JP7848973B2 - Seat sliding device - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a seat sliding device for adjusting the fore-aft position of a vehicle seat.

A seat sliding device is known that can adjust the fore-aft position of a vehicle seat and lock the seat in a predetermined position. Figure 9(a) is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional seat sliding device. Figure 9(b) is an exploded perspective view of a conventional seat sliding device. Note that some parts are omitted in Figure 9(b).

A conventional seat slide device 100 primarily comprises a lower rail 110, an upper rail 120, a locking device 130, and a lever mechanism 140. A pair of seat slide devices 100 are provided for each seat (inner and outer sides) (however, the lever 141, described later, is a common component for both the left and right seat slide devices 100). The lower rail 110 and upper rail 120 are immobile in the front-rear direction when locked by the locking device 130, and become mobile in the front-rear direction when unlocked. The locking device 130 is unlocked by the lever mechanism 140.

The lever mechanism 140 comprises a lever 141, a lever bracket 142, and a spring bracket 143. A portion of the lever 141 is positioned on the lever bracket 142. A pressing portion 142a for activating the locking device 130 is provided on the rear side of the lever bracket 142. The lever bracket 142 has a protruding shaft portion 142b. 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 also pivotally 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 portion 142b, causing the pressing portion 142a to lower. The pressing portion 142a exerts force on the locking device 130, which then unlocks the locking device 130.

Incidentally, conventional seat sliding devices had complex structures because the locking mechanism and lever mechanism were composed of numerous parts. Furthermore, the large number of parts made layout adjustments difficult.

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

The present invention has the following features.
The lower rail is fixed to the floor of the vehicle,
An upper rail that is fixed to the seat and is slidable relative to the lower rail,
It consists of a single sheet of elastically deformable plate material and comprises a locking piece, a pressed portion, two extended portions, two rising portions, a mounting portion, and a hanging portion, with an opening formed between the two rising portions that is closed at the top, and a locking member that locks the relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail in a releaseable manner.
It has an operating section located on the front side, and an arm section integrally connected to the operating section, extending to the rear side of the operating section, inserted into the opening, and positioned on the locking member, and a lever for switching between the locked state and the unlocked state of the locking member,
Equipped with,
When the operating section is pulled upward, the lever rotates around the point of contact between the arm and the upper edge of the opening, causing the arm to press against the locking member and move it to the unlocked position.
A stopper is provided at the lower part of the hanging portion of the locking member, positioned at a distance forward from the contact point. When the front side of the lever moves downward, it contacts the lever, thereby restricting the amount of downward movement of the lever.
Seat sliding device.

In the seat slide device of the present invention, the locking member can be directly moved to the unlocked position by a lever to which the operating part and the arm part are integrally connected. Therefore, since a lever bracket to transmit the lever's movement is not required, as in conventional seat slide devices, the number of parts can be reduced. Furthermore, the lever rotates around the upper edge of the opening of the locking member, thereby unlocking the locking member. In other words, the rotation center of the lever is located on the locking member. Therefore, during layout adjustment, the rotation center of the lever is automatically changed simply by moving only the locking member in the front-to-back direction, improving layout flexibility.

This is a schematic side view of the seat and seat sliding device. This is an exploded perspective view of the seat slide mechanism. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 2. (a) Perspective view of the seat slide device after assembly, (b) Cross-sectional view of (a) along the line IVb-IVb. (a) Perspective view of the locking member, (b) Side view of the locking member. This is a perspective view of an elastic member. (a) Cross-sectional view of the lever when not in operation, (b) Cross-sectional view of the lever when unlocked. This is a cross-sectional view of the lever during its cancellation operation. (a) A cross-sectional view showing an example of a conventional seat slide device, and (b) A perspective view of some components of a conventional seat slide device.

The seat sliding device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below represent preferred specific examples of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention. For clarity, some components and hatching may be omitted in the drawings.

<1. Overall structure of the seat sliding device>
Figure 1 is a schematic side view of the vehicle's seat S and seat sliding device 1. Hereafter, "vehicle vertical direction,""vehicle longitudinal direction," and "vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction)" will be simply referred to as "vertical direction,""longitudinaldirection," and "left-right direction," respectively.

The seat slide device 1 comprises a lower rail 2, an upper rail 3, a locking member 4, a lever 5, and an elastic member 6 (see Figure 2). The lower rail 2, upper rail 3, locking member 4, and elastic member 6 are provided in pairs (i.e., on the inner and outer sides) for each seat S.

The lower rail 2 is fixed to the vehicle floor via bracket B. The upper rail 3 is fixed to the seat S and is also 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-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-rear direction. The locked and unlocked states of the locking member 4 are switched by lever 5. Each component is described in detail below.

<1-1 Lower Rail and Upper Rail>
The lower rail 2 will be described primarily with reference to Figure 2. Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the seat slide device 1.

The lower rail 2 consists of a long, elongated member extending in the front-rear direction, comprising a bottom wall 21, side walls 22, an upper wall 23, and a flange portion 24. The side walls 22, upper wall 23, and flange portion 24 are each provided in pairs. The lower rail 2 is, for example, made of metal and integrally formed by press working.

The bottom wall 21 is a substantially flat plate extending in the front-rear direction. The side walls 22 extend upward from both the left and right ends of the bottom wall 21, forming a nearly right angle with the bottom wall 21. The top wall 23 extends from the upper end of one side wall 22 toward the other side wall 22. The flange portion 24 extends downward from the end of the top wall 23, roughly parallel to the side wall 22.

Multiple notches 24a are formed in the flange portion 24 at intervals 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 positioned in the locked position, the locking teeth 24b are positioned within the through-hole 41a of the locking member 4 (see Figure 5(a)), which will be described later.

Next, the upper rail 3 will be described, mainly with reference to Figures 2 through 4. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in Figure 2. Figure 4(a) is a perspective view of the assembled seat slide device 1, and Figure 4(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IVb-IVb in Figure 4(a). Note that in Figure 4(a), some components have been partially omitted to make the internal structure easier to see.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the upper rail 3 consists of a long, elongated member extending in the front-rear direction, comprising an upper wall 31, side walls 32, a bottom wall 33, and a flange portion 34. The upper rail 3 is, for example, made of metal and integrally formed by press working.

The side walls 32, bottom wall 33, and flange portion 34 are each provided in pairs. The top wall 31 is a substantially flat plate extending in the front-rear direction. The side walls 32 extend downward from both the left and right ends of the top wall 31, forming a substantially right angle with the top wall 31. The bottom wall 33 extends diagonally upward from the side walls 32, moving away from them. The flange portion 34 extends diagonally upward from the bottom wall 33, approaching the side walls 32.

As shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4(a), a notch 31a is provided at the corner between the upper wall 31 and the side wall 32. An elastic member 6 is attached to the notch 31a. A through hole 31b is provided behind the notch 31a. A fixing member 7 for securing the locking member 4 to the upper rail 3 is inserted into the through hole 31b. Furthermore, a protruding portion 31c is provided behind the through hole 31b, projecting downwards. The protruding portion 31c is formed, for example, by cutting and bending a portion of the upper wall 31. When the lever 5 is not being operated, the arm portion 52 of the lever 5 is in contact with this protruding portion 31c (see Figure 7(a)).

As shown in Figure 3, each side wall 32 has multiple notches 32a formed in the front-rear direction at the same intervals as the notches 24a of the lower rail 2. By providing multiple notches 32a, multiple locking teeth 32b are formed on each side wall 32. When the locking member 4 is positioned in the locked position, the locking teeth 32b are positioned within the through-hole 41a of the locking member 4 (see Figure 5(a)), which will be described later. Furthermore, each side wall 32 is provided with a notch 32c extending in the vertical direction for press-fitting the protrusion 44b of the locking member 4 (see Figure 5(a)), which will be described later.

As shown in Figure 4(b), the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 are assembled such that the side wall 32 of the upper rail 3 is positioned between the pair of flange portions 24 of the lower rail 2, and the flange portion 34 of the upper rail 3 is positioned between the side wall 22 and the flange portion 24 of the lower rail 2.

A rolling mechanism 8, such as a ball as shown in Figure 2, is positioned between the corner portion 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. Furthermore, another rolling mechanism 8 is positioned 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. This rolling mechanism 8 allows the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 to slide smoothly in the front-rear direction.

<1-2 Locking Components>
The locking member 4 will be described primarily with reference to Figures 4 and 5. Figure 5(a) is a perspective view of the locking member 4, and Figure 5(b) is a side view of the locking member 4.

The locking member 4 is manufactured by, for example, press-forming a single sheet of elastically deformable material such as spring steel. As shown in Figure 5, the locking member 4 comprises a locking piece 41, a pressed portion 42, two extensions 43, two rising portions 44, a mounting portion 45, and a hanging portion 46.

As shown in Figure 5(a), the locking piece 41 has multiple through holes 41a spaced apart in the front-rear direction. The portion of the locking piece 41 adjacent to the multiple through holes 41a in the front-rear direction functions as locking teeth 41b. When the locking member 4 is positioned in the locked position, the locking teeth 24b of the lower rail 2 and the locking teeth 32b of the upper rail 3 are inserted into the through holes 41a, and the locking teeth 41b of the locking 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 back and forth.

The pressed portion 42 is located in front of the locking piece 41. The rear end of the lever 5 is positioned on the pressed portion 42 (see Figures 4(a) and 7(a)). When the operating portion 51 of the lever 5 is lifted (i.e., when the lock release operation is performed), the pressed portion 42 is pressed downward by the lever 5 (see Figure 7(b)).

The two extensions 43 are spaced apart in the left-right direction and extend in the front-rear direction. The rising portion 44 is the part that rises upward from the front end of each of the two extensions 43. As shown in Figure 5(b), the rising portion 44 rises upward while slightly inclined backward. As shown in Figures 4(b) and 5(a), the two rising portions 44 are connected at their upper parts. This creates an opening 44a between the two rising portions 44, which is closed at the top. As will be described later, the arm portion 52 of the lever 5 is inserted into the opening 44a (see Figures 4(a) and (b)).

As shown in Figure 5, each rising portion 44 is provided with a protruding portion 44b that extends outward. As described above, since the rising portion 44 rises while inclined backward, the protruding portion 44b is also inclined backward. The width of the protruding portion 44b in the front-rear direction (i.e., the distance between the upper rear end and the lower front end of the protruding portion 44b) is greater than the width of the notch 32c of the upper rail 3. Therefore, when the protruding portion 44b is inserted into the notch 32c, the protruding portion 44b is press-fitted into the notch 32c. When the protruding portion 44b is press-fitted into the notch 32c, the upper rear end of the protruding portion 44b contacts the inner surface on the rear side of the notch 32c, and the lower front end of the protruding portion 44b contacts the inner surface on the front side of the notch 32c. Then, when the protruding portion 44b contacts the inner surfaces on the front and rear sides of the notch 32c, it undergoes elastic deformation and generates a holding load in the front-rear direction. The protrusion 44b is fixed within the notch 32c by this holding load. Therefore, the locking member 4 does not wobble back and forth even when a load is applied.

The mounting portion 45 is the part for fixing the locking member 4 to the upper rail 3 by the fixing member 7. As shown in Figure 5(a), the mounting portion 45 has a through hole 45a for inserting the fixing member 7. The fixing member 7 is inserted into the through hole 31b of the upper rail 3 and the through hole 45a of the locking member 4. The lower part of the fixing member 7 is crimped to the mounting portion 45, and the upper part of the solid member 7 is crimped to the upper rail 3. In this way, the locking member 4 is fixed to the upper rail 3.

As shown in Figure 5(a), the hanging portion 46 is the part that extends downward from the front end of the mounting portion 45. The hanging portion 46 is provided with an opening 46a through which the lever 5 passes. The lower part 46b of the hanging portion 46 functions as a stopper portion 46b that restricts the amount of downward movement of the lever 5 when the front side of the lever 5 is lowered by the cancellation operation. In other words, when the front side of the lever 5 is lowered by the cancellation operation, the lever 5 contacts the stopper portion 46b, preventing the lever 5 from lowering any further.

<1-3 Lever and Elastic Member>
The lever 5 and the elastic member 6 will be described primarily with reference to Figures 2, 4, 6, and 7(a). Figure 6 is a perspective view of the elastic member 6. Figure 7(a) is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide device 1 when the lever 5 is not being operated.

As shown in Figure 2, the lever 5 comprises an operating section 51 and a pair of left and right arm sections 52 (the left arm section 52 is omitted in Figure 2). The pair of arm sections 52 are integrally connected via the operating section 51. The lever 5 is integrally formed, for example, by press-forming a single pipe. A notch 52a is provided on the lower surface of the arm section 52. An elastic member 6 for biasing the lever 5 upward is attached to the notch 52a.

The elastic member 6 is constructed, for example, by bending a single linear spring. As shown in Figure 6, the elastic member 6 comprises two arm portions 61 spaced apart to the left and right, and a connecting portion 62 connecting the rear ends of the two arm portions 61. Each of the two arm portions 61 is provided with a locking portion 61a. The locking portion 61a engages with a notch 31a in the upper rail 3 (see Figure 4(a)). The connecting portion 62 engages with a notch 52a in the lever 5 (see Figure 7(a)).

As shown in Figure 4(a), the arm portion 52 is inserted between the two arm portions 61 of the elastic member 6 into the openings 46a and 44a of the locking member 4, and the rear end of the arm portion 52 is positioned on the pressed portion 42 of the locking member 4.

The elastic member 6, which is locked to the lever 5, will bear the weight of the lever 5 (downward load), but the upward biasing force of the elastic member 6 is greater than this downward load. In other words, the lever 5 is biased upward by the elastic member 6. Therefore, as shown in Figure 7(a), when the lever 5 is not operated, the front portion of the lever 5 is positioned at a distance from the bottom wall 21 of the lower rail 2. As shown in Figure 7(a), when the lever 5 is not operated, the arm portion 52 is in contact with the protruding portion 31c of the upper rail 3. When the lever 5 is not operated, the arm portion 52 is positioned at a distance from the stopper portion 46b. When the lever 5 is not operated, the arm portion 52 is in contact with the upper edge of the opening 44a, or positioned with a small gap between it and the opening 44a. As will be described later, when the operating portion 51 of the lever 5 is lifted (i.e., when the lock release operation is performed), the lever 5 rotates around the contact point P1 between the arm portion 52 and the upper edge of the opening 44a.

<2. Unlock Operation>
The unlocking operation of the seat slide device 1 will be explained, mainly with reference to Figure 7. Figure 7(b) is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide device 1 when the lever 5 is unlocked.

From the state shown in Figure 7(a), when the rider lifts the operating part 51 of the lever 5, the lever 5 rotates around the contact point P1 between the arm portion 52 and the upper edge of the opening 44a of the locking member 4, as shown in Figure 7(b). In other words, the lever 5 rotates such that the portion in front of the contact point P1 moves upward, and the portion behind the contact point P1 moves downward.

As the lever 5 rotates, the rear end of the arm portion 52 presses downward against the pressed portion 42 of the locking member 4. This causes the extension portion 43 to bend downward due to elastic deformation, resulting in the locking piece 41 moving downward. The locking teeth 41b then disengage from the notch 24a in the lower rail 2 and the notch 32a in the upper rail 3. Thus, the lock between the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3 is released, allowing them to slide relative to each other in the front-rear direction.

When the force applied to the operating portion 51 of the lever 5 is released, the operating portion 51 of the lever 5 lowers due to the weight of the lever 5 itself, the restoring force of the elastic member 6, and the restoring force of the locking member 4, and the rear end of the arm portion 52 rises. As a result, the locking member 4 returns to its original position (i.e., the state shown in Figure 7(a)) due to its elastic force, and the locking teeth 41b are inserted into the notches 24a and 32a, and the locking teeth 24b and 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. Lever Cancel Operation>
The cancellation operation of lever 5 will be explained primarily with reference to Figures 7(a) and 8. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of lever 5 during the cancellation operation.

As shown in Figure 7(a), when the lever 5 is not operated, there are gaps between the arm portion 52 of the lever 5 and the bottom wall 21 of the lower rail 2, and between the arm portion 52 of the lever 5 and the stopper portion 46b. Therefore, the lever 5 has room for a cancellation operation in which its front portion moves downward during a vehicle collision or the like. In other words, even if, for example, the rear end of the inner upper rail 3 and the rear end of the locking member 4 are lifted during a vehicle collision, and the pressed portion 42 of the locking member 4 contacts the rear end of the lever 5, as shown in Figure 8, the lever 5 rotates around the contact point P2 between the arm portion 52 and the protruding portion 31c, with the portion of the lever 5 behind the contact point P2 moving upward and the portion in front of the contact point P2 moving downward. Then, the lever 5 contacts the stopper portion 46b and stops. This cancellation operation of the lever 5 prevents the locking member 4 from being released, and maintains the locked state between the lower rail 2 and the upper rail 3.

<4 Features>
In the seat slide device 1 of the present invention, the locking member 4 can be directly moved to the unlocked position by a lever 5 to which the operating part 51 and the arm part 52 are integrally connected. Therefore, compared to conventional structures in which the operation of the lever is transmitted to the locking member by a lever bracket, the seat slide device 1 can be constructed with fewer parts.

Furthermore, the lever 5 rotates around the upper edge (contact point P1) of the opening 44a of the locking member 4, thereby unlocking the locking member 4. In other words, the rotation center of the lever 5 is located on the locking member 4. Therefore, when adjusting the layout, moving only the locking member 4 in the front-to-back direction simultaneously changes the rotation center of the lever 5, thus improving layout flexibility.

In the seat slide device 1 of the present invention, the locking member 4 is provided with a stopper portion 46b that restricts the amount of cancellation movement of the lever 5. Therefore, a conventional lever bracket is unnecessary, and the seat slide device 1 can be constructed with fewer parts. Furthermore, because the locking member 4 is fixed to the upper rail 3 by the fixing member 7, even if the lever 5 is pushed down and a load is applied to the stopper portion 46b, such as when an occupant's foot hits the lever 5, the holding strength of the stopper portion 46b can be maintained.

1 Seat slide device 2 Lower rail 3 Upper rail 4 Locking member 44a Opening 46b Stopper part 5 Lever 51 Operating part 52 Arm part P1 Contact point P2 (between the arm part of the lever and the upper edge of the opening of the locking member) Contact point S (between the arm part of the lever and the protruding part of the upper rail) Seat

Claims (1)

The lower rail is fixed to the floor of the vehicle,
An upper rail that is fixed to the seat and is slidable relative to the lower rail,
It consists of a single sheet of elastically deformable plate material and comprises a locking piece, a pressed portion, two extended portions, two rising portions, a mounting portion, and a hanging portion, with an opening formed between the two rising portions and closed at the top, and a locking member that locks the relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail in a releaseable manner.
It has an operating section located on the front side, an arm section integrally connected to the operating section, extending to the rear side of the operating section, inserted into the opening, and positioned on the locking member, and a lever for switching between the locked state and the unlocked state of the locking member,
Equipped with,
When the operating part is pulled upward, the lever rotates around the point of contact between the arm and the upper edge of the opening, causing the arm to press against the locking member and move it to the unlocked position.
A stopper portion is provided at the lower part of the hanging portion of the locking member, positioned at a distance forward from the contact point, and which contacts the lever when the front side of the lever is lowered, thereby restricting the amount of downward movement of the lever.
Seat sliding device.