JP7535406B2 - Seating device vibration isolation mechanism - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vibration isolation mechanism provided in a seating device in which a seat is supported so as to be displaceable relative to a fixed side.

Conventionally, vehicle seats installed in, for example, railway cars are subjected to vibrations in various directions from the car body while the vehicle is moving. The bodily sensation of this vibration by the seat occupant is such that vertical vibrations are reduced by the seat cushion, and front-to-back vibrations are reduced by the backrest cushion. However, there is no specific structure for reducing horizontal vibrations, and since there are sleeves on both sides of the seat that have little cushioning, there is a risk that the seat occupant will feel uncomfortable if they bump into the sleeves due to the vibrations.

Incidentally, a seat structure disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known as a technology for suppressing vibrations from the vehicle body side other than by using the cushioning properties of the exterior of a vehicle seat. This seat structure has anti-vibration rubber inserted between the seat frame and the floor. Specifically, the anti-vibration rubber is attached to four points, front and rear, of a pair of slide rails fixed to the bottom of the seat pan.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 2-6634

The conventional technology described in the aforementioned Patent Document 1 suppresses vibrations in all directions for a seat that is locked in any forward or backward position with a slide rail. Therefore, with the conventional technology, it was not possible to reduce vibrations in a specific direction, for example, left and right, without suppressing vibrations in the up and down and front and rear directions of the seat.

The present invention was made in response to the problems with the conventional technology described above, and aims to provide a vibration isolation mechanism for a seat device that can reduce only vibrations in a specific direction, as required, transmitted from the fixed side of the seat to the seat.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present invention is
In a vibration isolation mechanism provided in a seat device in which a seat is supported so as to be displaceable relative to a fixed side,
This is characterized by the ability to attenuate vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat to the seat, and to limit the direction in which the vibrations are attenuated to a specific direction of the seat.

The vibration isolation mechanism of the seat device of the present invention makes it possible to reduce only vibrations in a specific direction as needed among the vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat to the seat, thereby achieving optimal vibration isolation in the desired direction.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a vibration isolation mechanism of a seat device according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a perspective view showing a vibration isolation mechanism of a seat device according to an embodiment of the present invention (the internal structure is shown with hidden lines). FIG. 1A and 1B are a front view, a plan view, and a right side view showing a vibration isolation mechanism of a seat device according to the present embodiment (the internal structure is shown with hidden lines). FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a vibration isolation mechanism of the seat device according to the embodiment. 1A is a front view, a plan view, and a right side view showing a vibration isolation mechanism of a seat device according to the present embodiment. 2 is a perspective view showing a vibration damping portion of the vibration isolation mechanism of the seat device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a restricting portion of the vibration isolation mechanism of the seat device according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a restricting portion of the vibration isolation mechanism of the seat device according to the embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a seat device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the seat device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the seat device according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a bottom view showing the seat device according to the embodiment.

Hereinafter, a representative embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 12 show one embodiment of the present invention.
The vibration isolation mechanism 11 of the seat device 10 according to this embodiment is a mechanism capable of attenuating vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat 1 to the seat 1, and limiting the direction in which the vibrations are attenuated to a specific direction of the seat 1. The type of seat 1 is not particularly limited, but the following description will be given taking as an example a case in which the mechanism is applied to a one-seater seat provided in a passenger compartment of a railway vehicle, which is an example of a movable vehicle. The fixed side of the seat 1 corresponds to the floor surface of the body of the railway vehicle.

<Overview of the seat device 10>
As shown in Fig. 1, the seat device 10 includes, in addition to the seat 1 (see Fig. 9), a vibration isolation mechanism 11, a fixed plate 12 fixed substantially horizontally on the floor surface, and a movable plate 13 on the seat 1 side supported so as to be displaceable substantially horizontally in opposition to the fixed plate 12. The fixed plate 12 and the movable plate 13 also form part of the configuration of the vibration isolation mechanism 11.

The vibration isolation mechanism 11 is provided between the plates 12, 13 and includes a vibration damping section 20 that dampens vibrations transmitted from the fixed plate 12 to the seat 1 during travel, and a restriction section 30 that is also provided between the plates 12, 13 and restricts the direction in which vibrations are damped by the vibration damping section 20 to a specific direction of the seat 1, as will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the "specific direction of the seat 1" is the left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the seat 1, as will be described in detail later.

As shown in Figures 9 to 12, the seat device 10 further includes an intermediate plate 14 that is overlapped and fixed integrally onto the movable plate 13 on the seat 1 side, and a base plate 15 that faces the intermediate plate 14 and is supported so as to be rotatable in a substantially horizontal direction. Here, the intermediate plate 14 is an interposed member that is installed on the movable plate 13 to rotatably support the seat 1, and is formed, for example, from a disk-shaped metal plate.

The base plate 15 is a member on which the seat 1 is attached, and is formed, for example, from a disk-shaped metal plate, similar to the relay plate 14. In this embodiment, the base plate 15 is a separate part from the seat 1, and the bottom side of the seat 1 is attached onto it later, but it may also be configured as, for example, the frame itself that forms the bottom of the seat 1.

The base plate 15 is supported on the intermediate plate 14 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction via a rotation mechanism 16. Here, the rotation mechanism 16 is a well-known product that is generally disk-shaped, and is composed of, for example, a pair of inner and outer ring-shaped rotating disks that are rotatably assembled with bearings or the like interposed between them.

The rotation mechanism 16 has, for example, an outer rotating disk fixed to the intermediate plate 14 and an inner rotating disk fixed to the base plate 15. The seat 1 on the base plate 15 can be rotated by the rotation mechanism 16 to an initial position facing the front of the vehicle and an inverted position rotating 180 degrees to face the opposite direction, for example, in accordance with the direction of travel of the vehicle, and also includes a locking mechanism that prevents the seat 1 from rotating in each position. The rotation operation of the rotation mechanism 16 can be either electric or manual.

<Seat 1 Overview>
9 to 12, the seat 1 on the base plate 15 is configured as a single-seater chair. Although only the frame structure of the seat 1 is shown in each drawing and the exterior parts are omitted, a backrest 3 for one person, which is the same as the seat 1, is supported at the rear end side of a seat portion 2 for one person so as to be able to recline. In addition, a pair of sleeve portions 4, 4 are provided on both sides of the seat portion 2 to cover the seat portion 2 from the sides.

Regardless of the rotational position, the direction of seat 1 from the front in front of the occupant to the rear on the opposite side is referred to as the "front-rear direction", and the direction of the right and left sides perpendicular to this front-rear direction is referred to as the "left-right direction". In the arrows shown in Figure 9 as an example, the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis respectively indicate the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction of seat 1. In the case of a railway vehicle, the left-right direction is sometimes referred to as the sleeper direction, likening it to sleepers that are perpendicular to the tracks that extend in the direction of travel.

<Regarding vibration isolation mechanism 11>
As shown generally in Fig. 1, the vibration isolation mechanism 11 is capable of attenuating vibrations transmitted during travel from a fixed plate 12 on the fixed side of the seat 1 to a movable plate 13 on the movable side of the seat 1, and is configured to be able to limit the direction in which the vibrations are attenuated to a specific direction of the seat 1. In addition to the fixed plate 12 and the movable plate 13, the vibration isolation mechanism 11 includes a vibration damping section 20 and a restriction section 30 provided between the plates 12, 13. Note that in Fig. 1, the relay plate 14 and base plate 15 described above are omitted, and the seat 1 is shown on the movable plate 13.

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the vibration isolation mechanism 11 with hidden lines (dashed lines). Figure 3 also shows the internal configuration of the vibration isolation mechanism 11 with hidden lines (dashed lines), and in Figure 3, the vibration isolation mechanism 11 is shown in a front view as seen from above, with a plan view on the upper side, a front view below that, and a right side view to the right of that. Figure 4 is a perspective view showing only the external appearance of the vibration isolation mechanism 11. Figure 5 also shows only the external appearance of the vibration isolation mechanism 11, and in Figure 5, the vibration isolation mechanism 11 is shown in a front view as seen from above, with a plan view on the upper side, a front view below that, and a right side view to the right of that.

<<Fixing plate 12>>
2 to 5, the fixed plate 12 is fixed substantially horizontally to the floor surface and forms the base of the entire seat device 10. The fixed plate 12 is formed, for example, from a rectangular metal plate with rounded corners. The fixed plate 12 is arranged so that its short sides are parallel to the front-to-rear direction of the seat 1 and its long sides are parallel to the left-to-right direction of the seat 1.

A circular opening 12a is provided in the center of the fixed plate 12 to match the inside of the rotation mechanism 16. In addition, screw holes for fixing to the floor surface, and holes and grooves for attaching the vibration control unit 20 and the regulation unit 30 described below are provided in appropriate positions on the fixed plate 12. The fixed plate 12 may be fixed directly to the floor surface, or may be fixed to the floor surface via a separate member. Furthermore, the fixed plate 12 does not necessarily have to be a separate component, and may be configured as part of the vehicle body that forms the floor surface.

<<Movable plate 13>>
2 to 5, the movable plate 13 is supported on the fixed plate 12 so as to be displaceable in a substantially horizontal direction, and all of the components of the seat device 10 other than the vibration isolation mechanism 11 are attached thereon. Here, the movable plate 13 is displaceable in the horizontal direction relative to the fixed plate 12, but is actually limited to displacement in a specific direction in the horizontal direction by a regulating portion 30, which will be described later.

Like the fixed plate 12, the movable plate 13 is formed, for example, from a rectangular metal plate with rounded corners. The movable plate 13 is arranged so that its short sides are parallel to the front-to-rear direction of the seat 1 and its long sides are parallel to the left-to-right direction of the seat 1. A circular opening 13a that matches the opening 12a of the fixed plate 12 is also provided in the center of the movable plate 13.

The movable plate 13 is provided at appropriate locations with screw holes for fixing to the relay plate 14, and holes and grooves for attaching the vibration control unit 20 and the regulation unit 30 described below. The movable plate 13 can also be configured as a single component that also serves as the relay plate 14, in which case the relay plate 14 as a separate component is not required. In other words, the base plate 15 can be directly supported on the movable plate 13 via the rotation mechanism 16 so as to be rotatable.

<<Vibration Damping Part (Vibration Damping Rubber) 20>>
The vibration-damping part 20 may be any part that has the function of attenuating vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat 1 to the seat 1, and for example, a vibration-damping rubber is suitable. The vibration-damping rubber is a well-known product that is generally cylindrical, and is configured, for example, by filling the space between an outer tube and an inner tube with rubber. As shown in Fig. 6, the upper and lower end faces of the vibration-damping rubber are provided with a bracket 21 and a washer 22 that are fixed to the outer tube or the inner tube, respectively. Hereinafter, the vibration-damping part 20 will be referred to as vibration-damping rubber 20.

The vibration-damping rubber 20 has, for example, a bracket 21 at its lower end fixed to the upper surface of the fixed plate 12, and a washer 22 at its upper end fixed to the lower surface of the movable plate 13. When the vibration-damping rubber 20 receives vibration from the fixed plate 12 side, it elastically deforms in all directions from its axis, and can attenuate the vibration transmitted to the movable side. Vibration-damping rubber is also commonly called anti-vibration rubber, and elastically deforms with a predetermined spring constant due to internal friction of the rubber that is its main component.

The vibration-damping rubber 20 of this embodiment is intended to dampen the vibration of the seat 1 while the vehicle is in motion, so it is advisable to adopt one with an optimal spring constant, taking into consideration vibration data during motion and the weight of the seat 1. In addition to the vibration-damping rubber 20, vibration-isolating rubber made by laminating and bonding rubber plates alternately is also known, but the vibration-damping section 20 of the present invention is not limited to vibration-damping rubber or vibration-isolating rubber, as long as it can dampen the vibration of the seat 1. Note that the detailed configuration of the vibration-damping rubber itself is common, so a description will be omitted.

<<Restriction portion (slide rail) 30>>
The restricting portion 30 may be any member capable of restricting the direction in which vibration is damped by the vibration-damping rubber 20 to a specific direction of the seat 1, and a slide rail is suitable, for example. As shown in Fig. 2, in this embodiment, a pair of slide rails are disposed parallel to each other between the fixed plate 12 and the movable plate 13 along the inner side of the long sides of the plates 12, 13. Hereinafter, the restricting portion 30 will be referred to as slide rail 30.

As shown in FIG. 7, the slide rail 30 comprises an outer rail 31 fixed to the upper surface of the fixed plate 12, and an inner rail 32 fixed to the lower surface of the movable plate 13 and slidably fitted inside the outer rail 31. The outer rail 31 and the inner rail 32 are each generally formed in a straight line due to the structure in which the two rails are combined to be able to slide relative to each other.

As shown in FIG. 8, the outer rail 31 is formed to extend linearly with a groove-like cross section that is open on the upper surface side. The pair of outer rails 31, 31 are arranged parallel to each other in the left-right direction on the fixed plate 12 and are directly fixed to the upper surface side of the fixed plate 12 by a fastening means such as a screw. On the other hand, the inner rail 32 is formed in a generally rectangular shape that extends linearly, and is fitted in the open groove of the outer rail 31 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction via a ball bearing 34 supported on a retainer 33. The lower surface side of the movable plate 13 is directly fixed to the inner rail 32 by a fastening means such as a screw.

In the cross-sectional shape of the inner rail 32, a groove is formed on the underside into which the ridge that rises and extends along the center of the retainer 33 fits, and recesses with an arc-shaped cross section are formed on both side surfaces into which the ball bearings 34 can roll. The inner rail 32 configured in this way is assembled so that it does not slip out of the upper opening of the outer rail 31. The retainer 33 is made of synthetic resin, for example, and is sized to fit inside the outer rail 31, and is formed with a groove-like cross section that opens on the upper side as shown in Figure 8, and holes are provided on both side walls into which the ball bearings 34 fit, lined up at a specified interval.

<Function of the Vibration Isolation Mechanism 11 of the Seat Device 10>
Next, the operation of the vibration isolation mechanism 11 of the seat device 10 according to this embodiment will be described.
As shown in Fig. 1, a fixed plate 12 is fixed in a substantially horizontal state on the floor surface of a vehicle, and a movable plate 13 is fixed to its upper surface via a vibration-damping rubber 20 and a slide rail 30 of a vibration isolation mechanism 11. As shown in Fig. 2, in this embodiment, only one vibration-damping rubber 20 is provided at one corner of each of the plates 12, 13.

The number of vibration-damping rubbers 20 is determined taking into consideration the spring constant of each vibration-damping rubber 20, the total weight of the seat 1, etc. As a result of taking these design factors into consideration, it was decided that one vibration-damping rubber 20 is sufficient in this embodiment. Recesses for attaching the vibration-damping rubbers 20 are pre-formed at the four corners of each plate 12, 13.

Therefore, if one vibration-damping rubber 20 is not enough, for example, two or up to four can be placed diagonally on each plate 12, 13, depending on the required vibration damping performance. In addition, by arranging the vibration-damping rubber 20 at the corners of each plate 12, 13, it is easy to access from two outside directions, making it easy to handle not only during assembly but also during maintenance, inspection, and replacement.

In this embodiment, a pair of slide rails 30 are arranged parallel to the long sides of the plates 12, 13. Therefore, the movable plate 13 on the seat 1 side is supported so that it can slide left and right of the seat 1 relative to the fixed plate 12. The sliding resistance between the outer rail 31 and inner rail 32 that make up the slide rail 30 is reduced by the retainer 33 and ball bearings 34. The slide rail 30 itself is suitable for a high load capacity and low sliding resistance, and is free to slide without any locking mechanism to stop the sliding. Note that the relatively heavier the total weight of the seat 1, the more effective the centrifugal force will be, making it possible to make the most of the vibration isolation function.

Since the slide rail 30 is arranged parallel to the long sides of each plate 12, 13, horizontal movement on the inner rail 32 side, i.e., the movable side of the seat 1, is limited to the left-right direction of the seat 1. As a result, the direction in which the vibration of the seat 1 is damped by the vibration damping rubber 20 described above is limited to the "left-right direction" as a specific direction of the seat 1. This makes it possible to reduce left-right vibration of the seat 1, which could not be reduced by the cushioning properties of the exterior in conventional railcar seats. This prevents the seat occupant from hitting the sleeve portion 4 due to left-right vibration.

The base plate 15 of the seat 1 is supported via a rotation mechanism 16 on an intermediate plate 14 that is integral with the movable plate 13. Therefore, the orientation of the seat 1 can be reversed to the front or rear as appropriate to match the direction of travel of the vehicle. Here, the front-to-rear direction of the seat 1 relative to the vehicle body is reversed when the seat 1 is rotated 180 degrees, but the front-to-rear direction of the seat 1 itself does not change when the seat 1 is flipped, and the left-to-right direction of the seat 1 does not change when the seat is flipped.

In addition, in the vibration isolation mechanism 11 of this embodiment, the fixed plate 12 and the movable plate 13 are preassembled together to form a unit with the vibration-damping rubber 20 and slide rail 30 between them. This makes the vibration isolation mechanism 11 easy to handle as a single component when assembling the seat 1, and also simplifies the assembly work.

<Configuration and Effects of the Present Invention>
Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The present invention derived from the above-described embodiment will be described below.

[1] First, the present invention provides
In a vibration isolation mechanism 11 provided in a seat device 10 in which a seat 1 is supported displaceably relative to a fixed side,
This is characterized by being capable of attenuating vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat 1 to the seat 1, and being capable of limiting the direction in which the vibrations are attenuated to a specific direction of the seat 1.

This vibration isolation mechanism 11 can attenuate vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat 1 to the seat 1. Here, the direction in which the vibrations of the seat 1 are attenuated can be limited to only a specific direction of the seat 1. In other words, the displacement of the seat 1 due to the attenuated vibrations is limited to a specific direction of the seat 1.

This makes it possible to dampen vibrations in only the desired specific direction among the various directions of vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat 1 to the seat 1. There is no need to dampen vibrations in any direction other than this specific direction, and it is also possible to simplify the configuration by eliminating unnecessary components.

[2] In addition, in the present invention,
The specific direction is a left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the seat 1.
This makes it possible to reduce lateral vibrations of the seat 1, which could not be reduced by other configurations in conventional railroad vehicle seats. Therefore, it is possible to prevent, for example, a situation in which a seated person hits the armrest 4 due to lateral vibrations. Note that vibrations in the up-down and front-rear directions other than the lateral direction of the seat 1 can be handled by the cushioning properties of the exterior of the seat 1.

[3] In addition, in the present invention,
A vibration damping unit 20 is provided between the fixed side of the seat 1 and the seat 1, and damps vibrations transmitted from the fixed side to the seat 1;
The seat is characterized by comprising a restricting portion 30 that is provided between the fixed side of the seat 1 and the seat 1 and that restricts the direction in which vibration is damped by the vibration damping portion 20 to the specific direction.
In this way, the vibration isolation mechanism 11 can be constructed relatively simply with a minimum of two components.

[4] In addition, in the present invention,
The fixed side of the seat 1 is the floor surface of the movable vehicle,
A fixing plate 12 fixed substantially horizontally on the floor surface;
a movable plate 13 on the seat 1 side supported on the fixed plate 12 so as to be displaceable in a substantially horizontal direction,
The vibration damping unit 20 is made of a vibration damping rubber 20 whose upper and lower ends are fixed to the fixed plate 12 and the movable plate 13, and which elastically deforms in the horizontal direction when subjected to vibration from the fixed plate 12 while the vehicle is traveling, thereby attenuating the vibration transmitted to the movable plate 13;
The restricting portion 30 is characterized in that it is formed of a slide rail 30 that slides the movable plate 13 relative to the fixed plate 12 in the specific direction.

In this way, by equipping a vehicle with this seat device 10, it is possible to deal with vibrations in the seat 1, which are particularly problematic when the vehicle is moving. Furthermore, this vibration isolation mechanism 11 can be constructed even more easily using simple parts and well-known products, specifically, for example, the fixed plate 12, movable plate 13, vibration-damping rubber 20, and slide rail 30.

[5] In addition, in the present invention,
The fixed plate 12 and the movable plate 13 are characterized in that they are combined together via the vibration-damping rubber 20 and the slide rail 30 to form a unit.
This makes it easy to handle the vibration isolation mechanism 11 as a single component when assembling the seat 1, and also makes the assembly work easier.

[6] In addition, in the present invention,
The seat 1 is rotatably supported on the movable plate 13 via a rotation mechanism 16.
In this way, by adding and combining the rotation function 16 to the seat device 10, it is possible to further improve usability. Therefore, the added value of the seat 1 itself can be increased, and a sense of luxury can be imparted.

Although the present embodiment has been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and the present invention includes modifications and additions that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. For example, the shapes of the fixed plate 12, movable plate 13, vibration damping rubber 20, slide rail 30, etc. are not limited to those shown in the drawings. Furthermore, the seat 1 or seat device 10 may be installed not only in railway vehicles, but also in general vehicles that run on the ground (e.g., passenger cars, buses, etc.), aircraft, ships, etc.

The present invention can be widely used as a vibration isolation mechanism for seating devices for a variety of seating applications.

Reference Signs List 1 seat 10 seat device 11 vibration isolation mechanism 12 fixed plate 13 movable plate 14 relay plate 15 base plate 16 rotation mechanism 20 vibration damping rubber 30 slide rail

Claims (3)

In a vibration isolation mechanism provided in a seat device in which a seat is supported so as to be displaceable relative to a fixed side,
The seat cushion is capable of attenuating vibrations transmitted from the fixed side of the seat to the seat, and is capable of limiting the direction in which the vibrations are attenuated to a specific direction of the seat;
A vibration damping unit provided between a fixed side of the seat and the seat, for damping vibrations transmitted from the fixed side to the seat;
a restricting portion provided between the fixed side of the seat and the seat, the restricting portion restricting a direction in which the vibration is damped by the vibration damping portion to the specific direction,
The fixed side of the seat is the floor of the movable vehicle;
A fixing plate fixed substantially horizontally on the floor surface;
a seat-side movable plate supported on the fixed plate so as to be displaceable in a substantially horizontal direction,
the restricting portion is formed of a slide rail that slides the movable plate relative to the fixed plate in the specific direction,
The slide rail includes an outer rail fixed to the fixed plate, and an inner rail fixed to the movable plate and slidably fitted to the outer rail,
A vibration isolation mechanism for a seat device, characterized in that the fixed plate and the movable plate are combined together as a unit via the vibration damping portion and the slide rail . The vibration isolation mechanism of the seat device according to claim 1, characterized in that the specific direction is a left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the seat. 3. The vibration isolation mechanism for a seat apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the seat is rotatably supported on the movable plate via a rotation mechanism.

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