FR2880307A1 - Sliding member for motor vehicle seat adjuster has seat support laser welded to flat upper wall of inverted U-section slider - Google Patents

Abstract

The seat adjuster, comprising a rail and a slider made from sheet metal with an inverted U-shaped cross-section and a flat upper wall (15), has the core (13) of the seat support made with at least one part (19) that is fixed to the upper wall by a slot weld using a YAG or CO2 laser beam applied from the underside of the wall. The weld zone (32) is made with at least one continuous portion running from one side of the support core to the other in a loop, wavy line or straight or oblique lines.

Description

SLIDER FOR SEAT OF MOTOR VEHICLE, VEHICLE

  COMPRISING SUCH A SLIDER AND METHOD OF ASSEMBLING SUCH A SLIDE.

  The present invention relates to the rails for a motor vehicle seat, vehicles comprising such a slide, and methods for assembling such slides.

  More particularly, the invention relates mainly to a slideway for a motor vehicle seat comprising first and second slide elements, the first slide element comprising: a sheet metal profile slidably mounted on the second slide element in a longitudinal direction; and having a base extending at least in the longitudinal direction, and - a support comprising a sheet core which has at least one wafer which is welded to said base, defining at least one weld area at the weld location of the slice and the base.

  A motor vehicle seat can advantageously be mounted on such a slide, to allow for example the forward / backward sliding of a user of the seat, for example for postural comfort or other purposes.

  For this purpose, it is the entire seat member that rests on the slideway through the support, which requires between the slide and the seat member a safe connection.

  DE-U-201 15164 describes an example of such a slide. However, in this embodiment, the assembly and welding of the various parts are difficult to implement because they are performed in a congested space in which it is necessary to perform a weld on the side of the support to obtain a good fixation . These operations are also difficult to reproduce.

  The present invention is intended to overcome these disadvantages.

  For this purpose, according to the invention, a slide of the kind in question is characterized in that said weld zone comprises at least one zone formed by welding by transparency.

  Thanks to these arrangements, the welding of the support and the base is easy to implement, and easily reproducible.

  In preferred embodiments of the invention, one or more of the following provisions may be used in addition: the soldering zone is a zone formed by transparent welding by application of a laser beam from a face of the base opposite a face of the base facing the core; the soldering zone comprises at least one continuous portion extending on either side of the wafer; - The base is substantially flat, and the weld zone comprises a plurality of continuous portions extending on either side of the wafer substantially in the plane of the base, said continuous portions being discontinuous with each other; - The weld zone has at least one of the following reasons: a loop, a corrugation, a straight line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, a straight segment oblique to the longitudinal direction.

  According to another aspect, the invention relates to a vehicle comprising such a slideway, said second slide element being integrated into the vehicle.

  According to another aspect, the invention relates to a method of assembling a slideway for a motor vehicle seat comprising first and second slide members, the first slide element comprising: a sheet metal profile slidably mounted on the second slide member in a longitudinal direction and having a base extending at least in the longitudinal direction, and a support comprising a sheet core which has at least one wafer, said method comprising an assembly step in which said wafer is welded to said base, defining at least one weld zone at the weld location of the wafer and the base, said method being characterized in that during the assembly step, forming a welding zone of the base of the profile and the support by transparency.

  In preferred embodiments of the invention, it is possible to make use of one or other of the following provisions: the soldering zone is formed by transparency by applying a laser beam from a face of the base opposite to a face of the base oriented towards the soul; - A weld zone is formed comprising at least one continuous portion extending on either side of the wafer substantially in the plane of the base; - The base is substantially flat and forms a plurality of continuous portions extending on either side of the wafer substantially in the plane of the base, said continuous portions being discontinuous with each other; forming a weld zone having at least one of the following motifs: a loop, a corrugation, a line segment orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, a line segment oblique with respect to the longitudinal direction; the method further comprises a preliminary design step during which, for a desired resistance to give to the slideway, a weld shape to be produced is determined.

  Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of one of its embodiments, given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a vehicle seat comprising a slide assembly according to a first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slide assembly. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the slides of FIG. 2; FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views respectively along the lines IV-IV and VV of FIG. 3; FIG. 4a is an enlarged view of part of FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6a to 6d are partial bottom views of FIG. 4 according to four exemplary embodiments.

  In the different figures, the same references designate identical or similar elements.

  FIG. 1 represents a motor vehicle seat 1 which comprises a backrest 2 carried by a seat 3 itself slidably mounted on the floor 4 of the vehicle in a longitudinal direction X. The seat 3 is connected to the floor 4 by an assembly 5 slideways comprising two parallel rails 6, clearly visible in Figure 2, and the unlocking is controlled for example by a rudder 5a. Each of these slides 6 comprises first and second slide members 8, 7, which slide in one another in the direction X. The second slide member 7 can be fixed to the floor 4 of the vehicle. The first slide element 8 can be movable and carry the seat 3, for example by means of a raising mechanism (not shown) for adjusting the height of the seat 3 in the direction Z. As shown more in detail in FIG. 3, the second fixed slide element 7 may be, for example, in the form of a substantially U-shaped folded and cut sheet metal profile, which comprises: a horizontal base 9 intended to be fixed at the floor 4 of the vehicle, - two vertical lateral wings 10 which extend substantially perpendicularly to the base, - and two reentrant troughs 11 which extend the lateral wings 10 towards the inside of the slideway and towards the base 9.

  The first sliding element 8, movable may, meanwhile, comprise: a support 12 sheet comprising a substantially vertical core 13 which carries the seat 3 (in the example considered here, the core 13 carries the seat 3 by means of the above-mentioned raising mechanism, more particularly, raising rods [not shown] belonging to this raising mechanism can be pivotally mounted in holes 13a, 13b formed in the core 13), and a profile 14 in folded and cut sheet, substantially inverted U-shaped, which comprises (see Figures 3 to 5) a horizontal base 15 substantially perpendicular to the core 13 (or more generally forming a non-zero angle with the core), this base 15 extending in a transverse direction Y perpendicular to the X direction, between two lateral parts in sliding connection with the fixed slide element 7.

  In the example considered here, the two lateral portions in question comprise two flanges 16 substantially perpendicular to the base 15, which extend towards the base 9. These flanges 16 are themselves extended, outwardly and the opposite of the base 9, by two flaps 17 which penetrate into the space between the side wings 10 and the reentrant troughs 11 of the fixed slide element 7.

  Balls (not shown) or other rolling elements are generally interposed between the flaps 17 and the side wings 10 on the one hand, and between the flaps 17 and the reentrant troughs 11 on the other hand.

  In general, the shapes of the two slide elements may be similar for example to those described in document FR-A-2 755 653.

  The core 13 of the support 12 comprises two abutment portions 18, 20 which extend in two vertical planes parallel to the direction X. These abutment portions 18, 20 each have a horizontal lower edge, respectively 19, 21, forming the edge of the abutting portion. The wafer is abutted on the upper face of the base 15 of the section 14 and is butt welded to this base by laser welding by transparency.

  Although this is not actually present when the slide is in use, FIG. 4 also shows a laser 30 used during the process of transparent welding of the wafer of the core 13. and the base 15. This laser 30 is for example a YAG or CO2 laser arranged to have a focal point located substantially at the junction between the core 13 and the base 15. The laser beam 31, during the welding process, impacts the face 15a of the base 15 opposite the face 15b receiving the core 13.

  The two welded parts schematically show the profile of FIG. 4a, in which the weld zone 32 extends on the one hand at least over the entire thickness e of the wafer of the core 13, and over a thickness greater than e in the base 15. Thus, the weld zone 32 extends on either side of the wafer 19 of the core 13 in the plane of the base 15. Such a weld can be obtained by continuously moving the laser 30 on either side of the wafer 19, as explained by four examples below, in connection with Figures 6a to 6d, which show a partial bottom view of Figure 4a.

  In these figures, the dotted slice 19 is represented since it is seen through the base 15. In FIG. 6a, the weld zone 32 comprises a plurality of continuous portions 32a, discontinuous between them, extending from and other of the slice 19 in the plane of the base 15. In Figure 6a, each continuous portion is made perpendicular to the longitudinal direction X of the slide.

  In FIG. 6b, each continuous portion 32a of the welding zone is made obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction X. According to another variant embodiment, shown in FIG. 6c, the welding zone 32 comprises a plurality of portions. continuous 32a interconnected so as to form a corrugation extending along the longitudinal direction X. In Figure 6d, the welding zone 32 is formed to form one or more loops, for example interconnected, such as shown, these loops being spaced apart by a pitch p in the longitudinal direction X. It can be provided that the type, shape, amplitude, length and / or pitch p used for the welding of each of these examples will depend on a preliminary design step during which these parameters are determined to respond to a given physical stress of the slide, for example in case of vehicle impact.

  In the example of Figure 3, the lower edge 21 of the abutment portion 20 is interrupted locally by a cutout 22 for the passage of a lug 29 fixed to the base 15 of the movable section 14, this lug 29 belonging to at one ear 28 for fixing a seatbelt fastener (not shown). In the case of the slide located to the right in Figure 2, the abutment portion 20 does not include the cutout 22, so that the lower edge 21 is not interrupted and can thus be welded over its entire length on the base 15.

  Of course, the lower edges 19, 21 could possibly be welded only in places on the base 15, rather than being welded over their entire length.

  In addition to the abutment portions 18, 20, the core 13 of the support 12 may further comprise a remote portion 23, which is connected by folds 24, 25 respectively to the abutment portions 18, 20, and which is offset laterally with respect to said abutment portions. This offset portion 23 preferably extends in a plane parallel to the X and Z axes, and is extended downwardly by one or more lugs 26, 27, extending for example in the same plane as said shifted portion. it can be seen in Figures 3 and 5, the tabs 26, 27 are contiguous to one of the side wings 16 of the section 14 and are welded laterally to this wing. It will be noted that this weld may in particular be made by laser welding by transparency using the laser 30 used for welding the wafer 19 on the base 15.

  Thanks to these arrangements, the support 12 is fixed to the section 14 by welds located in different vertical planes, which considerably strengthens the stability of the support 12, without the support 12 being too bulky and without weakening the resistance overall of the slide 6. In addition, the vertical forces due to the seat 3 are taken up by the abutment portions 18, 20 at the holes 13a, 13b, then are transmitted to the base 15 of the profiles 14 by the fixing edges 19, 21, which allows a relatively well balanced transmission of these forces to the two wings 16 of the profiles 14.

  Although the invention has been presented with reference to the attachment of the wafer 19 of the core 13 to the base 15, it should be noted that, in a variant, the invention can be applied to the fixation in T of the wafer of any other metal part on a slide base extending in a plane substantially orthogonal to this piece, such as for example on one of the wings 16 of the sliding rail section 18.

Claims (11)

  Motor vehicle seat slide comprising first and second slide members (7, 8), the first slide member (8) comprising: - a sheet metal profile (14) slidably mounted on the second slide member in a longitudinal direction and having a base (15) extending at least in the longitudinal direction, and - a support (12) comprising a sheet core (13) having at least one wafer (19) which is welded to said base, defining at least one weld zone (32) at the weld location of the wafer and the base, characterized in that said weld zone (32) comprises at least one region formed by transparent welding.   2. Slide according to claim 1 wherein the welding zone (32) is an area formed by transparent welding by application of a laser beam from a face (15a) of the base opposite to a face (15b) of the base oriented towards the soul.   3. Slide according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the welding zone (32) comprises at least one continuous portion (32a) extending on either side of the wafer (9).   A slide according to claim 3, wherein the base (15) is substantially planar, and wherein the weld zone comprises a plurality of continuous portions (32a) extending on either side of the wafer substantially in the plane of the base, said continuous portions being discontinuous with each other.   5. Slide according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the welding zone (32) has at least one of the following patterns: a loop, a corrugation, a straight line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, a straight segment oblique to the longitudinal direction.   6. Vehicle comprising a slide according to any one of the preceding claims, said second slide member (7) being integrated into the vehicle.   7. A method of assembling a slide for a motor vehicle seat comprising first and second slide members (7, 8), the first slide member (8) comprising: - a profile (14) sheet metal slidably mounted on the second slide member in a longitudinal direction and having a base (15) extending at least in the longitudinal direction, and - a support (12) comprising a sheet core (13) having at least one wafer (19). ), said method comprising an assembly step during which said wafer is welded to said base, defining at least one weld zone (32) at the location of the weld of the wafer and the base, said method being characterized in that during the assembly step, forming a weld zone (32) of the base of the profile and the support by transparency.   8. The method of claim 7 wherein forming the welding zone (32) by transparency by applying a laser beam from a face (15a) of the base opposite to a face (15b) of the base facing the soul.   9. The method of claim 7 or claim 8 wherein forming a weld zone comprising at least one continuous portion (32a) extending on either side of the wafer substantially in the plane of the base.   10A method according to claim 9, wherein the base is substantially planar and in which a plurality of continuous portions extending on either side of the wafer are formed substantially in the plane of the base, said continuous portions being discontinuous. between them.   11.Procédé according to claim 9 or claim 10 wherein is formed a weld zone (32) having at least one of the following patterns: a loop, a corrugation, a straight line orthogonal to the longitudinal direction, a segment of straight oblique with respect to the longitudinal direction.   12.Procédé according to any one of claims 7 to 11, comprising a preliminary design step in which, for a desired resistance to give to the slide, is determined a form of welding to achieve.