JP2003212013A - Vehicle seat - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enhance traveling stability or the like at the time of using a vehicle seat as a wheel chair. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicle seat has a seat body 11 provided with a seat frame 16; a wheel support mechanism 30 attached to the seat frame 16 and supporting right and left front wheels 22 and right and left rear wheels 24; a driving mechanism 40 for folding or developing the wheel support mechanism 30. The front wheels 22 and the rear wheels 24 are retained at an accommodation position in the state that the wheel support mechanism 30 is folded. The front wheels 22 and the rear wheels 24 are retained at the developed position in the state that the wheel support mechanism is developed and the vehicle seat has a constitution usable as the wheel chair. In the process that the wheel support mechanism 30 is folded, one of the front wheels or the rear wheels 24 is moved to the width direction of a seat body and is returned to the accommodation position and the other is moved to the longitudinal direction of the seat body 11 and is returned to the accommodation position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle seat that can be used as a wheelchair.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional vehicle seat that can be used as a wheelchair is shown in FIG. This vehicle seat 50
Is a seat body 5 including a seat cushion 52, a seat back 54, and a seat frame 56 supporting them.
1 is provided. A wheel support mechanism (not shown) that supports the left and right front wheels 62 and the left and right rear wheels 64 is attached to the lower side of the seat frame 56, and the wheel support mechanism is configured to be foldable. The wheel support mechanism rotates the front wheel stay 63 that supports the front wheel 62, the rear wheel stay 65 that supports the rear wheel 64, and the front wheel stay 63 and the rear wheel stay 65 in the front-rear direction between the upright position and the retracted position. And a driving mechanism (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 6A, the front wheel stay 63 is
When the wheel support mechanism is folded from the state where the rear wheel stay 65 is in the upright position, the left and right front wheel stays 63 are rotated rearward and upward by the drive mechanism, and the left and right rear wheel stays 65 are rotated forward and upward. (See the arrow in FIG. 6B). At this time, the distance between the left and right front wheel stays 63 is set sufficiently smaller than the distance between the left and right rear wheel stays 65 so that the front wheel stays 63 and the rear wheel stays 65 do not interfere with each other. Therefore, with the wheel support mechanism folded, the left and right front wheels 6 are
2 is stored between the left and right rear wheels 64 and their front wheels 62
The rear wheel 64 and the rear wheel 64 are held in the lower center of the seat body 51.

[0004]

However, in the vehicle seat 50 described above, the distance between the left and right front wheel stays 63 is set so that the front wheel stays 63 and the rear wheel stays 65 do not interfere with each other. The distance between the left and right front wheels 62 (front wheel tread) is smaller than necessary than the distance between the left and right rear wheels 64 (rear wheel tread). For this reason, when the vehicle seat 50 is used as a wheelchair, there is a problem that the front part is unbalanced with respect to the rear part, and traveling stability, climbing over a step, and riding comfort performance deteriorate. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and by making it possible to set the distance between the left and right front wheels without being affected by the distance between the left and right rear wheels, it is possible to maximize the distance between the left and right front wheels. West,
The purpose of the present invention is to improve running stability when using a vehicle seat as a wheelchair.

[0005]

The above-mentioned problems can be solved by the inventions of the respective claims. According to the invention of claim 1, a seat main body having a seat frame, a wheel support mechanism mounted on the seat frame to support left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels, and the wheel support mechanism are folded or unfolded. A driving mechanism, the front wheels and the rear wheels are held in the retracted position with the wheel support mechanism folded, and the front wheels and the rear wheels are held in the deployed position with the wheel support mechanism deployed. A vehicle seat having a configuration that can be used as a wheelchair, and in the process of folding the wheel support mechanism, one of the front wheel and the rear wheel is moved inward in the width direction of the seat body and returned to the storage position. The other is characterized by moving in the front-back direction of the seat body and returning to the storage position.

According to the present invention, in the process of folding the wheel support mechanism, either the front wheel or the rear wheel is moved inward in the width direction of the seat body and returned to the storage position, and the other is moved in the front-back direction of the seat body. It is moved and returned to the storage position. Therefore, for example, even when the front wheels and the rear wheels are arranged at positions overlapping with each other when viewed from the front of the seat body in a state where the wheel support mechanism is deployed, the front wheels and the rear wheels are folded when the wheel support mechanism is folded. There is no interference with the ring. That is, according to the present invention, the distance between the left and right front wheels can be set as large as possible without being affected by the distance between the left and right rear wheels. Therefore, it is possible to improve running stability and the like when the vehicle seat is used as a wheelchair.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first power transmission member of the wheel support mechanism transmits the movement of the moving member of the drive mechanism to the front wheel stay and rotates the front wheel stay with respect to the seat frame. The front wheel is moved between the retracted position and the deployed position. The second power transmission member transmits the movement of the moving member of the drive mechanism to the rear wheel stay and rotates the rear wheel stay with respect to the seat frame to move the rear wheel between the retracted position and the deployed position. Move with. That is, since the movement of the moving member of the drive mechanism is transmitted to the front wheel stay and the rear wheel stay via the first power transmission member and the second power transmission member, the movement operation of the front wheels and the movement operation of the rear wheels are interlocked. Like

Further, as described in claim 3, it is preferable that the front wheels are moved inward in the width direction of the seat body and returned to the storage position in the process of folding the wheel support mechanism. In this case, as described in claim 4, the moving member of the drive mechanism is configured to move in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat body, and the first power transmission member is composed of the motion direction conversion lever and the connection lever. The movement direction conversion lever is composed of a front-back movement part connected to the moving member and a lateral movement part which moves in the width direction of the seat body in conjunction with the movement of the front-back movement part. The connection lever changes the movement direction. It is preferable to connect the lateral movement portion of the lever and the front wheel stay.

Further, as described in claim 5, at least a part of the front wheel is stored in the recess formed on the front side of the lower surface of the seat frame, so that when the wheel support mechanism is folded, The overhang size can be reduced. Further, as described in claim 6, the front wheel is attached to the bracket in a freely rotatable state, and the bracket is attached to the front wheel stay in a freely rotatable state about the axis of the front wheel stay, and the center of the front wheel is attached to the front wheel stay. By holding the wheel support mechanism at a position deviated from the axis, the front wheels can be always held in the same posture by their own weight when the wheel support mechanism is folded. Further, as described in claim 7, it is preferable to use a screw shaft and a nut screwed with the screw shaft for the drive mechanism.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A vehicle seat according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The vehicle seat according to the present embodiment is a vehicle seat that can also be used as a wheelchair, and FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a main part of a wheel support mechanism in the vehicle seat. 2 is a plan view of the left side portion of the wheel support mechanism, FIG. 3 is a front view of the wheel support mechanism, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the wheel support mechanism. Figure 5 (A)
[Fig. 5] is a perspective view of an outdoor movement device for carrying out a vehicle seat to the outside of the vehicle compartment, and Fig. 5B is an overall perspective view of the vehicle seat. Note that the width direction of the vehicle seat will be described as the X direction, the front-back direction as the Y direction, and the height direction as the Z direction.

As shown in FIG. 5 (B), the vehicle seat 10 includes a seat body 11 including a seat cushion 12, a seat back 14 and a seat frame 16 supporting the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14. Further, a wheel support mechanism 30 (see FIGS. 1 to 4) that supports the left and right front wheels 22 and the left and right rear wheels 24 is attached to the lower side of the seat frame 16,
The wheel support mechanism 30 is configured to be foldable.

The wheel support mechanism 30 is deployed when the vehicle seat 10 is used as a wheelchair, and in this state, the front wheels 22 and the rear wheels 24 are held in the standing position (deployed position). When the vehicle seat 10 is used as a seat in the vehicle compartment, the wheel support mechanism 30 is folded and the front wheel 22
Also, the rear wheel 24 is held in the storage position. FIG. 5B shows
Vehicle seat 10 when the wheel support mechanism 30 is deployed
Represents the distance between the left and right front wheels 22 (front wheel tread).
And the distance between the left and right rear wheels 24 (rear wheel tread) are set to be substantially equal.

As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the wheel support mechanism 30 has a width direction (X direction) on the lower front portion of the seat frame 16.
It is provided with a horizontal beam 31 fixed to. The lateral beam 31 is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section so that a lower open groove 31m is formed in the longitudinal direction (X direction). The width dimension of the groove 31m of the lateral beam 31 is set to a value capable of storing the front wheel stay 32 and the like described later in the groove 31m. Further, the length dimension of the lateral beam 31 is set to a value substantially equal to the width dimension of the seat frame 16. Note that the right front wheel 22, the rear wheel 24, and the like are omitted in FIG. 1.

A bearing hole 31j for supporting the front wheel stay 32 rotatably in the width direction (X direction) of the seat body 11 is formed at both ends of the lateral beam 31 in the longitudinal direction, and further outside the bearing hole 31j. A stopper 31s for restricting the rotation range of the front wheel stay 32 is formed on the. The front wheel stay 32 is a cylindrical member that supports the front wheel 22, and a ring-shaped inner flange 32f (see FIG. 1) is coaxially fixed to the upper end of the front wheel stay 32. An upper short pipe 32p is fixed to the upper end side surface of the front wheel stay 32 at a right angle to the front wheel stay 32, and the length dimension of the upper short pipe 32p is the lateral beam 31.
It is set to a value almost equal to the width dimension of the groove 31m.

The upper short pipe 32p of the front wheel stay 32 is a transverse beam 3
While being housed in the groove 31m of No. 1, it is aligned with the bearing hole 31j of the transverse beam 31 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). In this state, the upper connecting shaft 33 is passed from the bearing hole 31j of the horizontal beam 31 to the upper short pipe 32p of the front wheel stay 32, so that the front wheel stay 32 is vertically rotatable in the X direction.
Connected to. A lower short tube 32d is fixed to the lower side surface of the front wheel stay 32 at a right angle to the front wheel stay 32, and a lower connecting shaft 34 connected to a lateral link 46 described later is inserted in the lower short tube 32d. .

A front wheel bracket 35 that rotatably supports the front wheel 22 is attached to the lower portion of the front wheel stay 32. The front wheel bracket 35 has a structure in which the front wheel 22 is rotatably supported between the forked portions 35m.
An upper vertical axis 35j is formed on the above. Upper vertical axis 35
j is configured to be inserted into the front wheel stay 32 from below, and a protrusion 35t is formed at the center of the upper end of the upper vertical axis 35j thereof. By fitting the protrusion 35t with the inner flange 32f of the front wheel stay 32, the upper vertical axis 35j of the front wheel bracket 35 is held rotatably around the axis while being held coaxially with the front wheel stay 32. The front wheel stay 32 is provided with a stopper member (not shown) for preventing the upper vertical axis 35j from coming off. As shown in FIG. 1, the bifurcated portion 35m of the front wheel bracket 35 has a side surface formed into a substantially "V" shape so that the center of rotation C of the front wheel 22 deviates from the axis of the front wheel stay 32 by a dimension L. .

A drive mechanism 40 for unfolding or folding the wheel support mechanism 30 is attached to the rear side surface 31b of the lateral beam 31. The drive mechanism 40 includes a motor 41
And a pair of left and right speed reducers 42, and each speed reducer 42 is fixed to the rear side surface 31b of the horizontal beam 31 by, for example, a screw. Each reducer 42 has a seat body 11
Ball screws 43 extending in the front-back direction (Y direction) are connected substantially horizontally, and the nuts 4 are attached to the respective ball screws 43.
4 is screwed.

The rotational force of the motor 41 is transmitted to each ball screw 43 via the left and right speed reducers 42, and the ball screw 4
The rotational force of 3 is transmitted to the nut 44. The nut 44 rotates the ball screw 43 in the front-back direction (Y
Direction) reciprocating motion. That is, the ball screw 43 corresponds to the screw shaft of the invention. A connecting plate 44b is fixed to the left and right nuts 44, and a hook-shaped lever 45 and a front-rear lever 47 described later are connected to the connecting plate 44b.

Here, as a power source for the motor 41 of the drive mechanism 40, a power source for a battery (not shown) mounted on the back surface of the seat frame 16 is used. Further, the vehicle seat 10 is provided with an operation switch (not shown) of the motor 41, and the motor 41 can be rotated normally / reversely or stopped by operating the operation switch.

The hook-shaped lever 45 is a movement direction conversion lever for converting the reciprocating motion of the nut 44 in the front-rear direction into the reciprocating motion in the lateral direction (X direction). It is shaped like a letter. The hook-shaped lever 45 is attached to the lower surface of the seat frame 16 with the boundary C1 between the front arm 45b and the rear arm 45a being rotatable while being held substantially horizontally.
That is, the boundary C1 becomes the center of rotation C1 of the hook-shaped lever 45. A deep hole is formed in the rear arm 45a in the axial direction (see FIG. 2), and the tip shaft portion 45s is accommodated in the deep hole so as to be slidable in the axial direction. The tip of the tip shaft portion 45s is rotatably connected to the connecting plate 44b of the nut 44.

Therefore, when the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44b move along the ball screw 43, the connecting plate 44 is moved.
Even if the distance between b and the rotation center C1 of the hook-shaped lever 45 changes, the change in distance is absorbed by the axial sliding of the tip shaft portion 45s. Front arm 45b of hook-shaped lever 45
Is rotatably connected to one end of the horizontal link 46, and the other end of the horizontal link 46 is rotated to the lower short pipe 32d of the front wheel stay 32 via the lower connecting shaft 34 as described above. It is connected as possible. Both ends of the horizontal link 46 are connected to the link main body 46m of the horizontal link 46 in a rotatable state about the axis. Therefore, even if a twisting force is applied to the lateral link 46 from both ends, the twisting force can be absorbed. The left and right hook-shaped levers 45 are attached to the lower surface of the seat frame 16 symmetrically with respect to the center line of the seat frame 16.

With the above structure, when the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44b are advanced from the retracted limit position by the rotation of the ball screw 43, the left hook-shaped lever 45 rotates right around the rotation center C1 and the right hook-shaped lever 45. Rotates left about the rotation center C1 (see the arrow in FIG. 1). As a result, the front arm 45b of each hook-shaped lever 45 moves inward in the width direction of the seat body 11, and the lower short tube 32d of the front wheel stay 32 is pulled by the horizontal link 46 in the moving direction of the front arm 45b. As a result, the left and right front wheel stays 32 in the upright posture (deployed position) are pivoted upward in the storage position direction about the bearing holes 31j of the lateral beam 31. Then, when the nuts 44 and the like move to the forward limit position, the left and right front wheel stays 32 are in a horizontal posture and are held in the retracted position. 1 to 4 show the state in which the nut 44 and the like are in the retracted limit position.

When the front wheel stay 32 is rotated up to the retracted position, the front wheel stay 32 is housed in the groove 31m of the lateral beam 31 as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG.
The upper end of 2 contacts the stopper 31s. Further, in the process of rotating the front wheel stay 32 upward, the upper vertical axis 35j of the front wheel bracket 35 rotates about 90 ° with respect to the front wheel stay 32 due to the weight of the front wheel 22. As a result, the front wheel 22 changes its posture from the front-back direction (the rotation center axis is parallel to the X direction) to the width direction (the rotation center axis is parallel to the Y direction). 35 and front wheel 22
The upper part of is stored in the groove 31m. That is, the groove 31m of the lateral beam 31 corresponds to the concave portion of the seat frame of the present invention.

With the front wheel stay 32 in the retracted position,
By rotating the ball screw 43, the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44
When b is retracted from the forward limit position, the left hook-shaped lever 45
Rotates left about the center of rotation C1 and the hook-shaped lever 4 on the right side
5 rotates right around the rotation center C1. by this,
The front arm 45b of each hook-shaped lever 45 moves to the outside in the width direction of the seat frame 16, and the front arm 45b of the front arm 45b moves.
Is connected to the lower short pipe 32 of the front wheel stay 32 via the lateral link 46.
Press d outward in the width direction.

As a result, the left and right front wheel stays 32 are attached to the cross beams 3.
It rotates downward in the standing direction (direction of the deployed position) from the retracted position around the first bearing hole 31j. Then, when the nuts 44 and the like move to the backward limit position, the left and right front wheel stays 32
Becomes a standing posture, and the front wheel stay 32 is held at the deployed position. That is, the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44 of the drive mechanism 40
b corresponds to the moving member of the drive mechanism of the present invention, and the hook-shaped lever 45 and the lateral link 46 correspond to the first power transmission member of the present invention. Further, the tip end shaft portion 45s of the rear arm 45a of the hook-shaped lever 45 corresponds to the front-back movement portion of the movement direction conversion lever in the present invention, and the tip of the front arm 45b of the hook-shaped lever 45 is the movement direction conversion lever in the present invention. Corresponds to the horizontal movement part. Further, the horizontal link 46 is the first link in the present invention.
It corresponds to the connecting lever of the power transmission member.

On the rear side surface of the seat frame 16 of the vehicle seat 10, as shown in FIG. 4 and the like, an upper end portion of a rear wheel stay 38 for rotatably supporting the rear wheel 24 is provided in a front-back direction (Y) by a connecting pin 39. Direction) is attached so as to be rotatable. In this state, the left and right rear wheel stays 38 are held at substantially the same positions in the X direction as the left and right front wheel stays 32 in the deployed position. A wheel bracket 38b is formed on the lower portion of the rear wheel stay 38, and a wheel-in motor 24m is attached to the outer surface of the wheel bracket 38b. The wheel-in motor 24m is a motor that rotates the rear wheel 24, and is incorporated on the inner peripheral side of the rear wheel 24. The left and right rear wheel stays 38 are connected to each other by a horizontal connecting rod 38c.
The convex plates 38t are fixed near both ends of c.

The convex plate 38t has a connecting plate 44 for the nut 44.
The other end of the front-rear lever 47, one end of which is connected to b, is rotatably connected. Therefore, when the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44b move forward along the ball screw 43, the front and rear lever 47 moves the connecting rod 38c via the convex plate 38t.
And the rear wheel stay 38 fixed to the connecting rod 38c pivots forward and upward around the connecting pin 39. On the contrary, when the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44b are retracted along the ball screw 43, the front-rear lever 47 presses the connecting rod 38c via the convex plate 38t, and the rear wheel stay 38 is rearward and downward with the connecting pin 39 as the center. Turn to.

The rear wheel stay 38 is in an upright posture when the nut 44 and the connecting plate 44b are in the retracted limit position, and the rear wheel stay 38 and the rear wheel 24 are held in the deployed position.
Further, when the nut 44 and the like are in the forward limit position, the rear wheel stay 38 is in the horizontal posture, and the rear wheel stay 38 and the rear wheel 2
4 is held in the storage position. That is, the front-rear lever 47, the convex plate 38t, and the like correspond to the second power transmission member of the present invention.

On the back surface of the seat frame 16 of the vehicle seat 10, the outdoor moving device 2 installed in the vehicle interior of the vehicle 1.
A coupling receiving portion (not shown) that is coupled to the coupling portion 2c (see FIG. 5A) is formed. The outdoor movement device 2 is a device for moving the vehicle seat 10 from the vehicle interior to the vehicle exterior or from the vehicle interior to the vehicle interior.
As shown in (A), it is composed of a pair of left and right four-joint link mechanisms 2r for raising and lowering the vehicle seat 10, and a rotating mechanism 2t for horizontally rotating the vehicle seat 10, the four-joint link mechanism 2r and the like. The outdoor moving device 2 is installed on the front / rear slide device 4 in the vehicle interior, and the front / rear position of the vehicle seat 10 in the vehicle interior is adjusted by sliding the outdoor moving device 2 back and forth.

Here, the power supply connector of the outdoor movement device 2 and the power supply connector of the vehicle seat 10 are automatically operated in a state where the connection portion 2c of the outdoor movement device 2 and the connection receiving portion of the vehicle seat 10 are connected. Connected. As a result, the battery of the vehicle seat 10 is charged by the battery of the vehicle 1.

Next, the handling of the vehicle seat 10 will be briefly described. When the vehicle seat 10 in the vehicle compartment is used as a wheelchair, first, the outdoor moving device 2 is used.
Is operated to move the vehicle seat 10 to a predetermined position outside the vehicle compartment. Next, the motor 41 of the drive mechanism 40 is reversely rotated, for example, by the operation switch to deploy the wheel support mechanism 30. That is, the left and right ball screws 43 are reversely rotated to retract the left and right nuts 44 and the connecting plate 44b from the forward limit position. As a result, the left and right hook-shaped levers 45 horizontally rotate in the direction of moving the front arms 45b outward in the width direction, and the front arms 45b move in the horizontal links 4a.
The lower short pipe 32d of the front wheel stay 32 is pressed outwardly in the width direction via 6.

As a result, the front wheel stay 32 pivots downward from the storage position in the standing direction around the bearing hole 31j of the lateral beam 31. Then, when the nut 44 and the like move to the retracted limit position, the front wheel stay 32 is in the standing posture, and the front wheel stay 32, the front wheel 22 and the like are held in the deployed position. Further, as the left and right nuts 44 and the connecting plate 44b of the drive mechanism 40 are retracted from the forward limit position, the left and right front and rear levers 47 press the connecting rod 38c via the left and right convex plates 38t, and the rear wheel stay 38 is moved. The connecting pin 39 is pivoted rearward and downward from the stored position. Then, when the nuts 44 and the like move to the retracted limit position, the rear wheel stays 38 are in an upright posture, and the rear wheel stays 38 and the rear wheels 24 are held at the deployed position.

With the wheel support mechanism 30 deployed, the front wheel tread and the rear wheel tread of the vehicle seat 10 become substantially equal. Next, the outdoor moving device 2 is driven again, the vehicle seat 10 is lowered to the ground, and the connection between the vehicle seat 10 and the outdoor moving device 2 is released. In this state, the vehicle seat 10 can be used as a wheelchair.

When the vehicle seat 10 in the wheelchair state is to be stored in the room, the outdoor movement device 2 is operated while the vehicle seat 10 is arranged rearward and in front of the outdoor movement device 2, and the outdoor movement device 2 is operated. The second connecting portion 2c is connected to the connection receiving portion on the back surface of the vehicle seat 10. Further, in this state, the vehicle seat 10 is raised to a predetermined position, and the front wheels 22 and the rear wheels 24 are separated from the ground. Next, the motor 41 of the drive mechanism 40 is normally rotated by the operation switch to fold the wheel support mechanism 30.

That is, the left and right ball screws 43 are rotated in the forward direction, and the left and right nuts 44 and the connecting plate 44b are advanced from the retracted limit position. As a result, the left and right hook-shaped levers 45 horizontally rotate in the direction in which the respective front arms 45b are moved inward in the width direction, and the lower short pipes 32d of the front wheel stays 32 are connected via the horizontal links 46 to the respective front arms. It is pulled inward in the width direction by 45b. As a result, the left and right front wheel stays 32 in the deployed position are not supported by the bearing holes 31j of the lateral beam 31.
Rotate upward in the direction of the storage position. Then, when the nut 44 and the like move to the forward limit position, the front wheel stay 3
2 is in a horizontal posture, and the front wheel stay 32, the front wheel 22 and the like are held in the storage position.

Further, as the left and right nuts 44 and the connecting plate 44b of the drive mechanism 40 are advanced from the backward limit position, the left and right front and rear levers 47 are connected via the left and right convex plates 38t.
8c is pulled, and the rear wheel stay 38 pivots about the connecting pin 39 from the deployed position to the front upper direction. And the nut 44
The rear wheel stays 38 are in a horizontal posture at the stage in which the rear wheel stays 38 and the rear wheels 24 are moved to the forward limit position, and the rear wheel stays 38 and the rear wheels 24 are held in the retracted position.

By folding the wheel support mechanism 30 in this manner, the front wheel stays 32 and the rear wheel stays 38 are changed from the standing posture to the lateral posture, and the wheel support mechanism 3 is correspondingly changed.
The overhang below 0 can be reduced. next,
The outdoor moving device 2 is operated to move the vehicle seat 10 to a predetermined position inside the vehicle. In this state, the vehicle seat 10 can be used as a seat in the vehicle compartment.

As described above, according to the vehicle seat 10 of this embodiment, either the front wheel 22 or the rear wheel 24 moves inward in the width direction of the seat body 11 in the process of folding the wheel support mechanism 30. Returned to the storage position,
The other moves in the front-back direction of the seat body 11 and is returned to the storage position. Therefore, even if the front wheel tread and the rear wheel tread are substantially equal when the vehicle seat 10 is used as a wheelchair, the front wheel 22 and the rear wheel 24 do not interfere with each other when the wheel support mechanism 30 is folded. . Therefore,
The front wheel tread can be made larger than before, and the front wheel tread and the rear wheel tread can be set substantially equal.
As a result, the seat body 11 is supported at four points in a well-balanced state in the front and rear, and the running stability when the vehicle seat 10 is used as a wheelchair is improved, and the ability to climb over a step and the riding comfort performance are improved.

Further, when the wheel support mechanism 30 is unfolded or folded, the movement operation of the front wheels 22 and the movement operation of the rear wheels 24 are linked, so that one set of the drive mechanism 40 is sufficient, which is economical. . Further, since the upper portions of the front wheel stays 32 and the front wheels 22 are housed in the grooves 31m of the lateral beam 31 fixed to the seat frame 16, the downward overhang dimension when the wheel support mechanism 30 is folded can be reduced.

In the present embodiment, the example in which the ball screw & nut is used for the drive mechanism 40 has been shown, but a chain & sprocket, a cylinder or the like can be used instead of the ball screw & nut. Further, in the present embodiment, the hole-in motor 24m is attached to the wheel bracket 38b of the rear wheel stay 38, and the hole-in motor 24m is attached.
Although the example in which the rear wheel 24 is connected is shown in the above, the hole-in motor 24m can be omitted.

In this embodiment, the front wheel stay 32 is folded in the width direction of the seat body 11, and the rear wheel stay 38 is folded in the front-back direction of the seat body 11. However, the folding directions of the two 32, 38 are the same. The reverse is also possible.

[0042]

According to the present invention, the distance between the left and right front wheels can be set as large as possible without being affected by the distance between the left and right rear wheels, so that the running stability when using the vehicle seat as a wheelchair. As a result, the ability to ride over a step and the riding comfort performance are improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a wheel support mechanism in a vehicle seat according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a left side portion of the wheel support mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a wheel support mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a wheel support mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view (FIG. A) of an outdoor moving device that moves a vehicle seat from the vehicle interior to the vehicle interior or from the vehicle interior to the vehicle interior, and an overall perspective view of the vehicle seat (FIG. B).

FIG. 6 is an overall perspective view of a conventional vehicle seat (FIG. A) and an enlarged perspective view of front wheel and rear wheel portions of the vehicle seat (FIG. B).

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Seat Main Body 16 Seat Frame 22 Front Wheel 24 Rear Wheel 30 Wheel Support Mechanism 31 Horizontal Beam 31m Groove (Recess of Seat Frame) 32 Front Wheel Stay 35 Front Wheel Bracket 38 Rear Wheel Stay 38t Convex Plate (Second Power Transmission Member) 40 Drive Mechanism 43 Ball Screw (Screw shaft) 44 Nut (moving member) 44b Connecting plate (moving member) 45 Hook-shaped lever (moving direction converting lever, first power transmission member) 45a Rear arm (forward / backward moving part) 45s Tip shaft portion (forward / backward moving part) 45b front arm (lateral movement part) 46 lateral link (connecting lever, first power transmission member) 47 front and rear lever (second power transmission member)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A seat body including a seat frame,
The wheel support mechanism is mounted on the seat frame and supports left and right front wheels and left and right rear wheels, and a drive mechanism that folds or unfolds the wheel support mechanism. A vehicle seat having a configuration in which the front wheels and the rear wheels are held in the retracted position in a retracted state, and the front wheels and the rear wheels are held in the deployed position in a state where the wheel support mechanism is deployed and which can be used as a wheelchair. In the process of folding the wheel support mechanism, either the front wheel or the rear wheel is moved inward in the width direction of the seat body and returned to the storage position, and the other is moved in the front-rear direction of the seat body to the storage position. A vehicle seat characterized by being returned. 2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the wheel support mechanism includes a front wheel stay having a front wheel attached to one end thereof and the other end thereof being rotatably connected to the seat frame; The movement of the moving member of the mechanism is transmitted to the front wheel stay, and the front wheel stay is rotated with respect to the seat frame,
A first power transmission member for moving the front wheel between a retracted position and a deployed position; a rear wheel stay having a rear wheel attached to one end thereof and the other end rotatably connected to the seat frame; The movement of the moving member of the mechanism is transmitted to the rear wheel stay,
A second wheel stay is rotated with respect to the seat frame to move the rear wheel between the retracted position and the deployed position.
A vehicle seat comprising: a power transmission member. 3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the front wheel moves to the inside of the seat body in the width direction and reaches the storage position in the process of folding the wheel support mechanism. A vehicle seat characterized by being returned. 4. The vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the moving member of the drive mechanism is configured to move in the front-rear direction with respect to the seat body, and the first power transmission member is the movement direction conversion lever. The movement direction conversion lever includes a longitudinal movement unit coupled to the moving member, and a lateral movement that moves in the width direction of the seat body in conjunction with the movement of the longitudinal movement unit. A vehicle seat, wherein the connecting lever connects a lateral movement portion of the movement direction conversion lever and a front wheel stay. 5. The vehicle seat according to claim 3 or 4, wherein at least a part of the front wheel is stored in a recess formed on the front side of the lower surface of the seat frame. Vehicle seat. 6. The vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the front wheel is mounted on a bracket in a rotatable state, and the bracket rotates about an axis of the front wheel stay. A vehicle seat characterized in that it is freely attached to the front wheel stay, and the center of the front wheel is held at a position displaced from the axis of the front wheel stay. 7. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to move the moving member by a function of a screw shaft and a nut screwed to the screw shaft. A vehicle seat characterized by the following.