JP2001334907A - Slide position detecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small sized slide position detecting device capable of easily securing reliability with a simple structure. SOLUTION: A seat slide position detecting sensor 20 is fixed on an upper rail 12 through a bracket 22 made of an iron material. Alongitudinal wall part 22A is formed on the bracket 22. A guide rail 24 is disposed on a car body backward position of a lower rail 14. The guide rail 24 consists of resin or light metal such as aluminum. A slide part 24A of the guide rail 24 is provided with a magnet 26, and a through-hole 28 of the magnet 26 is penetrated by the slide part 24A. The magnet 26 is brought into contact with the longitudinal wall part 22A of the bracket 22 and can be easily moved along the slide part 24A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a slide position detecting device, and more particularly to a slide position detecting device for operating an occupant protection device such as an airbag device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an example of a slide position detecting device for operating an occupant protection device such as an airbag device mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 270848.
No. 2, JP-A-5-213142.

[0003] As shown in FIG.
In the structure of No. 482, a slide sensor 104 for detecting a slide position of the seat 100 is provided on a seat slide mechanism 102 of a seat 100 of an automobile body. The seat 100 is provided with a reclining angle sensor 106 for detecting a rotation angle of the seat back 100A, and based on an output signal of the slide sensor 104 and an output signal of the reclining angle sensor 106, an airbag device 108 is provided. Is controlled to be deployed.

Further, as shown in FIG.
In the structure of Japanese Patent Publication No. 42, a slide sensor 112 for detecting a sliding position of a seat 110 slidable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, a reclining angle sensor 114 for detecting a rotation angle of the seatback 110A, and an acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body. An airbag controller 118 which has a built-in acceleration sensor (not shown) for detecting and deploys the airbag bag 116 when the impact level obtained from the output of the acceleration sensor reaches a predetermined deployment condition level of the airbag device. And And the controller 11
8 estimates the position of the head 120A of the occupant 120 based on the output of the slide sensor 112 and the output of the reclining angle sensor 114, and
The airbag deployment condition level is increased or decreased according to the position of A.

[0005]

However, in these slide sensors 104 and 112, since the switch section is a contact-contact type, it is difficult to ensure reliability over a long period of time. However, the length of the device is large in the front-back direction of the seat, and the size of the device is large, and it is difficult to ensure waterproof performance.

[0006] As a slide position detecting device for improving this, it is conceivable to employ a configuration in which the switch unit is a non-contact type such as a Hall IC and the switch unit is switched off, on, and off by sliding the sheet. Before the switch unit is turned on, a storage device for determining on which side in the front-rear direction the sheet is located is required,
The circuit configuration becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide a slide position detecting device having a simple structure, a small size, and easy securing of reliability.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide position detecting device comprising: a sensor provided on one of a moving rail and a fixed rail in a sliding device; A guide unit disposed on the other of the fixed rails and having a predetermined length in a sliding direction; a magnet movably arranged along the guide unit, and a magnet for turning on the sensor unit; Following means for following the sensor means.

Therefore, when the moving rail moves in a predetermined direction with respect to the fixed rail, the sensor means and the magnet come close to each other,
The sensor means turns on. Further, when the moving rail is within the predetermined moving range with respect to the fixed rail, the follower means causes the magnet to follow the sensor means and move along the guide means, so that the sensor means remains on. I do.
That is, by using a non-contact type sensor which is turned on by a magnet as the sensor means and moving the magnet along the guide means, the contact type sensor is moved along the moving rail as in the conventional structure. There is no need to place multiple
There is no need for a storage device for determining on which side in the front-back direction the sheet is located. Therefore, the configuration is simple and small, and the reliability is easily secured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide position detecting device for detecting a front / rear position of a seat, wherein a sensor means disposed on one of a moving rail and a fixed rail of the seat slide rail; A guide means disposed on the other of the moving rail and the fixed rail, and having a predetermined length in the sliding direction;
It is characterized by comprising a magnet movably arranged along the guide means, for turning on the sensor means, and a follower means for causing the magnet to follow the sensor means.

Therefore, when the moving rail moves in a predetermined direction with respect to the fixed rail of the seat slide rail due to the sliding of the seat, the sensor means and the magnet approach, and the sensor means is turned on. Further, when the moving rail is within the predetermined moving range with respect to the fixed rail, the follower means causes the magnet to follow the sensor means and move along the guide means, so that the sensor means remains on. I do. That is, by using a non-contact type sensor which is turned on by a magnet as the sensor means and moving the magnet along the guide means, the contact type sensor is moved along the moving rail as in the conventional structure. There is no need to arrange a plurality of sheets, and there is no need for a storage device for determining on which side in the front-rear direction the sheet exists. Therefore, the configuration is simple and small, and the reliability is easily secured.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the slide position detecting device according to the first or second aspect, a magnet holding portion for holding the magnet is provided at an end of the guide means. It is characterized by the following.

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in either claim 1 or claim 2, when the sensor means and the magnet are separated from each other, the magnet is held at the end of the guide means by the magnet holding portion. Can be. As a result, when the sensor means and the magnet are separated from each other, the magnet can be prevented from moving to another part without permission, so that when the sensor means moves to a predetermined position, the sensor means is securely turned on. Can be done.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the slide position detecting device according to the first or second aspect, the guide means is a pipe, and the magnet is movably disposed in the pipe. It is characterized by having been made a sphere.

Therefore, in addition to the contents described in either claim 1 or claim 2, when the sensor means approaches the guide means, the magnet moves inside the guide means formed as a pipe to the vicinity of the sensor means. I do. As a result, when the sensor means moves to the predetermined position, the sensor means can be reliably turned on.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of a slide position detecting device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the drawings, an arrow FR indicates a forward direction of the vehicle, an arrow IN indicates an inward direction of the vehicle width, and an arrow UP indicates an upward direction of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the seat slide rail 10 has a known configuration having an upper rail 12 as a moving rail and a lower rail 14 as a fixed rail. The lower rail 14 is fixed to the vehicle body floor 16 along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
2 is fixed to a seat cushion frame (not shown). Therefore, when the seat is slid in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, the upper rail 12 moves forward of the vehicle body (the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 and the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1) with respect to the lower rail 14.

On the vertical wall portion 12A of the upper rail 12, a seat slide position detecting sensor 20 as a sensor means is provided.
Are fixed via a bracket 22 made of a magnetic material such as iron. Note that the seat slide position detection sensor 20
Is constituted by a non-contact type sensor such as a Hall IC or a reed switch. At the front end of the bracket 22, a vertical wall portion 22A is formed as a follow-up means extending perpendicularly to the vertical wall portion 12A of the upper rail 12 and extending in the vehicle up-down direction.

On the other hand, a rod-shaped guide rail 24 as guide means is provided at a predetermined portion of the upper wall portion 14A of the lower rail 14, for example, at a rear portion of the vehicle body. Alternatively, it is made of a light metal such as aluminum. Also, the guide rail 24
Is composed of a slide portion 24A having a predetermined length S along the sliding direction of the seat, and mounting portions 24B formed at both ends in the front-rear direction of the slide portion 24A. Each of the mounting portions 24B is bent in an L-shape, and lower ends 24C of the mounting portions 24B are fixed to the upper wall portion 14A of the lower rail 14. The slide section 24
The mounting position and length S of A are set based on the sliding position of the sheet to be detected.

A magnet 26 is provided on the slide portion 24A of the guide rail 24, and the magnet 26 has a block shape. A through hole 28 is formed at a position slightly above the center of the magnet 26, and the slide portion 24A passes through the through hole 28. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the magnet 26 is driven by the arrow C around the slide portion 24A.
In this case, the magnet 26 may return to the position shown in FIG. 2 by its own weight. The inner diameter of the through hole 28 is set to be larger than the axis diameter of the slide portion 24A, so that the magnet 26 can easily move and rotate with respect to the slide portion 24A.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper portion 26 of the magnet 26
A part of the upper rail 12 is located on the movement locus of the vertical wall portion 22A of the bracket 22 in the front-rear direction.
Is moved rearward, the upper portion 26A of the magnet 26 and the vertical wall portion 22A of the bracket 22 come into contact with each other and are attracted by magnetic force.

As shown in FIG. 3, the front end of the slide portion 24A of the guide rail 24 is provided with a magnet holding portion 24.
D is formed. The height H1 of the magnet holding portion 24D from the upper wall portion 14A of the lower rail 14 is equal to the height of the sliding portion 24A.
Is set to be lower than the height H2 of the other part in. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, by holding the magnet 26 in the magnet holding portion 24D, it is possible to prevent the magnet 26 from easily moving backward (in the direction of arrow D) due to acceleration of the vehicle body or the like. .

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

When the seat slides forward, the positional relationship between the upper rail 12 and the lower rail 14 is as shown in FIG. Therefore, the sheet slide position detection sensor 20 fixed to the upper rail 12
And the magnet 26 disposed on the lower rail 14 are separated from each other, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20 is off. Until the upper rail 12 slides a predetermined distance from the frontmost position to the rear (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1), the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 26
Are separated from each other, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20
Is off.

On the other hand, when the upper rail 12 slides rearward from the most forward position by a predetermined distance (in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 1), the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 26 come close, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20 Turns on. When the upper rail 12 moves further backward, the upper part 26A of the magnet 26 and the vertical wall part 22A of the bracket 22 come into contact with each other, and the two attract each other by magnetic force, so that the upper part 26A follows the seat slide position detection sensor 20. Then, the magnet 26 moves rearward from the magnet holding portion 24D along the slide portion 24A of the guide rail 24. For this reason, the seat slide position detection sensor 20 remains on.

When the seat moves forward, the upper portion 26A of the magnet 26 and the vertical wall 2
2A is attracted by the magnetic force, so that the magnet 26 moves forward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3) along the slide portion 24A of the guide rail 24 following the sheet slide position detection sensor 20. For this reason, the magnet 26 is
D, the seat slide position detection sensor 20 remains on until the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 26 are separated from each other.

As a result, in the present embodiment, a non-contact type sensor which is turned on by the magnet 26 is used as the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 26 is moved along the guide rail 24. Like the structure,
It is not necessary to use a contact-type sensor and arrange a plurality of sensors along the moving rail, and it is not necessary to have a storage device for determining which side in the front-rear direction the sheet exists. Therefore, the configuration is simple and small, and the reliability is easily secured.

In the present embodiment, when the seat moves rearward, the upper portion 26A of the magnet 26 and the vertical wall portion 22A of the bracket 22 come into contact with each other.
The magnet 26 can reliably follow the seat slide position detection sensor 20.

In the present embodiment, when the seat slide position detecting sensor 20 and the magnet 26 are separated from each other, the magnet 26 can be held at the front end of the slide portion 24A by the magnet holding portion 24D. As a result, the magnet holder 2
By holding the magnet 26 in 4D, it is possible to prevent the magnet 26 from easily moving backward (in the direction of arrow D) due to acceleration of the vehicle body or the like. Therefore, when the upper rail 12 slides rearward from the foremost position by a predetermined distance (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1), the seat slide position detection sensor 20 can be reliably turned on.

Accordingly, by connecting the seat slide position detection sensor 20 of the present embodiment to the control circuit of the occupant protection device such as an airbag device, the operating state of the occupant protection device can be appropriately determined based on the seat slide position. You will be able to control it.

In this embodiment, the guide rail 24
Is rod-shaped and made of resin or light metal such as aluminum, so that the weight of the device can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the guide rails 24
The height H1 of the magnet holding portion 24D at
Although it was lower than the height H2 of other parts in 4A,
Instead, as shown in FIG.
A magnetic body 30 such as iron may be provided on the base and the magnet 26 may be held by magnetic force.

Next, a second embodiment of the slide position detecting device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the bracket 32 for fixing the seat slide position detecting sensor 20 to the upper rail 12 is made of an iron material, and a projection 32A as a follow-up means is formed below the bracket 32. Have been. The convex part 32A is the vertical wall part 1 of the upper rail 12.
It is formed substantially parallel to 2A.

On the other hand, a pipe-shaped guide rail 34 as guide means is provided at a predetermined portion of the upper wall portion 14A of the lower rail 14, for example, at a rear portion of the vehicle body. It is made of resin or light metal such as aluminum. Also, the guide rail 34
Is composed of a sliding portion 34A having a predetermined length S along the sliding direction of the seat, and plate-like mounting portions 34B formed at both ends in the front-rear direction of the sliding portion 34A. Each of the mounting portions 34B is bent in an L-shape, and lower ends 34C of the mounting portions 34B are fixed to the upper wall portion 14A of the lower rail 14. The mounting position and the length S of the slide portion 34A are set based on the slide position of the sheet to be detected.

A magnet 36 is provided in the slide portion 34A of the guide rail 34, and the magnet 36 is a sphere. The inner diameter of the slide portion 34A is set larger than the diameter of the magnet 36, so that the magnet 36 can easily move inside the slide portion 34A.

Note that silencers 40 such as rubber are provided at both front and rear ends in the slide portion 34A so that the collision sound of the magnet 36 can be reduced.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

When the seat slides forward, the positional relationship between the upper rail 12 and the lower rail 14 is as shown in FIG. Therefore, the sheet slide position detection sensor 20 fixed to the upper rail 12
Is separated from the magnet 36 disposed on the lower rail 14, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20 is off. Until the upper rail 12 slides a predetermined distance from the frontmost position to the rear (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5), the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 36
Are separated from each other, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20
Is off.

On the other hand, when the upper rail 12 slides backward from the foremost position by a predetermined distance (in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5), the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 36 come close to each other, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20 is moved. Turns on. When the upper rail 12 moves further rearward, the magnet 36 and the convex portion 32A of the bracket 32 attract each other by magnetic force, so that the magnet 36 and the convex portion 32A of the bracket 32 follow the sheet slide position detection sensor 20 and the slide portion 24 of the guide rail 24.
The magnet 36 moves backward along A. For this reason, the seat slide position detection sensor 20 remains on.

When the seat position moves forward, the magnet 36 and the convex portion 32A of the bracket 32 attract each other by magnetic force, so that the seat slide position detection sensor 2
Following 0, the magnet 36 moves forward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6) along the slide portion 34A of the guide rail 34. Therefore, the magnet 36 reaches the front end of the slide portion 34 and cannot move forward, and the seat slide position detection sensor 20 remains on until the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the magnet 36 are separated.

As a result, in this embodiment, a non-contact type sensor which is turned on by the magnet 36 is used as the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the seat slide position detection sensor 20 is moved along the guide rail 24. As a result, unlike the conventional structure, it is not necessary to use a contact-type sensor and to arrange a plurality of sensors along the moving rail, and to store information on which side in the front-rear direction the seat is located. No equipment needed. Therefore, the configuration is simple and small, and the reliability is easily secured.

In the present embodiment, the sheet slide position detection sensor 20 detects the detection position, that is, the slide portion 34.
Although the magnet 36 is located rearward and the magnets 36 are separated from each other even though the magnet 36 has reached the disposition position, the magnet 36 is a sphere and can easily move in the slide portion 34. The magnet 36 moves, and the convex portion 32 of the bracket 32 is moved.
By attracting A to the magnetic force, the seat slide position detection sensor 20 can be reliably turned on. As a result, there is no need to provide a magnet holding portion at the tip of the guide rail as in the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, since the magnet 36 is inserted into the pipe-like slide portion 34A, the slide portion 34
By closing both ends of A, it is possible to prevent the rolling resistance of the magnet 36 from increasing due to dust or the like.

Accordingly, by connecting the seat slide position detecting sensor 20 of the present embodiment to the control circuit of the occupant protection device such as an airbag device, the operation state of the occupant protection device can be appropriately determined based on the seat slide position. You will be able to control it.

In the above, the present invention has been described in detail with respect to a specific embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment, and various other embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. It is clear to a person skilled in the art that is possible. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the seat slide position detection sensor 20 and the brackets 22 and 32 may be arranged on the lower rail 14 side, and the guide rails 24 and 34 and the magnets 26 and 36 may be arranged on the upper rail 12 side. . Further, the slide position detecting device of the present invention is not limited to the seat slide rail 10, but may be a slide device having a moving rail and a fixed rail, for example, a slide for moving a steering wheel in an axial direction of a steering column. The present invention is also applicable to a slide position detecting device in the device.

[0049]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide position detecting device according to the present invention, wherein a sensor means provided on one of a moving rail and a fixed rail in the sliding device, and a sensor means provided between the moving rail and the fixed rail in the sliding device. A guide means having a predetermined length in the sliding direction, a magnet movably arranged along the guide means, a magnet for turning on the sensor means, and a magnet for following the sensor means. And a follow-up means, which has an excellent effect that the configuration is simple and small, and the reliability is easily secured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a slide position detecting device for detecting a front and rear position of a seat, wherein a sensor means disposed on one of a moving rail and a fixed rail in the seat slide rail; A guide means disposed on the other of the moving rail and the fixed rail, and having a predetermined length in the sliding direction;
Since it is movably disposed along the guide means and has a magnet for turning on the sensor means and a follower means for causing the magnet to follow the sensor means, the configuration is simple and small, and reliability is ensured. It has an excellent effect of being easy.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the slide position detecting device according to the first or second aspect, a magnet holding portion for holding a magnet is provided at an end of the guide means. In addition to the effects described in either the first aspect or the second aspect, there is an excellent effect that the sensor means can be reliably turned on.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the slide position detecting device according to the first or second aspect, the guide means is a pipe, and the magnet is disposed so as to be movable in the pipe. Therefore, in addition to the effect described in either claim 1 or claim 2, there is an excellent effect that the sensor means can be reliably turned on.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a seat slide rail to which a slide position detecting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, as viewed obliquely from the front of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a sensor-on state in the slide position detecting device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a slide position detection device according to a modification of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a sensor-on state, as viewed obliquely from the front of the vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a seat slide rail to which a slide position detecting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied, as viewed from diagonally forward of the vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a sensor-on state in a slide position detecting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front of the vehicle.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a slide position detecting device according to a conventional embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a slide position detecting device according to a conventional embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Seat slide rail 12 Upper rail 14 Lower rail 20 Seat slide position detection sensor (sensor means) 22 Bracket 22A Bracket vertical wall part (following means) 24 Guide rail (guide means) 24A Guide rail slide part 24D Magnet holding part 26 Magnet 28 Through-hole 30 Holding means 32 Bracket 32A Convex part of bracket (follow-up means) 34 Guide rail (guide means) 34A Sliding part of guide rail 36 Magnet

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A sensor device disposed on one of a moving rail and a fixed rail in a sliding device, and a sensor device disposed on the other of the moving rail and the fixed rail in the sliding device, and having a predetermined length in a sliding direction. And a magnet for turning on the sensor means, and a follower means for causing the magnet to follow the sensor means. Slide position detection device. 2. A slide position detecting device for detecting a front / rear position of a seat, comprising: a sensor provided on one of a movable rail and a fixed rail of the seat slide rail; A guide unit disposed on the other of the two sides and having a predetermined length in a sliding direction; a magnet movably disposed along the guide unit, for turning on the sensor unit; And a follow-up means for following the slide position. 3. A magnet holding portion for holding said magnet is provided at an end of said guide means.
Alternatively, the slide position detecting device according to claim 2. 4. The slide position detection device according to claim 1, wherein said guide means is a pipe, and said magnet is a sphere movably disposed in said pipe. apparatus.