JP7633486B2 - Operation lever and seat device equipped with operation lever - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an operating lever for operating at least a portion of a seat and a seat device equipped with the operating lever.

Generally, vehicle seats are configured so that the layout inside the vehicle can be changed by reclining the seat back or sliding it back and forth. For this reason, vehicle seats are provided with a lever for operating the seat. Furthermore, a gap is provided around the lever to allow the lever to be operated (see Patent Document 1).

International Publication No. 2020/013329

However, if there is a gap around the lever, objects may get caught in the gap. On the other hand, if there is no gap around the lever, it will be impossible to operate the lever with your hand.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above background, and aims to provide an operating lever that can be easily operated even when the gap with the surroundings is small, and a seat device equipped with the operating lever.

Another goal is to make the operating lever smaller.

Another goal is to make the seat device smaller.

The operating lever for achieving the above object is an operating lever for actuating a drive mechanism for moving at least a part of a seat, and includes a lever member and a support member.
The lever member has a first operating part and a second operating part for enabling operation of the first operating part, and can be rotated about a rotation axis between a first position when not in use, a second position rotated from the first position, and a third position rotated from the second position in the opposite direction to the first position, and in the process of rotating from the first position to the third position, engages with an operated part of the drive mechanism to activate the drive mechanism.
The support member rotatably supports the lever member.
When the lever member is in a first position, the tip of the first operating part faces an opposing portion of another member arranged adjacent to the tip, and when the lever member is in a second position, a larger gap is formed between the tip of the first operating part and the opposing portion than when the lever member is in the first position.
The second operating portion is disposed to be operated by being pressed, and can be operated to rotate the lever member from the first position to the second position.

With this configuration, even if it is impossible to operate the first operating part by hand when the lever member is in the first position, by pressing the second operating part to rotate the lever member from the first position to the second position and creating a gap between the first operating part and the opposing part, it becomes possible to insert a finger into this gap and operate the first operating part. Therefore, even if the gap between the lever member and the surrounding members is small, it is easy to operate the lever member.

In the above-mentioned operating lever, the first operating part may extend in a direction away from the pivot shaft, the second operating part may extend from the pivot shaft on the opposite side to the first operating part, and the distance from the pivot shaft to the tip of the first operating part may be greater than the distance from the pivot shaft to the tip of the second operating part.

This configuration allows the second operating part to be made compact, making the operating lever smaller. In addition, because the first operating part extends a long distance from the pivot shaft, it is easier to apply torque to the lever member and to operate the drive mechanism.

The lever member may be configured such that a first upper surface, which is the exposed upper surface of the first operating part, and a second upper surface, which is the exposed upper surface of the second operating part, are located on the same plane.

In this way, the top surface of the lever member is flat, allowing the lever member to have a neat design.

It is desirable that the first and second upper surfaces be flush with the surface of the member surrounding the lever member or not protrude beyond the surface of the member surrounding the lever member.

With this configuration, the lever member does not protrude, so it does not interfere with other objects and does not get in the way.

The lever member may be configured such that the drive mechanism is not actuated between the first position and the second position, and the drive mechanism is actuated by engaging with the operated part between the second position and the third position, so that the torque required to rotate from the first position to the second position is smaller than the torque required to rotate from the second position to the third position.

With this configuration, no large torque is required to rotate the lever member from the first position to the second position using the second operating part, making it easy to operate the second operating part.

The pivot axis may extend in the front-to-rear direction of the seat.

With this configuration, the lever member does not protrude forward or backward, making it possible to reduce the size of the operating lever.

The support member may have the opposing portion described above. When the lever member is in the first position, the distance between the tip of the first operating portion and the opposing portion may be smaller than the thickness dimension of the thinnest portion of the first operating portion.

In this way, because the distance between the tip of the first operating part and the opposing part is small, it is difficult for objects to get into the gap between the first operating part and the opposing part.

It is desirable that a diagram of the sheet is displayed on the first top surface, which is the exposed top surface of the first operating unit.

This configuration makes it easy for the user to understand that the seat can be moved using the first operating unit.

The seat device that solves the above-mentioned problem is a seat device equipped with the above-mentioned operating lever, and includes a seat, a drive mechanism, a slide mechanism that guides the seat so that it can move back and forth, and a slide operating unit for operating the slide mechanism.
The slide operation portion and the lever member are arranged side by side on the left and right.

This configuration allows the slide operating part and lever member to be arranged compactly, making it possible to miniaturize the seat device.

Further, a seat device that solves the above-mentioned problems is a seat device equipped with the above-mentioned operating lever, and includes a seat, a drive mechanism, and a tether anchor for fixing a child seat.
The tether anchor may be disposed at a position that does not overlap with an area in which the operating lever is disposed in the left-right direction.

With this configuration, the seat device can be made smaller by bringing the tether anchor and the operating lever closer together in the fore-and-aft direction, or by making the position of the operating lever overlap the range in which the tether anchor is located in the fore-and-aft direction.

According to the operating lever and the seat device equipped with the operating lever of the present invention, the lever member can be easily operated even if the gap between the lever member and the surrounding members is made small.
In addition, the operating lever can be made smaller.
In addition, the seat device can be made more compact.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat device as seen from the rear; 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating assistance of the reclining motion by a spring. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a reclining mechanism, showing a locked state and an unlocked state. 4 is a front perspective view of a part of the rear frame and an operating lever. FIG. FIG. 13 is a top view of a part of the rear frame and the operating lever. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the operating lever when the lever member is in a first position. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the operating lever when the lever member is in a second position. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the operating lever when the lever member is in a third position. FIG. FIG. 13 is a top view of another rear frame relating to a modified example of the method of fixing the tether anchor. 13A is a plan view and FIG. 13B is a side view of a rear frame according to an example in which the operating lever is positioned further forward.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.
As shown in Fig. 1, a seat device 1 including an operating lever LV according to this embodiment is, for example, a seat device provided in an automobile vehicle. More specifically, the seat device 1 is a seat device disposed in front of a luggage compartment 71 at the rear of the vehicle. In this specification, front/rear, left/right, and up/down are based on the seat S.

The seat device 1 is configured to include a seat S, a reclining mechanism 30, a slide mechanism 40, an operating lever LV, and an operating belt 45 as an example of a slide operating unit. The seat S includes a seating portion S1, a backrest S2, and a headrest S3.

The backrest S2 is connected to the seating portion S1 via a reclining mechanism 30.
The operating lever LV has a lever member 10 and a support member 20 that rotatably supports the lever member 10. The lever member 10 is connected to a reclining mechanism 30 by a wire W1. The reclining mechanism 30 and the wire W1 are an example of a drive mechanism.

The operating belt 45 is a member for operating the slide mechanism 40, and is connected to the slide mechanism 40 by the wire W2. The slide mechanism 40 is a mechanism for guiding the seat S so that it can move back and forth, and as is well known, includes a lower rail fixed to the vehicle floor, an upper rail that can slide relative to the lower rail, and a locking member that locks or unlocks the movement of the upper rail relative to the lower rail. The wire W2 connects the operating belt to the locking member so that the locking member can be operated.

As shown in FIGS. 2(a) to 2(c), the reclining mechanism 30 has a spring SP1 that assists the action of raising the backrest S2.
The spring SP1 is a spiral spring, and is fixed to the frame F1 of the seating portion S1. The spring SP1 has an arm SP11 extending radially from the end of the outer periphery. The frame F2 of the backrest S2 has a protrusion F21 protruding to the left and right, and the arm SP11 of the spring SP1 engages with the protrusion F21 when the backrest S2 is tilted forward (see FIG. 2(a)). The frame F1 of the seating portion S1 has a protrusion F11 protruding to the left and right on the upper part.

When the seat S is in a state in which the backrest S2 is tilted forward as shown in FIG. 2(a), the spring SP1 urges the backrest S2 in a direction to raise it, and the action of lifting the backrest S2 is assisted by the spring SP1. Then, as shown in FIG. 2(b), before the backrest S2 is fully raised, the arm SP11 of the spring SP1 engages with the protrusion F11. Furthermore, while the backrest S2 is rotating from FIG. 2(b) to FIG. 2(c), the arm SP11 engages with the protrusion F11 and is separated from the protrusion F21, so the action of moving the backrest S2 is not assisted by the spring SP1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the reclining mechanism 30 includes a base member 31, a rotating plate 32, a cam 33, a shaft 34, a locking member 36, a lever 37, and a spring SP2.

The base member 31 is a member that is fixed to the seating portion S1. The base member 31 has an internal gear 31G.

The rotating plate 32 is a member that can rotate relative to the base member 31. The rotating plate 32 has a guide portion 32A that guides the movement of the locking member 36. The rotating plate 32 is fixed to the backrest S2.

The shaft 34 can rotate about the reclining axis 34X relative to the base member 31 and the rotating plate 32.

Two locking members 36 are provided on either side of the shaft 34. The locking members 36 are capable of sliding in a direction toward and away from the shaft 34 (hereinafter referred to as the "radial direction"). Specifically, the locking members 36 are guided in their sliding movement in the radial direction by guide portion 32A. The locking members 36 have gears 36G on their outer peripheral edge on the radially outer side that can mesh with the internal gear 31G. The locking members 36 are biased radially inward by a spring (not shown).

The cam 33 is a roughly elliptical member located between the two locking members 36. The cam 33 is biased counterclockwise in the figure by two springs SP2 fixed to the rotating plate 32. The cam 33 and lever 37 are fixed to the shaft 34, and the cam 33, shaft 34, and lever 37 rotate integrally with respect to the base member 31 and the rotating plate 32.

The lever 37 engages with the engagement portion D1 at the end of the wire W1, and rotates clockwise in the figure when the wire W1 is pulled. The wire W1 passes through a cylindrical outer cable 63.

With this configuration, when the lever 37 is pulled in the locked state in which the gear 36G meshes with the internal gear 31G as shown in FIG. 3(a), the cam 33 rotates clockwise, allowing the locking member 36 to move radially inward, and the gear 36G disengages from the internal gear 31G as shown in FIG. 3(b), allowing the shaft 34 to rotate. This places the reclining mechanism 30 in an unlocked state in which the backrest S2 can be rotated relative to the seating portion S1.

When the lever 37 is released from the unlocked state shown in FIG. 3(b), the urging force of the spring SP2 causes the cam 33 to rotate counterclockwise, pushing the locking member 36 radially outward. As a result, the gear 36G engages with the internal gear 31G as shown in FIG. 3(a), and the backrest S2 enters a locked state in which it cannot rotate relative to the seating portion S1.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the operating lever LV is supported by the frame F1 of the seating section S1. Specifically, the frame F1 has a rear frame 50 arranged at the rear. The rear frame 50 has side frames 51, 52 arranged spaced apart on the left and right, a rear cross member 53 connecting the rear of the side frame 51 to the rear of the side frame 52, and a front cross member 54 connecting the front of the side frame 51 to the front of the side frame 52.

A first bracket 55 and a second bracket 56 are fixed to the rear cross member 53 by welding. The second bracket 56 is positioned to the left of the first bracket 55. In addition, a tether anchor 58 for fixing a child seat is fixed to the rear cross member 53 by welding.

The right end of the operating lever LV is fixed to the first bracket 55, and the left end of the supporting member 20 is fixed to the second bracket 56. As shown in FIG. 5, the tether anchor 58 is positioned so as not to overlap the range in which the operating lever LV is positioned in the left-right direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the operating lever LV includes a lever member 10, a support member 20, a shaft 61, and a torsion spring 62. The operating lever LV is a device for operating a drive mechanism for moving at least a part of the seat S. In this embodiment, the operating lever LV operates a drive mechanism (reclining mechanism 30 and wire W1) for moving the backrest S2, which is part of the seat S.

The lever member 10 can be rotated about a rotation axis 10X between a first position when not in use, as shown in FIG. 7, a second position rotated from the first position, as shown in FIG. 8, and a third position rotated from the second position to the opposite side from the first position, as shown in FIG. 9. The wire W1 has at its tip a cylindrical engagement portion D2 that is the operated part of the drive mechanism. The lever member 10 engages with the engagement portion D2 in the process of rotating from the first position to the third position, thereby operating the drive mechanism.

Returning to FIG. 6 , the lever member 10 has a first operating portion 11 , a second operating portion 12 , a bearing portion 13 , and a wire hook portion 14 .
The bearing portion 13 has a through hole 13A into which the shaft 61 is inserted, and is rotatable relative to the shaft 61. The central axis of the shaft 61 serves as a rotation axis 10X of the lever member 10.
The first operating unit 11 and the second operating unit 12 extend in the left-right direction from the bearing portion 13. Specifically, the first operating unit 11 is a part configured to be operated by pulling, and extends in a direction away from the rotation axis 10X of the lever member 10 to the right. The second operating unit 12 is a part configured to be operated by pushing, and extends from the rotation axis 10X to the opposite side to the first operating unit 11, that is, to the left. The second operating unit 12 is an operating unit for making the first operating unit 11 operable.

The first operating unit 11 has a first top surface 11U, which is the exposed top surface. The second operating unit 12 has a second top surface 12U, which is the exposed top surface. The first top surface 11U and the second top surface 12U are located on the same plane. In other words, the first top surface 11U of the first operating unit 11 and the second top surface 12U of the second operating unit 12 have a continuous planar shape.

A first operation mark 11F consisting of a drawing of a seat is displayed in a concave shape on the first upper surface 11U. The first operation mark 11F indicates to the user that the first operation part 11 is a part used to move the backrest S1.
The second upper surface 12U has an oval recessed shape in a plan view, and a plurality of protrusions are formed at the bottom of the recessed shape. The recessed shape and the protrusions are second operation marks 12F that indicate that the second operation unit 12 is a part that is pressed to be operated. The second operation marks 12F indicate to the user that the second operation unit 12 is a part that is pressed to be used.

As shown in FIG. 7, the distance L3 from the pivot axis 10X to the tip 11T of the first operating unit 11 is greater than the distance L4 from the pivot axis 10X to the tip 12T of the second operating unit 12. For this reason, the first operating unit 11 is convenient for rotating the lever member 10 with a large torque, while the second operating unit 12 cannot apply a large torque to the lever member 10, but is appropriately small, which contributes to the miniaturization of the lever member 10. Note that the distance L3 is the distance from the pivot axis 10X to the farthest tip 11T of the first operating unit 11, and the distance L4 is the distance from the pivot axis 10X to the farthest tip 12T of the second operating unit 12.

As shown in FIG. 6, the wire hook 14 extends downward from the bearing 13. The wire hook 14 has a hole 14A that engages with the cylindrical engagement portion D2 at the end of the wire W1. When viewed along the rotation axis 10X, the hole 14A has an elliptical shape through which the engagement portion D2 can move.

The support member 20 has a main body portion 21, an opposing portion 22, and an attachment leg 23.

The main body 21 has a pair of side walls 21P that face each other in the direction in which the rotation axis 10X extends, a bottom wall 21Q that connects the lower ends of the pair of side walls 21P, and a connecting wall 21R that connects each end of the pair of side walls 21P to the bottom wall 21Q. The main body 21 is open at the top.

Each side wall 21P is provided with a pivot support 21A. The pivot support 21A is two holes provided to pivotally support the shaft 61. By the pivot support 21A pivoting the shaft 61, the support member 20 supports the lever member 10 so that it can rotate around the rotation axis 10X. The upper edge of each side wall 21P, on the right side of the pivot support 21A and located below the first operating part 11, forms a locking part 21S that extends horizontally. On the other hand, the upper edge of each side wall 21P, on the left side of the pivot support 21A and located below the second operating part 12, forms a relief part 21T that extends diagonally downward.

The bottom wall 21Q is formed with a spring hook portion 21B, a bottom hole 21C, and a fixing portion 21D.
The spring hook portion 21B is a portion for hooking the first arm 62B of the torsion spring 62. Here, the torsion spring 62 has a coil portion 62A, and a first arm 62B and a second arm 62C extending from the coil portion 62A. The second arm 62C of the torsion spring 62 abuts against the lower surface of the second operating portion 12, and constantly biases the lever member 10 toward the first position.
The bottom hole 21C is a through hole formed in the bottom wall 21Q, and when the first operating portion 11 of the lever member 10 is rotated so as to be pulled up, a part of the wire hanging portion 14 enters therein to ensure the amount of rotation of the lever member 10.
The fixing portion 21D is a portion for fixing the support member 20 to the first bracket 55 by a fastening member such as a screw, and is a hole through which the fastening member passes.

A wire fixing portion 21E is formed on the connection wall 21R. The wire fixing portion 21E is a portion that hooks and fixes the end member 63A (see FIG. 7) of the outer cable 63 of the wire W1.

The facing portion 22 is a portion that protrudes upward and is provided at one end of the main body in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 7, when the lever member 10 is in the first position, the facing portion 22 is disposed adjacent to the tip 11T of the first operating portion 11 and faces the tip 11T. When the lever member 10 is in the first position, the distance L1 between the tip 11T of the first operating portion 11 and the facing portion 22 is smaller than the thickness dimension L2 of the thinnest part of the first operating portion 11. In other words, the distance L1 between the facing portion 22 and the tip 11T of the first operating portion 11 is very small. Note that the thickness dimension L2 of the thinnest part of the first operating portion 11 is a dimension that does not take into account the shape of the first operating mark 11F.

The upper surface 22U of the facing portion 22 is formed in a flat shape and is flush with the first upper surface 11U and the second upper surface 12U when the lever member 10 is in the first position.

When the lever member 10 is in the first position, a locking portion 21S of a side wall 21P of the main body 21 is disposed immediately below the first operating portion 11. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to push the first operating portion 11 downward, the first operating portion 11 hits the locking portion 21S and cannot be pushed downward, but is instead operated by pulling it upward.
Meanwhile, a recess 21T extending obliquely downward from the upper edge of the pivot support 21A is disposed below the second operating part 12. When the lever member 10 is in the first position and the second operating part 12 is pushed downward, the second operating part 12 does not immediately come into contact with the recess 21T, and can therefore be operated by being pushed downward. This makes it possible to operate the lever member 10 so as to rotate it from the first position to the second position.

Returning to FIG. 6, the mounting leg 23 extends downward from the end of the bottom wall 21Q of the main body 21 that is closest to the opposing portion 22. The mounting leg 23 has a recess 23A. The recess 23A is used to attach the support member 20 to the first bracket 55 by engaging with the first bracket 55.

The operating lever LV having this configuration is disposed so that the longitudinal direction of the operating lever LV faces the left-right direction, as shown in Fig. 1. In other words, the rotation shaft 10X is disposed so as to extend in the front-rear direction of the seat S.
As an example, a luggage compartment 71 of the vehicle is located immediately behind the seat S, and a floor member 8 of the luggage compartment 71 is disposed behind the lower end of the backrest S2. The front end of the floor member 8 has a notch 8A shaped to correspond to the operating lever LV, and the operating lever LV is disposed to fit into this notch 8A. The first upper surface 11U and the second upper surface 12U are flush with the surface of the member surrounding the lever member 10, or do not protrude beyond the surface of the member surrounding the lever member 10. Here, in this embodiment, the member surrounding the lever member 10 is the opposing portion 22 of the support member 20 and the floor member 8.

A hole that penetrates vertically is formed in the floor member 8 on the left side of the operating lever LV. The operating belt 45 is disposed so as to penetrate the floor member 8 from bottom to top. In other words, the operating belt 45 and the lever member 10 are disposed side by side on the left and right.

Next, the operation of the lever member 10 thus configured will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7, when not in use, the lever member 10 is biased clockwise by the torsion spring 62 and is located at the first position. For convenience, the torsion spring 62 is illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 9 on the front side. At this time, the distance L1 between the tip 11T of the first operating part 11 and the facing part 22 is small, so the first operating part 11 cannot be operated by hand to be pulled up. This prevents objects from entering the gap between the lever member 10 and the facing part 22. The engagement part D2 of the wire W1 is located at one end (the end on the counterclockwise side in FIG. 7) of the oval hole 14A. In this embodiment, "cannot be operated by hand" means that the first operating part 11 cannot be easily operated by the fingers of the hand without using a tool, and does not mean that the first operating part 11 is operated using a tool or a long fingernail.

When attempting to move the backrest S2 by pulling the wire W1, first, the second upper surface 12U of the second operating portion 12 is pressed from above to rotate the lever member 10 from the first position to the second position as shown in Fig. 8. Then, the engaging portion D2 of the wire W1 is positioned at the other end (the clockwise end) of the oval hole 14A. The state in which the engaging portion D2 begins to contact the other end of the hole 14A is regarded as the second position of the lever member 10.
While the lever member 10 is rotated from the first position to the second position, the lever member 10 does not pull the wire W1 and does not operate the reclining mechanism 30. Therefore, no load for pulling the wire W1 is applied to the lever member 10 between the first position and the second position, and the torque required to rotate the lever member 10 is only the load of the torsion spring 62, which is small.

When the lever member 10 is in the second position, as shown in FIG. 8, the first operating part 11 moves upward away from the side wall 21P and the opposing part 22 of the support member 20, and a larger gap is formed between the tip 11T of the first operating part 11 and the opposing part 22 than when the lever member 10 is in the first position. This allows the user to hook their finger from the tip 11T of the first operating part 11 to the underside of the first operating part 11, making it possible to pull the first operating part 11 further upward. Thus, by pulling the first operating part 11 up with their finger, the user can rotate the lever member 10 from the second position to the third position.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the lever member 10 rotates from the second position to the third position, the wire hook 14 pulls the engagement portion D2 of the wire W1. This rotates the cam 33 of the reclining mechanism 30, unlocking the reclining mechanism 30 and allowing the backrest S2 to rotate. At this time, the lever member 10 engages with the engagement portion D2 between the second position and the third position to operate the reclining mechanism 30, so that a load for deforming the spring SP2 is applied in addition to the load of the torsion spring 62. Therefore, the torque required to rotate the lever member 10 from the second position to the third position is greater than the torque required to rotate it from the first position to the second position.

To return the lever member 10 from the third position to the first position, the finger placed on the lever member 10 is released. Between the third position and the second position, the biasing force of the spring SP2 is transmitted to the lever member 10 via the wire W1, so that the biasing force of the spring SP2 and the biasing force of the torsion spring 62 move the lever member 10 from the third position toward the second position. The biasing force of the torsion spring 62 also moves the lever member 10 from the second position to the first position.

As described above, the operating lever LV and seat device 1 of this embodiment can provide the following effects.

The lever member 10 of this embodiment can create a gap between the first operating part 11 and the opposing part 22 by pressing the second operating part 12 to rotate the lever member 10 from the first position to the second position. Therefore, even if it is impossible to operate the first operating part 11 by pulling it when the lever member 10 is in the first position, it is possible to operate the first operating part 11 by inserting a finger into the gap that is created when the lever member 10 is in the second position. Therefore, by reducing the gap between the lever member 10 and the surrounding members, for example, between the lever member 10 and the opposing part 22, the lever member 10 can be easily operated even if it is difficult for an object to get between the lever member 10 and the opposing part 22.

In addition, the lever member 10 has a distance L3 from the pivot shaft 10X to the tip 11T of the first operating part 11 that is greater than the distance L4 from the pivot shaft 10X to the tip 12T of the second operating part 12. This allows the second operating part 12 to be made compact, making the operating lever LV smaller. In addition, because the first operating part 11 extends a long distance from the pivot shaft 10X, it is easier to apply torque to the lever member 10 and operate the reclining mechanism 30.

In addition, the top surface of the lever member 10 is flat, allowing the lever member 10 to have a neat design. In addition, items stored in the luggage compartment 71 are less likely to get caught on the lever member 10.

In addition, the first upper surface 11U and the second upper surface 12U are flush with the surfaces of the components surrounding the lever member 10 or do not protrude beyond the surfaces of the components surrounding the lever member 10, so the lever member 10 does not interfere with other objects and does not get in the way.

In addition, since the torque required to rotate the lever member 10 from the first position to the second position is smaller than the torque required to rotate the lever member 10 from the second position to the third position, a large torque is not required to rotate the lever member 10 from the first position to the second position using the second operating unit 12. Therefore, even if the second operating unit 12 has a short length to the tip 12T, it is easy to rotate the lever member 10 from the first position to the second position. In addition, because the second operating unit 12 is short, it is possible to prevent the seat S from moving when the second operating unit 12 is accidentally pressed by an object placed in the luggage compartment 71 or by the user's hand.

In addition, because the pivot shaft 10X extends in the front-rear direction of the seat S, the lever member 10 does not protrude forward or backward, making it possible to reduce the size of the operating lever LV.

When the lever member 10 is in the first position, the distance L1 between the tip 11T of the first operating part 11 and the opposing part 22 is smaller than the thickness dimension L2 of the thinnest part of the first operating part 11. In this way, because the distance L1 between the tip 11T of the first operating part 11 and the opposing part 22 is small, it is difficult for objects to get into the gap between the first operating part 11 and the opposing part 22.

In addition, the first operation mark 11F is displayed on the first upper surface 11U of the first operation unit 11, making it easy for the user to understand that the sheet S can be moved by the first operation unit 11.

In addition, by arranging the operation belt 45 and the lever member 10 side by side, the operation belt 45 and the lever member 10 can be arranged compactly, making it possible to reduce the size of the seat device 1.

In addition, the tether anchor 58 is positioned in a position that does not overlap with the range in which the operating lever LV is positioned in the left-right direction. Therefore, the seat device 1 can be made smaller by bringing the tether anchor 58 and the operating lever LV closer together in the front-rear direction or by moving the operating lever LV so that it overlaps with the range in which the tether anchor 58 is positioned.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified appropriately.
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the tether anchor 158 may be fixed to the second bracket 156 instead of being directly fixed to the rear cross member. The operation lever LV shown in FIG. 10 is configured symmetrically to the above embodiment and is fixed to the seat frame F2. The seat frame F2 has side frames 151, 152 and a rear cross member 153 that connects the rear part of the side frame 151 to the rear part of the side frame 152. The seat frame F2 is fixed to the slide rail mechanism 140. Specifically, the slide rail mechanism 140 has a lower rail 141 and an upper rail 142 that is slidable relative to the lower rail 141, and the side frames 151, 152 are fixed to the upper rail 142. In other words, the side frames 151, 152 are parts connected to the slide rail mechanism 140 and are also called rail brackets. In this embodiment, the first bracket 155 is configured integrally with the side frame 152. This makes it possible to reduce the number of parts.

Also, as shown in Figures 11(a) and (b), the operating lever LV may be positioned further forward. In this form, the frame F3 is positioned such that the first bracket 155B and the second bracket 156B are rotated forward around the rear cross member 153 compared to the form in Figure 10. The tether anchor 158 is positioned in a position that overlaps with the range in which the operating lever LV is positioned in the fore-and-aft direction. The tether anchor 158 may be fixed directly to the rear cross member 153 or may be fixed to the second bracket 156B. In this way, according to the present invention, the operating lever LV can be positioned compactly in the fore-and-aft direction.

The present invention can also be implemented in the following forms.
In the above embodiment, a reclining mechanism 30 and a wire W1 are given as examples of the driving mechanism, and a case is described in which the backrest S2, which is part of the seat S, is moved by operating the lever member 10. However, the driving mechanism may also be a slide mechanism 40 and a wire W2, and the entire seat S may be moved by the slide mechanism 40 by operating the lever member.

In the above embodiment, the operating lever is applied to a vehicle seat, but the operating lever may be applied to a seat of a vehicle other than a vehicle, or may be applied to a seat of a vehicle other than a vehicle.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the lever member 10 is oriented so that the first operating part 11 is on the right and the second operating part 12 is on the left, but they may be arranged in the reversed order.

Furthermore, the elements described in the above embodiments and variations may be implemented in any combination.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 seat device 8 floor member 10 lever member 10X rotating shaft 11 first operation portion 11F first operation mark 11T tip 11U first upper surface 12 second operation portion 12T tip 12U second upper surface 20 support member 22 opposing portion 30 reclining mechanism 40 slide mechanism 45 operation belt 50 rear frame 58 tether anchor D2 engagement portion LV operation lever S seat W1 wire

Claims (10)

A vehicle comprising a seat, a drive mechanism for moving at least a portion of the seat , and an operating lever for operating the drive mechanism ,
The operating lever is
a lever member having a first operating portion and a second operating portion for enabling operation of the first operating portion, the lever member being capable of rotating about a rotation axis between a first position when not in use, a second position rotated from the first position, and a third position rotated from the second position in a direction opposite to the first position, the lever member engaging with an operated portion of the drive mechanism in the process of rotating from the first position to the third position to operate the drive mechanism;
a support member that rotatably supports the lever member,
When the lever member is in the first position, a tip of the first operating part faces a facing part of another member disposed adjacent to the tip, and when the lever member is in the second position, a larger gap is formed between the tip of the first operating part and the facing part than when the lever member is in the first position;
the second operating portion is arranged to be operated by being pressed, and can be operated to rotate a lever member from the first position to the second position ,
The pivot shaft extends in a front-rear direction of the seat,
The vehicle is characterized in that the operating lever is arranged so that, when facing upward toward a floor of a luggage compartment located behind the seat, the longitudinal direction of the operating lever faces left and right, and along the front edge of a floor member of the luggage compartment . The first operating portion extends in a direction away from the rotation shaft,
The second operating part extends from the rotation shaft to a side opposite to the first operating part,
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a distance from the rotation shaft to a tip of the first operating part is greater than a distance from the rotation shaft to a tip of the second operating part. The vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a first upper surface, which is an upper surface on which the first operating portion is exposed, and a second upper surface, which is an upper surface on which the second operating portion is exposed, of the lever member are located on the same plane. 4. The vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the first upper surface and the second upper surface are flush with a surface of the floor member or do not protrude beyond the surface of the floor member. 5. The vehicle described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the lever member does not operate the drive mechanism between the first position and the second position, and engages with the operated part between the second position and the third position to operate the drive mechanism , so that the torque required to rotate from the first position to the second position is smaller than the torque required to rotate from the second position to the third position. The support member has the opposing portion,
6. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the lever member is in the first position, a distance between the tip of the first operating portion and the opposing portion is smaller than a thickness dimension of the thinnest portion of the first operating portion. 7. The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein a drawing of a seat is displayed on a first upper surface, which is an exposed upper surface of the first operation portion. An operating lever for operating a drive mechanism for moving at least a portion of the seat,
a lever member having a first operating portion and a second operating portion for enabling operation of the first operating portion, the lever member being capable of rotating about a rotation axis between a first position when not in use, a second position rotated from the first position, and a third position rotated from the second position in a direction opposite to the first position, the lever member engaging with an operated portion of the drive mechanism in the process of rotating from the first position to the third position to operate the drive mechanism;
a support member that rotatably supports the lever member,
When the lever member is in the first position, a tip of the first operating part faces a facing part of another member disposed adjacent to the tip, and when the lever member is in the second position, a larger gap is formed between the tip of the first operating part and the facing part than when the lever member is in the first position;
the second operating portion is arranged to be operated by being pressed, and can be operated to rotate a lever member from the first position to the second position ,
The pivot shaft extends in a front-rear direction of the seat,
The operating lever is characterized in that, when facing upward toward a floor of the luggage compartment located behind the seat, the longitudinal direction of the operating lever faces left and right, and the operating lever is arranged along the front edge of the floor member of the luggage compartment . A seat device comprising the operating lever according to claim 8 ,
a seat, a driving mechanism, a slide mechanism that guides the seat so as to be movable forward and backward, and a slide operation unit that operates the slide mechanism;
The seat device according to claim 1, wherein the slide operation portion and the lever member are arranged side by side on the left and right. A seat device comprising the operating lever according to claim 8 ,
The vehicle seat includes the seat, the drive mechanism, and a tether anchor for fixing the child seat,
The seat apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tether anchor is disposed at a position that does not overlap with an area in which the operating lever is disposed in the left-right direction.

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