GB2119640A

GB2119640A - Seat slide mechanism

Info

Publication number: GB2119640A
Application number: GB08232683A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ronald Edward Burnett
Original assignee: Chapman Ltd A W; A W CHAPMAN Ltd
Current assignee: Chapman Ltd A W; A W CHAPMAN Ltd
Priority date: 1982-05-06
Filing date: 1982-11-16
Publication date: 1983-11-23
Also published as: GB2119640B

Abstract

In a seat slide mechanism comprising a floor-mounted rail (10) and a seat-mounted slide (11) which are interengaged to provide movement of the seat relatively to the floor in, for example, a motor vehicle, the slide carries a catch member (12) which pivots about a horizontal axis to engage teeth (28) thereof with slots (26) in the slide and selected holes (15) in said rail. The teeth (28) of the catch member are urged by a spring (33) into engagement with said slots (26) and holes (15) and said axis is provided by limbs (34) of said spring; the catch member (12) has parallel lugs (29) extending through parallel slots (21, 22) in the slide and said limbs (34) extend through apertures (30) in said lugs to retain the slide and the catch member interconnected. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Seat slide mechanism This invention relates to a seat slide mechanism.

A seat slide mechanism is known which has a rail secured to a floor, a slide secured to a seat and engaged with and slidable relatively to said rail, and a catch member pivotally connected to said slide and having tooth means at or in the vicinity of one end thereof for the releasable engagement of elongate racking on said rail.

According to the present invention, said seat slide mechanism is characterised by said catch member being provided with lug means which engage slot means in said slide, said lug means being of such dimensions in cross-section as to occupy substantially the entire area of the slot means; and by the pivot means connecting said catch member to said slide not only ensuring that said tooth means can be moved through an arc in one of two opposite directions at a time relatively to said slide about the axis of the pivot means but also maintaining the lug means in engagement with the slot means at all times; and by spring means acting on said catch member in such a manner as at all times to urge said tooth means into cut-outs which are provided in said slide and into elements of said racking in order to effect said releasable engagement.

Said lug means may be constituted by two parallel lugs and said slot means may be constituted by two parallel slots in the bottom web of the slide which is of channel section.

Said slots described in the preceding paragraph may be defined by edges of flat portions of said bottom web on the one hand and by the two opposite side edges of a bridge piece on the other hand, said bridge piece and said opposite side edges thereof extending longitudinally of the slide and the opposite ends of said bridge piece being secured to or integral with said bottom web.

Said lugs may be provided with aligned apertures and said bridge piece may be such that a middle portion thereof is at a level within the confines of the channel higher than the inner surface of the bottom web, said pivot means extending over said inner surface at one side of the bottom web, through the aperture in one of said lugs, under the middle of said bridge piece, through the aperture in the other of said lugs and over said inner surface at the other side of the bottom web.

Said pivot means referred to in the preceding paragraph may be a part of said spring means. In one embodiment of the seat slide mechanism according to the present invention, said part of said spring means may consist of a loop of the spring steel wire from which the spring means is made, each of said aligned apertures in the lugs approximating in shape to an isosceles triangle whose angles are rounded instead of sharp and whose vertex is directed towards that end of the catch member which is provided with said tooth means.

Said catch member is joined to an arm by a connecting piece, said arm being disposed outside and alongside the slide and said connecting piece extending from one end of said arm through a hole provided therefor in the bottom web of the slide to said catch member.

The arm referred to in the preceding paragraph is adapted to be securely connected to one end of an elongate operating handle. In the case in which the seat slide mechanism consists of parallel rail slide assemblies as described in the preceding paragraphs, the respective arms of the catch members are adapted to be securely connected to the respective ends of an appropriately shaped operating handle, whereby the two catch members can be released simultaneously in order to permit the slides to be moved relatively to the respective rails.

Preferably, in the each rail/slide assembly, the slide is movable relatively to the rail on rollers which run on opposed track surfaces on said rail and said slide. Said rollers may be arranged in pairs, the rollers in each pair being on opposite sides of a plane which contains the longitudinal median line of the slide and which is perpendicular to the bottom web of the slide, each pair of rollers being captive but freely rotatable in a roller retainer made of a synthetic resin material.

A generally preferred embodiment of a seat slide mechanism, shown purely by way of example, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figures 1 and 2 are plan and side elevation views, respectively, both partly in section, of a seat slide for securing to a seat; Figures 3 and 4 are plan and side elevation views, respectively, of a rail for securing to a floor; Figures 5 and 6 are cross-sections taken on the lines V-V and VI--VI in Figures 1 and 3, respectively; Figures 7 to 10 illustrate various views of a catch member, Figures 7, 9 and 10 being plan, side elevation and end views of said member and Figure 8 being a cross-section taken on the line VIlI-VIlI in Figure 7;; Figures 11 and 1 2 are plan and side elevation views, respectively, of a combined catch member pivot and spring; Figure 13 is a plan view of a handle-retaining insert; Figure 14 is an axial section of said insert taken on the line XIV--XIV in Figure 13; Figures 1 5 to 1 7 are cross-sections taken on the lines XV-XV, XVl-XVl and XVll-XVll in Figure 14, respectively; Figures 1 8 and 1 9 are detail views showing a handle-retaining insert applied to one end of a two-ended U-shaped operating handle, Figure 1 9 being a cross-section taken on the line XIX--XIX in Figure 18;; Figures 20 and 21 illustrate in plan and in side elevation, respectively, all of the components shown in Figures 1 to 19 in their assembled conditions; Figure 22 is an end view, looking at the left hand end of the assembly of Figure 21, of the assembly; and Figures 23 to 27 illustrate an alternative embodiment of seat slide mechanism, Figure 23 being similar to Figure 2, Figure 24 being across section taken on the line XXlV-XXIV in Figure 23, Figure 25 being similar to Figure 8, and Figures 26 and 27 being similar to Figures 20 and 21, respectively.

Where appropriate in the following description, a reference numeral is used in the various Figures to indicate identical or closely similar parts.

Referring to the drawings, there is illustrated therein a seat slide mechanism which comprises a rail 10 intended to be fixed by bolts (not illustrated) to, for example, the floor of a motor vehicle, a slide 11 intended to be fixed by bolts (not illustrated) to the underside or frame of a vehicle seat, and a catch member 1 2 which is pivotally mounted in the slide 11 and which is connected to one end of an operating handle 13 which, in plan, is U-shaped.

The rail 10 is of substantially U-section and has outwardly directed flanges 14 which are integral with the upright limbs of the U and extend at right angles from the free ends of said limbs. Edge portions 1 4a are so bent through approximately 900 as to be substantially parallel to and spaced from said upright limbs. In both of said limbs, holes 1 5 are provided, the holes in said limbs being aligned across the rail in pairs and each aligned pair of holes constituting elements of elongate racking.

The slide 11 is of channel section and is formed from a U-section member the free edges or ends of whose limbs are bent inwardly through about 900 to form inwardly directed flanges 1 6. Free edge portions 1 6a of said flanges are bent inwardly through about 900, thereby being approximately parallel to and spaced from said limbs of the slide.

The rail 10 and the slide 11 are intended to be inserted into and engaged with one another so that the outwardly directed flanges 14 of the rail are positioned within the slide 11. The slide 11 is supported on the rail 10 by spaced pairs of casehardened steel rollers 1 7 which are accommodated in two spaced roller retainers 1 8 (Figures 20 to 22). Each retainer 1 8 is made of a synthetic resin material having a low coefficient of friction (for example polypropylene copolymer) and provides accommodation for two rollers 17.

There is a full disclosure of a satisfactory roller retainer in United Kindgom Patent Specifications No.1,392,123 and No. 1,393,124 and it is not considered to be necessary to describe the constructional details and the function of the roller retainers 1 8 in any greater detail herein nor the many advantages obtained from their use; it will suffice to say that the retainer 1 8 ensures that the outwardly directed flanges 14 and edge portions 1 4a of the rail 10 and the inwardly directed flanges 1 6 of the slide 11 are separated by parts of the retainer, thereby eliminating all metal-to metal contact between the rail and the slide and also eliminating rattle.Roller stops 1 9 are provided on both the rail 10 and the slide 11 in known manner and for the well-known purpose.

The slide 11 has a rectangular aperture 20 provided in the bottom web of the channel section, said bottom web being that part which joins those edges of said limbs which are remote from the flanges 1 6. Said bottom web also has formed therein two parallel rectangular apertures 21, 22 each of which extends longitudinally of the slide. The intervening strip 23 is appropriately formed into a bridge piece which is such that the mid-length portion thereof lies within the confines of the channel at a level which is higher than that of the inner surface of the bottom web of the channel (see Figures 2 and 5). The shaping of the strip 23 creates a passageway indicated by the reference numeral 24 which is aligned, across the slide 11, with a hole 25 for a purpose to be described.The hole 25 extends through one of the parallel limbs of the channel section at or near to its junction with said bottom web. Lastly, each free edge portion 1 6a has two open-ended slots 26 formed therein, said slots being close to one another and each slot interrupting the free edge of said edge portion 16a, and the two slots 26 in one edge portion 1 6a being in alignment (transversely of the slide 11) with the two slots 26 in the other edge portion 16a.

The catch member 1 2 lies wholly within the confines of the channel of the slide 11 and comprises a flat end 27 in the sides or edges of which two pairs of oppositely directed teeth 28 are formed, and a U-shaped end which provides two parallel lugs 29. Aligned apertures 30 are formed in said lugs, each aperture having the shape, approximately, of an isosceles triangle whose angles are rounded instead of sharp and whose vertex points towards the end 27.

An arm 31 extends parallel to the catch member 12 and is joined to said catch member by a connecting piece 32 which is approximately U-shaped as can be seen from Figure 10.

A spring 33 consists of a length of spring steel wire bent in such a manner as to form two parallel limbs which are collectively indicated by the reference numeral 34, the end of one of said limbs being connected by a curved bight 35 to one end of a C-shaped portion 36 whose other end is connected to a straight portion 37 whose free end is bent into a hook 38 for engagement of the arm 31.

When assembled, the catch member 12 is located in the channel of the slide with the lugs 29 thereof extending into the apertures 21, 22; in fact, the free ends of said lugs project beyond the outer surface of the bottom web of the channel.

Thus positioned, the apertures 30 in said lugs are aligned with the hole 25 (Figure 1) and with the passageway 24 (Figure 2). The parallel limbs 34 of the spring 33 are pushed through the hole 25 and also through the apertures 30 and the passageway 24 until the leading joined ends of the limbs 34 abut against the opposite wall of the channel (see Figure 20). The catch member 12 is now mounted in the slide 11 with freedom for limited angular movements about the pivotal axis provided by said limbs 34, said freedom of movement being by virtue of the shape of the apertures 30.

The connecting piece 32 extends through the aperture 20 and the arm 31 is therefore disposed outside the channel of the slide 11 and parallel to said slide. The hook 38 of the spring 33 is brought into engagement with the arm 31 in order to bias the teeth 28 not only into the slots 26 in the slide 11 but also into two opposed pairs of the holes 15 in the rail 10.

The connection of the catch member 12 to the slide is very robust because the two lugs engage in the apertures 21,22 and are kept in position by the two limbs 34 of heavy-duty spring steel wire, and said limbs cannot be displaced sufficiently in a direction such as to permit the lugs 29 to come out of the apertures 21, 22 because of the restraint exerted on those limbs by the channel wall which defines the hole 25 and by the strip 23.

The connection of the slide 11 to the rail 10 is also very robust because of the fact that two flat teeth 28 engage the slots 26/holes 1 5 at each side of the slide 11/rail 10. Indeed, the provision of two teeth 28 at each of the opposite sides or edges of the end 27 results in the provision of a large overall surface area of engagement between said teeth on the one hand and the slots 26/holes 1 5 on the other hand; the trapping, in a very positive manner, of said teeth 28 between the edges of the edge portions 14a, 16a under crash conditions is assured.

It will be realised that the bending of the metal to form the edge portions 1 4a of the rail 10 strengthens the rail from the point of view of resisting the forces which arise when the vehicle in which the seat is installed collides (particularly, head-on) with another object, and the same is also true of the bending of the metal to form the edge portions 1 6a of the slide 11. Therefore, the interengaged rail/siide assembly is very strong under such conditions.

An additional advantage derived from the provision of edge portions 1 6a is that the slots 26 are formed partially in said edge portions and partially in the flanges 16 of the channel; this increases the area for the respective edges of the teeth 28 to contact. If the edge portions 1 6a were not present and if the slots 26 were formed only in the flanges 1 6, the respective edges of the teeth 28 would only have the respective edges of the slots 26 in said flanges to abut against and, under crash conditions, such abutment could actually become discontinued, with potentially disastrous consequences.

The free end portion 39 of the arm 31 is inserted into the open end 40 of an insert 41 which is preferably made of a synthetic resin material and which is located in one end of the operating handle 13; there is, of course, an insert 41 in each end of said handle 13. As will be seen from the drawings, the insert 41 is retained in the handle end by said handle end being crimped at 42 so as to engage the waisted zone 43 of the insert.

The handle 13 will, as already stated, be U-shaped in plan configuration in order to engage the respective arms 31 of the left-hand side and right-hand side slide/rail assemblies.

If the spring 33 were to fracture (say, in the region of the C-shaped portion 36 or at the hook 38), the catch member 1 2 would engage the rail 10 under the influence of gravity; this is an important "fail safe" feature of the design.

The construction of seat slide mechanism in which the flat end 27 of the catch member 12 is provided with opposed pairs of teeth 28 is principally for use when the seat belt anchorages are provided on the slides 11 and this can be done mutatus mutandis in accordance, for example, with the disclosure of United Kingdom Patent Specification No. 1 549,256; in such cases, the edge portions 1 4a, 1 6a on the rail and slide, respectively, are of great significance because the stiffening provided thereby helps to resist any tendency of the slide and/or the rail to be "peeled" away under crash conditions.

In cases where the seal belt anchorages are to the car body instead of to the slides 11 , the end 27 of the catch member 12 need only be provided with one tooth 28 on each side thereof (see Figures 25 to 27). It will be realised that (in order to comply with the relevant regulations), when the seat belt anchorages are fixed to the vehicle body, the catch teeth 28 only need to resist the G loading on the seat itself whereas, when those anchorages are fixed to the slides 11, the catch teeth 28 need to resist the G loading on the seat plus the person occupying the seat. In Figures 23 to 27, there is illustration of one embodiment of a modified catch member 1 2 having one pair of opposed teeth 28 and a modified slide 11 having one pair of open-ended slots 26 in the free edge portions 16a.Said modified catch member 12 is joined to the arm 31 by a modified connecting piece 32 which extends through an aperture 50 which is formed, in the main, in the same one of the parallel limbs of the channel section as the hole 25 is formed in. The bottom web 51 of the slide is upset as indicated by the reference numeral 52 to accommodate the modified connecting piece 32. The arrangement shown in Figures 23 to 27 minimises the clearance which is necessary between the outer surface of the bottom web 51 and the underside of the seat structure to which said bottom web is fixed.

It must be pointed out that the particular design of handle-retaining insert illustrated in Figures 1 3 to 1 7, and the consequent particular design of the arm 31 of the catch member 12 illustrated in the other Figures of the darwings, have only been given by way of example. In the further development which has taken place since the United Kingdom Application date, we have designed a plastics insert (not illustrated) which is made with flexible jaws which remain outside the respective end of tubular handle 13 and which grip the arm 31 concerned but which can be temporarily separated (e.g. by a screwdriver blade) to permit removal of the handle 13 from the slide/rail pair when desired.In yet a further development, another plastics insert (not iliustrated) is moulded so as to include a pin which is connected by a flexible strap to the remainder of the insert and so as to include parallel axially extending limbs which remain outside the respective end of the tubular handle 1 3 and in which there are transversely aligned passageways; the arm 31 connected to the catch member 1 2 is modified, in shape, to omit all undercuts and is simply provided with a passageway which has to be brought into alignment with said two passageways in the limbs of the insert, whereupon the pin is pushed into the passageways to provide a releasable connection between said insert and the respective arm 31. In the vicinity of its free end, the pin is provided with some means (e.g. an annular bead whose outside diameter is slightly larger than that of the remainder of the pin) which provides an interference fit such as to permit insertion and removal of the pin by a human operator and such as to prevent the pin being shaken out by vibration.

Claims

1. A seat slide mechanism having a rail secured to a floor, a slide secured to a seat and engaged with and slidable relative to said rail, and a catch member pivotally connected to said slide and having tooth means at or in the vicinity of one end thereof for the releasable engagement of elongate racking on said rail; said catch member being provided with lug means which engage slot means in said slide, said lug means being of such dimensions in cross-section as to occupy substantially the entire area of the slot means; the pivot means which connects said catch member to said slide not only ensuring that said tooth means can be moved through an arc in one of two opposite directions at a time relatively to said slide about the axis of the pivot means but also maintaining the lug means in engagement with the slot means at all times; and spring means being provided which act on said catch member in such a manner as at all times to urge said tooth means into cut-outs which are provided in said slide and into elements of said racking in order to effect said releasable engagement.

2. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein said lug means are constituted by two parallel lugs and wherein said slot means are constituted by two parallel slots which are formed in the bottom web of the channel-section slide.

3. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said slots are defined by edges of flat portions of said bottom web on the one hand and by two opposite side edges of a bridge piece on the other hand, said bridge piece and said opposite side edges thereof extending longitudinally of the slide and the opposite ends of said bridge piece being secured to or integral with said bottom web.

4. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein said lugs are provided with aligned apertures and wherein said bridge piece is such that a middle portion thereof is at a level within the confines of the channel-section slide higher than the inner surface of the bottom web, said pivot means extending over said inner surface at one side of the bottom web, through the aperture in one of said lugs, under the middle of said bridge piece, through the aperture in the other of said lugs and over said inner surface at the other side of the bottom web.

5. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said pivot means is a part of or integral with said spring means.

6. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said part of said spring means is a loop of spring steel wire from which the spring means is made, each of said aligned apertures in the lugs approximating in shape to an isosceles triangle whose angles are rounded instead of sharp and whose vertex is directed towards that end of the catch member at which said tooth means are situated.

7. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said catch member is joined to an arm by a connecting piece, said arm being disposed outside and alongside the slide and said connecting piece extending from one end of said arm to said catch member through a hole provided therefor in the bottom web of the slide.

8. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said arm is securely connected to one end of an elongate operating handle.

9. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the slide is movable relatively to the rail on rollers which run on opposed track surfaces on said rail and said slide.

1 0. A seat slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 9, wherein said rollers are arranged in pairs, the rollers in each pair being on opposite sides of a plane which contains the longitudinal median line of the slide and which is perpendicular to the bottom web of the slide, each pair of rollers being captive but freely rotatable in a roller retainer made of a synthetic resin material.

11. A seat slide mechanism constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 1 to 22 or Figures 23 to 27 of the accompanying drawings.

12. Any features of novelty, taken single or in combination, of the embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.