30  is configured including: a first horizontal portion  30 A formed towards the vehicle width direction inside; a vertical portion  30 B that extends from a vehicle width direction outside end portion of the first horizontal portion  30 A in a direction perpendicular to the first horizontal portion  30 A; a lumbar support portion  30 C that extends horizontally from a lower end portion of the vertical portion  30 B towards the vehicle width direction outside; an inclined portion  30 D that extends to be inclined from a vehicle width direction outside end portion of the lumbar support portion  30 C; and a second horizontal portion  30 E that extends horizontally from an upper end portion of the inclined portion  30 D towards the outside member  26 . The lumbar support portion  30 C is disposed at a position so as to support the lumbar region (not illustrated in the drawings) of the occupant H that is resting against the seatback  14 . The first horizontal portion  30 A of the crank shaped rod  30  is supported by a lumbar support drive portion  32 , described later, and the second horizontal portion  30 E is rotatably supported by a shaft bearing  34  provided to the outside member  26 . 
         [0035]    As illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , the lumbar support drive portion  32  that configures a portion of the lumbar support mechanism  29  is provided at the seat inside of the inside member  24 . One end side of the lumbar support drive portion  32  is provided with a shaft bearing  33  that rotatably supports a rotation shaft  38  to which is fixed a pinion gear  36 . The shaft bearing  33  is fixed to the inside member  24  by for example a bolt, not illustrated in the drawings. The rotation shaft  38  is horizontally supported by the shaft bearing  33 . A link support shaft  42  is attached to the inside member  24  parallel to the rotation shaft  38  and below the shaft bearing  33 . A flat plate shaped link  44  is supported by the link support shaft  42  so as to capable of swinging. 
         [0036]    A sector gear  46  that meshes with the pinion gear  36  is formed at an upper portion of the link  44 . An end portion of the crank shaped rod  30  (first horizontal portion  30 A end portion) is fixed to a side face of a lower portion of the link  44 . The axial center of the second horizontal portion  30 E of the crank shaped rod  30  and the link support shaft  42  are disposed coaxially to each other. Namely, the axial center of the second horizontal portion  30 E and the link support shaft  42  are disposed along the rotation center axis RL indicated by the single dashed line in  FIG. 3 . The crank shaped rod  30  accordingly swings about the rotation center axis RL. 
         [0037]    The end portion of the rotation shaft  38  fixed with the pinion gear  36  projects from an outside face of the inside member  24  towards the vehicle width direction inside. As illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4B , a lumbar support operation member  40  is attached to the projecting portion of the rotation shaft  38 . The lumbar support operation member  40  is provided with a shaft attachment portion  43 . A hole  45  into which the rotation shaft  38  is inserted is formed at the center of the shaft attachment portion  43 . The rotation shaft  38  is inserted into the hole  45 , and the rotation shaft  38  is fixed to the shaft attachment portion  43  by for example a screw  47 . 
         [0038]    The shaft attachment portion  43  is integrally provided with a first lever  48  and a second lever  50 , that each extends in a straight line shape from an outer peripheral portion of the shaft attachment portion  43  towards outside in a radial direction of the rotation shaft  38 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4B , the first lever  48  and the second lever  50  are provided so as to form an angle θ as viewed in the axial direction of the rotation shaft  38 . Moreover, as illustrated in  FIG. 4A , the rotation shaft  38  that is attached to the lumbar support operation member  40  is provided in the vicinity of the rear end of an upper face of the console box  18 . 
         [0039]    Note that the rotation shaft  38  is provided with a brake, not illustrated in the drawings, with configuration made such that the rotation shaft  38  rotates when the lumbar support operation member  40  is rotated. An example of such a brake mechanism is for example a mechanism wherein a coil spring is disposed inside a hollow formed in the rotation shaft  38 , wherein the coil spring is normally disposed in a spring diameter expanded direction, and the rotation shaft  38  is prevented from rotating due to friction between the spring and an inside of the rotation shaft  38  (namely, the brake of the rotation shaft  38  is on). On rotation operation of the lumbar support operation member  40 , a diameter of the spring is reduced such that the rotation shaft  38  becomes capable of rotation. 
         [0040]    Operation 
         [0041]    Explanation follows regarding operation of the present exemplary embodiment.  FIG. 4A  illustrates an initial position of the lumbar support operation member  40  and the crank shaped rod  30 . In the initial position, the lumbar support portion  30 C of the crank shaped rod  30  is positioned at the vehicle rearmost side (the arrow B direction, this being a direction away from the lumbar region of the occupant H (not illustrated in  FIG. 4 ; see  FIG. 1 ) seated in the vehicle seat  10 ). The first lever  48  of the lumbar support operation member  40  is substantially vertical, and the second lever  50  is inclined towards the vehicle rear side of the first lever  48 . Note that in the following description, a region A indicated by double dashed lines in  FIG. 4A  to  FIG. 7  indicates a region where the hand of the occupant H seated in the vehicle seat  10  easily reaches, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . In other word, the region A is an area in which the lumbar support operation member  40  is easily operated by the occupant H. 
         [0042]    From the initial position, when the occupant H manually rotates the first lever  48  in a counter clockwise direction CCW (namely, pushes it down towards the vehicle front side), the sector gear  46  that is enmeshed with the pinion gear  36  rotates in a clockwise direction CW, and as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the lumbar support portion  30 C of the crank shaped rod  30  moves towards the vehicle front side from the position illustrated in  FIG. 4A , namely towards the lumbar region of the occupant H. As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a separation between the seatback  14  and the console box  18  is narrow. Accordingly, depending on the position of the seatback  14 , when the occupant H attempts to rotate the first lever  48  further in the counter clockwise direction CCW than the state illustrated in  FIG. 5 , it may become difficult to rotate the first lever  48  since the fingers of the occupant H are unable to enter the gap between the seatback  14  and the console box  18 , restricting movement of the lumbar support portion  30 C towards the lumbar region. 
         [0043]    However, in the lumbar support operation member  40  of the present exemplary embodiment, the second lever  50  is provided on other direction side to the counter clockwise direction CCW of the first lever  48  (namely in the clockwise direction). Accordingly, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the second lever  50  is present in the region A in which the lumbar support operation member  40  is easily operated, and is moreover at a position apart further from the console box  18  than the first lever  48 . As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the occupant H is accordingly able to operate the second lever  50  to rotate in the counter clockwise direction CCW than the position illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The lumbar support portion  30 C can accordingly be moved further towards the lumbar region of the occupant H. 
         [0044]    Due to providing the lumbar support operation member  40  of the vehicle seat  10  with the two levers in the present exemplary embodiment, namely the first lever  48  and the second lever  50 , at different positions in the rotation direction, an increased angle of operation of the lumbar support operation member  40  can be achieved than operation by a single lever. As a result, the movement amount of the lumbar support portion  30 C can be increased. Note that the angle θ formed between the first lever  48  and the second lever  50  is optimally determined by such factors as a relationship between a rotation angle of the rotation shaft  38  and movement amount of the lumbar support portion  30 C, the initial position of the lumbar support operation member  40 , and a positional relationship between the lumbar support operation member  40  and the console box  18 . 
       OTHER EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
       [0045]    Note that the vehicle seat  10  and the lumbar support operation member  40  of the exemplary embodiment described above are examples of the present invention, and various modifications are possible within a range not departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the lumbar support operation member  40  is not limited to the shape illustrated in  FIG. 4 , and may be configured with a shape illustrated in  FIG. 7 . A lumbar support operation member  52  illustrated in  FIG. 7  includes a fan shaped member  54  that has a plate profile and extends from the shaft attachment portion  43  (omitted from illustration in  FIG. 7 ) towards the radial direction outside of the shaft attachment portion  43 . One end side of a circular arc portion at an outer peripheral side of the fan shaped member  54  is formed with a protrusion  56 , and the other end side is formed with a protrusion  58 . 
         [0046]    The protrusion  56  is formed at a position corresponding to a leading end portion of the first lever  48  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The protrusion  58  is formed at a position corresponding to a leading end portion of the second lever  50  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0047]    The lumbar support operation member  52  illustrated in  FIG. 7  can be operated similarly to the lumbar support operation member  40  illustrated in  FIG. 4 . For example, the protrusion  56  can be used to rotate the lumbar support operation member  52  from an initial position, after which the protrusion  58  can be used to rotate the lumbar support operation member  52  when operation of the protrusion  56  has become difficult. A greater angle of operation can be achieved similarly to with the lumbar support operation member  40 , as a result of which the movement amount of the lumbar support portion  30 C can be increased. 
         [0048]    In the lumbar support mechanism of the vehicle seat  10  of the above exemplary embodiments, configuration is made employing the pinion gear  36 , the sector gear  46  and the crank shaped rod  30 . However, the lumber support may be moved employing another known configuration, for example another mechanism involving links and cams. 
         [0049]    Note that the region of easy operation A of the lumbar support operation member  40  illustrated in  FIG. 4A  to  FIG. 7  is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited thereto. The range of the region A may be varied as appropriate.