GB2126798A

GB2126798A - Electromechanical seat adjuster

Info

Publication number: GB2126798A
Application number: GB08318521A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ulrich Budde
Original assignee: Alfred Teves GmbH
Current assignee: Continental Teves AG and Co oHG
Priority date: 1982-09-09
Filing date: 1983-07-08
Publication date: 1984-03-28
Also published as: FR2532831A1; IT8322731A0; IT1167374B; DE3233472C2; FR2532831B1; DE3233472A1; GB2126798B; GB8318521D0

Abstract

An electromechanical seat adjuster, in particular for an automotive vehicle, comprises a carrier member (2) which carries at least one electric motor (12, 14) and drive elements (30, 32) for driving engagement of the electric motor (12, 14) with a component to be adjusted. To achieve noise reduction, the electric motor (12, 14) is mounted on the carrier member (2) without there being metallic contact between the support member (2) and the electric motor (12, 14). Such mounting may be achieved by enclosing the electric motor in a plastics casing composed of two half shells (18, 20) <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Electromechanical seat adjuster The present invention relates to an electromechanical seat adjuster, in particular for seats in an automotive vehicle, of the kind comprising a carrier member which carries at least one electric motor and drive elements for driving engagement of the electric motor with a component to be adjusted.

A seat adjuster of this kind is known from German published patent application 28 46 632.

In this known seat adjuster, the carrier member is formed by a console which is screwed to a frame member. The console carries drive elements such as transfer gears and bevel gears. Such an arrangement of the motor and the drive elements results in considerable noise developing during operation of the motor.

It is an object of the present invention to improve upon a seat adjuster of the kind referred to so that the occurrence of noises during the adjusting operation will be reduced.

According to the invention in its broadest aspect, an electromechanical seat adjuster of the kind referred to is characterised in that the electric motor is secured to the carrier member without there being metallic contact between the carrier member and the electric motor.

The invention enables one to avoid to a large extent noises which result in known seat adjusters from the transmission of noise by direct conduction onto the surrounding metal parts. This will be accomplished in an easy manner that is favourable in respect of costs by avoiding direct points of contact between the electric motor and sheet-metal components so that the transmission of noise by direct conduction will no longer be possible.

In a very suitable embodiment of this invention, the electric motor has a plastic casing which is affixed to the carrier member, with fastening elements engaging at the plastic casing and the carrier member only. The above-mentioned preclusion of contact points metal-on-metal will be achieved in this arrangement in that, in contrast to known fastening methods, the fastening elements do not engage at the electric motor itself, but at the plastic casing enclosing the motor.

In the event of the provision of several electric motors on the seat adjuster, these electric motors will have a joint plastic casing according to another embodiment of the invention. This joint plastic casing permits one to reduce the number of components so that this solution appears to be particularly economical. To this effect, the electric motors are expediently arranged side by side, and the fastening elements extend through the plastic casing between the motors, a very space-saving arrangement being provided thereby.

It will be suitable for reasons of manufacture of the plastic casing and for assembly thereof to constitute the plastic casing of two half shells, the partition plane of the plastic casing being advantageously that plane in which the axes of the electric motors are disposed. Two similar half shells will be obtained thereby in a manner favourable from the point of view of manufacture.

To reduce still further the number of components, it will be provided according to an embodiment of the present invention that the fastening elements which serve for affixing the plastic casing to the carrier member perform another function by holding the half shells together.

In case the plastic casing does not have sufficient strength to keep the motor on the carrier member within the limits of admissible deformations, according to another favourable embodiment, reinforcing elements may be arranged between the plastic casing and supports formed by fastening elements. In this arrangement, a single joint reinforcing element can be employed for at least two fastening elements.

To keep the number of components low, according to another embodiment of the present invention, at least one protective hose for a drive element, for example, a flexible shaft is formed at the plastic casing. To this end, the axis of the protective hose is suitably disposed in the partition plane of the plastic casing.

It will be provided by another embodiment of this invention that elastic intermediate members are interposed between the carrier member and the electric motor and/or the drive elements, in particular a gear unit, which considerably damp noise conduction.

It is provided in another inventive way that the drive elements, in particular a gear unit, are suspended on the carrier member without there being direct metallic contact between the carrier member and the drive elements.

For suspension of the motor and gear unit, according to an embodiment of this invention the fastening elements are enclosed by bushings made from a flexible plastic and provided with flanges, whereby metallic contact is avoided in a simple manner.

Suitably, polyurethane is chosen as a material for the plastic casing and for the intermediate members. However, other raw materials having similar properties may also be used.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 in a partial top view of a carrier member of an electromechanical seat adjuster having two electric motors arranged side by side in one joint plastic casing; Fig. 2 is a front view of the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the arrangement illustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a plane view of a retaining arrangement for an electric motor having a plateshaped intermediate member made from an elastic material; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a retaining arrangement wherein the fastening elements are provided with bushings made from an elastic material..

The electromechanical seat adjuster has been illustrated in the drawing only to the extent necesary to the disclosure of the invention. It comprises a carrier member 2 which can be part of a frame (not shown herein) located beneath the seat and which has the shape of a flat, partially profiled sheet-metal strip.

Furthermore, the carrier member contains bores 4, 6 extending through which are fastening elements 8, 10 which will be described in more detail hereinbelow. Two electric motors 12, 14 are located side by side beneath the carrier member 2.

These electric motors 1 2, 14 are embedded in a plastic casing 1 6. The plastic casing 16 has a substantially ashlar-like outer appearance and is composed of two similar half shells 1 8, 20. The half shells 1 8, 20 form two inner cavities 22, 24 whose contour corresponds substantially to the outer contour of the electric motors 12, 1 4. On one side, two tubular extensions 26, 28 (in Fig. 3 only one can be seen on the right) are shaped to the plastic casing 16, the extensions forming protective hoses for drive elements, for instance flexible shafts 30, 32, which extend out of the plastic casing 1 6. The axis of the tubular extensions 26, 28 is disposed on the partition plane 34 of the plastic casing 16, the partition plane being constituted by the half shells 18, 20, so that half tubes are designed at the half shells 1 8, 20 which establish the tubular extensions 26, 28 when assembled.

For securement of the plastic casing 1 6 containing the electric motors 1 2, 14 to the carrier member 2, two bores 36, 38, extend between the cavities 22, 24 through the plastic casing 1 6.

Fastening elements 8, 10 having the form of threaded bolts are accommodated in these bores 36, 38. The upper end of the fastening elements 8, 10 is provided with a thread 44, 46 which extends through the bores 4, 6 in the carrier member 2. On the other side of the carrier member 2, nuts 48, 50 are screwed onto the threads 44, 46 of the fastening elements 8, 10. Likewise the lower portions of the fastening elements 8, 10 are provided with a thread 52, 54, the threaded portions extending through bores of a joint uninterrupted reinforcing element 56 having the shape of a flat plate. On the side of the reinforcing element 56 remote from the plastic casing 16, nuts 58, 60 are screwed onto the threads 52, 54 which nuts form a support.By this, the plastic casing containing the electric motors 12, 14 is clamped between the carrier member 2 and the reinforcing elements 56, the fastening elements 40, 42 holding together the two half shells 18, 20, on the one hand, while, on the other hand, they retain the entire plastic casing 1 6 with the electric motors 12, 14 contained therein on the carrier member 2. The leads 62, 64 to the electric motors 1 2, 14 are led laterally out of the plastic casing 1 6 for which purpose corresponding small openings are provided therein.

Fig. 4 shows a method of fastening an electric motor 66 to a carrier meniber 68, with a plateshaped intermediate member 72, consisting of an elastic material such as polyurethane or the like, being interposed between the carrier member 68 and a sheet-steel carrier arm 70 welded thereto and the electric motor 66. The intermediate member 72 is connected to the carrier arm 70, on the one hand, and to a housing part of the motor, on the other hand, by means of screws or rivets and, in case of need, through further connecting elements. Contained in the intermediate member 72 is a recess through which the driven end shaft 74 of the motor is guided. On the other side of an electric motor, the suspension can be carried out in the same fashion (not shown).

Fig. 5 shows a gear suspension. For securement of the gear unit 78 to the carrier member 80, fastening elements 82 are provided which extend through bores 84, 86 of the Ushaped carrier member 80 and through a bore 88 in the gear unit 78. Seated on the fastening element 82 are bushings 90, 92, which fill the space between the fastening element 82 and the bore 88 and which comprise a flange 94, 96 each.

the latter being located between the end faces of the gear unit 78 enclosing the bore 88 and the carrier member 80 and an intermediate member 98, respectively. Direct contact between the metallic carrier member 80 and the fastening elements 82 on the one hand and the gear unit on the other hand will thereby be avoided.

Claims

1. An electromechanical seat adjuster, in particular for seats in an automotive vehicle, of the kind comprising a carrier member which carries at least one electric motor and drive elements for driving engagement of the electric motor with a component to be adjusted, characterised in that the electric motor (12, 14) is secured to the carrier member (2) without there being metallic contact between the carrier member (2) and the electric motor 14).

2. An electomechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the electric motor (12, 14) has a plastic casing (16) which is affixed to the carrier member (2), with fastening elements (8, 10) engaging at the plastic casing (16) and the carrier member (2) only.

3. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 2, with at least two electric motors, characterised in that the electric motors (12, 14) have a joint plastic casing (16).

4. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 3, characterised in that the electric motors (12, 14) are arranged side by side.

and in that the fastening elements (8, - 10) extend through the plastic casing (16) between the motors (12,14).

5. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the plastic casing (16) is composed of two half shells (18, 20).

6. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 5, characterised in that the partition plane (34) of the plastic casing (1 6) is the plane in which the axes of the electric motors (12, 14) are located.

7. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 5 or 6, characterised in that the half shells (1 8, 20) are held together by means of fastening elements (8, 10).

8. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that reinforcing elements (56) are arranged between the plastic casing (16) and supports (58, 60) which latter are formed by fastening elements (8, 10).

9. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 8, characterised in that a single joint reinforcing element (56) is provided for at least two fastening elements (8, 10).

10. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that at least one protective hose (26, 28) for a drive element (30, 32) is formed at the plastic casing (16).

11. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 10, characterised in that the axis of the protective hose (26, 28) is disposed in the partition plane (34) of the plastic casing (16).

1 2. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the plastic casing (16) is made from polyurethane.

13. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that intermediate members (72) made from an elastic material are interposed between the carrier member (68) and the electric motor (66) and/or the drive elements, in particular a gear unit (78).

14. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that the drive elements, in particular a gear unit (78), are suspended on the carrier member (80) without there being metallic contact between the carrier member (80) and the drive elements (78).

1 5. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 14, characterised in that fastening elements (82) which are provided for securement of the drive elements, in particular the gear unit (78) and the electric motor, are at least partially enclosed by elastic bushings (90, 92).

1 6. An electromechical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 15, characterised in that the bushings (90, 92) comprise a flange (94, 96) which is located between the carrier member (80) and the drive elements (78) and the electric motor.

1 7. An electromechanical seat adjuster as claimed in claim 1 5 or 16, characterised in that the bushings are made from soft plastic.

1 8. An electromechanical seat adjuster substanitally as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.