Abstract
A motor vehicle seat, having a seat massage system which has one, or a plurality of, fluid-fillable massage bladder(s), has a cushion which comprises a first side facing the seat occupant and a second side opposite the first side. The massage bladder(s) is/are arranged on the second side of the cushion such that filling the massage bladder(s) causes a pressure of the filled massage bladder(s) on pressure regions of the cushion and thus a deformation of the cushion. At least one of the pressure regions is surrounded by a recess present in the cushion.
Claims
1. A motor vehicle seat, having a seat massage system (2, 3, 51-54) which has one, or a plurality of, fluid-fillable massage bladder(s) (51-54), and having a cushion (1) which comprises a first side (A) facing the seat occupant and a second side (B) opposite the first side (A), the massage bladder(s) (51-54) being arranged on the second side (B) of the cushion (1) such that filling the massage bladder(s) (51-54) causes a pressure of the filled massage bladder(s) (51-54) on pressure regions (11a, 11b) of the cushion (1) and thus a deformation (1a, 1b) of the cushion (1), wherein at least one of the pressure regions (11a, 11b) is surrounded by a recess (11) present in the cushion (1).
2. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the cushion (1) comprises a foam part or is formed as a foam part.
3. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the pressure regions (11a, 11b) is formed as a separate part, preferably from a material which is softer than the material of the cushion (1), and is inserted into the corresponding recess of the cushion.
4. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the massage bladder(s) (51-54) is/are arranged between the second side of the cushion (1) and a support device (4) used as a counter bearing.
5. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the recess (11) is a groove or slot of which the depth direction is oriented in the direction of the first side.
6. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the recess (11) has a closed shape in that said recess fully extends around the massage bladder(s) (51-54).
7. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 6, wherein the recess (11) is designed such that a massage bladder (51; 51), which pushes against the pressure region (11a; 11b) of the cushion surrounded by the recess (11) when said massage bladder is filled, is at least partly surrounded by the material of the cushion (1).
8. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein air is provided for filling the massage bladder(s) (51-54) with fluid.
9. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein pressure portions (7, 6), which are opposite the pressure regions (11a, 11b) present on the second side (B), are arranged on the cushion (1) on the first side (A).
10. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 9, wherein the pressure portions (7, 6) are formed from a material which has a greater strength, in particular compressive strength, than the material of the cushion (1).
11. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 9, wherein the pressure portions (7, 6) are surrounded by a recess (11) present in the cushion (1) on the first side.
12. The motor vehicle seat according to claim 10, wherein the pressure portions (7, 6) are surrounded by a recess (11) present in the cushion (1) on the first side.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0021] In the following, the invention is explained in more detail with reference to embodiments.
[0022] FIG. 1 shows a sectional view through a seat massage system according to the prior art having a switched-off massage apparatus.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows the seat massage system in FIG. 1 having a switched-on massage apparatus.
[0024] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view through a seat massage system used in the motor vehicle seat according to the invention having a switched-off massage apparatus according to a first embodiment.
[0025] FIG. 4 shows the seat massage system illustrated in FIG. 3 having a switched-on massage apparatus.
[0026] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a cushion used in the present invention from the B-side.
[0027] FIG. 6 shows an enlarged cutout view of the detail D from FIG. 5.
[0028] FIG. 7 shows a sectional view through a seat massage system used in the motor vehicle seat according to the invention having a switched-off massage apparatus according to a second embodiment.
[0029] FIG. 8 shows the seat massage system illustrated in FIG. 7 having a switched-on massage apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0030] In FIGS. 1 and 2 discussed at the outset, individual features have already been discussed using certain reference signs. Where the same reference signs are used in FIGS. 3-8, the statements made above apply accordingly and reference is made thereto to avoid repetition.
[0031] The embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3-8 are parts of the motor vehicle seat according to the invention which is not shown in more detail here for reasons of clarity.
[0032] In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pressure regions 11a and 11b can be seen in the sectional drawings; in the example shown, the massage bladders 51 and 53 abut said pressure regions. In the section shown, the portions, indicated by 11, of the recess according to the invention which preferably fully surrounds the pressure regions 11a and 11b can be seen on both sides of the pressure regions 11a and 11b of the cushion 1 in each case. By means of a corresponding control apparatus 2 which can contain a valve block, a massage program is started and thus the massage bladders 51-54 according to a certain specification are filled with a fluid, in particular air. In the example shown in FIG. 4, when the massage bladders 51 and 53 are filled, they are squeezed by the support plate 4, start to bulge and in turn exert pressure on the pressure regions 11a and 11b. The pressure regions 11a and 11b are deformed as a result and partly push into the region of the recess 11. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 4 by way of the dashed line, deformations 1a or 1b are formed on the A-side opposite the pressure regions 11a and 11b lying on the B-side.
[0033] In FIGS. 5 and 6, the B-side is explained by way of a preferred embodiment. Here, it is merely intended to be shown that a large amount of pressure regions 11a and 11b can be formed on the B-side of the cushion 1. Representative of this, one of the pressure regions 11a and the region of the cushion 1 around said pressure region is shown in FIG. 6. As can be seen, the recess 11 fully extends around the pressure region 11a here. In FIG. 5, it is also indicated that, under certain circumstances, a recess 11 can extend around a plurality of pressure regions 11b. Preferably, a set-back part 11c can also be provided in the cushion 1 on the side of the recess 11 facing away from the pressure region 11a. This can be used to accommodate the flat massage bladders, i.e., the massage bladders 51-54 not filled with fluid, such that they can be accommodated flush to the B-side in the cushion 1 when they are not filled.
[0034] A further embodiment according to the invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The drawings and views shown therein substantially correspond to FIGS. 3 and 4 and therefore reference is also made to the above description. In contrast to the embodiment according to FIGS. 3 and 4, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 has pressure portions 7, 6 on the A-side of the cushion. Theoretically, only one single pressure portion can be provided. These pressure portions 7, 6 are in the regions on the A-side which would be deformed by pressure from the massage bladder 51 or 53 on the pressure regions 11a or 11b. In order to generate a massage experience which can be felt even better by the seat occupant, the pressure portions 7, 6 are formed differently from the rest of the material of the cushion. This can be achieved if stronger or at least compressively stronger materials are used for the pressure portions 7, 6 such that the seat occupant feels a harder pressure on their back at points when pressure of the massage bladders is applied to the pressure regions 11a and 11b. Of course, it is also possible to form the pressure portions 7, 6 as knobs in the cushion material of the cushion 1. As indicated in FIGS. 7 and 8, recesses can also be formed here in the A-side around the pressure portions 7, 6, similarly to the recesses 11 around the pressure regions 11a and 11b. The recesses can be made exactly as they are described above. The recesses on the A-side formed around the pressure portions 7, 6 locally increase the deformability of the cushion 1. This means, on the one hand, that a pressure of a massage bladder 51, 53 on the corresponding pressure regions 11a and 11b leads to a stronger deformation of the regions 1a and 1b on the A-side, and on the other, that these pressure portions 7, 6 would be pushed into the cushion 1 by the seat occupant when the seat massage system is switched off, i.e., when the massage bladders are not filled, as a result of the force exerted on the cushion 1 by the seat occupant. The latter has the effect that, when the seat massage system is switched off, the pressure portions 7, 6 which reinforce the pressure when the massage is running are not felt as strongly or not felt at all by the seat occupant.
[0035] The present invention makes it possible to improve the massage experience of seat massage systems in motor vehicle seats without forfeiting seat comfort when the massage is switched off.
