CA1240605A - Body-weight adjusting device of a seat suspension - Google Patents

Body-weight adjusting device of a seat suspension

Info

Publication number
CA1240605A
CA1240605A CA000472346A CA472346A CA1240605A CA 1240605 A CA1240605 A CA 1240605A CA 000472346 A CA000472346 A CA 000472346A CA 472346 A CA472346 A CA 472346A CA 1240605 A CA1240605 A CA 1240605A
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
links
pair
adjusting device
seat suspension
weight adjusting
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
CA000472346A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Takao Sakamoto
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Tachi S Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Tachikawa Spring Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Tachikawa Spring Co Ltd filed Critical Tachikawa Spring Co Ltd
Priority to CA000472346A priority Critical patent/CA1240605A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CA1240605A publication Critical patent/CA1240605A/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A body-weight adjusting device for a seat suspension comprises a rotation shaft extending in a lateral direction of the seat suspension, a pair of pinions mounted at both sides of said rotation shaft and integral therewith, and gears engaging with each of the pinions. One end of the springs is latched to said gears and the other end is fixed to links constituting the seat suspension. Thus one can change the tension of the spring by rotating said rotation shaft by means of a control lever.

Description

l~g~(3S

The present invention relates to a body-weight ad~usting device suitably employed for a seat suspension of a vehicle such as an automobile etc A conventional body-weight adjusting device is quite poor in its operation. In fact, adjusting the height of the seat may be impossible when the door is closedO
With respect to a seat for an automobile etc., particularly, a driver's seat, it is, of course, necessary to adjust the position of the seat back and forth in proportion to the physical make-up of a driver and it is further necessary to adjust the height of the seat.
Devices capable of making these adjustments to a seat are known.
Hcwever, according to a conventional device, it is impossible to make the distance between a pair of springs wider and furthermore one must rotate an adjusting shaft about 16 times by hand for an adjustment thereof frcm a 50 kg setting to a 100 kg setting. This makes operation of the device quite difficult. Furthermore, the operational force becomes greater in proportion to the adjustments up to 100 kg.
As a matter of practice, an adjusting operation thereof is impossible when the door is closed.
The present invention provides a body-weight adjusting device for a seat suspension of a vehicle which permits adjustments to be made easily by means of a control lever similar to a hand brake usually employed for automobiles.

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1Z4U6(35 According to a first aspect of the invention, a body-weight adjusting device for a seat suspension comprises a pair of X-shaped links constituting said seat suspension; a rotary shaft extending in a transverse direction of said pair of X-shaped links; an operation lever connected to one end of said rotary shaft in such manner that it is disposed in a direction substantially perpendicularly to the axis of said rotary shaft; at least one pinion gear fixed on said rotary shaft for integral rotation therewith; at least one rack gear, rotatably fixed to mesh with said pinion gear; at least one tension spring operatively connected to one end of said X-shaped links and latched at the other end of said at least one rack qear whereby said rotary shaft rotated by operation of said operation lever drives said rack gear and, consequently, said tension spring, to adjust said X-shaped link.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a body-weight adjusting device for a seat suspension comprises a rotation shaft extended in a lateral direction of the seat suspension, a pair of pinions being fixed to said rotation shaft with a prescribed distance so as to rotate integrally therewith, a pair of qears pivotally supported by a fixing portion rotatably free being engaged with said pinions, one ends of a pair of tension sprinqs being latched to said gears, the other ends of which being fixed to X-shaped or parallel links constituting said seat suspension, said latching points being arranged to be at a position not passing through the dead point of said springs within the region of a rotating adjustment of the rotation shaft, a control lever being connected to said rotation shaft .,~., 24~'6~3S
- 3a in a direction perpendicular thereto and a locking means for always locking the rotation of said rotation shaft and also for unlocking the locking state of said rotation by the same hand controlling said control lever depending upon the controlling state of said control lever.
In the figures, Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing one emhodiment according to a conventional seat suspension, Figure 2 is a plan view of one part thereof, Fi~ure 3 is a perspective view of a main part of a seat suspension constructed accordinq to the present invention, and Figure 4 is a sectional view of one part thereof.

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First of all, a convent;onal seat suspenslon will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 -in order to understand the present invention.
In Figure 1, (1) is an upper frame and (2) is a lower frame. The lower frame is constructed substantially in the shape of a square in plan view and each side thereof is composed of a frame member made of a metal etc. bent substantially in the shape of a channel. The open side of each channel-shaped frame is directed inwardly. With respect to the lower frame (2), it is, of course, posslble to construct same -independently, but it is also possible to construct same in such a manner that it can move back and forth by putting it on a slide rail before and behind a seat.
The upper frame (1) is composed of, as a main constitutional element thereof, a flat plate portion made of a metal etc. substantially corresponding to the above-mentioned shape of the lower frame (2) and the left and right end portions thereof or the necessary portions of the other ends thereof are bent downward. As the upper frame (1), the so-called cushion pan is employed and a seat body (not illustrated) is fixed thereto.
Furthermore, a pair of X-shaped links (3) at the left and right sides of the lower frame (2) are mounted thereon. In each X-shaped link, there are two link bodies (4) and (5) pivotally connected together by means of a spindle (6) at a substantially middle portion thereof. An upper end (5a) at the back side (or the front side thereof) of each X-shaped link (3) 124~60S

is rotatably connected to the upper frame ~1) by means of a spindle (7), and a lower end (4b) thereof is rotatably connected to the lower frame (2) by means of a shaft (8). A lower end (5b) at the front side (or the back side) of each X-shaped link (3) slidably engages the lower frame (2) by means of a roller (9) etc. so that it is free to move back and forth.
Furthermore, the upper ends (4a) at the front side of the X-shaped links are joined by means of a frame member (10) extending therebetween, so as to provide support for the front portion of the upper frame (1) from the bottom.
Moreover, the upper ends (5a) at the back side of the X-shaped links (3) are joined to each other by means of a frame (11) and one end of each of a pair of springs (12) is latched to the frame 11.
With reference to Figure 2, a bell crank (14) is rotatably attached to a suitably fixed portion (for example, an under surface of the upper frame) by means of a spindle (13).
One end of the crank engages a regulating shaft (15) extending in the lateral direction of the seat suspension and the other end thereof is connected rotatably to one end of a tension frame (16) by means of a spindle (17). Furthermore, the tension frame (16) is rotatably connected to the centre of an equalizer frame (18) by a spindle (19) and an end of each of a pair of springs (12) is respectively latched at a respective end of the equalizer frame (18).
The regulat-ing shaft (15) is constructed, according to the present embodiment, as a rotating shaft having a thread groove (20') on one portion thereof so as to engage a nut (21) therewith. Thus the shaft engages one end of the above-mentioned bell crank (14) with the nut (21~.

~ lZ4~6~:3S

Moreover, at a substantial middle portion of the above-mentioned seat suspension, a shock absorder (22) is disposed and one end thereof is rotatably attached at the back side of the lower frame (2) and the other end thereof is rotatably connected to the frame (10).
According to this conventional construction, at the time of using the seat, i.e. at the time of bottoming thereof, the X-shaped links (3) are compressed so that the height of the upper frame is shortened accordingly. However, because the shock absorber (22) is located at a substantially middle portion of the seat suspension and the pair of springs (12) are also located in the vicinity of the middle portion of the seat suspension at an upper part thereof, it is impossible to make the seat suspension thin on the whole.
The present invention is conceived in order to over come the above-mentioned defect. Hereinafter, a seat suspension according to the present invention will be described with reference to Figure 3 and Figure 4. The same numerical references are used for parts that correspond to parts in Figure 1 and Fiqure 2.
A seat suspension according to the present invention, as shown in Figure 3, has a shaft (15) rotatably mounted, a pair of pinions or pinion gears (25) fixed to said rotary shaft (15) so as to rotate therewith, a pair of sector gears or rack gears (26) which are pivotally mounted on a fixed portion. For example, the gears (26) can be mounted on the under surface of the upper frame (1) by means of rotation shafts (29). A bearing member (27) can be provided to mount each shaft (29). One end of each of a pair of tension springs (12) is operatively connected to the X-shaped links (3) and the other 1;~4q~6~5 end thereof is latched to a latching point (28) of a respective sector gear or rack gear (26).
The latching points (28) are located so that they do not pass through the dead point of the springs (12) within the range of adjustment possible with the rotation shaft (15). Needless to say, the points (28) could be located on the dead point at one end thereof within the adjustment range.
Furthermore, a control lever or operation lever (30) is connected to the rotation shaft (15) and extends in a direction perpendicular to the shaft. Thus the shaft (15) can be rotated by raising or lowering the control lever.
In this case, it is possible to arrange the control lever in such a way that the tension in the springs (12) is a minimum when the lever is raised somewhat above the horizontal (a slight angle in relation to a horizontal direction) and so that the tension in the springs (12) is a maximum when the lever is raised above the aforementioned level. (For example, the lever is rotated 108 degrees).
According to the present invention, a braking mechanism, i.e.
a locking means (31), for the rotation shaft (15) is mounted as shown in Figure 3. Since the locking means (31) is known, detailed description thereof will be omitted. The locking means (31) can be unlocked by pulling an unlocking lever (32) that extends substantially parallel to the control lever (30). The lever (32) is drawn towards the lever (30) by the same hand that is controlling the lever (30) and while this hand is controlling the lever (30). However, the construction of the locking means is not limited to the above described means.

lZ4~6~5 With this described arrangement, it is possible to unlock the locking means (31) and to rotate the rotation shaft (15) by contolling the control lever (30). Each of the pair of pinions (25) rotates with the shaft and the tension of the springs (12) changes in accordance with the rotation of the sector gears (26) as is clear from Figure 4. Accordingly the height of a seat may be adjusted in proportion to the body-weight of a passenger sitting -in the seat.
When the adjustment is stopped at a selected point, the rotation shaft (15) will not rotate further owing to automatic locking by the locking means (31). Also, this may be effected by merely raising or lowering the control lever (30), which can give an excellent control thereof. Further the above control operation may be effected while sitting on the seat even when the door is closed. Moreover, adjustment can be carried out even with a comparatively small force by employing a longer control lever (30).

Claims (10)

The embodments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
1. A body-weight adjusting device for a seat suspension comprising a rotation shaft extending in a lateral direction of the seat suspension, a pair of pinions fixed to said rotation shaft so as to rotate therewith, a pair of gears pivotally supported on a fixed portion and engaged with said pinions, a pair of tension springs, each having one end latched to a respective one of said gears, the other ends of the springs being adapted for connection to X-shaped or parallel links of said seat suspension, said latching points being located so that they do not pass through a dead point of said springs within the range of adjustment provided by the rotation shaft a control lever connected to said rotation shaft and extending in a direction perpendicular thereto, and locking means for locking the rotation shaft, wherein said locking means can be unlocked by the same hand controlling said control lever depending upon the controlling state of said control lever.
2, A body-weight adjusting device according to claim 1 in combination with a seat suspension wherein the seat suspension has an upper frame, a lower frame, the pair of X-shaped or parallel links, and a shock absorber; the upper and lower ends of the links at either the front or back side of the pair of links being rotatably attached to said upper frame and lower frame; the upper and lower ends at the other side of the links slidably engaging said upper and lower frames, and said pair of links being connected to left and right sides of said frame so as to extend along said left and right sides.
3. A body-weight adjusting device and seat suspension according to claim 2, wherein the upper ends of the pair of links at the front side or the back side thereof where the upper frame is not rotably attached to the links are connected to each other by a frame member and the side of the upper frame which is not rotably attached to the links is supported by means of said frame member from the bottom thereof.
4. A body-weight adjusting device and seat suspension according to claim 3, wherein the upper frame comprises a flat plate substantially corresponding in shape to the shape of the lower frame.
5. A body-weight adjusting device and seat suspension according to claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein the pair of gears are rotatably mounted on an undersurface of the upper frame.
6. A body-weight adjusting device for a seat suspension which comprises:

(a) a pair of X-shaped links constituting said seat suspension;
(b) a rotary shaft extending in a transverse direction of said pair of X-shaped links;

(c) an operation lever connected to one end of said rotary shaft in such manner that it is disposed in a direction substantially perpendicularly to the axis of said rotary shaft;
(d) at least one pinion gear fixed on said rotary shaft for integral rotation therewith;
(e) at least one rack gear, rotatably fixed to mesh with said pinion gear (f) at least one tension spring operatively connected to one end of said X-shaped links and latched at the other end to said at least one rack gear whereby said rotary shaft rotated by operation of said operation lever drives said rack gear and, consequently, said tension spring, to adjust said X-shaped links.
7. The body-weight adjusting device of claim 6 wherein said operation lever is disposed substantially vertically whereby an occupant of the seat supported by said suspension has access thereto while seated.
8. The body-weight adjusting device of claim 6 wherein there are two said pinion gears fixed at a predetermined distance from each other, two said rack gears are pivotally supported to mesh with said two pinion gears, and two said tension springs operatively extending between said X-shaped links and said two rack gears.
9. The body-weight adjusting device of claim 6 wherein said tension springs are operatively connected to said X-shaped links through a frame member extending transversely to said links.
10. The body-weight adjusting device of claim 6 wherein said operation lever further comprises locking means which retains said rotary shaft in a selected position attained by rotating said operation lever, said locking means having release means cooperatively secured therewith for manual release of said locking means.
CA000472346A 1985-01-18 1985-01-18 Body-weight adjusting device of a seat suspension Expired CA1240605A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000472346A CA1240605A (en) 1985-01-18 1985-01-18 Body-weight adjusting device of a seat suspension

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA000472346A CA1240605A (en) 1985-01-18 1985-01-18 Body-weight adjusting device of a seat suspension

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA1240605A true CA1240605A (en) 1988-08-16

Family

ID=4129609

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA000472346A Expired CA1240605A (en) 1985-01-18 1985-01-18 Body-weight adjusting device of a seat suspension

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA1240605A (en)

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