JP2003265259A - Reclining mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To assure that an internal gear of a rotating housing and an external gear of a sliding pole are engaged securely even when an excessive load is applied between two housings of a reclining mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: In the reclining mechanism, a fixed housing 10 and a rotating housing 12 are assembled in such a way that they can rotate relatively, and a guide slot 20 is formed with side walls 22 inside the fixed housing 10, and a sliding pole 16 is arranged in such a way that the pole 16 slides along the guide slot 20, and by this sliding action, the external gear 17 of the sliding pole 16 is engaged with the internal gear 13 which is formed on the rotating housing 12 to lock relative rotation of the both housings 10 and 12. The side walls 22 are harder than other areas of the fixed housing 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention mainly relates to a reclining device for adjusting a tilt angle of a seat back of a vehicle seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one type of reclining device, for example, there is a reclining device having a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-79032. In this device, two disk-shaped housings are assembled so that they can rotate relative to each other, and this relative rotation can be locked in multiple steps within a predetermined angular range. One (fixed side housing) of the two housings is fixed to the seat cushion side, and the other (rotary side housing) is fixed to the seat back side. Inner teeth are formed on the inner peripheral portion of the rotation-side housing, and a slide pole is incorporated in the inner space formed by both housings.

The slide pole is adapted to slide in the radial direction by a guide groove formed in the fixed housing. By operating the reclining device, the slide pole can be slid in the radial direction along the guide groove, so that the outer teeth of the slide pole mesh with or disengage from the inner teeth of the rotary housing. When the outer teeth of the slide pole are meshed with the inner teeth, the relative rotation of both housings is locked, and as a result, the reclining device is locked with the seat back regulated at a desired inclination angle.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a reclining device of the above type. As is clear from this drawing, when the reclining device is in the locked state, the fixed-side housing 6
The relative rotation between 0 and the rotation-side housing 62 is restricted via the slide pole 66. That is, in the fixed housing 60, the rotation is restricted by the fitting portions of the side walls 72 on both sides forming the guide groove 70 and the slide pole 66, and in the rotary housing 62, the internal teeth 63 and the slide pole 66 are restricted. The rotation is restricted by the meshing portion with the outer teeth 67 of the.

[0005]

In the locked state of the reclining device, if an excessive load acts on the seat back, a high load is applied between the housings 60 and 62 in the rotational direction. As a result, the slide pole 66 meshing with the inner teeth 63 of the rotation side housing 62 forms the guide groove 70, and the one side wall body 7 is formed.
The side wall body 72 may be deformed by being strongly pressed against the side wall 2 as shown in FIG. In that case, the meshing between the inner teeth 63 and the outer teeth 67 of the slide pole 66 cannot be maintained, and the reclining device may be unlocked. The present invention is intended to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to mesh an internal tooth of a rotating side housing with an external tooth of a slide pole even when an excessive load is applied between both housings of a reclining device. Is to maintain.

[0006]

The present invention is to achieve the above object. According to the invention of claim 1, the fixed side housing and the rotating side housing are assembled so as to be relatively rotatable, A guide groove is formed by a side wall inside the fixed housing, and a slide pole is arranged so as to slide along the guide groove. A reclining device in which relative rotation of both housings is locked by engaging external teeth of the slide pole with teeth, and the side wall body is set to be harder than other parts of the fixed side housing. Has been done. As a result, the relative rotation of both housings is locked, and when the reclining device is locked,
Even if a high load is applied between these housings in the rotational direction, the side wall that constitutes the guide groove can firmly receive the slide pole. Therefore, the meshing state between the inner teeth of the rotary housing and the outer teeth of the slide pole, that is, the locked state of the reclining device is properly maintained.

The invention according to claim 2 is the reclining device according to claim 1, wherein a hole is formed in the side wall body, and the hole is formed in the hole more than other portions of the fixed side housing. A hard material is press-fitted. Thereby, the rigidity of the side wall body can be increased by a simple operation such as driving a hard member into the hole of the side wall body.

The invention according to claim 3 is the reclining device according to claim 2, wherein the hole into which the hard member is press-fitted is provided near the guide groove in the side wall body. In this case, the rigidity of the side wall body is increased by press-fitting the hard member into the hole of the side wall body, and the side wall body is deformed so as to bulge toward the guide groove.
Due to this deformation, the gap between the guide groove and the slide pole is closed, and it is possible to prevent the reclining device in the locked state from rattling.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
4 will be described. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a reclining device for a vehicle seat, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an unlocked state of the reclining device in correspondence with FIG. Is. First, the basic structure and function of the reclining device will be described with reference to these drawings.

The housing of the reclining device has a structure in which a fixed-side housing 10 and a rotating-side housing 12 each having a disc shape are combined so as to be relatively rotatable about their centers. That is, the two housings 10 and 12 are held so as to be rotatable relative to each other and not to be disengaged from each other by the ring member 18 which is crimped at the outer peripheral portion after being assembled with each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the fixed housing 10 is fixed to a cushion frame 40 of a seat cushion in a vehicle seat,
The rotation-side housing 12 is fixed to the back frame 42 of the seat back.

Inside both housings 10 and 12, a slide cam 14 and a pair of slide poles 16 located on both sides thereof (upper and lower in the drawing) are incorporated. A rotary operation shaft 30 of the reclining device is provided at the center of both housings 10 and 12 so as to be rotatable around its axis. An operation arm 32 is mounted on the rotation operation shaft 30 so as to rotate together with the rotation operation shaft 30 inside the housings 10 and 12. In addition, the housing 10, 12 is provided at one end of the rotary operation shaft 30.
An operation lever (not shown) for unlocking the lock of the reclining device is attached outside the.

By rotating the operation arm 32 together with the rotation operation shaft 30, the slide cam 14 moves to the right in FIGS. The movement of the slide cam 14 causes the pair of slide poles 16 to move to the fixed housing 10.
It slides in the radial direction along the individual guide grooves 20 formed inside. These slide poles 16 are provided with external teeth 17 capable of meshing with internal teeth 13 formed on the inner circumference of the rotary housing 12 (FIG. 2, FIG.
3). As shown in FIG. 1, the fixed housing 10 has a recess 10 formed around the rotary operation shaft 30.
There is a, and the spring 34 (winding spring) is housed therein. The spring 34 applies a counterclockwise biasing force to the operation arm 32, whereby the slide cam 14 and both slide pawls 16 are kept in the state shown in FIG.

Each guide groove 2 of the fixed housing 10
The guide surfaces 24 on both sides of the housing 10 are
It is constituted by a pair of side wall members 22 formed inside. Both slide poles 16 have individual guide grooves 20
The position of the guide surface 24 is regulated so that it can slide in the radial direction. Therefore, when the outer teeth 17 of both slide poles 16 mesh with the inner teeth 13 of the rotary housing 12 as shown in FIG.
Relative rotation is regulated via the slide pole 16. This is the locked state of the reclining device,
The tilting motion of the seat back with respect to the seat cushion is locked.

The operation arm 3 is operated by operating the rotary operation shaft 30.
When 2 is rotated clockwise against the urging force of the spring 34, the slide cam 14 moves to the position shown in FIG. As a result, the two slide pawls 16 are pulled inward, and the meshing between the individual outer teeth 17 and the inner teeth 13 is released, so that both housings 10 and 12 can rotate relative to each other. This state is the unlocked state of the reclining device, and the tilt angle of the seat back with respect to the seat cushion can be adjusted.

In the locked state of the reclining device, as described above, the relative rotation between the fixed housing 10 and the rotating housing 12 causes the slide pole 16 to rotate.
Is regulated through. At this time, in the fixed housing 10, the rotation is restricted by the fitting portion between the guide groove 20 and the slide pole 16. Therefore, internal tooth 1
Properly restricting the position of the slide pole 16 that is about to rotate together with the rotation-side housing 12 through the meshing portion of the outer teeth 17 with the guide surface 24 of the side wall body 22 leads to maintaining the locked state of the reclining device. .

Therefore, pins 28 (hard members) made of a material harder than the side wall members 22 (fixed housing 10) are press-fitted into the side wall members 22 forming the guide grooves 20, respectively. As is clear from FIG. 4, which is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 2, a hole 26 is formed through the side wall body 22 between the outer side and the inner side of the fixed-side housing 10. A pin 28 is driven into the fixed housing 10 from the outside. That is, the head portion 28 a of the pin 28 is located outside the fixed housing 10, and the end face thereof is located inside the fixed housing 10.

When the side wall body 22 is likened to a wall-shaped structure, the pin 28 acts just like a reinforcing bar and increases the strength of the side wall body 22. Therefore, the position of the slide pole 16 is restricted by the side wall body 22 having high strength. This means that even if a high load is applied between the housings 10 and 12 in the rotational direction due to an excessive load acting on the seat back, the side wall body 22 is not deformed and the slide pole 16 is guided. It is firmly received by the surface 24. That is, the load for maintaining the meshing state between the inner teeth 13 of the rotation side housing 12 and the outer teeth 17 of the slide pole 16 increases, and the locked state of the reclining device is appropriately maintained.

The positions of the holes 26 formed in each side wall body 22 are set as close to the guide surface 24 as possible. Therefore, when the pin 28 is driven into the hole 26, a part of the side wall body 22 is deformed so as to slightly bulge toward the guide groove 20, and the gap between the slide pole 16 and the guide surface 24 is closed. . By controlling this gap to be smaller, rattling of the reclining device in the locked state can be suppressed.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, this embodiment can be easily changed or modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the cross-sectional shape of the pin 28 is not limited to a circle and may be an ellipse, a polygon, or a hollow, and a plurality of pins 28 may be press-fitted into one side wall body 22. Further, a similar function can be obtained by press-fitting a hard member such as a block shape into the side wall body 22 instead of the pin 28. Instead of press-fitting the hard member, it is possible to partially harden the portion of the side wall body 22 near the guide surface 24 by induction hardening or the like. However, in terms of workability, it is advantageous to press the hard member into the side wall 22.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a reclining device for a vehicle seat.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an unlocked state of the reclining device.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a conventional reclining device.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Fixed side housing 12 Rotation side housing 13 internal teeth 16 slide pole 17 external teeth 20 guide groove 22 Side wall 28 pins (hard member)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A stationary housing and a rotating housing are assembled so that they can rotate relative to each other, and a guide groove is formed by a side wall body inside the stationary housing, and slides along the guide groove. A type in which the poles are arranged so as to slide, and the relative rotation of the two housings is locked by engaging the outer teeth of the slide poles with the inner teeth formed on the rotation side housing by this sliding. The reclining device according to claim 1, wherein the side wall body is set to be harder than other portions of the fixed-side housing. 2. The reclining device according to claim 1, wherein a hole is formed in the side wall body, and a hard member that is harder than other portions of the fixed-side housing is press-fitted into the hole. Reclining device. 3. The reclining device according to claim 2, wherein the hole into which the hard member is press fitted is provided near a guide groove in the side wall body.