JP2002362204A - Vehicle seat device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle seat device in which any play or abnormal noise can be suppressed even when various kinds of loads and vibrations are applied, and the operational performance can be reliably maintained as necessary. SOLUTION: A projecting part 45 formed on a body part 30 and a lid part 50 is brought into elastic contact with a plate part 61 of an arm 6 by a space formed in a casing 3 to absorb the clearance provided between the arm 6 and the casing 3. Since only the projecting part 45 is brought into contact with the arm 6, and a space is provided in another part, friction resistance is reduced, and the arm 6 is smoothly turned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle seat apparatus, and more particularly to a technique for eliminating backlash of a movable member rotatably supported by a fixed member.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a vehicle equipped with a seatbelt, when an impact is applied to a vehicle, a submarine phenomenon may occur in which an occupant gets under the waist belt and the occupant restraint of the seatbelt is reduced. The present applicant has previously proposed an occupant restraint device in which a pipe built into a seat cushion is projected upward when an impact is applied to a vehicle, and an occupant's thigh is restrained rearward (Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-13817).
No. 9).

In the above-described occupant restraint system, it is required that the occupant restraint device does not operate at the time of normal use but operates reliably when an impact occurs to exhibit its performance. For this reason, in such a device, by designing with a clearance between the components, the components do not interfere with each other even if the plate thickness or the forming dimension varies, and a smooth operation is always ensured. Like that. Further, by providing a clearance between the components, there is an advantage that the assemblability is improved.

[0004]

However, since the above occupant restraint device is provided on the vehicle seat,
There are also concerns about various adverse effects due to the clearance provided between the parts. That is, when the occupant's physique, sitting posture, occupant's behavior such as getting on / off operation and movement during sitting, or the case where there is no occupant are considered, the load input to the seat varies considerably. In addition, engine vibration during idling and acceleration, road surface conditions such as general roads and rough roads, and
Considering the vibration of the vehicle body due to acceleration, deceleration and cornering, or the resonance of such vibration to the seat and the occupant restraint, the vibration acting on the occupant restraint also varies considerably. Then, it is conceivable that such a load or vibration may cause a slight backlash during use of the sheet or an unusual sound such as a hitting sound, a squeaking sound, or a rubbing sound, thereby deteriorating the merchantability.

Accordingly, the present invention suppresses the occurrence of backlash and abnormal noise even when various loads and vibrations act,
Operating performance can be reliably maintained when needed,
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle seat device capable of achieving such performance with an inexpensive configuration.

[0006]

A vehicle seat device according to the present invention includes a fixed member fixed to a seat, and a movable member rotatably provided on the fixed member.
A plate portion that sandwiches the fixed member and slidably contacts the fixed member when the movable member rotates is provided, and at least one of the plate portion and the fixed member is provided with a convex portion that elastically contacts a mating member. Thereby, a gap is provided between the part other than the convex part and the counterpart part.

In the vehicle seat device having the above structure,
Since the convex portion elastically contacts the mating member, the clearance provided between the members is absorbed. Further, since the convex portion is in contact with the mating member and a gap is provided in the other portion, the frictional resistance is small, and therefore, the movable member can be smoothly rotated, and the required function can be reliably exhibited. Therefore, according to the present invention, even when various loads and vibrations act, generation of backlash and abnormal noise can be suppressed, and operation performance can be reliably exhibited when necessary. In addition, such performance can be obtained only by providing the projections, and the cost is very low.

In the above description, the movable member is provided with a plate for holding the fixed member. On the contrary, the fixed member may be provided with a plate for holding the movable member. That is, the vehicle seat device of the present invention includes a fixed member fixed to the seat, and a movable member rotatably provided on the fixed member, and the fixed member sandwiches the movable member and has a movable member. A portion other than the convex portion is provided by providing a plate portion that comes into sliding contact with the movable member when rotating, and providing a convex portion that elastically contacts a mating member on at least one of the plate portion and the movable member. In this case, a gap is provided between the counterpart and the counterpart.

As means for making the convex portion elastically contact the counterpart member, the convex portion itself can be made of an elastic material. Alternatively, at least one of the fixed member and the movable member may be provided with a gap that allows elastic deformation in a direction in which the plate portion is sandwiched by contacting the convex portion.

The gap can be provided, for example, as follows. That is, at least one of the fixed member and the movable member includes a first member having a step portion protruding in a direction to sandwich the plate portion, and a step portion which contacts the first member at one end side of the step portion. The second member forming a gap with the first member at the other end side is formed separately from each other, and the step portion is arranged at a position separated from the convex portion. By providing the gap in this manner, the first member is easily elastically deformed when the convex portion is pressed by the plate portion.
Thereby, the elastic contact between the convex portion and the plate portion is reliably maintained, and the occurrence of backlash and abnormal noise can be suppressed more effectively.

When the gap is provided as described above,
If the distance between the step portion and the convex portion is increased, the deformation resistance of the first member decreases, and if the distance is shortened, the deformation resistance of the first member increases. Therefore, when the device is used in a situation where a very strong vibration is generated, generation of backlash and abnormal noise can be effectively suppressed by shortening the distance between the step portion and the convex portion. Further, it is preferable that the step portions are provided on both side portions of the first member, and the pair of step portions and the convex portions are arranged so as to form an isosceles triangle having the convex portions as vertices. With this configuration, the elastic deformation of the first member can be made uniform.

The present invention can be applied to an occupant restraint system for a seat. For example, the fixed member is fixed to the seat cushion, and the movable member projects above the seat cushion by being rotated by a driving mechanism driven when a possibility of vehicle collision or a vehicle collision is detected. It can be configured as follows. by this,
The forward movement of the occupant's buttocks at the time of a collision can be suppressed.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Configuration of Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to an occupant restraint device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a vehicle seat according to the embodiment. The seat 1 shown in this figure has a seat cushion including a cushion member 11 made of a foam material or the like, and a seat frame 12 supporting the cushion member 11. A pair of sub-assemblies 2a and 2b constituting an occupant restraint device cooperating with the seat belt 13 are attached to the left and right sides of the seat frame 12.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the sub-assemblies 2a and 2b has an arm (movable member) 6 which can rotate upward. Has been erected. When there is a possibility of collision with the vehicle or when the vehicle collides, the pipe 60 supports the occupant's thigh and suppresses the forward movement of the buttocks and waist by pushing up the cushion member 11 upward. It is supposed to. Also, the pipe 60
It is deformed by the impact force received from the occupant, and reduces the impact force.

As shown in FIG. 1, a convex portion 64 is provided in front of the pipe 60 so as to form a surface substantially parallel to the upper surface of the cushion member 11 together with the upper surface of the pipe 60. Due to the convex portion 64, when the occupant sits on the seat 1, the pipe 60 does not give a foreign object feeling to the occupant's thigh.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the sub-assembly 2a on the right side in the traveling direction of the seat 1 includes a substantially rectangular cylindrical casing (fixing member) 3 and a front end of the casing 3. An arm 6 rotatably supported by a shaft 33 at a portion, a power generating mechanism 8 for rotating the arm 6 upward, and a one-way clutch 9 for preventing the arm 6 from returning downward. I have. The left sub-assembly 2b has substantially the same components as those of the sub-assembly 2a except that the power generation mechanism 8 is not provided. Therefore, the components of the sub-assembly 2b include the sub-assembly 2a
The same reference numerals are given to the same components as in the above, and the detailed description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4 (A), the casing 3 has a main body (first member) 30 having a U-shaped cross section with one side open, and an opening of the main body 30. The power generation mechanism 8 and the one-way clutch 9 are housed in the main body 30 from the side, and the opening is closed by the lid 50 to form the main body 30. These are fixed and held in the casing 3 by caulking the claw 31 provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the main body 30 and the lid 50 are curved along the contour of the cylinder 80 of the power generation mechanism 8. The main body 30 and the lid 50 include
Holes 32 and 52 opened to the side are formed, and a flange 81 formed at the front end of the cylinder 80 and the one-way clutch 9 are engaged with the holes 32 and 52.

As shown in FIG. 3, a mounting portion 53 is formed at the rear end of the lid portion 50 so as to project laterally, and a reinforcing member 54 is welded to the mounting portion 53. And
The mounting portion 53 and the reinforcing member 54 are fastened to the seat frame 12 by bolts, and the shaft 33 is also fastened to the seat frame 12 by bolts (shown in FIG. 5) 33a passing therethrough.

As shown in FIG. 7, a power generation mechanism 8 includes a cylinder 80 fixed to the casing 3 and a piston 83 accommodated in an inner hole 82 of the cylinder 80 so as to be able to protrude and retract.
And a gas generating mechanism 84 fixed to the base end side of the piston 83. Piston 83 and gas generating mechanism 8
4, a seal member 85 made of an elastic material, and a coil spring 8 for urging the base 83a of the piston 83 forward.
6 are interposed. In the drawing, reference numeral 85a is O
A ring seals between the base 83a and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 80.

At the front end of the power generation mechanism 8, the one-way clutch 9 described above is provided. The one-way clutch 9 is provided with a casing 9 penetrated by the piston 83.
0, a screw 83 formed on the outer periphery of the piston 83
b, and a coil spring 92 for urging the engaging piece 91 toward the base 83a of the piston 83.
It is provided with. As shown in FIG.
The upper surface of the casing 1 and the inner surface of the casing 90 are tapered. Thus, when the piston 83 is moved forward, the engaging piece 91 moves forward and upward along the taper, whereby the engagement between the engaging piece 91 and the screw 83b is released. Conversely, when the piston 83 attempts to move toward the base 83a, the engagement between the engagement piece 91 and the screw 83b is maintained.

Next, the arm 6 and the arm 6 and the casing 3
A description will be given of the mounting structure. The arm 6 has a U-shaped cross section including a pair of plate portions 61 parallel to each other.
Both sides of the casing 3 are sandwiched between the plate portions 61. A hole 65 is formed at the base end of the plate portion 61. On the other hand, holes 35 and 55 are formed in the front ends of the main body 30 and the lid 50 of the casing 3.
The holes 65, 35 and 55 are penetrated by the shaft 33, whereby the arm 6 is rotatably supported by the casing 3.

A long hole 67 is formed in the plate portion 61 of the arm 6 and located below the hole 65 and extends vertically. On the other hand, a hole 87 is formed at the front end of the piston 83, and elongated holes 37, 5 extending in the front-rear direction at positions corresponding to the hole 87 are formed in the main body 30 and the lid 50 of the casing 3.
7 are formed. The hole 87 and the long holes 67, 37, 57 are penetrated by the shaft 34, whereby the front end of the piston 83 is rotatably connected to the lower end of the arm 6. A washer 69 is fitted to the tip of the shaft 34, and the tip of the shaft 34 is swaged to prevent the shaft 34 from coming off.

Next, the features of the present invention shown in the sub-assembly 2b of FIG. 3 will be described. Although this feature does not appear in the sub-assembly 2a of FIG. 3, it also has an equivalent configuration. As shown in the figure,
A pair of step portions 40 arranged in the vertical direction in FIG. 3 is formed at an edge portion forming an opening of the main body portion 30. Thus, the thickness H ₂ of the front end portion than the stepped portion 40 of the main body portion 30 is thinner than the thickness H ₁ of the rear end portion than the stepped portion 40. Therefore, in a state where the lid 50 is attached to the main body 30, as shown in FIG. 4A, the front ends of the main body 30 and the lid 50 have a width of (H ₁ -H ₂ ).
Gap 41 is formed.

[0025] The thickness of the casing 3, a plus thickness t of the lid portion 50 to the thickness _{H 1 (H 1 + t)} . In contrast, the inner dimensions H ₃ of and how the plate portion 61 of the arm 6 is slightly greater than the thickness of the casing 3 (H 1 _{+ t).} That is, a clearance (gap) of C ₂ : (H ₃ −H ₁ −t) / 2 is provided on one side between the casing 3 and the arm 6.

The front ends of the main body 30 and the lid 50
Has a convex portion 45 protruding outward.
You. The projection 45 presses the main body 30 and the lid 50 together.
It is formed by projecting in the thickness direction according to the shape.
As shown in (B), an arc-shaped cross-section or (C)
Trapezoidal cross section formed by half blanking as shown in
Can be employed. Height H of convex part 45₄
Is the clearance C ₂Set slightly higher than
You. For this reason, the front end of the casing 3 is
H₄Is clearance C₂(H₄-C₂)
Is pressed from both sides in response to
Is elastically deformed around the portion connecting the steps 40, 40,
Its front end bends inward within the gap 41. Sand
The convex portion 45 is elastically deformed by the lid portion 50 being bent.
It contacts the plate portion 61 of the arm 6.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 88 denotes a connector, and reference numeral 8 denotes a connector.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a spring for elastically pressing the connector 88 against the power generation mechanism 8 to prevent the connector 88 from coming off. The spring 89 is locked by two convex pieces of the reinforcing member 54. The connector 88 is connected to a sensor (not shown), and ignites the gas generating mechanism 84 in the power generating mechanism 8 when the sensor detects a possibility of vehicle collision or a vehicle collision. Reference numeral 78 denotes a resin stopper, which is a hole 6 formed in the plate portion 61 of the arm 6.
8 and is press-fitted into a hole 58 formed in the lid 50. The stopper 78 prevents the arm 6 from rotating (particularly upward) due to vibration or the like, and is sheared when the occupant restraint device operates.

B. Next, an operation of the vehicle seat device having the above-described configuration will be described. When there is a possibility of collision with a vehicle such as an automobile, or when the vehicle collides, a sensor detects this and ignites the gas generation mechanism 84 of the power generation mechanism 8. The ignited gas generating mechanism 84 discharges gas, which pushes the piston 83 forward. As a result, the arm 6 rotates clockwise in the drawing, and the pipe 60 rises to partially push up the cushion member 11. This allows
The occupant's buttocks and waist are restrained to prevent the occupant from moving forward. At this time, the one-way clutch 9 operates to prevent the piston 83 from returning to the rear end side. Also,
The pipe 60 is deformed by the impact on the occupant, and reduces the impact force. The possibility of collision of the vehicle may be detected based on the deceleration of the vehicle, the distance to surrounding vehicles or objects, and the like.

In the vehicle seat device having the above structure,
Since the protrusions 45 formed on the main body 30 and the lid 50 of the casing 3 elastically contact the plate 61 of the arm 6, the clearance provided between the arms 6 and the casing 3 is absorbed. . In addition, since only the convex portion 45 contacts the arm 6 and a gap is provided in the other portion, the frictional resistance is small, and therefore, the arm 6 rotates smoothly, so that the function as the occupant restraint device is reliably exhibited. can do.

As described above, in the vehicle seat device,
Even if various loads and vibrations are applied, generation of backlash and abnormal noise is suppressed, and the performance as the occupant restraint device can be reliably exhibited when necessary. Moreover, such performance can be obtained only by providing the convex portion 45 on the casing 3 and it is very inexpensive.

In particular, in the above embodiment, since the step 40 is formed at the opening edge of the main body 30 of the casing 3 and the gap 41 is provided between the step and the lid 50,
The lid portion 50 is easily elastically deformed by being pressed by the plate portion 61. Thereby, the elastic contact between the protrusion 45 and the arm 6 is reliably maintained, and the occurrence of backlash and abnormal noise can be suppressed more effectively.

C. Force pressing a modification convex portion 45 can be adjusted by the position of the step portion 40. In the above embodiment, the step portion 40 is arranged at the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 4A, but the position of the step portion 40 is made to approach the convex portion 45 as shown in FIG. Thereby, even if the deformation resistance of the lid portion 50 becomes large and a considerably intense vibration occurs, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the backlash and the abnormal noise. In this case, in order to make the elastic deformation of the lid 50 uniform, it is desirable to arrange the steps 40 so as to form a substantially isosceles triangle having the convex 45 as a vertex. Instead of providing the step portion 40, the inner surface of the front end portion of the lid portion 50 may be cut and thinned, thereby providing a gap between the lid portion 50 and the opening edge of the main body portion 30. The convex portion 45 can be provided on a surface inside the plate portion 61 of the arm 6. Instead of providing the gap 41 in the casing 3, the arm 6
The thickness of the rear end of the plate portion 61 can be reduced to facilitate elastic deformation. In the above embodiment, the plate portion of the arm sandwiches the casing. On the contrary, the casing may sandwich the arm. In this case, the protrusion can be provided on one or both of the casing and the arm. The present invention can be applied to a seat reclining device.

[0033]

According to the present invention, as described above, at least one of the plate portion and the fixing member is provided with a convex portion that elastically contacts a mating member.
Since there is a gap between the mating part and other parts other than the protruding part, even if various loads or vibrations are applied, the occurrence of backlash or abnormal noise is suppressed, and the operation performance is ensured when necessary. And can achieve such performance with an inexpensive configuration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a seat to which an occupant restraint device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the seat shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the occupant restraint device of the embodiment.

4A is a perspective view showing an arm and a casing in the embodiment, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 4A, FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view showing a modification of FIG. (D) is a side view showing a modification of (A).

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the occupant restraint device of the embodiment.

6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a power generation mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Seat, 3 ... Casing (fixed member), 6 ... Arm (movable member), 12 ... Seat frame, 30 ... Body part (1st member), 40 ... Step part, 41 ... Gap, 45 ... Convex part,
50 ... Lid (second member).

Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Ito 3-10-10 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Within Japan Hakko Co., Ltd. ) Inventor Shunichi Fukuda 560-2, Kokyu Okatsu, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa F-term in Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. 3B087 CD04 DE10

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A fixed member fixed to a seat, and a movable member rotatably provided on the fixed member, wherein the movable member rotates while the fixed member is sandwiched by the movable member. At this time, a plate portion that comes into sliding contact with the fixing member is provided, and at least one of the plate portion and the fixing member is provided with a convex portion that elastically contacts a mating member, thereby providing a portion other than the convex portion. A seat device for a vehicle, wherein a gap is provided between the seat device and the counterpart component. 2. A fixed member fixed to a seat, and a movable member rotatably provided on the fixed member, wherein the movable member is rotated while the movable member is sandwiched by the fixed member. At this time, a plate portion that comes into sliding contact with the movable member is provided, and at least one of the plate portion and the movable member is provided with a convex portion that elastically contacts a mating member. A seat device for a vehicle, wherein a gap is provided between the seat device and the counterpart component. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the fixed member and the movable member is provided with a gap for facilitating elastic deformation in a direction in which the plate portion is sandwiched. Vehicle seat device. 4. A first member having at least one of the fixed member and the movable member having a step portion protruding in a direction sandwiched by the plate portion, and a first member provided at one end side of the step portion. A second member that contacts the first member and forms the gap with the first member at the other end side of the step portion is formed separately from each other, and the step portion is separated from the convex portion. The vehicle seat device according to claim 3, wherein the vehicle seat device is disposed at a predetermined position. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step portions are provided on both side portions of the first member, and the pair of step portions and the convex portions are arranged so as to form an isosceles triangle having the convex portions as vertices. The vehicle seat device according to claim 4, wherein 6. The seat cushion according to claim 1, wherein the fixed member is fixed to a seat cushion, and the movable member is rotated by a driving mechanism driven when a possibility of vehicle collision or a vehicle collision is detected. The vehicle seat device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the vehicle seat device protrudes upward to suppress forward movement of an occupant's buttocks.