Headrest

1. A vehicle headrest comprising:

a support defining a horizontal pivot axis;

a cushion having a front face and pivotal about the axis on the support between a use position with the face upright and a rest position with the face generally horizontal;

a slide displaceable in a straight line in a longitudinal direction and substantially parallel to the axis relative to the cushion between a blocking position operatively engaging the cushion and preventing the cushion from pivoting about the axis from the use position into the rest position and an unblocking position permitting such pivoting;

a first spring urging the slide in the longitudinal direction into the blocking position;

a safety element engageable with the slide and displaceable in a transverse direction generally perpendicular to the axis between a locking position operatively engaging the slide and preventing movement of the slide into the unblocking position and a releasing position permitting movement of the slide into the unblocking position; and

a second spring bearing transversely of the axis on the safety element and urging the safety element into the locking position.

2. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 1 wherein the safety element has a part fixed on the cushion and engageable with a part of the slide.

3. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 2 wherein the part of the safety element fits in the blocking position with the part of the slide.

4. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 3 wherein in the blocking position the parts of the safety element and of the slide can move limitedly relative to each other.

5. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 4 wherein the safety-element part has a pair of abutments between which the slide part can move in the blocking position.

6. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 2 wherein the safety element is part of the second spring.

7. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 6 , further comprising

an externally accessible and manually actuatable operating element connected to the slide.

8. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 7 wherein the operating element is a push button.

9. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 7 wherein the operating element has a cam engageable with the safety element on depression of the pushbutton to shift the safety element into the releasing position.

10. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 1 wherein the support carries an element projecting radially of the axis and bearing in the rest position on the slide.

11. A vehicle headrest comprising:

a support defining a horizontal pivot axis;

a cushion having a front face and pivotal about the axis on the support between a use position with the face upright and a rest position with the face generally horizontal;

a slide displaceable in a longitudinal direction relative to the cushion between a blocking position operatively engaging the cushion and preventing the cushion from pivoting about the axis from the use position into the rest position and an unblocking position permitting such pivoting;

a spring urging the slide into the blocking position;

a safety element engageable with the slide and displaceable in a transverse direction between a locking position operatively engaging the slide and preventing movement of the slide into the unblocking position and a releasing position permitting movement of the slide into the unblocking position; and

a spring bearing on the safety element and urging the safety element into the locking position.