Seat armrest

Abstract

The invention relates to an armrest (10) for a seat, in particular for a vehicle seat, having a base (11) to which at least one container (18) having a cavity (27) is allocated, having an arm support (12) that is pivotable relative to the container (18) between a lower end position and an upper end position, having an arm support face (13), wherein at least one housing wall (19a, 19b, 19c) is allocated to the arm support (12), said housing wall (19a, 19b, 19c) being connected to the arm support (12) so as to move therewith in such a way that it closes an intermediate space arising between a stop face (25) of the arm support (12) and a support face (26) on the base part (11) when the arm support (12) pivots up, wherein the arm support (12) comprises an opening (16) through which access to the interior space (27) is possible.

Claims

1. An armrest for a vehicle seat, the armrest comprising: a base having an upper support face, forming a cavity opening upward at the upper support face, and formed with an upwardly open slot at least partially surrounding the cavity and open at the upper support face; an arm support having a lower face and pivotable relative to the base between a lower end position with the lower face resting on the upper support face of the base and an upper end position spaced above the upper support face; an upwardly directed arm support face on the arm support; and a housing wall carried on and projecting downward from the arm support into the slot around the cavity, the housing wall being connected to the arm support so as to move therewith in such a way that it closes an intermediate space formed between the lower face of the arm support and the upper support face on the base when the arm support pivots up, the arm support being formed with an opening through which access to the cavity is possible, the housing wall being accommodated in the slot in each position between the lower end position and the upper end position of the arm support.

2. The armrest according to claim 1, further comprising: a lid engageable over the opening and movable between an open position giving access to the opening and a closed position blocking the opening.

3. The armrest according to claim 2, wherein an outer face of the lid forms at least part of the arm support face.

4. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the opening is in a region of the arm support face.

5. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the slot forms a wall of the cavity.

6. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the housing wall is formed by a plurality of panels formed in one piece or separately.

7. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the lid comprises two lid parts each pivotable about a pivot axis that extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the armrest.

8. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the arm support is movable between the lower position and the upper position through a pivot angle of about 45°.

9. The armrest according to claim 1, further comprising at a front end region of the arm support a control panel on which a seat occupant can control operating elements.

10. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the housing wall forms a passage in such a way that the interior space is accessible only via the opening of the arm support and the passage.

11. The armrest according to claim 1, wherein the arm support and arm support face are pivotal about a horizontal axis at a rear end of the armrest, the housing wall being of U-shape and having a pair of flat side sections flanking the cavity and a front-end section bridging front ends of the side sections.

12. The armrest according to claim 11, wherein the slot is upwardly open and U-shaped complementary to the housing wall.

13. The armrest according to claim 12, wherein the U-shaped slot has an inner wall forming an outer wall of the cavity.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) The figures show the following:

(2) FIG. 1: a perspective diagram of the armrest where the arm support is in a lower position and the lid is in a closed position,

(3) FIG. 2: the armrest according to FIG. 1 where the arm support is in an upper position,

(4) FIG. 3: the armrest according to FIG. 1 where a lid is in an open position,

(5) FIG. 4: the armrest according to FIG. 2 where the lid is in the open position.

(6) FIG. 5: a side view of the armrest as in FIG. 1,

(7) FIG. 6: a side view of the armrest as in FIG. 2,

(8) FIG. 7: a view according to arrow A in FIG. 5,

(9) FIG. 8: a sectional view according to section line B-B in FIG. 7,

(10) FIG. 9: a view according to arrow C in FIG. 6,

(11) FIG. 10: a sectional view according to section line D-D in FIG. 9.

SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(12) An armrest as a whole is labelled in the figures with the reference numeral 10.

(13) The armrest 10 is in a vehicle e.g. in such a way that a longitudinal central axis m of the armrest 10 extends parallel to directions x.sub.1 and x.sub.2 that respectively correspond to forward and reverse directions of travel. The armrest 10 can be e.g. between two seats in a front row of seats or between two seats in a back row of seats of the vehicle. Alternatively, however, other arrangements and orientations of the armrest 10 are also possible.

(14) The armrest 10 comprises a base 11 that in the present example is part of a center console. An arm support 12 is held on the base 11 pivotably about a pivot axis S.sub.1 and forms a pivot joint G.sub.1 with the base 11. In FIG. 1 the arm support 12 is shown in the lower end position. FIG. 2 shows the armrest 10 with the arm support 12 in the upper end position. From the lower end position according to FIG. 1 the arm support 12 is pivotable in a direction u.sub.1 into the upper end position. From the upper end position according to FIG. 2 the arm support 12 is pivotable in a direction u.sub.2 into the lower end position.

(15) A back end region 23 of the arm support is located close to the pivot joint G1, while a front end region 22 is located on a side of the arm support 12 facing away from the joint G1 with respect to the central axis m.

(16) The arm support 12 comprises an arm support face 13, on which a vehicle occupant can rest his arm. A control panel 14 is in a front region of the arm support face 13. On the control panel 14, various operating elements can be controlled with which different vehicle functions or separate equipment, such as telephone, music equipment that is internal or external to the vehicle etc., can be switched or controlled.

(17) Furthermore, the control panel 14 comprises an actuation of a locking device 15 of the armrest 10. Its actuation takes place here at a front end of the control panel 14. In the upper and lower end positions as well as in intermediate positions, the arm support 12 can be releasably locked by the locking device 15. The locking device 15 comprises first locking elements (not shown here) allocated to the base 11 and second locking elements (not shown here) allocated to the arm support 12. The design of the locking is known to a person skilled in the art. No further details of the locking will be given here.

(18) According to FIG. 3, the arm support 12 comprises an opening 16 that can be closed by a lid 17. In any pivot position of the arm support 12, the lid 17 can be moved between a closed position (see e.g. FIG. 1) and an open position (see e.g. FIG. 3). The type of lid 17 is unimportant for the invention. Lids other than the lid 17 described here can also be used.

(19) In the present embodiment the lid 17 is a so-called butterfly lid that comprises two lid parts 21a and 21b. The lid part 21a is pivotable about a pivot axis S.sub.2 (see FIG. 3) that extends parallel to the central axis m and is in a side region 24a of the arm support 12. The lid part 21a forms a pivot joint G.sub.2 with the base 11. The lid part 21b is pivotable about a pivot axis S.sub.3 that likewise extends parallel to the central axis m and is in a side region 24b of the arm support 12. The lid part 21b forms a pivot joint G.sub.3 with the base 11.

(20) According to FIGS. 5 and 6, in the lower end position of the arm support 12 a lower face 26 of the arm support 12 lies in contact with an upper support face 25 of the base 11. As can be seen in FIGS. 2, 4, 6 and 10, in the upper end position as well as in intermediate positions between the lower end position and the upper end position the upper support face 25 is at a spacing from the lower face 26. An intermediate space between the support face 26 and the face 25 is covered by housing walls 19a, 19b and 19c.

(21) According to FIG. 8, the base 11 comprises a container 18 forming a cavity 27 and an opening 30 facing the lid 17. The cavity 27 is accessible via the opening 16 of the lid and the opening 30 of the container 18 when the lid 17 is in its open position. In the closed position of the lid 17, the cavity 27 is completely closed off and inaccessible to a user.

(22) The housing wall 19a forms a partition of the cavity 27 in the direction x.sub.1 and the housing walls 19b and 19c form partitions in the directions y.sub.1 and y.sub.2. In this way, an additional space arises between the housing walls 19a, 19b and 19c, the pivot joint G.sub.1 and between the arm support 12 and the container 18, forming a passage 29 to the cavity 27 that is accessible via the opening 16. The housing walls 19b and 19c are formed approximately at right angles to the housing wall 19a.

(23) All the housing walls 19a, 19b and 19c are fastened to the arm support 12 and connected thereto so as to move therewith. The housing wall 19a is fastened to the front end region 22 and the housing walls 19b and 19c are fastened to the side regions 24a and 24b of the arm support 12. According to the embodiment, the housing walls 19a, 19b and 19c are formed by one part. Alternatively, however, they can also be formed separately.

(24) A slot 20 is allocated to each housing wall 19a, 19b and 19c, of which only one slot 20 is visible in FIGS. 8 and 10 that serves as a stowage space for the housing wall 19a. In all positions of the arm support 12 between the lower end position and the upper end position, at least a region of each housing wall 19a, 19b and 19c is in the respective slot 20. Thus, each housing wall 19a, 19b and 19c closes the cavity 27 of the container 18 and forms the passage 29.

(25) Each slot 20 forms a wall 28 to the cavity 27, so that parts located in the cavity 27 cannot come into contact with the housing walls 19a, 19b and 19c, thereby being damaged or impairing the movability of the arm support 12.