JP7538682B2 - Seat slide device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seat slide device for adjusting the fore-aft position of a vehicle seat.

There is known a seat slide device that can adjust the fore-aft position of a vehicle seat and lock the seat at a predetermined position. Fig. 9(a) is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional seat slide device. Fig. 9(b) is an exploded perspective view of a conventional seat slide device. Note that some parts are omitted in Fig. 9(b). The conventional seat slide device 100 mainly comprises a lower rail 110, an upper rail 120, a locking device 130, and a lever mechanism 140. The lower rail 110 and the upper rail 120 cannot move relative to each other in the fore-aft direction when locked by the locking device 130, and can move relative to each other in the fore-aft direction when unlocked. The locking device 130 is unlocked by the lever mechanism 140.

The lever mechanism 140 includes a lever 141, a lever bracket 142, and a spring bracket 143. The lever bracket 142 is connected to the lever 141 at its first end (front side). A pressing portion 142a that activates the locking device 130 is provided at the second end (rear side) of the lever bracket 142. The lever bracket 142 has a protruding shaft portion 142b between the first end and the second end. The spring bracket 143 is made of a leaf spring and has a through hole 143a. The shaft portion 142b of the lever bracket 142 is inserted into the through hole 143a of the spring bracket and is supported by a through hole 120a provided in the side wall of the upper rail 120.

When the passenger lifts the lever 141, the lever bracket 142 rotates around the shaft 142b, lowering the pressing part 142a side. The pressing part 142a exerts a force on the locking device 130, which unlocks the locking device 130.

Now, referring to Figure 10, the conventional locking device 130 will be described in more detail. Figure 10(a) is an exploded perspective view of the locking device 130, and Figure 10(b) is an assembled perspective view of the locking device 130. The locking device 130 includes a locking body 131, a shaft member 132, a lock bracket 133, a biasing member 134, and a fixing member 135.

The locking body 131 has a plurality of locking teeth 131a. The locking body 131 is connected to the locking bracket 133 by a shaft member 132. When the locking teeth 131a engage with the engagement portions (not shown) of the lower rail 110 and the upper rail 120, the lower rail 110 and the upper rail 120 are locked. The biasing member 134 is attached to the shaft member 132 and biases the locking body 131 into the locked state. The locking bracket 133 is fixed to the upper rail 120 by a fixing member 135 such as a pin.

The locking body 131 rotates around the shaft member 132 by being pressed downward by the pressing portion 142a of the lever bracket 142. This causes the locking tooth 131a to disengage from the engagement portion of the lower rail 110 and the upper rail 120. In this way, the lock between the lower rail 110 and the upper rail 120 is released, and the lower rail 110 and the upper rail 120 become movable relative to each other. When the force exerted on the locking body 131 by the pressing portion 142a is released, the restoring force of the biasing member 134 causes the locking body 131 to automatically rotate in the reverse direction and return to the locked state.

However, in conventional seat slide devices, the locking device and lever mechanism are made up of many parts, which makes the structure complicated, increases the mass of the seat slide device, and increases the cost.

In view of the above problems, the object of the present invention is to simplify the structure of the seat slide device.

The present invention has the following features:

A lower rail fixed to the floor of the vehicle;
an upper rail fixed to the seat and slidable relative to the lower rail;
a locking member that releasably locks the relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail;
a lever mechanism for switching the locking member between a locked state and an unlocked state;
Equipped with
The lever mechanism includes:
A lever operated by a passenger;
a lever bracket that is rotatably held by the locking member and that has a pressing portion that presses the locking member to move the locking member to an unlocked position in response to an unlocking operation of the lever;
a retaining spring having a mounting portion mounted on the lever bracket, a lever retaining portion mounted on the lever and retaining the lever on the lever bracket, and an interlocking portion for operating the lever bracket in conjunction with the operation of the lever;
A seat slide device comprising:

In the seat slide device of the present invention, the lever and the lever bracket can be connected by a single component, the retaining spring, and the lever bracket can be operated in conjunction with the movement of the lever. Therefore, the present invention can provide a seat slide device with a simplified structure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a seat and a seat slide device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper rail taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially sectional perspective view of the seat slide device after assembly. 1A is a perspective view of a lever bracket, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of a retaining spring. FIG. 2A is an assembled perspective view of a seat slide device with the lower rail and the upper rail omitted, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of part VIIb in FIG. 2A as seen from the back side. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the lever when it is not operated, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the lever when it is operated. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional seat slide device, and FIG. 1B is an exploded perspective view showing the example of a conventional seat slide device. 1A is an exploded perspective view showing an example of a conventional locking device, and FIG. 1B is an assembled perspective view showing an example of a conventional locking device.

The seat slide device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below shows a preferred specific example of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For clarity, some components and hatching may be omitted in the cross-sectional views.

<1 Overall structure of the seat slide device>
1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle seat S and a seat sliding device 1. In the following, the "vehicle up-down direction", the "vehicle front-rear direction", and the "vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction)" will be simply referred to as the "up-down direction", the "front-rear direction", and the "left-right direction", respectively.

The seat slide device 1 includes a lower rail 2, an upper rail 3, a locking member 4, and a lever mechanism 5. A pair of seat slide devices 1 are provided on the left and right sides for each seat S, excluding an operating portion 511 of a lever 51 described below.

The lower rail 2 is fixed to the vehicle floor via a bracket B. The upper rail 3 is fixed to the seat S and assembled to the lower rail 2. The lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 are releasably locked by a locking member 4. When the locking member 4 is in the locked position, the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 cannot move relative to each other in the front-to-rear direction. When the locking member 4 is in the unlocked position, the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 can move relative to each other in the front-to-rear direction. The lever mechanism 5 switches the locking member 4 between the locked state and the unlocked state. Each component will be described in detail below.

<1-1 Lower rail and upper rail>
The lower rail 2 will be described mainly with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the seat slide device 1. The lower rail 2 is made of a long member extending in the front-rear direction and including a bottom wall 21, a side wall 22, an upper wall 23, and a flange portion 24. There are a pair of each of the side wall 22, the upper wall 23, and the flange portion 24. The lower rail 2 is made of, for example, metal, and is integrally formed by pressing.

The bottom wall 21 is generally flat and extends in the front-rear direction. The side walls 22 extend upward from both the left and right ends of the bottom wall 21 at a generally right angle to the bottom wall 21. The upper wall 23 extends from the upper end of the side wall 22 toward the other side wall 22. The flange portion 24 extends downward from the end of the side wall 22 generally parallel to the side wall 22.

The flange portion 24 has multiple notches 24a spaced apart in the front-rear direction. By providing multiple notches 24a, multiple locking teeth 24b are formed at the lower end of the flange portion 24. When the locking member 4 is placed in the locked position, the locking teeth 24b are positioned within the through-holes 41a of the locking member 4, which will be described later.

Next, the upper rail 3 will be described with reference to Figures 2 and 3. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the upper rail 3 taken along line III-III in Figure 2.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the upper rail 3 is made of a long member extending in the front-rear direction and includes a top wall 31, a side wall 32, a bottom wall 33, and a flange portion 34. There are a pair of side walls 32, a pair of bottom walls 33, and a pair of flange portions 34. The upper rail 3 is made of, for example, metal, and is integrally formed by pressing.

The upper wall 31 is generally flat and extends in the front-rear direction. The side walls 32 extend downward from both the left and right ends of the upper wall 31 at a generally right angle to the upper wall 31. The bottom wall 33 extends diagonally upward from the lower end of the side wall 32, moving away from the side wall 32. The flange portion 34 extends diagonally upward from the bottom wall 33, moving closer to the side wall 32, and also bends and extends diagonally upward, moving away from the side wall 32.

As shown in FIG. 3, multiple notches 32a are formed in the side wall 32 in the front-rear direction at the same intervals as the notches 24a in the lower rail 2. By providing multiple notches 32a, multiple locking teeth 32b are formed in the side wall 32. When the locking member 4 is placed in the locking position, the locking teeth 32b are positioned within the through-holes 41a of the locking member 4, which will be described later.

The lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 are assembled such that the side wall 32 of the upper rail 3 is disposed in the space between a pair of flange portions 24 of the lower rail 2, and the flange portion 34 of the upper rail 3 is disposed in the space between the side wall 22 and the flange portion 24 of the lower rail 2.

Between the corner between the bottom wall 21 and the side wall 22 of the lower rail 2 and the bottom wall 33 of the upper rail 3, a rolling means 6 such as balls as shown in FIG. 2 is disposed. In addition, between the upper end of the side wall 22 of the lower rail 2 and the upper end of the flange portion 34 of the upper rail 3, a rolling means 6 such as balls is disposed. This rolling means 6 allows the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 to slide smoothly in the front-rear direction.

<1-2 Locking member>
The locking member 4 will be described mainly with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the locking member 4.

The locking member 4 is manufactured by, for example, pressing a single elastically deformable plate material such as spring steel. The locking member 4 comprises a locking piece 41, a holding portion 42, and a connecting portion 43. The holding portion 42 is provided forward of the locking piece 41. The connecting portion 43 is a long portion that connects the locking piece 41 and the holding portion 42.

The lock piece 41 has multiple through holes 41a spaced apart in the front-rear direction. The portions of the lock piece 41 adjacent to the multiple through holes 41a in the front-rear direction function as lock teeth 41b. When the lock member 4 is placed in the locked position, the lock teeth 24b of the lower rail 2 and the lock teeth 32b of the upper rail 3 are inserted into the through holes 41a, and the lock teeth 41b of the lock member 4 are inserted into the notches 24a of the lower rail 2 and the notches 32a of the upper rail 3. In this way, the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 are locked so that they cannot slide forward or backward.

The holding portion 42 is a portion that rotatably holds the lever bracket 52 described below. The holding portion 42 has a pair of wall portions 421 that rise from both the left and right ends of the connection portion 43. A circular through hole 421a is provided at the rear of each of the pair of wall portions 421. The shaft portion 523 of the lever bracket 52 is inserted into the through hole 421a.

The connection part 43 has a support part 43a at its front end, which is formed by bending it upward. A connecting part 513 of the lever 51, which will be described later, is placed in contact with the support part 43a (see FIG. 8(a)). The connection part 43 also has a through hole 43b. A fixing member 7 for fixing the locking member 4 to the upper rail 3 is inserted into the through hole 43b (see FIGS. 5 and 8). The lower part of the fixing member 7 is crimped to the locking member 4, and the upper part of the fixing member 4 is crimped to the upper rail 3.

<1-3 Lever mechanism>
The lever mechanism 5 will be described mainly with reference to Figures 2, 5, 6 and 7. Figure 5 is a partial cross-sectional perspective view of the seat slide device 1 after assembly. The lever mechanism 5 includes a lever 51, a lever bracket 52 and a retaining spring 53. The lever 51 and the lever bracket 52 are connected by the retaining spring 53. When a passenger operates the lever 51, the lever bracket 52 moves in conjunction with the movement of the lever 51, and the lock piece 41 of the lock member 4 is pressed downward by the lever bracket 52, thereby releasing the lock. Each component will be described in detail below.

2 and 5, the lever 51 includes an operating portion 511, an arm portion 512, and a connecting portion 513. The operating portion 511 and the arm portion 512 are disposed outside the upper rail 3. The operating portion 511 is a portion that an occupant grasps to operate the lever 51. The arm portion 512 of the right seat slide device 1 and the arm portion 512 of the left seat slide device 1 are connected by the operating portion 511. The connecting portion 513 is provided at the tip of each arm portion 512. As shown in FIG. 2, the connecting portion 513 has a notch 513a and a notch 513b. The notch 513a is provided in front of the connecting portion 513 and at the lower part of the connecting portion 513. The notch 513b is provided in the rear of the connecting portion 513 and at the upper part of the connecting portion 513. As described below, a retaining spring 53 is attached to the notches 513a and 513b.

Figure 6(a) is a perspective view of the lever bracket 52. Figure 7(a) is a perspective view of the seat slide device 1 with the lower rail 2 and upper rail 3 omitted.

The lever bracket 52 includes an upper wall 521, a pair of side walls 522, a pair of shaft portions 523, and a pressing portion 524. An opening is provided in a portion of the upper wall 521, and the fixing member 7 is inserted into this opening (see FIG. 5).

A pair of side walls 522 extend downward from the upper wall 521. Each side wall 522 has a notch 522a and a notch 522b. The notch 522a is provided in front of the side wall 522 and in the upper part of the side wall 522. The notch 522b is provided slightly behind the notch 522a and in the lower part of the side wall 522. The position of the notch 522b in the front-to-rear direction is aligned with the notch 513a of the lever 51. As described below, the retaining spring 53 is attached to the notch 522a and the notch 522b.

The shaft portions 523 are provided on the side walls 522. The pair of shaft portions 523 are cylindrical or cylindrical and protrude in opposite directions from the outer surface of each side wall 522.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the lever bracket 52 is disposed between a pair of side walls 421 of the locking member 4. The pair of shaft portions 523 are each inserted into the through holes 421a of the locking member 4. As a result, the lever bracket 52 is rotatably held by the holding portion 42 of the locking member 4.

The pressing portion 524 is provided at the rear end of the side wall 522 and protrudes downward from the side wall 522. The pressing portion 524 is disposed on, preferably in contact with, the lock piece 41. As described below, when the occupant lifts the operating portion 511, the pressing portion 524 moves downward as the lever bracket 52 rotates, pressing the lock piece 41 downward and moving the lock member 4 to the unlocked position.

Figure 6(b) is a perspective view of the retaining spring 53. Figure 7(b) is a perspective view of part VIIb in Figure 7(a) seen from the back.

The retaining spring 53 can be formed, for example, by bending a single linear spring steel. The retaining spring 53 includes an attachment portion 531, a lever retaining portion 532, and an interlocking portion 533. The attachment portion 531 is a portion provided at the front end of the retaining spring 53, and is attached in the notch 522a of the lever bracket 52 as shown in FIG. 7(a). The lever retaining portion 532 is a portion provided at the rear end of the retaining spring 53, and is attached in the notch 513b of the lever 51 as shown in FIG. 7(a). This allows the lever 51 to be held by the lever bracket 52. The interlocking portion 533 is a portion that operates the lever bracket 52 in conjunction with the operation of the lever 51. As shown in FIG. 7(b), the interlocking portion 533 extends in the left-right direction between one side wall 522 and the other side wall 522, and is attached to the notch 522b of one side wall 522, the notch 513a of the lever 51, and the notch 522b of the other side wall 522.

2. Operation of Lock Member and Lever Mechanism
The operation of the locking member 4 and the lever mechanism 5 will be described mainly with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8(a) is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide device 1 when the lever 51 is not operated, and Fig. 8(b) is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide device 1 when the lever 51 is operated (i.e., when the lever 51 is lifted upward).

When the passenger lifts the operating part 511 of the lever 51 from the state shown in FIG. 8(a), the lever 51 rotates around its rear part (i.e., the contact point between the connecting part 513 and the support part 43a). When the lever 51 is lifted, the lever bracket 52 is also lifted by the interlocking part 533, and the lever bracket 52 rotates around the shaft part 523. That is, the lever bracket 52 rotates so that the part in front of the shaft part 523 moves upward, and the part behind the shaft part 523 moves downward.

As the lever bracket 52 rotates, the pressing portion 524 presses the locking piece 41 of the locking member 4 downward. This causes mainly the connection portion 43 to bend downward due to elastic deformation, resulting in the locking piece 41 moving downward. The locking tooth 41b then leaves the notch 24a of the lower rail 2 and the notch 32a of the upper rail 3. In this way, the lock between the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 is released, and the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 can slide relative to each other in the fore-and-aft direction.

When the force applied to the operating portion 511 of the lever 51 is released, the lever 51 moves down due to its own weight and the restoring force of the retaining spring 53. This causes the pressing portion 524 of the lever bracket 52 to rise and no longer presses the lock piece 41 of the lock member 4. As a result, the lock member 4 returns to its original position (i.e., the state in FIG. 8(a)) due to its elastic force, and the lock tooth 41b is inserted into the notch 24a and the notch 32a, and the lock tooth 24b and the lock tooth 32b are inserted into the through hole 41a. In this way, the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 are locked so that they cannot slide in the front-rear direction.

<3 Features>
In the present invention, the lever 51 is held on the lever bracket 52 by the lever holding portion 532 of the holding spring 53, and the lever bracket 52 is interlocked with the lever 51 by the interlocking portion 533. That is, the lever 51 can be held on the lever bracket 52 by a single part, the holding spring 53, and the lever bracket 52 can be operated in accordance with the operation of the lever 51, so that the seat slide device 1 can be configured with a smaller number of parts than in the past. Also, in the present invention, the lock member 4 is provided with the holding portion 42 for rotatably holding the lever bracket 52, so that there is no need to provide a separate part for holding the lever bracket 52. Therefore, in the seat slide device 1 of the present invention, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

In addition, unlike conventional devices, the seat slide device 1 of the present invention does not require a through hole in the side wall 32 of the upper rail 3 to hold the lever bracket 52, which improves the strength of the upper rail 3 compared to conventional devices.

Reference Signs List 1 Seat slide device 2 Lower rail 3 Upper rail 4 Lock member 5 Lever mechanism 51 Lever 52 Lever bracket 524 Pressing portion 53 Retaining spring 531 Mounting portion 532 Lever retaining portion 533 Interlocking portion S Seat

Claims (1)

A lower rail fixed to the floor of the vehicle;
an upper rail fixed to the seat and slidable relative to the lower rail;
a locking member that releasably locks the relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail;
a lever mechanism for switching the locking member between a locked state and an unlocked state;
Equipped with
The lever mechanism includes:
A lever operated by a passenger;
a lever bracket that is located behind the lever, is rotatably held by the locking member, and has a pressing portion that presses the locking member to move the locking member to an unlocked position in response to an unlocking operation of the lever;
a retaining spring having an attachment portion attached to the lever bracket, a lever retaining portion attached to the lever and retaining the lever on the lever bracket, and an interlocking portion for operating the lever bracket in conjunction with the operation of the lever, the retaining spring connecting the lever and the lever bracket;
Equipped with
The retaining spring is formed by bending a single wire of spring steel,
The lever has a connecting portion connected to the lever bracket via the retaining spring, and a first notch (513a) is provided at a front and lower portion of the connecting portion, and a second notch (513b) is provided at a rear and upper portion of the connecting portion,
the lever bracket has a pair of side walls, a third notch (522a) is provided in a front and upper portion of the pair of side walls, and a fourth notch (522b) is provided in a rear and lower portion of the pair of side walls relative to the third notch, and a position of the fourth notch in the front-rear direction is aligned with the first notch,
the mounting portion is a portion provided at a front end of the retaining spring and is mounted within the third notch of the lever bracket;
the lever retaining portion is a portion provided at a rear end of the retaining spring and is mounted within the second notch of the lever;
A seat slide device, wherein the interlocking portion is a portion provided between the mounting portion and the lever holding portion, extends between the pair of side walls, and is mounted within the first notch of the lever and the fourth notch of the lever bracket.

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