JP2010100077A - Slide rail device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a slide rail device for a vehicular seat having the less number of part as compared with a conventional device, also having a simple device structure and easily performing assembling. <P>SOLUTION: A slide rail member 5 constituting the slide rail device is provided with: a lower rail 10; an upper rail 20; a lock member 30 for locking the upper rail; an operation lever 50 connected to the lock member; and a spring 40 for biasing the lock member and the operation lever. A front end part 41 of the spring is connected to an operation lever base end part 54 and a rear end part 43 of the spring is engaged with a rear side engagement part 37 of the lock member. Further, an engagement part 42 of the spring is engaged with an engagement groove 25 of the upper rail and the spring 40 is installed such that the engagement part becomes fulcrum. The lock member 30 and the operation lever 50 can be simultaneously biased by one spring 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a slide rail device for sliding a vehicle seat back and forth to position it at a predetermined position.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle slide adjuster which is a kind of slide rail device. This slide adjuster includes a lower rail 2, an upper rail 4 attached to the lower rail 2 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction, and a lock mechanism for locking or unlocking the upper rail 4 with respect to the lower rail. The lock mechanism includes a lock plate 12 rotatably provided in the upper rail 4, an elastic member 20 that urges the lock plate 12 in an upward rotation direction, an operation member 26 (operation lever), and an upper. A lock plate actuating member 22 which is provided so as to be swingable with respect to the rail 4 via a pin 24 and whose front end is connected to the operation member 26, and the front end of the lock plate actuating member 22 is always biased downward. And an elastic member 28.

  According to this lock mechanism, the upper rail 4 is locked to the lower rail 2 by engaging the lock claw 2 f of the lower rail 2 with the lock hole 12 c of the lock plate 12 urged upward by the elastic member 20. Is done. On the other hand, the lock is released when the occupant pulls up the operation member 26. That is, as the operating member 26 is pulled up, the operating member 26 swings in the direction of lifting the front end against the biasing force of the elastic member 28, while the rear end of the operating member 26 is attached to the elastic member 20. The lock plate 12 is rotated downward against the force. As a result, the lock plate 12 is detached from the lock claw 2f of the lower rail 2, and the lock of the upper rail 4 with respect to the lower rail 2 is released.

JP 2007-133103

  However, in the conventional slide rail device described in Patent Document 1, in order to bias each member of the lock mechanism, at least an elastic member that biases the rear end portion of the lock member in the upward rotation direction; An elastic member that biases the front end of the lock member downward is required. As described above, the conventional slide rail device requires two or more elastic members as biasing means, so that there is difficulty in assembling and it is not advantageous in terms of member cost.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle slide rail device that is advantageous in terms of ease of assembly and cost by reducing the number of members by simplifying the structure as compared with the prior art.

  The slide rail device according to claim 1, a lower rail having a plurality of lock teeth, an upper rail attached to the lower rail so as to be slidable back and forth, a lock member attached to the upper rail, and the lock member An operation lever to be coupled; and a spring for biasing the lock member and the operation lever. The lock member includes a front end portion connected to the operation lever and a rear end portion having an engagement portion engageable with the lock teeth of the lower rail, and the engagement portion includes the lock teeth of the lower rail. Is attached to the upper rail so as to be rotatable between a locking position for engaging with and an unlocking position for releasing from the locking teeth of the lower rail. The spring has a front end engaged with the operation lever, a rear end engaged with the rear end of the lock member, and is positioned between the front end and the rear end. The front end portion urges the operating lever in a direction to return the operation lever to the pre-operation position, and the rear end portion is the lock. The member is mounted so as to bias the member from the unlock position toward the lock position.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the slide rail device according to the first aspect, the front end portion of the lock member is engaged with the base end portion of the operation lever in a direction to return the operation lever to the pre-operation position. Possible front engagements are provided. Further, a groove or hole into which the front end of the spring can be inserted is provided near the base end of the operation lever, and the spring front end that urges the operation lever in a direction to return to the pre-operation position. Based on the urging force of the lock member, the operation lever is pulled out to the front end portion of the lock member by narrowing the base end portion of the operation lever between the front engagement portion of the lock member and the spring front end portion. It is characterized by being connected to a stop.

  The slide rail device according to claim 3 is the slide rail device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein when the lock member is urged toward the lock position by the spring at the rear end portion of the lock member, A rear side engaging portion that can be engaged with a rear end portion of the spring is provided.

  The slide rail device according to claim 4 is the slide rail device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the latching portion of the spring is directed from a substantially central portion of the spring toward a side wall portion of the upper rail. A protruding groove is formed on the side wall portion of the upper rail so as to hook the protruding portion as the hooking portion, and the protruding portion is engaged with the hooking groove. The spring is supported by the upper rail by being inserted.

  According to the slide rail device of the first aspect, the front end of the spring is engaged with the operation lever, the rear end of the spring is engaged with the rear end of the lock member, and the front end of the spring is further engaged. The spring is provided with a latching part that is latched to a part of the upper rail located between the rear end and the spring so that the latching part serves as a fulcrum. The lock member and the operation lever can be simultaneously energized. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced, the ease of assembly can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

  According to the slide rail device of the second aspect, between the front engagement portion of the lock member and the spring front end portion based on the urging force of the spring front end portion that urges the operation lever in the direction to return the operation lever to the pre-operation position. By narrowing the base end portion of the operation lever, the operation lever can be connected to the front end portion of the lock member to prevent it from coming off. That is, since the front end portion of the spring can also function as an “operating lever connecting means” that cooperates with the front engaging portion, the number of parts can be further reduced.

  According to the slide rail device of the third aspect, since the rear engagement portion that can be engaged with the spring is provided at the rear end portion of the lock member, the lock member is attached from the unlock position to the lock position. The urging force of the urging spring rear end can be directly received by the rear engagement portion of the lock member. Accordingly, the structure of the slide rail device can be further simplified.

  According to the slide rail device of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the overhang projecting toward the side wall portion of the upper rail is provided at the substantially central portion of the spring, and the overhang portion for engaging the overhang portion with the side wall portion of the upper rail. Since the spring is supported by the upper rail by providing a stop groove and engaging the protruding portion into the hook groove, the spring elasticity at the front end portion and the rear end portion of the spring is sufficiently maintained. The support of the spring with the overhanging portion as a fulcrum is ensured. This also contributes to the simplification of the structure of the slide rail device.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a vehicle seat in which a slide rail device 3 is incorporated. The vehicle seat includes a seat cushion 1, a seat back 2, and a slide rail device 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the slide rail device 3 has a bilaterally symmetric structure, and includes a pair of left and right slide rail members 5 via an operation lever 50 at the front of the seat. The slide rail member 5 includes a lower rail 10, an upper rail 20, and an operation lever 50. The lower rail 10 is fixed to the floor surface of the vehicle body by the bracket 4. The upper rail 20 is connected to the seat cushion 1. When the operation lever is not input, the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 are locked, and the seat cushion 1 is fixed so as not to move back and forth. When the occupant operates the operation lever 50 upward, the lock between the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 is simultaneously released in both the slide rail members 5. The lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 can freely slide back and forth, and the occupant can adjust the front and rear position while sitting. Hereinafter, the slide rail member 5 on one side will be described in detail.

  FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the slide rail member 5. The slide rail member 5 mainly includes a lower rail 10, an upper rail 20, a lock plate 30 as a lock member, a spring 40, and an operation lever 50.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the lower rail 10 is made of a metal plate such as iron, and is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross-section that is symmetric with respect to the left and right by performing press processing, bending processing, and the like. The lower rail 10 includes a flat base portion 11, a pair of left and right vertical walls 12 extending upward from both sides of the base portion, and a pair of flange portions 13 folded inward and downward from an upper end portion 14 of each vertical wall. And have. The vertical wall 12 and the flange portion 13 connected to the vertical wall 12 constitute a side wall portion of the lower rail 10. The vertical wall 12 and the flange portion 13 are in a substantially parallel relationship, and a groove is formed between them. Further, a plurality of lock teeth (saw teeth) 15 arranged in series at a predetermined interval are integrally formed at the lower end portions of the flange portions 13 on both sides.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the upper rail 20 is also made of a metal plate such as iron, and is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section with left-right symmetry by performing press processing, bending processing, or the like. The upper rail 20 includes a flat base portion 21, a pair of left and right vertical walls 22 extending downward from both sides of the base portion, and a pair of flange portions folded back outwardly from a lower end portion 27 of each vertical wall. 23. The vertical wall 22 and the flange portion 23 connected to the vertical wall 22 constitute a side wall portion of the upper rail 20. Further, a pair of left and right cutouts 26 in which the vertical wall 22 and the flange 23 are cut out integrally are provided at a substantially central portion of the upper rail. And the fitting hole 24 which can fit the fitting convex part 34 (refer FIG. 4) used as the rotating shaft of the lock plate 30 mentioned later, and the overhang | projection part 42 as a latching part used as the fulcrum of the spring 40 mentioned later. A latching groove 25 for latching (see FIG. 6) is provided so as to face both vertical walls 22. The fitting hole 24 and the latching groove 25 are formed through a part of the vertical wall 22. The fitting hole 24 is circular, and the latching groove 25 is oval extending in the longitudinal direction.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the balls 16 are interposed between the left and right flange portions 23 of the upper rail and the left and right groove portions of the rear rail, so that the upper rail 20 extends in the longitudinal direction with respect to the lower rail 10. Is slidable.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lock plate 30 is configured by subjecting a metal plate such as iron to press working or the like. The lock plate 30 has a pair of left and right side walls 38 in a flat plate shape, and the both side walls 38 are connected to each other by a front base 36 and a rear base 37 so as to face each other substantially parallel to each other. The central portion 33 of the lock plate is a region where the space between the left and right side wall portions 38 is open. Each of the front and rear connecting portions is formed as a portion having a substantially U-shaped cross section including a side wall portion 38 and a base portion 36 or 37. As will be described later, the front base portion 36 supports the operation lever base end portion 54 and functions as a front engagement portion that engages with the operation lever base end portion 54, and the rear base portion 37 engages with the rear end portion 43 of the spring. Thus, it functions as a rear engagement portion biased upward. The left and right side wall portions 38 in the central portion 33 of the lock plate are provided with fitting convex portions 34 projecting toward the vertical wall 22 of the upper rail on the outer wall surface thereof. The fitting convex portion 34 is formed by stamping a part of the side wall portion 38 from the inside to the outside, and the fitting convex portion 34 has a circular side view.

  The lock plate 30 has a front end portion 31 to which the operation lever 50 can be connected and a rear end portion 32 that can be engaged with and disengaged from the lock teeth 15 of the lower rail. The front end portion 31 of the lock plate is formed with a stepped portion 35 that is cut out so as to be connectable to the shaft 52 of the operating lever at the foremost position of the side wall portions 38. On the other hand, the rear end portion 32 of the lock plate has a substantially square shape in plan view, and protrudes upward (in the direction of the base 21 of the upper rail) at the center thereof and extends in the longitudinal direction of the lock plate. Ribs 32a are provided. A plurality of lock holes 32b (three on one side in this embodiment) are formed on both sides of the rib 32a. These lock holes 32b function as engagement portions that can be engaged and disengaged (engaged and disengaged) from the lock teeth 15 of the lower rail.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the spring 40 is formed by bending a metal wire so as to have a substantially U-shaped plane. The spring 40 is bent at the front end portion 41 and extends outward (in the direction of the vertical wall 22 of the upper rail) at a substantially central portion of the spring in a plan view (FIG. 6A). An overhanging portion 42 is provided as a latching portion. The rear end 43 of the spring is narrowed inward in plan view so as to be able to engage with the rear base 37 of the lock plate, and is bent upward in side view (FIG. 6B). .

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the operation lever 50 is inserted into the front end portions of the left and right slide rail members 5 to connect the lock plates 30 in the slide rail members 5. The plate 30 can be operated simultaneously. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation lever 50 has a groove 53 extending in the width direction on the upper surface of the base end portion 54 so that the front end portion 41 of the spring can be inserted. The operation lever 50 has a through hole 51 that penetrates the side of the operation lever, and the shaft 52 is inserted into the through hole 51. The shaft 52 can be engaged with the stepped portion 35 existing at the front end portion 31 of the lock plate.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, the lock plate 30 is supported by the upper rail 20 by fitting the fitting projections 34 of the lock plate into the fitting holes 24 of the left and right vertical walls 22 of the upper rail. , And can be rotated back and forth around the fitting portion. The rear end portion 32 of the lock plate is disposed in the notch portion 26 of the upper rail so as not to interfere with the upper rail side wall. Then, the rear end portion 32 is rotated upward (in the direction of the upper rail base portion 21), whereby the lock holes 32b of the lock plate and the lock teeth 15 of the lower rail are engaged. Thus, the upper rail 20 is locked to the lower rail 10 by arranging the lock plate 30 in the “lock position”. As will be described later, the lock plate 30 releases the lock of the upper rail 20 with respect to the lower rail 10 by releasing each lock hole 32b from the lock teeth 15 of the lower rail based on the operation of the operation lever 50. It is also arranged at the “unlock position”. FIG. 8 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the lock plate in the vicinity of the rear end portion 32 of the lock plate (X-X line position in FIG. 7), and the lock plate rear end portion 32 is positioned upward and the lock hole 32b is a flange of the lower rail A state in which the lock teeth 15 in the portion 13 are engaged is shown.

  In the slide rail device 3, the lock plate 30 must always be in the locked position unless the operation lever 50 is input. In the present embodiment, the lock plate rear end 32 is urged upward (in the direction of the upper rail base 21) by the spring force of the spring 40, and at the same time, the lock plate front end 31 is moved together with the operation lever base end 54. By urging downward (in the direction of the base 11 of the lower rail) by the spring force, the lock plate 30 is maintained in the locked position, and the operation lever 50 is maintained in the original position (position shown in FIG. 7). I have to.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 7, the spring 40 is supported by the upper rail 20 with the hooking portion serving as a fulcrum by hooking the protruding portion 42 of the spring into the hooking groove 25 of the upper rail 20. Yes. The rear end portion 43 of the spring is disposed below the lock plate rear base 37, and biases the lock plate rear base 37 upward (in the direction of the base 21 of the upper rail) by the spring force. With the urging force, the lock plate rear end 32 is arranged at the lock position when the operation lever is not input.

  The operation lever base end portion 54 is disposed immediately above the lock plate front base portion 36 and inside the left and right side walls 38 in the vicinity of the lock plate front base portion 36. By inserting the spring front end 41 into the groove 53 on the operation lever, the spring front end 41 and the operation lever base end 54 are connected. The spring front end 41 urges the operating lever base end 54 downward (in the direction of the base 11 of the lower rail) by the spring force. Then, based on the downward urging force by the spring front end portion 41, the operation lever 50 is moved by narrowing the base end portion 54 of the operation lever between the lock plate front side base portion 36 and the spring front end portion 41. It is connected to the lock plate 30 to prevent it from coming off. Therefore, the operation lever 50 can stably maintain the pre-operation position (the position shown in FIG. 7), and the front end portion 41 of the spring can function as an “operating lever coupling means” that cooperates with the front base portion 36. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced.

  Next, unlocking by operating the operation lever 50 upward (in the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. 7) will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, when the operation lever 50 is operated in the direction of the arrow A1 (unlock direction), the shaft 52 of the operation lever is also moved upward. Then, based on the engagement between the step portion 35 of the lock plate and the shaft 52, an upward force from the shaft 52 is applied to the step portion 35, so that the lock plate front end portion 31 is interlocked with the movement of the operation lever. Rotate upward. At this time, an additional spring force for returning the lock plate and the operation lever to the original position is stored near the front end 41 of the spring 40. At the same time, the lock plate rear end 32 is moved downward (lower rail of the lower rail) against the urging force of the spring rear end 43 applied to the lock plate rear base 37 upward (toward the base 21 of the upper rail). To the base 11 direction). And each lock hole 32b remove | deviates from the lock | rock tooth | gear 15 of a lower rail, and the lock plate rear-end part 32 is arrange | positioned to an "unlock position."

  By setting the unlock position, the upper rail 20 can slide back and forth with respect to the lower rail 10, and the occupant can adjust to the optimum seat position. To lock again, the operation lever 50 may be released after positioning the sheet. Due to the downward biasing force of the front end portion 41 of the spring, the operating lever 50 returns to the pre-operation position, and the upward biasing force of the rear end portion 43 of the spring returns the lock plate rear end portion 32 to the locked position again.

  According to the slide rail device 3 of the present embodiment, the front end 41 of the spring is engaged with the operation lever 50, the rear end 43 of the spring is engaged with the rear base 37 of the lock plate, Since the spring overhanging portion 42 is hooked on the hooking groove 25 of the upper rail and the spring 40 is installed so that the hooking portion serves as a fulcrum, the lock plate 30 and the operation lever 50 can be moved by one spring 40. Can be energized at the same time. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced, the ease of assembly can be improved, and the cost can be reduced.

  In the slide rail device 3 of the present embodiment, the occupant can operate the operation lever 50 downward (direction of arrow A2 in FIG. 7). That is, from the initial state shown in FIG. 7, the operation lever 50 that connects the pair of left and right slide rail members 5 is indicated by the arrow A2 with the tip edge 39 of the base portion of the lock plate front end portion 31 as a rotation fulcrum (rotation center). There is room for slight rotation in the direction. Such lever operation in the opposite direction to unlocking is commonly referred to as “cancel operation”.

  In general, the floor surface of the vehicle body to which the slide rail device 3 is fixed is not necessarily flat as ideal, and some unevenness or distortion is inevitable. When the pair of left and right slide rail members 5 are arranged in parallel on the floor surface of the vehicle body which is not flat, the other slide rail member 5 is in the unlocked state even though one slide rail member 5 is in the locked state. Sometimes a situation occurs. When such an imbalance between the right and left locked / unlocked states occurs, the slide lever member 5 in the unlocked state is forcibly operated by operating the operation lever 50 in the direction of the arrow A2 as described above. Can be reset to the locked state. This is the meaning of the cancel operation.

  At the time of the cancel operation, the spring front end 41 has a base end of the operation lever accompanying the slight rotation of the operation lever 50 in the direction of arrow A2 with the front end edge 39 of the base of the lock plate front end 31 as a rotation fulcrum. A repulsive force for returning the portion 54 to the original position is accumulated. Therefore, after the cancel operation, when the occupant releases the force to push down the operation lever 50, the operation lever 50 returns to the initial position shown in FIG. 7 by the repulsive force stored in the spring front end portion 41. Thus, the spring front end 41 can also function as a biasing spring that returns the canceled operation lever 50 to its original position.

  [Modification] In the above embodiment, the groove 53 is provided on the upper surface of the operation lever base end portion 54 as a portion for linking the front end portion 41 of the spring 40 to the operation lever 50. A hole that penetrates the operating lever base end portion 54 in the width direction may be provided, and the spring front end portion 41 may be inserted into the through hole.

The side view of a vehicle seat. The schematic plan view which shows the plane arrangement | positioning condition of a left-right paired slide rail apparatus. The disassembled perspective view of the slide rail member according to one Embodiment. The whole perspective view of a lock plate. The lock plate of FIG. 4 is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. A spring is shown, (a) is the top view, (b) is the side view. Sectional drawing along the longitudinal direction of a slide rail apparatus. XX line cross-sectional view in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

3 Slide rail device 5 Slide rail member 10 Lower rail 12 Vertical wall (lower rail side wall)
13 Flange (lower rail side wall)
15 Lock teeth 20 Upper rail 22 Vertical wall (upper rail side wall)
23 Flange (upper rail side wall)
24 fitting hole 25 retaining groove 30 lock plate (lock member)
31 Front end portion 32 Rear end portion 32b Lock hole (engagement portion of lock member rear end portion)
34 fitting convex part 36 front side base part (front side engaging part)
37 Rear base (rear engagement part)
40 Spring 41 Front end 42 Overhang (hanging part)
43 Rear end portion 50 Operation lever 53 Groove (groove or hole that can be inserted)
54 Base end

Claims (4)

A lower rail having a plurality of locking teeth;
An upper rail attached slidably back and forth with respect to the lower rail;
A locking member attached to the upper rail;
An operating lever coupled to the locking member;
A spring for biasing the lock member and the operation lever,
The lock member includes a front end portion connected to the operation lever and a rear end portion having an engagement portion engageable with the lock teeth of the lower rail, and the engagement portion includes the lock teeth of the lower rail. Is attached to the upper rail so as to be rotatable between a lock position that engages with the lock position of the lower rail and an unlock position that separates from the lock teeth of the lower rail,
The spring has a front end engaged with the operation lever, a rear end engaged with the rear end of the lock member, and is positioned between the front end and the rear end and is a part of the upper rail. The front end portion urges the operation lever in a direction to return the operation lever to the pre-operation position, and the rear end portion is the lock member. The slide rail device is mounted on the upper rail so as to be biased toward the lock position from the unlock position. The front end portion of the lock member is provided with a front engagement portion that can be engaged with the base end portion of the operation lever.
A groove or hole into which the front end of the spring can be inserted is provided in the vicinity of the base end of the operation lever, and a spring front end that urges the operation lever in a direction to return to the pre-operation position is provided. Based on the force, the operation lever is connected to the front end portion of the lock member by locking the base end portion of the operation lever between the front engagement portion of the lock member and the front end portion of the spring. The slide rail device according to claim 1, wherein the slide rail device is provided.   The rear end portion of the lock member is provided with a rear engagement portion that can be engaged with the rear end portion of the spring when the lock member is biased toward the lock position by the spring. The slide rail device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the above-mentioned.   The latching portion of the spring is configured as an overhanging portion that protrudes from a substantially central portion of the spring toward the side wall portion of the upper rail, and the overhanging portion as the latching portion is formed on the side wall portion of the upper rail. A latching groove is formed for engaging the spring, and the spring is supported by the upper rail by engaging the protruding portion into the latching groove. The slide rail device according to any one of claims.

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