MOVABLE HEADREST AND BACKREST IN RESPONSE TO A REAR IMPACT

摘要

A safety arrangement for a motor vehicle is intended to reduce or eliminate "whiplash" injuries inflicted on necks of vehicle occupants. A head-rest arrangement 2 mounted on a vehicle seat incorporates a head-rest 2 and a mechanism to move the head-rest 2 forwardly from its initial position to a forward position, to meet the head of an occupant. The mechanism is associated with an initiator arrangement which may be in the form of a releasable catch 24 biased by a spring 25, is operable to initiate the forward movement of the head-rest 2. A back-rest 1 of the seat includes a member which may be a pressure plate 8, is movable in response to pressure applied (for example under the inertia of the seat occupant) to the back-rest 1 of the seat. That member is associated with an inertia-sensitive connection which is normally disconnected but which, with an inertia effect in the even of an accident, may become connected to the initiator such that movement of the said member in the back-rest 1 of the seat serves to actuate the initiator and thereby cause the head-rest 2 to move forwardly towards the head of the seat occupant. The catch 24 may include a catch plate 21 having a slot 22 in order for a pin 18 to facilitate movement of the headrest 2.