Patent Description:
More particularly, the present invention relates to an armrest assembly suitable for being used as central armrest for front seats in vehicles.

In vehicle manufacturing, it is known to provide the rear seat bench and/or to the front seats with armrests, in order to allow the driver and the passengers to travel more comfortably.

In general, armrests are not fixedly mounted to the respective vehicles seats. Instead, they can pivot between an operative position, in which they extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the seat backrest and they can offer support to the user's forearm, and a resting position, in which they extend in a direction substantially parallel to the seat backrest.

In case of application to the rear set bench, a recess can be provided in the bench backrest for receiving the armrest in its resting position. In case of application to the front seats, the armrest usually runs adjacent to the seat backrest when it is in such resting position.

In order to provide a customizable support to users having different morphologies, it is possible to envisage that the armrest can also stably assume one or more intermediate positions between the operative position and the rest position.

For instance, assuming that in the operative position the armrest is at <NUM>° relative to the seat backrest, it is possible to envisage a plurality of intermediate positions in which the armrest is at an angle increasingly lower than <NUM>° relative to the seat backrest.

To this purpose, the armrest carries first engaging means and a support mounted to the seat carries second engaging means, designed for cooperating with these first engaging means, so that the armrest can be locked in a plurality of different positions thanks to the engagement of these first and second engaging means.

For instance, the first engaging means can be implemented as a toothed portion on the armrest surface and the second engaging means can be made as a toothed rack arranged on the surface of the support, the teeth of said toothed portion meshing with the toothed rack on the support.

Preferably, the first and second engaging means are designed so as to allow an upwards rotation of the armrest relative to the support, while preventing a rotation of the armrest in the opposite, downwards direction.

In this way, starting from the operative position (which can also be seen as the lowermost position of the armrest), in which the armrest is substantially perpendicular to the seat backrest, the user can rotate the armrest upwards.

During upwards rotation, the armrest reaches one or more intermediate positions and at each of said intermediate positions engagement between the first and second engaging means locks the armrest against downwards rotation back towards the operative position, while leaving the armrest free to be further rotated upwards.

As a result, at each intermediate position the armrest is able to stably and comfortably bear the load of the user's forearm without rotating downwards.

In general, such intermediate positions are not uniformly distributed along the whole arc from the operative position to the resting position, since it is evident that having the armrest locked in an intermediate position close to the resting position (i.e. with the armrest slightly inclined with respect to the seat backrest) is not useful. Instead, a plurality of intermediate positions is usually provided close to the operative position, i.e. with the armrest inclined with respect to the seat backrest at angles slightly lower than <NUM>°.

Since during use the user may wish to bring back the armrest to the operative position (lowermost position), it shall be possible to disengage the first and second engaging means from each other, so as to allow the user to rotate the armrest downwards when desired.

In general, a separate, manually operated actuating device is provided to this purpose, which is perceived as a drawback by many users.

In order to avoid this drawback, <CIT> discloses an adjustable armrest including a locking device for locking the armrest in a plurality of supporting positions, in which such locking device can be actuated without the need of a separate, manually operated actuating device. Document <CIT> discloses an adjustable armrest including a locking device.

In detail, <CIT> discloses an armrest assembly including an armrest and a support mounted on the same rotation axis of the armrest. The support is made as a cam disc having a first circumferential section with a first radius and a second circumferential section with a second radius. The locking element for locking the armrest in the plurality of supporting positions is in engagement with the circumference of the cam disc via an actuating member, such as a sliding bolt, and the radii of the sections of the cam disc are selected so that when the actuating member is in contact with the first circumferential section of the cam disc, the locking element can engage a mating locking contour, whereas when the actuating member is in contact with the second circumferential section of the cam disc, the engagement between the locking element and the locking contour is excluded.

In order to allow the locking element to be disengaged when the armrest is pivoted upwards or downwards, the cam disc is pivotably mounted on the armrest rotation axis between two end stops: when the armrest is rotated upwards, the cam disc rests against the first end stop, so that the disengagement point resulting from the transition between the first and second circumferential sections of the cam disc is set at a first pivot angle correlated with the first cam disc end stop; when the armrest is pivoted downwards, the cam disc rests against the second end stop, so that the disengagement point results at a second, different pivot angle. As a result, the locking device is disengaged by pivoting the armrest without the need of a manual intervention by the user on a separate actuating device.

Even if the solution disclosed in <CIT> allows to avoid the provision of a separate, manually operated actuating device, it still involves remarkable drawbacks.

In detail, such solution includes several moving components, which makes the armrest assembly construction complex.

More specifically, in the above solution the correct operation of the locking device is based on the cam disc correctly and precisely swiveling between the end stops.

This requires very precise tolerances during the manufacturing process.

Moreover, loosening or misalignment of the components due to wear can negatively affect the reliability of the locking device.

In addition, jamming of the cam disc, caused for instance by dust and dirt, can lead to a malfunctioning of the locking device.

The main object of the present invention is to overcome the above limitations, by providing an adjustable armrest assembly having a simpler construction and a more reliable operation. This and other objects are achieved by an armrest assembly as claimed in the appended claims.

According to the present invention, the armrest assembly includes an armrest and a support, to which the armrest is pivotably mounted; the armrest is provided with first engaging means and the armrest assembly further includes a counterbody, fitted to the support and carrying second engaging means, designed for cooperating with said first engaging means; said first engaging means are carried by a carrier, which is mounted to the armrest and is provided with a driven member, such as a projecting stud.

As mentioned above, in the solution disclosed in <CIT>a single cam element is provided, which is pivotable between two end stops, so that when the armrest is rotated in a first direction the cam element abuts against a first end stop and when the armrest is rotated in a second, opposite direction the cam element abuts against the second end stop. In order to avoid the need of providing a movable cam element, according to the present invention the armrest assembly includes two different driving elements.

Such driving elements are stationary and have different driving profiles.

Such driving elements are located at different positions with respect to the counterbody carrying the second engaging means and they are arranged in such a way that the path of the driven member mounted to the carrier is controlled by the driving profile of the first driving element when the armrest is rotated in a first direction and the path of said driven member is controlled by the driving profile of the second driving element when the armrest is rotated in a second, opposite direction.

By providing two different driving elements with driving profiles that are differently shaped and differently arranged relative to the counterbody, it is possible to set different disengagement points when the armrest is rotated in different directions.

In detail, the first engaging means and the second engaging means can be designed so as be able to engage each other in one or more of intermediate positions between the lowermost, operative positions of the armrest and the resting position of the armrest.

In case of upwards rotation of the armrest, the driving profile of the first driving element can be shaped and arranged so that contact between the carrier carrying the first engaging means and the counterbody carrying the second engaging means is prevented when the armrest is rotated beyond the uppermost intermediate position.

In case of downwards rotation of the armrest, the driving profile of the second driving element can be shaped and arranged so that contact between the carrier carrying the first engaging means and the counterbody carrying the second engaging means is prevented until the armrest is rotated to the lowermost, operative position.

Thanks to this arrangement, when the user rotates the armrest upwards starting from the lowermost, operative position, the armrest can be locked in each intermediate position and the user can advantageously select the most comfortable one.

On the other hand, when the user rotates the armrest downwards starting from the resting position the armrest smoothly rotates to the lowermost, operative position, without locking in any intermediate position.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the counterbody has a substantially circular outer surface and a first limit point, corresponding to the operative position of the armrest, and a second limit point, corresponding to the resting position of the armrest, can be defined on said outer surface. In other words, the armrest can pivot about the support and the counterbody between said first and second limit points.

A first surface section and a second surface section can be defined between the first and second limit points, the second engaging means being provided in the first surface section of the counterbody outer surface.

In this preferred embodiment, the first driving element is shaped and arranged so that the disengagement point when the armrest is rotated upwards substantially coincides with the transition point between the first surface section and the second surface section of the counterbody outer surface. In other words, when seen in the direction of the upwards rotation of the armrest, the first driving element has a driving profile that begins at the outer surface of the counterbody at the transition point between the first surface section and the second surface section of the counterbody outer surface, extends beyond the outer surface of the counterbody in the radial direction between said transition point and the second limit point and ends at the outer surface of the counterbody at said second limit point.

When the armrest is rotated downwards starting from the second limit point, the path of the driven member shall be controlled by the second driving element. To this purpose, the second driving element has a driving profile that, when seen in the direction of the downwards rotation of the armrest, starts at an intermediate position of the driving profile of the first driving element, extends beyond said driving profile of said first driving element in the radial direction and towards the first limit point in the circumferential direction and ends with a free end located close to the first limit point in the circumferential direction and far from the outer surface of the counterbody in the radial direction.

Thanks to the fact that the driving profile of the second driving element ends with a free end that is far from the outer surface of the counterbody in the radial direction, this second driving element will not affect the path of the driven member when, starting form the first limit point, the armrest is rotated upwards; instead, during the upwards rotation of the armrest, only the driving profile of the first driving element will control the path of the driven member.

Thanks to the arrangement of the present invention, the number of moving components is strongly limited, which makes the armrest assembly construction simple and robust, and its operation much more reliable than prior solutions known form the state of the art.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more evident form the following description of a preferred embodiment, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:.

<FIG> schematically show a vehicle seat provided with an adjustable armrest. In any case, it shall be evident to the person skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the automotive technical field and it could be applied to any kind of seat provided with one or more adjustable armrest(s).

In general, a vehicle seat <NUM> includes a seat cushion <NUM> and a seat backrest <NUM>, and it can be provided with one or more armrests <NUM>.

For instance, front vehicles seats are usually provided with one central armrest <NUM>. Advantageously, such armrest <NUM> is pivotably mounted to a support which, in turn, is mounted to the vehicle seat (or to another fixed structure in the vehicle passenger compartment) so that it can assume different position.

More specifically, the armrest <NUM> can assume an operative position (see <FIG>), in which it extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the seat backrest <NUM> and it can support a user's forearm.

From such operative position, the armrest can be rotated upwards (see arrow F in <FIG>) until it is brought to a resting position (see <FIG>), in which it extends in a direction substantially parallel to the seat backrest <NUM> and runs adjacent to said seat backrest. Since different users have different morphologies, preferably the armrest <NUM> can be locked in one or more intermediate positions between the operative position (<FIG>) and the resting position (<FIG>), so that each user can select the most comfortable supporting position for his / her forearm.

More preferably, the armrest can be locked in one or more intermediate positions between the operative position and the resting position when it is rotated upwards form its lowermost, operative position towards its resting position, while it can be freely and smoothly rotated back to said lowermost, operative position when it is rotated downwards from its resting position. Indeed, it would be annoying for the user if the armrest became blocked at each intermediate position and it had to be disengaged from each of said intermediate positions when it is rotated downwards.

To this purpose, the armrest assembly according to the invention has the constructions schematically shown in <FIG>.

The armrest assembly according to the invention includes an armrest (not shown in <FIG>) and a support <NUM> which can be fixedly fastened to a vehicle seat (e.g. to the seat backrest) or to another fixed structure of the vehicle passenger compartment, the armrest being pivotably mounted to the support <NUM>.

The armrest is provided with a carrier <NUM> provided with first engaging means <NUM>. In the shown embodiment, such first engaging means are made as teeth <NUM>.

The armrest assembly is further provided with a counterbody <NUM> which is fitted to the support <NUM> and is provided with second engaging means <NUM>, intended to cooperate with said first engaging means <NUM>.

In the shown embodiment, the second engaging means are made as a toothed rack <NUM> formed on the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM>, so that the teeth <NUM> carried by the carrier <NUM> can mesh with the teeth of the toothed rack <NUM> on the counterbody <NUM>.

Preferably, the teeth <NUM> and the toothed rack <NUM> are shaped so that meshing of said teeth with said toothed rack does not prevent an upwards rotation of the armrest relative to the support (arrow Fu in <FIG>), while it blocks a downwards rotation of said armrest relative to said support (arrow Fd in <FIG>).

In this way, the engagement between the teeth <NUM> of the carrier <NUM> and toothed rack <NUM> of the counterbody <NUM> allows to provide a stable support for the user's forearm, since a downwardly oriented rotation of the armrest is effectively prevented. At the same time, the user will be allowed to rotate the armrest upwards, towards the resting position of the armrest, without any effort.

As shown in <FIG>, the carrier <NUM> is preferably provided with a plurality of teeth <NUM>, so that the efforts exerted on the armrest are distributed on several teeth.

Moreover, the extension of the toothed rack <NUM> in the circumferential direction on the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> is sufficiently long for allowing the teeth <NUM> of the carrier <NUM> to engage said toothed rack <NUM> in a plurality of different positions.

The lowermost engagement position between the teeth <NUM> of the carrier <NUM> and the toothed rack <NUM> of the counterbody <NUM> corresponds to the operative position of the armrest, as shown in <FIG>.

The other engagement positions between the teeth <NUM> of the carrier <NUM> and the toothed rack <NUM> of the counterbody <NUM> while the armrest is rotated upwards (arrow Fu) correspond to as many intermediate positions, in which the armrest is blocked at angles increasingly lower than <NUM>° relative to the seat backrest.

Thanks to the provision of such intermediate positions, each user can select the most comfortable supporting position for his / her forearm according to his / her own morphology. It is evident that, when the inclination between the armrest and the seat backrest drops below a given threshold angle, there is no advantages in providing further intermediate supporting positions.

Accordingly, a first limit point A and a second limit point B can be defined on the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM>, the armrest being pivotable relative to the counterbody <NUM> between the first limit point A and the second limit point B.

When the carrier <NUM> of the armrest is at the first limit point A, the armrest is in its operative position, which is its lowermost position in which it extends in a direction substantially perpendicular to the vehicle backrest; when the carrier <NUM> of the armrest is at the second limit point B, the armrest is in its resting position, in which it runs in a direction substantially parallel to the vehicle backrest.

Advantageously a first abutting surface 24a, projecting from the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> in a direction substantially perpendicular to said outer surface of said counterbody <NUM>, can be provided at the first limit point A, so that the carrier abuts against such first abutting surface 24a when the armrest is in its lowermost, operative position and any further rotation of the armrest in the downwards direction (arrow Fd in <FIG>) is prevented. Analogously, a second abutting surface 24b, projecting from the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> in a direction substantially perpendicular to the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM>, can be provided at the second limit point B, so that the carrier abuts against such second abutting surface 24b when the armrest is in its resting position and any further rotation of the armrest in the upwards direction (arrow Fu in <FIG>) is prevented.

A first surface section 20a and a second surface section 20b can be defined in the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> between the first limit point and the second limit point and the toothed rack <NUM> extends over the first surface section 20a (closer to first limit point A) only, while the second surface section 20b (closer to the second limit point B) is substantially smooth.

As mentioned above, in order to optimize the user's comfort it is desired that the armrest can be locked in each of the intermediate positions between the operative position and the resting position when it is rotated upwards form its lowermost, operative position towards its resting position, while it can be freely and smoothly rotated back to said lowermost, operative position when it is rotated downwards from its resting position.

In other words, it is desired to set the disengagement point between the carrier <NUM> on the armrest and the counterbody <NUM> (which means the point beyond which contact between said carrier and said counterbody is prevented) at two different locations depending on the direction of the armrest rotation.

According to the invention, this is achieved by providing a driven member <NUM> on the carrier <NUM> and two different driving element <NUM>, <NUM> on the counterbody <NUM>, so that when the armrest is rotated in a first direction (e.g. upwards), the path of the driven member <NUM> is controlled by the driving profile of the first driving element <NUM>, while when the armrest is rotated in a second, opposite direction (e.g. downwards), the path of the driven member <NUM> is controlled by the driving profile of the second driving element <NUM>.

The driven member <NUM> can be made, for instance, as a stud projecting form the surface of the carrier, preferably in a direction substantially perpendicular to the teeth <NUM>.

By providing driving elements differently arranged relative to the counterbody <NUM> and having driving profiles with different shapes, it is possible to set the disengagement points between the carrier <NUM> on the armrest and the counterbody <NUM> at different locations depending on the direction of the armrest rotation.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the Figures, when the armrest is rotated upwards, the disengagement point between the carrier <NUM> on the armrest and the counterbody <NUM> substantially coincides with the transition point between the first surface section 20a and the second surface section 20b.

In other words, contact between the carrier <NUM> and the counterbody <NUM> is prevented when the armrest is rotated beyond the end of the toothed rack <NUM>, i.e. beyond the uppermost intermediate position of the armrest.

Accordingly, the first driving element <NUM> has a driving profile that starts at the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> at the transition point between the first surface section 20a and the second surface section 20b, extends beyond the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> in the radial direction between said transition point and the second limit point B and ends at the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> at said second limit point B.

As shown in <FIG>, when the armrest is slightly rotated upwards from its operative position, contact between the carrier <NUM> and the counterbody <NUM> is allowed. As a consequence, the teeth <NUM> of the carrier <NUM> mesh with the toothed rack <NUM> of the counterbody <NUM>, this blocking the armrest in an intermediate supporting position.

As shown in <FIG>, when the armrest is further rotated upwards (arrow Fu in <FIG>) and the carrier reaches the transition point between the first surface section 20a and the second surface section 20b, the projecting stud <NUM> on the carrier engages the driving profile of the first driving element.

As a result, the carrier <NUM> is pushed away from the counterbody <NUM> and any contact between said carrier and the outer surface of said counterbody is prevented.

While the projecting stud <NUM> slides along the driving profile of the first driving element <NUM>, the armrest smoothly rotates until reaching its resting position, as shown in <FIG>.

In such position, thanks to the shape of the driving profile of the first driving element <NUM>, the carrier <NUM> of the armrest is brought again close to the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> and it rests against the second abutting surface 24b.

If, starting from this position, the path of the carrier were controlled by the first driving element <NUM> during downwards rotation of the armrest back to its operative position, the carrier <NUM> would contact the outer surface of the counterbody at the uppermost intermediate position and the armrest would be locked relative to the support at this position.

This would be very uncomfortable for the user, who wishes to smoothly rotate the armrest downwards till the operative position.

For this reason, when the armrest is rotated downwards from its resting position, the path of the driven member <NUM> of the carrier is controlled by the second driving element <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>.

The second driving element <NUM> has a driving profile that, starting from an intermediate position 26a of the driving profile of the first driving element <NUM>, extends towards the first limit point in the circumferential direction of the counterbody <NUM>, runs beyond said driving profile of said first driving element in the radial direction and ends with a free end 28a that is located close to the first limit point A in the circumferential direction and far from the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> in the radial direction.

When, during downwards rotation (arrow Fd in <FIG>), the projecting stud <NUM> reaches the aforesaid intermediate position 26a of the driving profile of the first driving element <NUM>, it leaves said driving profile of said first driving element <NUM> and starts sliding along the driving profile of the second driving element <NUM>.

As the projecting stud slides along the driving profile of the second driving element <NUM>, the carrier <NUM> is kept away from the outer surface of the counterbody while the it rotates above the toothed rack <NUM>.

As a result, during downwards rotation, the armrest is not blocked at the intermediate positions. Conversely, it smoothly rotates downwards until the driving stud <NUM> reaches the free end 28a of the driving profile of the second driving element <NUM>.

At this stage, the carrier <NUM> falls down against the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM>, as shown in <FIG>, and the armrest is locked in the lowermost, operative position.

It will be evident to the person skilled in the art that, since the second driving element <NUM> ends with the free end 28a, that is far from the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> in the radial direction, when the armrest is rotated upwards again starting from the configuration shown in <FIG>, this second driving element <NUM> will not engage the projecting stud <NUM> and it will not affect its path.

Advantageously, the second driving element <NUM> can be made as a resilient element, so that it bends towards the outer surface of the counterbody as the projecting studs approaches its free end 28a. In this way, the free end 28a will be closer to the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> and the passage of the carrier <NUM> from the second driving element (<FIG>) to the outer surface of the counterbody <NUM> (<FIG>) will be smoother.

Moreover, by manufacturing the second driving element <NUM> using a highly resilient material, it can be advantageously obtained that said second driving element <NUM> does not hinder the movement of the carrier <NUM> along the first driving element <NUM> when when the armrest is rotated in a first direction.

Suitable materials for manufacturing the second driving element <NUM> include polyoxymethylene (POM) and similar materials.

It will be evident to the person skilled in the art that providing two different driving elements, differently arranged on the counterbody and having driving profiles with different shapes, allows to make both the counterbody and the driving elements themselves as stationary elements, thus dramatically reducing the moving parts in the armrest arrangement according to the invention.

Claim 1:
Armrest assembly including a support (<NUM>) and an armrest (<NUM>), pivotably mounted to said support (<NUM>), wherein said armrest is provided with a carrier (<NUM>) carrying first engaging means (<NUM>) and a counterbody (<NUM>) is fitted to said support (<NUM>) and is provided with second engaging means (<NUM>), said second engaging means (<NUM>) being intended to cooperate with said first engaging means (<NUM>), wherein said carrier is further provided with a driven member (<NUM>), characterized in that said counterbody is provided with a first driving element (<NUM>) and a second driving element (<NUM>), said first and second driving elements (<NUM>, <NUM>) being differently arranged relative to said counterbody (<NUM>) and having driving profiles with different shapes, and in that the path of said driven member (<NUM>) is controlled by the driving profile of said first driving element (<NUM>) when said armrest is rotated in a first direction (Fu), while the path of said driven member <NUM> is controlled by the driving profile of said second driving element (<NUM>) when the armrest is rotated in a second, opposite direction (Fd).