GB2071486A

GB2071486A - Vehicle seat slides

Info

Publication number: GB2071486A
Application number: GB8006070A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: COX T I Ltd
Current assignee: COX T I Ltd
Priority date: 1980-02-22
Filing date: 1980-02-22
Publication date: 1981-09-23

Abstract

The invention provides a vehicle seat slide assembly comprising a first slide member 24 intended to be fixed to the floor of a vehicle, and a second seat slide member 25 intended to be fixed to the bottom of the seat, the first and second slide members being slidably engaged with one another and curved so that their relative sliding takes place around a portion of a common pitch circle 35. Preferably the first and second slide members are provided with overlapping flanges 29, 32 forming bases with a plurality of ball bearings 33 therebetween to prevent separation of the slide members in a transverse direction while allowing relative sliding movement, and the first and second slide members are formed with respective surfaces 27, 30 which are opposed and parallel with two or more rollers 34 therebetween to prevent inward transverse movement between the slide members. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to seat slides, particularly for the adjustment of vehicle seats This invention relates to a seat slide mechanism particularly for the fore and aft adjustment of the vehicle seat. A typical application of the invention is to the front seats of a passenger vehicle, orto the driver's seat of a commercial vehicle. The invention finds particular application where a vehicle seat is to be adjusted in a fore and aft direction to provide comfort for people of different stature as for instance a person of large stature such as a 6 ft. male and a person of small stature such as a 5ft. 2" female.

It has been proposed to provide a curved fore and aft seat slide system which is arranged so that as the seat is adjusted in the fore and aft direction its height is adjusted slightly and it tilts in the fore and aft direction so that a person of smaller stature is provided with a higher support in the vehicle enabling better vision, whereas a person of larger stature is provided with a lower support enabling the same line of vision as a smaller person and a more comfortable position in the vehicle.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat slide for use in such arrangements.

Accordingly the present invention provides a vehicle seat slide comprising a first slide member intended to be fixed to the floor of the vehicle, and a second seat slide member intended to be fixed to the bottom of the seat to be adjusted, the first and second slide members being slidably engaged with one another and curved so that their relative sliding takes place around a portion of a common pitch circle.

Preferably the first and second slide members are provided with overlapping flanges forming races with a plurality of ball bearings therebetween to prevent separation of the first and second slide members while allowing relative sliding movement, and the first and second slide members are formed with respective surfaces which are opposed and parallel with two or more rollers disposed therebetween to prevent transverse inward movement between the two slide members. Preferably such rollers are formed of synthetic plastics material such as nylon, and they are preferably maintained in spaced relationship around the arcuate length of the slide by means of a cage device.

The slide members are preferably formed with a series of matching notches extending along their arcuate length, and one or other of the slide members is provided with a catch device which is movably mounted thereon and has a pull to engage in a selective notch in each of the slide members when those selective notches are in register thus to lock the slide members in a given relative position.

Preferably a complete sport system for a seat comprises two such slide mechanisms arranged one on either side of the seat.

In order to promote a fuller understanding of the above and other aspects of the present invention, an embodiment will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows in schematic outline the principal objectives of the invention, Figure 2 shows in schematic perspective view a pair of seat slides embodying the invention arranged to form a seat support, Figure 3 shows in schematic detail the construction of one of the seat slides of Figure 2, Figure 4 shows a plan view of a catch mechanism for two seat slides such as that shown in Figure 3, Figure 5 shows a side elevation of the catch mechanism of Figure4, Figure 6 shows an end elevation of the catch mechanism of Figure 4, Figure 7 shows a spring for use with the catch mechanism of Figure 4, and Figure 8 shows various details of the rollers used in the slide of Figure 3.

Figure 1 shows in schematic outline a front seat of a passenger road vehicle for use by the driver of a vehicle.

A seat is shown in two adjusted position, a furthest forward position for use by for instance a female driver at 10, and a furthest back position for use by a larger person at 10'. Two fixing points 11 and 12 are indicated on the bottom of the seat and it is by these points that the seat is attached to the slide mechanism which supports it. The curved outline of the seat slide mechanism is indicated at 13, and the mechanism is tilted to the horizontal so that a cord across the ends of the slide mechanism makes an angle indicated at 14 with the horizontal of about 7".

Figure 2 shows the slide mechanism 13 in more detail, and it comprises two slide assemblies 20 and 21 each having a respective catch mechanism indicated generally at 22 and a common operating handle 23.

Figure 3 shows in more detail the construction of the two seat slide assemblies 20 and 21. Each seat slide assembly comprises first and second slide members 24 and 25 respectively. The slide member 25 is arranged to be attached to the bottom of a vehicle seat for instance by means of studs or bolts 26 at the points 11 and 12. The slide member 24 is arranged to be attached to the floor of the vehicle and suitable holes or slots are provided in it for bolts to that purpose.

As best seen in Figure 3, the slide member 24 comprises in cross-section a flat surface portion 27 and it has outer wing portions 28 which terminate in inwardly turned flanges 29. The slide member 25 has a flat surface portion 30 arranged in opposition to the surface 27 of the slide member 24, and has upward wings 31 which terminate in flanges 32 which are opposed to the flanges 29 of the slide member 24.

The flanges 29 and 32 are arranged so as to form raceways for a plurality of ball bearings as indicated at 33 which thus prevent separation of the slide members 24 and 25, while allowing relative sliding movement between them. As indicated at 34 two or The drawing(s) originally filed wasiwere informal and the print here reproduced is taken from a later filed formal copy.

more rollers, preferably formed of synthetic plastics material such as nylon (see Figure 8a) are disposed between the surfaces 27 and 30 of the slide members 24 and 25 respectively to separate them and resist inward transverse loads between them.

The slide members 24 and 25 are arcuate in form as seen in Figure 3, and thus can slide or move relative to one another around a common pitch circle indicated at 35 with the rollers 34 supporting the weight of the seat and its occupant, and the balls 33 preventing separation of the slides and thus retaining the seat in the vehicle.

Figures 8b and 8c show brief details of cage plates 36 having spaced spigots 37 adapted to engage in recesses 38 in the sides of the rollers 34 thus to keep them spaced around the pitch circle 35 between the slide members 24 and 25.

The flanges 29 and 32 of the slide members are provided with dimples 39 at each end to retain the ball bearings 33 and also to limit the extent of sliding travel permitted between the slide members. Figure 3b shows in schematic detail the relationship of the dimples 39 with the flanges and the balls 33.

One of the flanges 32 of the slide member 25 is formed with a series of equally spaced notches as particularly seen in Figure 3c, in this particular embodiment there being eighteen such notches. The corresponding wing 28 of the slide member 24 is formed centrally along the length of the slide member and at a portion to overlie the flange 32, with an aperture 41. The arrangement is such that as these slide members move relative to one another the notch 41 is brought successively into register with the notches 40.

A catch member 42 is pivotally mounted on the slide member 24 about a pivot axis 43 as shown in Figures 4 and 3d. The pivot member 42 is formed with a dog 43 arranged to enter the aperture 41 and engage in a selected notch 40 thus to lock the two slides together in the position corresponding to the chosen notch 40. Catch 42 may be lifted by pivoting about the axis 43 so that the dog 44 is lifted clear of the notch 40 to ailow sliding between the slide members.

As can be seen in Figure 4, both the slide mechansims 20 and 21 are provided with catches 42 and these may be operated by means of a handle 23 as shown in Figure 2, the handle 23 being arranged in known mannerperse and releasabiy attached to the catches 42, or the catches 42 may be operated as shown in Figure 4 by means of a single handle 45 which is welded to a bar 46 rigidly attached to and extending between the catches 42.

Figure 5 shows a side elevation of one of the catches 42. In order to resiliently retain the catches 42 in a position to lock the slide members together, that is to say with the dog 44 engaged in a notch 40, a spring 47 which is shown in Figure 7 is provided.

The spring 47 has an arm 48 the hooked end 49 of which engages in a notch 50 on an arm of the catch 42 and has a coiied portion 51 arranged to encircle the pivot pin for the catch 42 and retain the spring in position. Tortional reaction of the spring is taken by an ear 52 formed on the spring which engages on the slide member 24.

Thus it can be seen that there is provided a vehicle seat sliding mechanism in which relative sliding is permitted around an arcuate path in a free and rela tivelyfrictionless fashion while downward loads on the vehicle seat, and upward loads are adequately resisted.

The dimensioning and configuration of the slide members 24 and 25 is preferably so arranged that the rollers 34 and balls 33 are pre-loaded so as to provide a rattle free but friction free slide. In the event of high loads being applied to the slides, the flanges 32 of the section 25 may contact and abut the wall of the section 26 (see Figure 3A) thus distributing the effect of a high load, while preventing sub- stantial sinkage of the balls 33 into the material of the slides and thus ensuring that the trigger tongue 44 remains in engagement.

The design of the sections 24 and 25 is such that the slide produced may function correctly with manufacturing tolerances in the dimensions of the slide members which are suitable for mass-production.

This aspect may be enhanced by the pre-loaded arrangement and the inherent resilience of the wing portions 28 of the slide member 24 and of the rollers 34.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat slide assembly comprising a first slide member intended to be fixed to the floor of a vehicle, and a second seat slide member intended to be fixed to the bottom of the seat, the first and second slide members being slidably engaged with one another and curved so that their relative sliding takes place around a portion of a common pitch circle.

2. A seat slide as claimed in Claim 1, in which the first and second slide members are provided with overlapping flanges forming bases with a plurality of ball bearings therebetween to prevent separation of the slide members in a transverse direction while allowing relative sliding movement, and the first and second slide members are formed with respective surfaces which are opposed and parallel with two or more rollers therebetween to prevent inward transverse movement between the slide members.

3. A seat slide as claimed in Claim 2, in which the ball bearings and rollers and pre-loaded.

4. A seat slide as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, in which the rollers are formed of synthetic platics material such as nylon.

5. A seat slide as claimed in any preceding claim, in which one slide is formed with a series of notches along its length and the other slide is provided with a releasable catch member arranged to engage in a selected one of said notches to prevent relative sliding movement between the slide members.

6. A seat slide as claimed in Claim 5, in which the catch member is movable through an aperture in the other slide member

7. A seat slide as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 6, in which the first slide member has a generally channel shaped cross-section, the arms of which overlap the second slide member, and the second slide member also has a generally channel shaped cross-section; the overlapping flanges being formed on the respective arms on each side of the cross sections.

8. A seat slide as claimed in Claim 7, in which said opposed and parallel surfaces are formed by the bases of the cross-sections of the slide members.

9. A seat slide as claimed in Claim 7 or 8, in which, if the slide assembly is overloaded in a mannerto separate the slide members in a transverse direction, the arms of the second slide cross-section engage on parts of the arms of the first slide crosssection to resist such separation.

10. A seat slide as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 9 in which said rollers are maintained in spaced relationship by means of a cage.

11. A seat slide assembly for a vehicle seat substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.