JP2007176220A - Seat slide device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seat slide device for a vehicle capable of easily connecting an operating handle with a lock lever even in a limited space. <P>SOLUTION: In a seat lock mechanism, a slide lock along the lower rail 1 of the upper rail 2 is released by turning the lock levers 17, 18 through the operation of the operating handle 15. A locking piece of a spring 22 is engaged with a locking groove formed on the end part of the operating handle 15 by mounting a leaf spring shaped spring 22 to the lock lever 17 and inserting the end part of the operating handle 15 into the spring 22, and a pressing part of the spring 22 pushes the end part of the operating handle 15 from upper part, and connects the end part of the operating handle 15 with the lock lever 17. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle seat slide device capable of sliding a seat in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle body along a slide rail, and more particularly to an operation handle mounting structure for performing a lock release operation.

  In general, a vehicle is provided with a seat slide device, and the position of the seat in the front-rear direction can be adjusted according to the physique and preference of the occupant.

  Such a seat slide device is provided with a seat lock mechanism for locking the seat slide and fixing the seat. In the seat lock mechanism, a lock lever is rotated by operating a substantially U-shaped operation handle provided below the seat, and the lock of the seat is released by rotating the lock lever. In some cases, the position can be adjusted, and when the hand is released from the operation handle, the operation handle and the lock lever are returned to their original positions by an urging means such as a spring to lock the seat again.

By the way, the operation handle and the lock lever of the seat lock mechanism are configured as separate members, and both ends of the operation handle are connected to the lock lever. The connection structure of the operation handle to the lock lever is as follows. And a lock lever connected by a wire spring or the like have been proposed (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). In such a connection structure, the operation handle can be connected to the lock lever only by inserting the operation handle from the front and fitting a wire spring or the like.
JP-A-9-011780 JP 50-150123 A

  However, the conventional connection structure described above requires a space for locking and bending the wire spring, so it can be realized for a configuration in which the lock lever and the operation handle are arranged outside the slide rail. However, in recent years, a configuration in which a part of the lock lever and the operation handle is incorporated in the slide rail may be required, and the conventional connection structure cannot be used for such a configuration.

  In addition, since the wire spring is merely locked to the stepped portion, there is a problem that the wire spring comes off when the end of the operation handle is inserted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle seat slide device that can easily connect an operation handle to a lock lever even in a limited space. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 makes it possible to adjust the position of the seat in the front-rear direction by slidably assembling the upper rail fixed to the seat with respect to the lower rail fixed to the floor. In the seat slide device that releases the slide lock along the lower rail of the upper rail by operating the operation handle provided below to rotate the lock lever, the lock lever is provided with the operation handle in the longitudinal direction. A pair of support portions that are inserted and supported so as to sandwich the vertical direction are provided, and a spring acting between the pair of support portions and the operation handle is attached to the lock lever, and the spring is provided on the operation handle. The length of the operation handle with respect to the lock lever by engaging with the locking groove A locking portion that restricts movement in the direction and a presser portion that abuts on the outer peripheral surface of the operation handle and acts to press the operation handle against the lock lever are formed by bending one leaf spring. And

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the spring is integrally formed with a mounting portion having a circular hole overlapping the circular hole of the lock lever, and is rotatably supported integrally with the lock lever. It is characterized by being.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the spring is integrally formed with a clamping portion that clamps the lock lever in a plate thickness direction.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the end of the operating handle is inserted into the spring attached to the lock lever, whereby the engaging portion of the spring engages with the engaging groove formed in the operating handle, and the spring The pressing part presses the outer peripheral surface of the operating handle so that the operating handle does not rattle against the lock lever, so that the operating handle can be moved by simply inserting the end of the operating handle into the spring. Can be connected to the lock lever with one touch.

  Further, since the spring is formed of a leaf spring, the mounting space can be reduced, and the lock lever and the operation handle can be arranged in the upper rail.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the spring is rotatably supported together with the lock lever toward the upper rail, it is possible to prevent the spring from coming off when the operation handle is inserted.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the spring only needs to be assembled so that the clamping portion is inserted into the end portion of the lock lever, the assembly can be performed very easily.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 is a partial side view of a vehicle seat slide device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the connection structure between the operation handle and the lock lever, FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the end portion of the operation handle, and FIG. 7 shows the state of the vehicle seat slide device at the time of a forward collision. It is a partial side view shown.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle seat slide device according to the present invention includes a pair of lower rails 1 (only one is shown in FIG. 4) laid in parallel on the left and right of the vehicle floor, and a lower surface of a seat (not shown). A pair of upper rails 2 (only one is shown in FIG. 4) are attached to the left and right of the upper rail 2, and the upper rail 2 can be slid back and forth along the lower rail 1 by a plurality of guide balls 4 held by the retainer 3. It is assembled.

  Here, the lower rail 1 is composed of a channel member having an open upper surface, and a bent portion 1a bent in an inverted U shape is formed on the left and right upper edges thereof. And this lower rail 1 is being fixed on the floor of the vehicle with the volt | bolt which is not illustrated.

  On the other hand, the upper rail 2 is composed of a channel member having an open bottom surface, and a bent portion 2a that is bent outwardly in a U-shape is formed at the left and right lower edges thereof. The upper rail 2 is slidably fitted into the upper surface opening of the lower rail 1 through the plurality of guide balls 4 held by the retainer 3 as described above.

  A locking mechanism 5 is provided between the upper rail 2 and the lower rail 1 to lock the movement of the upper rail 2 (seat) along the lower rail 1. The configuration of the lock mechanism 5 will be described below.

  A bearing plate 6 is coupled to the lower surface of the upper wall 2b of the upper rail 2, and the bearing plate 6 includes a pair of bearing portions 6a, a mounting portion 6b, and a support portion 6d. The mounting portion 6b is inserted into the hole 6c. The rivet 7 is attached to the lower surface of the upper wall 2b of the upper rail 2. A support rod 8 is rotatably inserted into and supported by a pair of bearing portions 6 a of the bearing plate 6, and a latch lever 9 is coupled to the support rod 8. Here, the latch lever 9 is formed with four lock claws 9a, and an engaging member 10 having an L-shaped cross section is integrally formed on a side portion thereof.

  The latch lever 9 is urged in the locking direction by a leaf spring 11, and the base end portion of the leaf spring 11 is coupled to the lower surface of the bearing plate 6 by the rivet 7 inserted through the mounting hole 11 a. The leaf spring 11 has a front end portion 11b abutting against the bearing plate 6 and a central portion constituting a pressing portion 11c. The pressing portion 11c presses the latch plate 9 to attach it in the locking direction. It is fast.

  On the other hand, at the positions corresponding to the four lock claws 9a of the side wall 2c of the upper rail 2 and the latch lever 9 of the bent portion 2a, as shown in FIG. Four fitting holes 12 and 13 are formed for this purpose.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a bent portion 1a of the lower rail 1 is located between the side wall 2c and the bent portion 2a of the upper rail 2, and corresponds to the fitting holes 12 and 13 of the bent portion 1a. A plurality of fitting holes 14 are formed at an appropriate pitch in the length direction at the height position. The lock claw 9 a of the latch lever 9 is configured to be detachable from the fitting hole 14 formed in the lower rail 1 and the fitting holes 12 and 13 formed in the upper rail 2.

  By the way, the lock mechanism 5 described above is provided with a lock release means for releasing the slide lock in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower rail 1 of the upper rail 2 (seat). As shown in FIG. The seat lock is released by rotating a substantially U-shaped operation handle 15 provided below the seat.

  Thus, the unlocking means includes the first and second lock levers 17 and 18 rotatably accommodated in the left and right upper rails 2, and the operation handle connected to the first lock lever 17. 15. Here, the first and second lock levers 17 and 18 are vertically moved by pins 19 and 20 in holes 6e and 6f (see FIG. 4) provided in a support portion 6d formed in an L shape in the bearing plate 6. (See FIG. 1). The second lock lever 18 is urged in the clockwise direction (lock direction) in FIG. 1 by a return spring 21 wound around the pin 20, and the rear end action portion 18 a is separated from the engagement member 10. And are facing each other. Further, the rear end action portion 17a of the first lock lever 17 is in contact with the front end action portion 18b of the second lock lever 18, and the left and right of the operation handle 15 are in contact with the front end portion 17b of the first lock lever 17. The ends of the are inserted and connected.

  Here, a connection structure of the operation handle 15 to the first lock lever 17 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the front end portion 17b of the first lock lever 17 is provided with a pair of support portions 17c and 17d for inserting the end portion of the operation handle 15 in the longitudinal direction and supporting the end portion in the vertical direction. These support portions 17c and 17d are substantially U-shaped. A plate spring-like spring 22 made of a sheet metal as shown in FIG. 5 is attached to the front end 17 b of the first lock lever 17, and the left and right ends of the operation handle 15 are attached to the spring 22. By being inserted from the front, it is connected to the front end portion 17b of the first lock lever 17 by one touch.

  The spring 22 is formed by bending a single plate spring. As shown in FIG. 5, a mounting portion 22b that stands vertically is formed at the rear portion of the bottom plate portion 22a, and an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the bottom plate portion 22a. On the opposite side of the mounting portion 22b, a presser portion 22c that rises vertically and bends inward is formed. Further, a locking portion 22d that also serves as a clamping portion 22e folded back is integrally formed at the front end portion of the bottom plate 22a of the spring 22, and obliquely upward toward the rear from the middle of the locking portion 22d. A locking piece 22d1 having a T-shape is formed at the leading end that stands up.

  The spring 22 configured as described above is moved between the sandwiching portion 22e and the bottom plate portion 22a by moving the bottom plate portion 22a in the longitudinal direction along the lower surface of the one support portion 17c of the lock lever 17. And the circular hole 22b1 formed in the mounting portion 22b and the circular hole 17e formed in the first lock lever 17 overlap with each other, so that the circular hole 22b1 and the circular hole 17e are in this state. And by inserting and fixing the hole 6f of the bearing plate 6 with the pin 19, the first lock lever 17 and the spring 22 are rotatably supported with respect to the bearing plate 6, and the spring 22 is 1 is attached to the inside of the front end 17b of the lock lever 17.

  On the other hand, the operation handle 15 is formed of a round pipe, and both left and right end portions thereof are crushed and formed into a semicircular cross section (see FIG. 3), and the bottom portion is formed in a concave shape along the longitudinal direction. The flanges are formed on both sides. And the latching groove | channel 15a is formed along with the horizontal direction so that this flange may be notched (refer FIG. 6). The operation handle 15 is always urged downward (counterclockwise in FIG. 1) by engaging with the front end action portion 18b of the second lock lever 18 urged in the locking direction by the return spring 21. Yes.

  Thus, the left and right ends of the operation handle 15 are inserted into the upper rail 2 from the front, and a pair of support portions 17c provided on the front end portion 17b of the first lock lever 17 accommodated therein are provided. By passing through 17 d and the inside of the spring 22, each end is connected to the first lock lever 17 by the spring 22 with one touch.

  That is, when the left and right ends of the operation handle 15 are inserted into the spring 22 from the front, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the locking portion 22d of the spring 22 is inserted into the locking groove 15a formed at the bottom thereof. Since the T-shaped locking piece 22d1 formed in the portion is locked, the operation handle 15 is fixed in the front-rear direction, so that the spring 22 is prevented from coming off. The outer peripheral surface of the operation handle 15 is pressed against the upper surface of the support portion 17 c of the first lock lever 17 by the pressing portion 22 c of the spring 22. As a result, the operation handle 15 is connected to the left and right first lock levers 17 with one touch by a simple operation by simply inserting the left and right ends into the spring 22 from the front.

  Next, the operation of the seat slide device will be described.

  1 to 3 in which the operation handle 15 is not operated, the lock mechanism 5 is in the locked state, and the rear end action portion 18a of the second lock lever 18 is separated from the engagement member 10 as shown in FIG. The operating force from the operating handle 15 does not act on the latch lever 9. Accordingly, in this state, as shown in FIG. 2, the latch lever 9 is rotationally displaced toward the fitting holes 12 and 13 of the upper rail 2 and the fitting hole 14 of the lower rail 1 by the urging force of the leaf spring 11. At this time, the lock claw 9 a of the latch lever 9 is fitted in the three fitting holes 12, 13, and 14. For this reason, in this state, the upper rail 2 has its front and rear slides locked with respect to the lower rail 1, and the position of the seat is fixed.

  When adjusting the position of the seat in the front-rear direction from the locked state, when the operation handle 15 shown in FIG. 1 is moved upward in the direction of arrow a in FIG. The lock lever 17 rotates about the pin 19 in the direction of the arrow b, and the rear end action portion 17a pushes the front end action portion 18b of the second lock lever 18 downward. Then, the second lock lever 18 rotates around the pin 20 in the direction of the arrow c in FIG. 1 against the urging force of the return spring 21, and the rear end action portion 18 a comes into contact with the engagement member 10. The engaging member 10 and the latch lever 9 are swung in the direction of separating from the fitting holes 12 and 13 of the upper rail 2 and the fitting hole 14 of the lower rail 1 around the support rod 8 against the urging force of the leaf spring 11. Let As a result, the lock claw 9 a of the latch lever 9 is pulled out from the three fitting holes 12, 13, and 14, the lock mechanism 5 is unlocked, the upper rail 2 and the seat are unlocked, and the upper rail 2 is relative to the lower rail 1. It is possible to slide back and forth, and the position of the seat in the front-rear direction can be arbitrarily adjusted.

  After adjusting the position of the seat in the front-rear direction as described above, when the hand is released from the operation handle 15, the latch lever 9 is swung by the urging force of the leaf spring 11 to the original position shown in FIGS. In order to return, the lock claw 9a of the latch lever 9 is fitted into the three fitting holes 12, 13, and 14, and the lock mechanism 5 is locked again. Therefore, the upper rail 2 is locked to the lower rail 1 so that the front and rear slides are locked, and the seat is fixed at the adjusted position.

  By the way, there is provided a buckle for fixing a seat belt of a seat slide device when a load that the occupant tries to move forward due to a frontal collision of the vehicle when the lock mechanism 5 is in a locked state and the position of the seat is fixed. Therefore, only the rear portion of the upper rail 2 is deformed so as to be lifted. At this time, if a U-shaped operation handle is used, the operation handle cannot move. As a result, only the deformed upper rail is rotated in the unlocking direction, and the lock is released. There is a possibility. Therefore, conventionally, the operation handle can be turned in the unlocking direction with respect to the lock lever.

  However, the present embodiment is also configured such that the operation handle 15 can be rotated in the direction of the arrow a 'in FIG. 7 (the direction in which the lock is released) by a frontal collision of the vehicle. That is, the pair of support portions 17c and 17d of the first lock lever 17 are formed so as to be shifted in the longitudinal direction, and the holding portion 22c of the spring 22 is bent upward, and the operation handle 15 in the direction of arrow a 'in FIG. In order to allow the rotation, the latch lever 9 does not swing to the extent that the lock mechanism 5 is unlocked, the lock mechanism 5 is maintained in the locked state, and the lock may be released in the event of a collision. Is reliably prevented.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the operation handle 15 is connected to the left and right first lock levers 17 with a single operation by simply inserting the left and right ends of the operation handle 15 into the spring 22 from the front. be able to.

  In addition, since the first and second lock levers 17 and 18 for transmitting the operation force of the operation handle 15 to the latch lever 9 are housed in the upper rail 2, the operation handle 15 can be moved in the limited space. It can be easily connected to the lock lever 17.

1 is a partial side view of a vehicle seat slide device according to the present invention. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. It is the BB sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle seat slide device according to the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the connection structure of the operation handle and lock lever of the vehicle seat slide apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a bottom view of an operation handle end. It is a partial side view which shows the state of the vehicle seat slide apparatus at the time of a front collision.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lower rail 2 Upper rail 3 Retainer 4 Guide ball 5 Seat lock mechanism 6 Bearing plate 7 Rivet 8 Support rod 9 Latch lever 10 Engaging member 11 Leaf spring 12-14 Fitting hole 15 Operation handle 16 Bolt 16a Locking groove 17 First Lock lever 17c, 17d Support portion 18 Second lock lever 19, 20 Pin 21 Return spring 22 Spring 22a Spring bottom plate portion 22b Spring mounting portion 22c Spring pressing portion 22d Spring locking portion 22d1 Spring locking piece 22e Nipping part

Claims (3)

By slidably attaching the upper rail fixed to the seat to the lower rail fixed to the floor, the position of the seat in the front-rear direction can be adjusted, and the lock lever is turned by operating the operation handle provided below the seat. In the seat slide device that releases the slide lock along the lower rail of the upper rail by moving it,
The lock lever is provided with a pair of support portions for inserting the operation handle in the longitudinal direction and supporting the operation lever so as to sandwich the vertical direction, and a spring acting between the pair of support portions and the operation handle is provided with the lock lever. The spring is engaged with a locking groove provided in the operation handle, and a locking portion for restricting the movement of the operation handle in the longitudinal direction with respect to the lock lever is contacted with an outer peripheral surface of the operation handle. A seat slide device characterized in that a presser portion that contacts and operates to press an operation handle against the lock lever is formed by bending one leaf spring.   2. The seat slide device according to claim 1, wherein an attachment portion having a circular hole overlapping the circular hole of the lock lever is formed integrally with the spring, and is supported to be rotatable integrally with the lock lever. .   3. The seat slide device according to claim 1, wherein a clamping portion that clamps the lock lever in a plate thickness direction is formed integrally with the spring. 4.

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