JP2015223646A - Unlocking unit and unlocking method for vehicular seat slide device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase work efficiency by enabling simple unlocking in a production process, for a seat slide device having a slide lock mechanism.SOLUTION: An upper rail, which supports a lock member, of a seat slide device including a lower rail and the upper rail is attractively attached and held by an attractive attachment and holding part so that movement thereof can be regulated. In a state in which the upper rail is attractively attached and held, an unlocking part makes the lock member pushed and moved to an unlocking position from a locking position to enable relative displacement of the upper and lower rails.

Description

  The present invention relates to a lock release device and a lock release method for a vehicle seat slide device.

  2. Description of the Related Art In general, a seat slide device for a vehicle includes a slide lock mechanism that restricts and allows sliding of an upper rail with respect to a lower rail. As a slide lock mechanism, a type in which the lock member supported in the upper rail is moved up and down as in Patent Document 1 and is engaged with and disengaged from the engaging claw on the lower rail side, or on the outer side of the upper rail as in Patent Document 2. A type is known in which a supported lock lever is rotated to be inserted into and removed from a lock hole on the lower rail side.

JP 2014-4863 A JP 2014-34292 A

  The slide lock mechanism of the seat slide device is normally biased so as to be in a locked state, and performs an unlocking operation when the seat is slid. In the manufacturing process of the seat slide device, an operation for inserting a guide means for smoothly sliding between the lower rail and the upper rail, an operation for checking the sliding state of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail, and a process for the end portion of each rail are performed. It is necessary to unlock the slide lock mechanism when performing the work to be performed. For example, in a seat slide device provided with a lock member with a built-in upper rail as in Patent Document 1, when performing an operation that requires unlocking, a lock release clip is attached to the end of the upper rail and the lock member is attached. After pressing in the unlocking direction and performing a predetermined work, the clip was removed to return to the locked state. However, since it takes time and effort to prepare the clip and supply it to the work site, to attach and remove the clip, and to transport the removed clip again, improvement in work efficiency has been demanded.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an unlocking device that contributes to an improvement in work efficiency by enabling simple unlocking in a production process for a seat slide device having a slide locking mechanism. An object is to provide an unlocking method.

  The unlocking device and unlocking method of the present invention comprise a lower rail fixed to a vehicle floor and an upper rail slidable with respect to the lower rail, and sliding of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail by the operation of a lock member supported by the upper rail The present invention is intended for a vehicle seat slide device that regulates and permits the above. The lock member restricts the sliding of the upper rail at a locked position where the locking member is engaged with the engaged portion on the lower rail side, and allows the upper rail to slide relative to the lower rail at the unlocked position where the engagement with the engaged portion is released. It is biased towards the locked position.

  In the aspect of the unlocking device of the present invention, a suction holding part that holds and holds the upper rail by suction, and a lock that presses and moves the lock member from the lock position to the unlock position while the upper rail is held by the suction holding part. A release unit is provided.

  As an example of the suction holding unit, a magnet that holds the upper rail with a magnetic force can be used.

  The unlocking part is supported by a moving part that can move in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction with respect to the upper rail. When the suction holding part does not suck and hold the upper rail, the suction holding part is locked by the movement of the moving part. In a state in which it moves together with the release portion and the suction holding portion sucks and holds the upper rail, it is preferable that the lock release portion moves alone by the movement of the moving portion and presses the lock member. As an example of a configuration for realizing such an operation, a first elevating unit having an adsorption holding unit, a second elevating unit having a lock release unit and supported by a moving unit, a first elevating unit, and a second elevating unit It is preferable that the elastic coupling means is elastically deformed when the second elevating part moves relative to the first elevating part.

  The aspect of the unlocking method of the present invention includes a step of restricting the movement by sucking and holding the upper rail, and a step of pressing and moving the lock member from the lock position to the unlock position in this sucking and holding state. Yes.

  According to the above-described unlocking device and unlocking method of the present invention, it is possible to easily unlock the seat slide device with a slide lock mechanism assembled in a state where the slide lock mechanism is assembled, thereby improving work efficiency during production. It becomes possible.

It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the vehicle seat slide apparatus from diagonally upward. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the same seat slide device from diagonally lower. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the one side part of the upper rail divided into the vertical direction and the component of the slide lock mechanism in the same seat slide apparatus from diagonally upward. It is the disassembled perspective view which looked at the one side part of the upper rail divided into the longitudinal direction and the component of the slide lock mechanism in the seat slide apparatus from diagonally downward. It is a typical side view showing a state when a lock spring is in a locked state and an unlocked state. It is a figure which shows typically the state which made the conveyance unit support the sheet slide apparatus with the lock release apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows typically the state which separated from the conveyance unit and supported the sheet slide apparatus with the lock release apparatus. It is a figure which shows typically the state which adsorbed and hold | maintained the seat slide apparatus with the lock release apparatus. It is a figure which shows typically the state which carried out lock release operation of the slide lock mechanism with respect to the sheet | seat slide apparatus attracted | sucked by the lock release apparatus. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating a state in which the lower rail is relatively moved in the sliding direction with respect to the upper rail from the state of FIG. 9.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As an order of explanation, first, the configuration of the vehicle seat slide device will be described, and then the lock release device for unlocking the seat slide device will be described. The direction in the following description is based on the arrow direction indicated in the figure. The left-right direction is the left-right direction in a state in which the user is seated on the seat and turned frontward.

  A seat slide device is provided on the interior floor of an automobile (vehicle) not shown. In this seat slide apparatus, a pair of left and right rail units 10 shown in an exploded state in FIGS. 1 and 2 are arranged in parallel, and the pair of rail units 10 have a substantially symmetrical structure with respect to each other. Hereinafter, the rail unit 10 on one side shown in the figure will be described as a representative.

  The rail unit 10 has a lower rail 20 that is fixed to the floor surface in the vehicle. The lower rail 20 is a metal channel member that extends in the front-rear direction and has an open top surface, and includes a substantially horizontal bottom wall 21, a pair of left and right outer wall portions 22 that extend upward from left and right side portions of the bottom wall 21, and left and right outer walls. A pair of left and right ceiling portions 23 extending inward from the upper edge of the portion 22 and a pair of left and right inner wall portions 24 extending downward from the inner edge of the left and right ceiling portions 23 are provided. A large number of lock teeth 25 are formed on the left and right inner wall portions 24 at equal intervals in the front-rear direction, and a lock groove (engaged portion) 26 having a lower end opened between adjacent lock teeth 25 is formed. . In FIG. 1, only the right inner wall portion 24 of the pair of left and right inner wall portions 24 is visible, but the left inner wall portion 24 has the same configuration.

  The rail unit 10 has an upper rail 30 that can slide in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower rail 20. The upper rail 30 is a metal channel member that extends in the front-rear direction and has an open bottom surface, and includes a base portion 31 that includes a ceiling portion 31a and a pair of side wall portions 31b on both sides thereof and has a substantially downward U-shaped cross-section, A pair of left and right rising walls 32 extending upward from the lower edge portions of the left and right side wall portions 31b of 31 are provided. A plurality of through holes 31 c are formed in the ceiling portion 31 a of the base portion 31 at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the upper rail 30. Each of the left and right side wall portions 31b of the base portion 31 has four longitudinal movement restricting grooves 33 at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction (that is, a total of eight on the left and right side wall portions 31b) at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the upper rail 30. Is formed. Each of the longitudinal movement restricting grooves 33 is a long groove facing in the vertical direction, and has an upper end closed by the side wall portion 31 b and a lower end closed by a connecting portion between the side wall portion 31 b and the rising wall 32. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the lower ends of two adjacent longitudinal movement restricting grooves 33 are connected by a connecting groove 33a extending in the longitudinal direction. In each rising wall 32, a relief hole 34 is formed at a position facing the longitudinal movement restricting groove 33.

  In addition, a pair of locking pieces 35 that protrude toward the center in the width direction of the upper rail 30 and are bent upward after the forward / rearward movement restricting groove 33 are cut and raised on the left and right side wall portions 31b of the base portion 31, respectively. A pair of locking pieces 36 protruding toward the center in the width direction of the upper rail 30 are formed by cutting and raising in front of the longitudinal movement restricting groove 33. Each of the pair of locking pieces 35 is formed with a groove opened upward, and the pair of locking pieces 36 protrude obliquely upward. Further, in the vicinity of the front end of the base portion 31, a pair of substantially horizontal lower support portions 37 extending inwardly from the vicinity of the lower edges of the left and right side walls toward the center in the width direction of the upper rail 30 are formed by cutting and raising. Yes. A resin front protector 38 and a rear protector 39 are attached to the front end opening and the rear end opening of the upper rail 30, respectively.

  The rail unit 10 includes a lock release lever 40 and a lock spring 50 mounted on the upper rail 30 as components of the slide lock mechanism. The lock release lever 40 is a metal channel member that is formed by press-molding a metal plate, extends in the front-rear direction, and has an open bottom surface, and has a pair of left and right side walls 41. A rotation contact convex portion 42 is formed on the upper surface of the lock release lever 40. A pair of left and right substantially horizontal spring pressing pieces 43 are provided at the rear end of the unlocking lever 40, and at the lower edge of the front part of the left and right side walls 41 (the part located in front of the rotational contact convex part 42). An upward spring-hanging groove 44 is recessed. A portion of the lock release lever 40 in front of the spring hooking groove 44 is a concave portion 45 into which a handle support member 47 can be inserted between the left and right side walls 41. A front end connecting portion 46 for connecting 41 is formed. The handle support member 47 has an elastic arm 48 that can be elastically deformed in the vertical direction while being supported in the recess 45.

  The lock spring 50 is a symmetrical member obtained by bending a metal wire. A pair of front and rear (that is, a total of four) lock portions 51 extending substantially horizontally toward the outside is formed at substantially the center of the left and right side portions of the lock spring 50 in the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each lock portion 51 has a U shape in which the distal ends of a pair of parallel projecting portions 51 a extending in the left-right direction are connected by a curved portion 51 b, and a pair of front and rear lock portions 51. Are connected by a connecting portion 52. A pair of left and right front end locking pieces 53 project outward and substantially horizontally at the front end of the lock spring 50. A rear end locking portion 54 is formed at the rear end of the lock spring 50 and connects the left and right wires to extend in the left-right direction.

  The lock release lever 40 is housed in the upper rail 30 from the front end opening (between the front end of the base 31 and the lower support 37) of the upper rail 30, and the rotational contact convex portion 42 is the ceiling 31a (lower rail 20) of the base 31. The surface facing the bottom wall 21). At this time, there is a gap between the upper surface of the unlocking lever 40 other than the rotational contact convex portion 42 and the ceiling portion 31a of the base portion 31, and the unlocking lever 40 is formed between the rotational contact convex portion 42 and the ceiling portion 31a. It is possible to rotate (swing) with the contact point as a fulcrum.

  The lock spring 50 latches the rear end latching portion 54 in the groove of the pair of latching pieces 35, and latches the portions located slightly in front of the left and right lock portions 51 to the left and right latching pieces 36 from above. The parallel projecting portions 51a constituting the lock portions 51 are engaged with the corresponding longitudinal movement restricting grooves 33 and supported by the upper rail 30. Each lock part 51 enters into the escape hole 34 formed in the rising wall 32 of the upper rail 30, thereby preventing interference between the rising wall 32 and each lock part 51. The lock spring 50 further locks the left and right front end locking pieces 53 from below to the spring engaging groove 44 of the lock release lever 4, and the left and right springs of the lock release lever 40 on the upper surface of the lock spring 50 near the left and right connection portions 52. The pressing piece 43 abuts from above.

  When the lock spring 50 is attached to the upper rail 30 and the lock release lever 40 in this way, the lock spring 50 is not released from the engagement between the rear end locking portion 54 and the locking piece 35 with respect to the upper rail 30, and the front end engagement. The stop piece 53 can move in the front-rear direction within a minute range in which the stop piece 53 maintains the engagement with the spring hooking groove 44. With respect to the upper rail 30, the movement of the lock spring 50 in the front-rear direction exceeding this minute range is restricted by the engagement between the front-rear movement restriction groove 33 and the parallel protrusion 51 a of the lock part 51. Further, the lock spring 50 in the attached state is elastically deformed to generate an upward biasing force (elastic force), and the rotational contact convex portion 42 of the lock release lever 40 is pressed against the ceiling portion 31a of the base 31 by the biasing force. The lock release lever 40 can swing around the rotation contact projection 42 (about the virtual rotation axis in the left-right direction) around the contact portion between the ceiling portion 31a and the rotation contact projection 42.

  The upper rail 30 in a state where the lock release lever 40 and the lock spring 50 are assembled is inserted into the lower rail 20 from the front end opening or the rear end opening of the lower rail 20, and the rising wall 32 of the upper rail 30 has the outer wall portion 22 and the inner wall portion of the lower rail 20. 24 enters the space formed between 24.

  Further, in the left and right spaces formed between the outer wall portion 22 and the inner wall portion 24 of the lower rail 20 and the rising wall 32 of the upper rail 30, a pair of left and right respectively supporting four metal bearing balls 56 rotatably. A lower retainer 55 (FIGS. 1 and 2) and a pair of left and right upper retainers 57 (FIGS. 1 and 2) each rotatably supporting four metal bearing balls 58 are inserted. The bearing balls 56, 58 provided on the inner surface of the rising wall 32 rotatably contact the outer surface of the rising wall 32 and the inner surface of the outer wall portion 22, and the inner surface of the rising wall 32 and the inner surface of the inner wall portion 24. By sandwiching the bearing balls 56 and 58, the lower surface of the upper rail 30 is maintained in a state of being spaced upward from the bottom wall 21 of the lower rail 20, and the upper rail 30 smoothly slides in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower rail 20. It becomes possible. Between the upper rail 30 and the lower rail 20, front and rear stopper means for determining the front moving end and the rear moving end of the upper rail 30 with respect to the lower rail 20 are provided.

  In the rail unit 10, when no upward external force is applied to the front end portion of the lock release lever 40, the lock release lever 40 is lowered to the locked position (shown in FIGS. 6 to 8) by the urging force of the lock spring 50. However, in FIGS. 6 to 8, since the rail unit 10 is supported upside down, the lock release lever 40 is held in a state where the front end portion is directed upward. When the lock release lever 40 is in the locked position, each lock portion 51 of the lock spring 50 engages with the forward / backward movement restriction groove 33 of the upper rail 30 and the corresponding lock groove 26 of the lower rail 20 to move the upper rail 30 back and forth with respect to the lower rail 20. To regulate. The parallel protrusion 51a of the lock 51 in this locked state is shown by a solid line in FIG. On the other hand, when an upward external force is applied to the front end portion of the lock release lever 40 against the urging force of the lock spring 50, the lock release lever 40 is in the unlocked position (shown in FIGS. 9 and 10). 9 and 10, since the rail unit 10 is supported upside down, the lock release lever 40 rotates in a state where the front end portion is directed downward. Then, the spring pressing piece 43 of the lock release lever 40 pushes down the vicinity of the connection portion 52, and each lock portion 51 is released downward from the corresponding lock groove 26, so that the upper rail 30 can slide in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower rail 20. Become. The parallel projecting portion 51a of the lock portion 51 in the unlocked state is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  After configuring the individual rail units 10 as described above, the pair of left and right rail units 10 are made parallel to each other and the front and rear positions thereof are aligned (the sliding position of the upper rail 30 with respect to the lower rail 20 is also matched). A seat portion of a seat (not shown) is fixed to the upper surface of the ceiling portion 31a of each upper rail 30. Further, by fixing the left and right lower rails 20 to the vehicle interior floor surface, the entire slide seat device is attached to the vehicle interior floor surface.

  A loop handle (not shown) is connected to the lock release lever 40 of the pair of left and right rail units 10. The loop handle is formed by bending a metal pipe material. One end and the other end of the loop handle are inserted into the recess 45 of each lock release lever 40, and this insertion state is maintained via the handle support member 47. . The handle support member 47 prevents the loop handle from coming off and suppresses backlash of the loop handle in the vertical direction by the urging force of the elastic arm 48. When the loop handle assembled in this way is pulled upward, a force for rotating each lock release lever 40 to the unlock position is transmitted via the front end connection portion 46.

  Next, the unlocking device 60 used in the manufacturing process of the rail unit 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. The rail unit 10 shown in FIGS. 6 to 10 has a state in which the upper rail 30 assembled with the lock release lever 40 and the lock spring 50 is inserted into the lower rail 20, and includes a front protector 38, a rear protector 39, a handle support member 47, The upper and lower retainers 55 and 57 are not attached.

  The unlocking device 60 includes a transport unit 61 that transports the rail unit 10 to a predetermined position, a lift unit 62 that moves the rail unit 10 up and down relative to the transport unit 61, and a slide lock between the lower rail 20 and the upper rail 30. And a lock release unit 63 that performs the release.

  The transport unit 61 supports and transports the rail unit 10 with the rail unit 10 turned upside down, that is, with the ceiling portion 31a of the upper rail 30 facing downward, and the upper rail 30 A front end fitting portion 66 that fits the front end portion is provided, and a support protrusion 68 that engages with the through hole 31 c in the vicinity of the rear end of the upper rail 30 is provided on the upper portion of the support leg 67.

  The lifting / lowering unit 62 includes a frame body portion 70 positioned between the support legs 65 and the support legs 67 of the transport unit 61, and a first cylinder 71 that supports the frame body portion 70 from below. It has a pair of front and rear support protrusions 72 and 73 protruding upward. The first cylinder 71 can move in the vertical direction, and the vertical position of the frame body portion 70 changes as the first cylinder 71 moves. Each of the support protrusions 72 and 73 is in a position where it can be inserted into and removed from the through-hole 31 c of the upper rail 30 (a through-hole 31 c different from that into which the support protrusion 68 of the transport unit 61 is fitted). When the part 70 is positioned downward, the support protrusions 72 and 73 are in a state of being detached downward from the corresponding through holes 31c (FIG. 6). When the frame body portion 70 is moved upward by the first cylinder 71, the support protrusions 72 and 73 are inserted into the corresponding through holes 31c to position the upper rail 30, and the rail unit 10 is moved by the upper end portion of the frame body portion 70. Can be lifted upward (FIG. 7).

  The lock release unit 63 is supported on the frame body portion 70. The unlocking unit 63 includes a cylindrical first elevating part 75 having a hollow interior, a second elevating part 76 that is movably inserted into the hollow part of the first elevating part 75, and a first elevating part. An urging spring 77 inserted between 75 and the second elevating part 76, and a second cylinder (moving part) 78 for supporting the second elevating part 76 from below. The first elevating part 75 is inserted so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the cylindrical guide 80 formed on the frame body part 70, and upward movement is restricted by an upper end stopper 81 formed at the upper end of the cylindrical guide 80. The The first elevating part 75 has a small-diameter part that protrudes upward from the central opening of the upper end stopper 81 in a state in which the first elevating part 75 is in contact with the upper end stopper 81 and the upward movement is restricted (see FIG. 8). A magnet (adsorption holding unit) 82 is provided at the upper end of the unit.

  A lower end stopper 83 that restricts the downward movement of the second elevating unit 76 is formed at the lower end of the first elevating unit 75. The urging spring 77 is a compression spring having an upper end in contact with a stepped portion in the first elevating part 75 and a lower end in contact with the flange 84 of the second elevating part 76, and the lower end stopper 83 is brought into contact with the flange 84. The first elevating part 75 is urged in the direction of contact (that is, upward). The second elevating part 76 is provided with a lock release protrusion (lock release part) 85 at the upper end opposite to the flange 84. In a state in which the flange 84 is in contact with the lower end stopper 83, the lock release protrusion 85 is stored in the hollow portion of the first elevating part 75 and does not protrude upward from the first elevating part 75 (see FIGS. 6 to 8).

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the rail unit 10 is transported by the transport unit 61 to the initial position where the lift unit 62 and the unlock unit 63 can access the lock release device 60 having the above-described configuration. In this state, the position of the rail unit 10 is determined by the engagement of the front end fitting portion 66 and the support protrusion 68 with respect to the upper rail 30. As described above, the transport unit 61 supports and transports the rail unit 10 upside down, and the ceiling portion 31a of the upper rail 30 faces downward. In the initial position shown in FIG. 6, the first cylinder 71 and the second cylinder 78 are at the lower moving ends, respectively, and the frame body portion 70 supported by the first cylinder 71 and the first lifting / lowering supported by the second cylinder 78. Both the part 75 and the second elevating part 76 are located below the ceiling part 31 a of the upper rail 30 without contacting the rail unit 10. When the rail unit 10 is supported by the transport unit 61, the lock release lever 40 is in the lock position, and the parallel protruding portions 51a of the lock portions 51 of the lock spring 50 are engaged with the lock grooves 26 of the lower rail 20 in the slide lock state. (The position of the solid line in FIG. 5).

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, the frame body 70 is moved upward by the first cylinder 71, and the rail unit 10 is lifted and separated from the transport unit 61 by the frame body 70 (the front end fitting portion 66 and the support protrusion 68. The upper rail 30 is disengaged from the upper rail 30). At this time, the support protrusions 72 and 73 are respectively engaged with the through holes 31 c of the upper rail 30 to prevent the position of the rail unit 10 relative to the frame body portion 70. Subsequently to FIG. 6, the lock release lever 40 is in the locked position and the state where the slide lock is applied is maintained at the stage of FIG. 7.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8, the second lift unit 76 is pushed upward by the second cylinder 78. In the initial stage of the push-up, neither the first elevating part 75 nor the second elevating part 76 is restricted from moving upward, and the lock release protrusion 85 is stored in the first elevating part 75 (flange 84). The first elevating part 75 and the second elevating part 76 are integrally moved upward while maintaining the state in which the lower end stopper 83 is in contact with the lower end stopper 83. When the second cylinder 78 is further moved upward, the upper end of the first elevating part 75 protrudes above the cylindrical guide 80 as shown in FIG. The upper rail 30 is made of a magnetic metal, and the magnet 82 provided at the upper end of the first elevating unit 75 magnetically attracts the upper rail 30, and the ceiling portion 31 a of the upper rail 30 is attracted to the magnet 82.

  Here, when the second elevating part 76 is further pushed upward by the second cylinder 78, the second elevating part 76 is urged against the first elevating part 75 whose upward movement is restricted by the upper end stopper 81. It moves upward alone against the urging force. At this time, the biasing spring 77 is elastically deformed. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the lock release protrusion 85 provided on the second elevating part 76 enters the upper rail 30 through the through hole 31 c (a through hole 31 c different from that into which the support protrusions 72 and 73 are fitted). The upper surface of the unlocking lever 40 in the upper rail 30 is pressed against the upper surface. The location where the unlocking protrusion 85 is pressed against the unlocking lever 40 is between the rotation contact convex portion 42 and the spring pressing piece 43, and the unlocking lever 40 is rotated from the locked position to the unlocked position by this pressing force. As a result, the parallel protrusions 51a of the lock portions 51 of the lock spring 50 pressed by the lock release lever 40 are separated from the corresponding lock grooves 26 (in the state of the two-dot chain line in FIG. 5), and the lower rail 20 and the upper rail 30 The slide lock is released. The attracting force by the magnet 82 is set so that the position of the upper rail 30 is not changed by a reaction force when the unlock lever 40 presses the unlock lever 40 to the unlock position. Can be surely performed.

  In a state where the slide lock is released by the lock release device 60 as described above, as shown in FIG. 10, the lower rail 20 can be moved in the longitudinal direction with respect to the upper rail 30 whose longitudinal position is determined. By the relative movement of the lower rail 20 and the upper rail 30, it is possible to insert the upper and lower retainers 55 and 57 between the lower rail 20 and the upper rail 30, or to check the sliding performance between the lower rail 20 and the upper rail 30. . In addition, when the lower rail 20 and the end portion of the upper rail 30 are processed, the lower rail 20 is appropriately slid in the longitudinal direction with respect to the upper rail 30. By setting the protruding amount of the first cylinder 71 in the lifting unit 62, the rail unit 10 can be positioned at a height suitable for these operations.

  When the work to be performed in the state in which the slide lock is released is completed, the second elevating unit 76 is lowered by moving the second cylinder 78 downward, the pressing of the lock release lever 40 by the lock release protrusion 85 is released, It is possible to return to the state where the slide lock is applied between the lower rail 20 and the upper rail 30 (FIG. 8). When the second elevating part 76 is lowered to a position where the flange 84 is brought into contact with the lower end stopper 83, the first elevating part 75 is pressed downward by the second elevating part 76, and the second cylinder 78 is moved downward. Accordingly, the magnet 82 is separated from the upper rail 30 and the adsorption and holding of the upper rail 30 is released (FIG. 7). Further, by moving the first cylinder 71 downward, the frame body part 70 is separated from the upper rail 30 and returned to the state in which the rail unit 10 is supported by the transport unit 61 (FIG. 6).

  In the lock release device 60 described above, the lock release unit 63 that performs the lock release operation while adsorbing and holding the upper rail 30 is provided, so that another member that temporarily holds the lock release lever 40 and the lock spring 50 in the unlock position is used. In addition, the unlocking can be easily performed in the work process of supporting and transporting the rail unit 10. Since the unlocking unit 63 operates only by the vertical movement of the second cylinder 78, the structure is simple, the operation reliability is high, and it can be obtained at low cost. Further, attracting and holding the upper rail 30 with the magnet 82 contributes to simplification of the structure.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, and can be improved or modified without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, in the unlocking device 60 of the illustrated embodiment, the magnet 82 is used as means for attracting and holding the upper rail 30 when unlocking, but a suction cup, a suction mechanism, or the like may be used instead.

  As the mechanism for moving the unlocking unit 63 and the lifting unit 62 up and down, the first cylinder 71 and the second cylinder 78 are preferably used as in the illustrated embodiment, but the structure is simple and preferable. May be moved up and down.

  The lock release device 60 of the illustrated embodiment includes a transport unit 61 and an elevating unit 62, but the transport unit 61 may be omitted when transporting the rail unit 10 by another means.

  The rail unit 10 of the illustrated embodiment includes a built-in type slide lock mechanism that supports a lock release lever 40 and a lock spring 50 in the upper rail 30, but a lock lever supported on the outside of the upper rail as in Patent Document 2 is provided. The present invention is also effective for a seat slide apparatus having a slide lock mechanism of a rotating type. This case can be dealt with by changing the position of the unlocking projection 85 of the unlocking device 60.

  In addition, when a built-in type slide lock mechanism that supports a lock member in the upper rail is a target, instead of the spring lock type in which a part of the lock spring is engaged and disengaged to the lower rail side as in the illustrated embodiment, Patent Document 1 Thus, the present invention is also effective for a seat slide device provided with a slide lock mechanism of a type that engages and disengages a lock member having no spring property to the lower rail side. In this case, with the same configuration as the lock release device 60 of the illustrated embodiment, the lock member can be directly pressed by the lock release protrusion 85 to release the lock.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rail unit 20 Lower rail 21 Bottom wall 22 Outer wall part 23 Ceiling part 24 Inner wall part 25 Lock tooth 26 Lock groove (engaged part)
30 Upper rail 31 Base part 31a Ceiling part 31b Side wall part 31c Through hole 32 Rising wall 33 Front / rear movement restriction groove 33a Connection groove 34 Relief hole 35 36 Lock piece 37 Lower support part 38 Front protector 39 Rear protector 40 Lock release lever 41 Side wall 42 Rotating contact protrusion 43 Spring pressing piece 44 Spring hook groove 45 Recess 46 Front end connecting portion 47 Handle support member 48 Elastic arm 50 Lock spring (lock member)
51 Locking portion 51a Parallel protrusion 51b Bending portion 52 Connection portion 53 Front end locking piece 54 Rear end locking portion 55 Lower retainer 56 58 Bearing ball 57 Upper retainer 60 Unlocking device 61 Transport unit 62 Lifting unit 63 Unlocking unit 65 67 Support leg 66 Front end fitting portion 68 Support protrusion 70 Frame body portion 71 First cylinder 72 73 Support protrusion 75 First lift portion 76 Second lift portion 77 Biasing spring 78 Second cylinder (moving portion)
80 Cylindrical guide 81 Upper end stopper 82 Magnet (adsorption holding part)
83 Lower end stopper 84 Flange 85 Unlocking protrusion (Unlocking part)

Claims (5)

A lower rail fixed to a vehicle floor, an upper rail slidable with respect to the lower rail; and an upper rail supported by the upper rail and engaged with an engaged portion on the lower rail side so that the upper rail slides with respect to the lower rail. A lock member that is operable to a lock position to be controlled and an unlock position that releases the engagement with the engaged portion and allows the upper rail to slide relative to the lower rail, and is biased toward the lock position. ;
In the unlocking device for unlocking the vehicle seat slide device having
A suction holding unit that holds and holds the upper rail to restrict movement; and a lock release unit that moves the lock member from the locked position to the unlocked position while the upper rail is held by the suction holding unit;
An unlocking device for a vehicle seat slide device.   The lock release device for a vehicle seat slide device according to claim 1, wherein the suction holding portion is made of a magnet that holds the upper rail with a magnetic force. The unlocking part is supported by a moving part movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction with respect to the upper rail,
In a state where the suction holding portion does not suck and hold the upper rail, the movement holding portion moves the suction holding portion together with the unlocking portion, and in a state where the suction holding portion sucks and holds the upper rail, the moving portion The unlocking device for a vehicle seat slide device according to claim 1, wherein the unlocking portion moves alone to press the locking member by movement of the vehicle.   A first elevating part having the suction holding part; a second elevating part having the unlocking part supported by the moving part; and an elasticity for elastically coupling the first elevating part and the second elevating part. 4. The unlocking device for a vehicle seat slide device according to claim 3, further comprising coupling means, wherein the elastic coupling means is elastically deformed when the second elevating part moves relative to the first elevating part. A lower rail fixed to a vehicle floor, an upper rail slidable with respect to the lower rail; and an upper rail supported by the upper rail and engaged with an engaged portion on the lower rail side so that the upper rail slides with respect to the lower rail. A lock member that is operable to a lock position to be controlled and an unlock position that releases the engagement with the engaged portion and allows the upper rail to slide relative to the lower rail, and is biased toward the lock position. ;
In the unlocking method of the vehicle seat slide device having
Holding the upper rail by suction and restricting movement; and, in the suction holding state, pressing and moving the lock member from the lock position to the unlock position;
A method for unlocking a vehicle seat slide device, comprising:

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