JP2021030928A - Seat slide device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress deformation volume of a lock component when receiving an impact load in a cross direction, and achieve stability and improvement of lock strength.SOLUTION: A lock component 117 is attached to an upper rail 105 at an oscillation fulcrum part 151, and comprises, at an end part on a rear side of the oscillation fulcrum part 151, five lock teeth 125b (125b1 to 125b10) along a cross direction on both of left and right sides. The lock component comprises, in left and right lower inside walls 103e of a lower rail 103, a plurality of lock grooves 127 in the cross direction with which the lock tooth 125b engages from below. The plurality of lock grooves 127 have groove widths in the cross direction which are equal to each other in design. A width L1 in the cross direction of the lock tooth 125b3, which is positioned on the right side of the center in the cross section, of the plurality of lock teeth 125b is largest among widths of other lock teeth in the cross direction, and a width L2 of the lock tooth 125b8, which is positioned on the left side of the center in the cross direction, of the plurality of lock teeth 125b, is second largest after the width L1 of the lock tooth 125b1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 14

Description

The present invention relates to a seat slide device provided in a vehicle.

In the vehicle seat slide device, the upper rail fixed to the seat is provided so as to be slidable with respect to the lower rail fixed to the vehicle body, and the lock portion (lock tooth) of the lock member attached to the upper rail is engaged with the lock groove of the lower rail. Let it lock.

The lock member of Patent Document 1 is set so that the lock portion at the foremost portion of a plurality of lock portions provided along the vehicle front-rear direction is fitted without a gap when engaged with the lock groove, and other lock members are provided. The engagement between the lock portion and the lock groove is set so as to be loosely fitted. This prevents rattling of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, stabilizes the position where the lock portion enters the lock groove, and stabilizes the lock strength. On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses a lock member in which a lock portion is formed on both the left and right sides.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-329594 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-98610

Here, as in Patent Document 1, in setting the lock portion at the foremost portion so as to be fitted without a gap when engaged with the lock groove, the lock portions on both the left and right sides disclosed in Patent Document 2 are set. When each of the above is fitted without a gap, the accessibility of the lock portion to the lock groove is reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to set the fitting without a gap to only one of the lock portions on the left and right sides.

However, when the fitting without a gap is only one of the left and right, when an impact is received in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the lock member has the fitting portion without a gap as a support point and the front-rear direction of the vehicle as the axis. It is conceivable that twisting deformation occurs, and the lock portion at a position opposite to the fitting portion having no gap in the portion away from the lock portion at the foremost portion comes into contact with the lock groove. In such a phenomenon, since the lock portion and the lock groove have dimensional variations at the time of manufacture, a plurality of fitting portions other than the fitting portion having no gap do not come into contact with each other at the same time, and the left and right sides are reversed. It can occur in any one of the plurality of locks in the position. Here, for example, when the frontmost lock portion on the right side and the rearmost lock portion on the left side come into contact with each other, the lock member is deformed in the vertical direction so as to rotate with these two lock portions as support points, and the inclination is tilted. When it occurs, it may receive a force to move in the direction away from the lower rail.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to stabilize and improve the lock strength by suppressing the amount of deformation of the lock member when an impact load is applied in the front-rear direction.

The seat slide device of the present invention has a lower rail extending along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, an upper rail that moves relative to the longitudinal direction of the lower rail, and a swingable fulcrum on the upper rail in the vertical direction. It has a lock tooth attached to the lower rail and can be engaged with the lock groove formed in the lower rail, and has a lock member urged in the lock direction to engage the lock tooth with the lock groove. A plurality of the lock grooves are provided on the left and right sides of the lower rail along the vehicle front-rear direction, and five lock teeth are provided on the left and right sides of the lock member along the vehicle front-rear direction. Between one of the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center of the five lock teeth in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and the lock groove in which one of the lock teeth engages, in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. There is no gap. Between the other of the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center of the five lock teeth in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and the lock groove in which the lock tooth of the other one is engaged, in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A gap narrower than the gap in the vehicle front-rear direction formed between the other lock teeth excluding the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center and the lock groove in which the other lock teeth engage is formed in the vehicle front-rear direction. Has been done.

According to the present invention, when an impact load is applied in the front-rear direction, a pair of left and right lock teeth located at the center in the front-rear direction come into contact with the lock groove before other lock teeth. In this case, by engaging the left and right lock teeth located at the center in the front-rear direction with the lock groove, it is possible to suppress the generation of a force that causes the other lock teeth of the lock member to be deformed in the vertical direction. As a result, the amount of deformation of the lock member can be suppressed to stabilize and improve the lock strength.

It is a perspective view which shows the state which the lock member, the release lever and the operation handle are assembled with the lower rail together with the upper rail of the seat slide device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a side sectional view of FIG. It is a cross-sectional view of III-III which omitted the lower rail of FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line VV of FIG. It is an exploded perspective view which removed the ball retainer provided with the lower guide ball and the upper guide ball with respect to the lower rail. It is a perspective view of the upper rail. It is a perspective view of the fixture for attaching a lock member to an upper rail. It is a side view of the fixture of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the part A of FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. It is a perspective view of the release lever. It is a perspective view of a lock member. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the lock teeth of the lock member are engaged with the lock groove of the lower rail. FIG. 14 is a side view of the engaged state of FIG. 14 as viewed from the inside of the upper side wall on the right side of the upper rail. It is a top view of the release lever. It is a side view of the release lever. It is a front view seen from the front of the release lever. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the lock member was assembled with the release lever including the operation handle. FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX-XX of FIG. It is a top view which shows a part of the operation handle. It is a side view which shows a part of the operation handle. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXIII-XXIII of FIG. FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXIV-XXIV of FIG. FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view when the operation handle is pushed downward with respect to FIG. FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which the rear end portion of the lock member is inclined in the front-rear direction as a whole when the lock member receives an impact load in the front-rear direction. It is an operation explanatory view which shows the comparative example with respect to FIG.

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

The seat slide device 101 according to the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is a manual type that manually adjusts the vehicle seat in the front-rear direction. The seat slide device 101 is installed on the floor surface of the vehicle and extends along the vehicle front-rear direction, and is installed on the back surface of the seat seat portion (not shown) along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail 103. Therefore, it is provided with an upper rail 105 that can be assembled so as to be relatively movable in the lower rail 103.

The lower rail 103 and the upper rail 105 form a rail body 106, and a pair of left and right rail bodies 106 are provided. In the following explanation, "front" is the left side vehicle front FR side in FIG. 1, "rear" is the right side vehicle rear RR side in FIG. 1, and "left and right" is the vehicle front from the vehicle rear. It is the left-right direction when viewed.

The lower rail 103 includes a lower bottom wall 103a having a rectangular plate shape extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, which is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. A pair of left and right lower outer walls 103b rise from both ends of the lower bottom wall 103a in the vehicle width direction so as to incline slightly outward from the lower bottom wall 103a. A lower inclined wall 103c is formed between the lower end of the pair of left and right lower outer walls 103b and the lower bottom wall 103a.

A pair of left and right lower upper walls 103d are provided so as to extend in parallel with the lower bottom wall 103a in a direction approaching each other from the upper end edges of the pair of left and right lower outer walls 103b. A pair of left and right lower inner side walls 103e are provided so as to hang downward from the inner edge of the pair of left and right lower upper walls 103d toward the lower bottom wall 103a. The distance between the lower inner side walls 103e that face each other in a parallel state is set so that the upper rail 105 housed in the lower rail 103 can move.

The upper rail 105 includes an upper top wall 105a having a rectangular plate shape extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, as shown in FIG. 5 which is a VV cross-sectional view of FIGS. 2 and 2. A pair of left and right upper side walls 105b hang downward from both ends of the upper top wall 105a in the vehicle width direction. From the lower end edges of both upper side walls 105b, the upper inclined wall 105c rises diagonally upward on the outer side of each. From the upper end edge of the pair of left and right upper lower inclined walls 105c, the upper upper inclined wall 105e rises diagonally upward toward the lower upper wall 103d via the bent portion 105d.

The lower guide ball 107 is rotatably arranged between the lower arc portion 103f between the lower bottom wall 103a of the lower rail 103 and the lower inclined wall 103c and the upper lower inclined wall 105c of the upper rail 105. The upper guide ball 109 is rotatably arranged between the upper arc portion 103g between the lower outer wall 103b of the lower rail 103 and the lower upper wall 103d and the upper upper inclined wall 105e of the upper rail 105.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lower guide ball 107 and the upper guide ball 109 are rotatably supported by the ball retainer 111, which is omitted in FIG. The ball retainer 111 supports two lower guide balls 107 and two upper guide balls 109, for a total of four balls. The ball retainer 111 in a state of supporting the lower guide ball 107 and the upper guide ball 109 has a housing portion 113 surrounded by a lower outer wall 103b, a lower inclined wall 103c, a lower upper wall 103d, and a lower inner side wall 103e (FIG. 5). Two places are arranged in the front and rear, and a total of four places are arranged with respect to the pair of left and right rail bodies 106.

As shown in FIG. 2, the lock member 117 is fixed to the upper top wall 105a on the front side of the upper rail 105 by a fixture 115 such as a rivet. The lock member 117 is composed of a plate-shaped spring member. The lock member 117 includes a fixing hole 119a into which the fixing tool 115 is inserted into the fixing portion 119 as a base portion fixed by the fixing tool 115. Here, the upper top wall 105a of the upper rail 105 is formed with a peripheral portion of the upper fixing hole 105f recessed downward with respect to a portion of the other upper top wall 105a. As a result, the head of the fixture 115 is set so as not to protrude from the other upper surface of the upper top wall 105a of the upper rail 105.

8 and 9 show the fixture 115 before mounting. As shown in FIG. 10, which is an enlarged view of the A portion of FIG. 2, the fixture 115 is inserted into the fixing hole 119a and the upper fixing hole 105f from below into the insertion shaft portion 115a and the lower portion of the insertion shaft portion 115a. It includes a large-diameter portion 115b formed and having a diameter larger than that of the insertion shaft portion 115a, and a flange portion 115c formed in the lower portion of the large-diameter portion 115b opposite to the insertion shaft portion 115a.

The flange portion 115c is a locking protrusion 147e provided on the left and right side walls 147 of the release lever 131 shown in FIG. 12, which will be described later, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 which is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. It is located below. As shown in FIG. 12, the locking protrusion 147e is located slightly forward of the central position in the front-rear direction, and is formed by cutting inward from the side wall 147 which is a part of the release lever 131. is there.

As shown in FIG. 11, the locking protrusion 147e has an upper portion connected to the side wall 147, a lower portion cut with respect to the side wall 147, and the cut lower end surface 147e1 facing the upper surface 115c1 of the flange portion 115c. There is. A gap T is formed between the lower end surface 147e1 and the upper surface 115c1. By providing the gap T, it is possible to swing the release lever 131 in the vertical direction with the swing fulcrum portion 151 described later as a fulcrum.

The fixing portion 119 of the lock member 117 shown in FIG. 13 extends in the front-rear direction substantially parallel to the upper top wall 105a shown in FIG. It is formed. A rear elastically deformed portion 123 as an elastically deformed portion extends from the rear end of the rearly inclined portion 121 toward the rear substantially parallel to the fixed portion 119. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear end portion 125 of the rear elastically deformed portion 123 has a wider width in the left-right direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3) than the rear elastically deformed portion 123, and is rectangular in a plan view. ..

At the rear end portion 125, four rectangular holes 125a are formed in the vicinity of the left and right side edges along the front-rear direction. Here, a portion of the rear end portion 125 adjacent to each hole 125a in the front-rear direction constitutes a lock tooth 125b which is a lock portion protruding to both the left and right sides. Five lock teeth 125b are formed on each of the left and right sides. The five lock teeth 125b on each of the left and right sides are connected at the tip end side by a connecting portion 125c extending in the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the vicinity of substantially the center of the upper rail 105 in the front-rear direction, five lock tooth receiving recesses 129 are formed along the front-rear direction from the left and right upper side walls 105b to the lower inclined walls 105c of both uppers. ing. As shown in FIG. 2, the five lock teeth 125b of the lock member 117 are inserted into the five lock tooth receiving recesses 129 from below. At this time, the protrusions 126 between the lock tooth receiving recesses 129 are inserted into the holes 125a of the lock member 117.

At that time, in order to prevent the vicinity of the connecting portion 125c of the rear end portion 125 from interfering with the upper rail 105, the opening 128 continuous to the lower part of the lock tooth receiving recess 129 and the notch opening formed in the upper inclined wall 105e. The 130 and the bulging portion 132 in which the bent portion 105d is bulged outward in the left-right direction are provided on both the left and right sides of the upper rail 105. As shown in FIG. 2, stoppers 120 and 122 projecting downward are formed on the front side and the rear side of the opening 128. The stoppers 120 and 122 restrict the movement of the upper rail 105 to the front side and the rear side with respect to the lower rail 103 by contacting the raised portions 103s and 103t formed on the lower rail 103, respectively.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of lock grooves 127 as locked portions are provided along the front-rear direction near the center of the lower rail 103 in the front-rear direction. When the lock tooth 125b of the lock member 117 enters the lock groove 127 from below while being located in the lock tooth receiving recess 129, the lock member 117 is locked with respect to the lower rail 103. As a result, the upper rail 105 to which the lock member 117 is attached is restricted from moving in the front-rear direction with respect to the lower rail 103.

The lock member 117 is attached to the upper rail 105, and the rear elastic deformation portion 123 applies an elastic force upward to maintain the state in which the lock teeth 125b are inserted into the lock groove 127. From this state, by operating the operation handle 133 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 upward, the rear end portion 125 of the lock member 117 is pushed downward via the release lever 131, and the lock is released. The operation handle 133 is inserted into the upper rail 105 from the front portion and is arranged so as to be interlocked with the release lever 131.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a state in which a total of 10 lock teeth 125b, five on each side of the lock member 117, are engaged with the lock groove 127 of the lower rail 103. FIG. 15 is a side view of the engaged state of FIG. 14 as viewed from the inside of the upper side wall 105b on the right side of the upper rail 105, and the lower bottom wall 103a of the lower rail 103 is omitted.

In FIGS. 14 and 15, the five lock teeth 125b on the right side (upper side in FIG. 14) are designated as lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b3, 125b4, 125b5 in order from the front side (left side in FIG. 14), and the left side (upper side in FIG. 14). The five lock teeth 125b on the lower side in FIG. 14 are the lock teeth 125b6, 125b7, 125b8, 125b9, 125b10 in order from the front side (left side in FIG. 14).

Here, the width of the lock groove 127 in the front-rear direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 14, the same applies hereinafter) is the same in design. On the other hand, the lock teeth 125b have the lock teeth 125b3, 125b8 located in the center in the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the width in the front-rear direction, and the other eight lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4, 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, Greater than 125b10. Further, the width L1 of the lock tooth 125b3 in the center on the right side is larger than the width L2 of the lock tooth 125b8 in the center on the left side (L1> L2).

That is, the width L1 of the lock tooth 125b3 is the largest, and the width L2 of the lock tooth 125b8 is the second largest after the lock tooth 125b3. The width L of the other eight 125b1, 125b2, 125b4, 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, 125b10 in the anteroposterior direction is smaller than the width L2 of the lock tooth 125b8 and is equivalent to each other (L1> L2> L).

With the above configuration, the front and rear ends of the lock tooth 125b3 are in contact with the front and rear ends of the lock groove 127, respectively, and there is no gap in the front-rear direction with respect to the lock groove 127. The lock teeth 125b8 form a slight gap in the front-rear direction with respect to the lock groove 127. In the other eight lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4, 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, 125b10, a front-rear gap formed with respect to the lock groove 127 is formed between the lock tooth 125b8 and the lock groove 127. It is larger than the gap in the front-back direction. The size of the gap is the sum of the gaps on both sides of the lock tooth 125b in the front-rear direction. The gaps are formed on both sides of the lock tooth 125b in the front-rear direction in the same design.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 13, the lock member 117 includes protrusions 119b that project laterally from the left and right side portions of the fixing portion 119 at positions corresponding to the fixing holes 119a. The projecting portion 119b projects laterally with the same thickness as the plate thickness of the lock member 117 including the fixing portion 119, and has a rectangular shape in a plan view. As shown in FIGS. 2, 10 and 13, the lock member 117 has a front inclined portion 135 formed in front of the lock member 117 on the opposite side of the fixed portion 119 from the rear inclined portion 121. The forward inclined portion 135 is inclined so as to be downward toward the front.

A front elastic deformation portion 141 extending substantially parallel to the fixing portion 119 is formed from the front end (lower end) of the front inclined portion 135 toward the front. At the front end of the front elastically deformed portion 141, a front end claw portion 145 that serves as a fitting projection that bends upward is formed. An inclined portion 141a is formed on the front end claw portion 145 side of the front elastic deformation portion 141. The front inclined portion 135 side of the inclined portion 141a is a flat surface portion 141b. The inclined portion 141a is inclined so that the front end claw portion 145 side is located above the flat surface portion 141b side.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, the front end claw portion 145 is fitted from below into the through hole 169h formed on the lower surface of the operation handle 133. The front elastically deformed portion 141 presses the operation handle 133 upward with the front end claw portion 145 inserted into the through hole 169h. The pressing force of the front elastically deformed portion 141 on the operation handle 133 is set to be weaker than the pressing force of the rear elastically deformed portion 123 on the lock groove 127 by the lock teeth 125b. The lock member 117 is attached to the upper rail 105, and the front side of the front elastically deformed portion 141 from the inclined portion 141a projects forward from the upper rail 105.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 16 to 18, the release lever 131 is an upper wall connecting the upper ends of the left and right side walls 147 and the upper ends of the left and right side walls 147 in a region near the rear end of the left and right side walls 147. It has 149 and. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 19, the lock member 117 is arranged between the left and right side walls 147 of the release lever 131 except for the vicinity of the front portion and the vicinity of the rear portion. That is, the release lever 131 is provided at a position where the lock member 117 and the upper rail 105 overlap each other in the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction.

A recess 147a is formed at the upper end of the side wall 147 on the front side from the intermediate position in the front-rear direction of the release lever 131. The recess 147a is located above the locking protrusion 147e and has an arcuate concave curved surface with an open top. As shown in FIG. 17, the recess 147a is arranged below the left and right protrusions 119b of the lock member 117, and the lower portion of the protrusion 119b is engaged with the recess 147a. The protrusion 119b of the lock member 117 and the recess 147a of the release lever 131 form a swing fulcrum portion 151 when the release lever 131 and the operation handle 133 integrally swing up and down. The swing fulcrum portion 151 coincides with the portion fixed to the upper rail 105 by the lock member 117 in the front-rear direction.

The release lever 131 includes a release pressing portion 153 extending rearward from the upper wall 149. A curved convex portion 153a is formed in the lower portion of the release pressing portion 153 on the tip end side so as to be curved downward. The curved convex portion 153a is in contact with the upper surface of the rear end portion 125 of the rear elastic deformation portion 123 of the lock member 117. A protrusion 149a formed by cutting and raising upward is formed on the upper wall 149. The protrusion 149a serves as a stopper that comes into contact with the upper top wall 105a of the upper rail 105 when the release lever 131 and the operation handle 133 swing and rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 2 with the swing fulcrum portion 151 as a fulcrum. ..

In the release lever 131, the upper ends of the front end portions of the left and right side walls 147 are connected to each other by the front upper wall 157. As shown in FIG. 5, an engaging protrusion 157b projecting downward is formed at the center of the front upper wall 157. The engaging projection 157b has, for example, an oval shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and can be formed by embossing.

The engaging protrusion 157b engages with the engaging hole 169c formed on the upper surface of the operation handle 133, which will be described later. When the operation handle 133 is urged upward by the front elastic deformation portion 141 of the lock member 117, the engagement hole 169c engages with the engagement projection 157b as shown in FIGS. 5, 10, and 20. ..

A pair of projecting shaped portions 147m are formed on the upper portions of both side walls 147 behind the operating portion 159 so as to project toward the sides facing each other. The pair of projecting shaped portions 147m are formed by projecting the upper ends of the side wall 147 in a bridge shape along the length direction, and are formed long in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 19, the tip end side of the connecting portion 169 described later of the operation handle 133 is arranged below the pair of protruding shape portions 147 m.

A locking claw 147m1 is formed at the lower end of the pair of protruding shape portions 147m. The locking claw 147m1 projects downward from the lower end surface of the protruding shape portion 147m at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction of the protruding shape portion 147m. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, a substantially V-shaped locking groove 169d is formed on the upper surface of the operation handle 133 on the tip end side. The locking groove 169d is locked to the locking claw 147m1 when the tip side of the connecting portion 169 is displaced upward as the operation handle 133 is pushed downward in the direction opposite to the unlocking direction.

The left and right side walls 147 at the end on the actuating portion 159 side are formed with lower flanges 147n that bend in a direction approaching each other from the lower end edge. The lower flange 147n is formed in a region from the front end portion of the release lever 131 to the rear side beyond the protruding shape portion 147m via the notch portion 147o. The amount of protrusion of the pair of lower flanges 147n in the direction of approaching each other is substantially the same as the amount of protrusion of the pair of protruding shape portions 147m in the direction of approaching each other. The flanges are set so that they can pass between the flanges 147n.

A stopper portion 147p that bends upward is formed at the rear end portion of the lower flange 147n. The stopper portion 147p is located near the rear end portion of the protruding shape portion 147m. The lower flange 147n on the front side of the stopper portion 147p is formed with a notch recess 147q that is recessed toward the side wall 147. As shown in FIG. 18, the stopper portion 147p is inclined so that the upper end is located on the center side in the left-right direction with respect to the lower end. As shown in FIG. 10, the stopper portion 147p faces the tip of the operation handle 133 on the rear side, and when the operation handle 133 moves rearward with respect to the release lever 131, the stopper portion 147p is on the rear side of the operation handle 133. The tip abuts.

As shown in FIG. 17, an arc projection 147r is formed on the lower flange 147n on the opposite side of the stopper portion 147p with the notch recess 147q in between. The arc projection 147r projects upward so that the upper surface has an arc shape along the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 10, the lower surface of the operation handle 133 on the connecting portion 169 side abuts on the arc projection 147r from above. The arc projection 147r may be formed over the entire area of the lower flange 147n in the left-right direction, although it may be at a position where at least the connecting portion 169 of the lower flange 147n abuts.

Next, the operation handle 133 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 21 and 22, the operation handle 133 connects the pair of left and right arm portions 167 provided corresponding to the pair of left and right rail bodies 106 shown in FIG. 1 and the pair of arm portions 167 to each other to form a vehicle width. It is provided with a grip portion 168 extending in the direction, and has a substantially U-shape in a plan view as a whole. The arm portion 167 has a connecting portion 169 formed on the opposite side of the grip portion 168.

The grip portion 168 side of the arm portion 167 includes an upward arm 167c extending upward from the connecting portion 169, a horizontal arm 167a extending inward in the vehicle width direction from the upper end of the upward arm 167c, and a horizontal arm 167a and a grip portion 168. It is bent with an inclined arm 167b that connects the two. In FIGS. 21 and 22, the area around the left arm portion 167 is shown, and the right side is omitted. The pair of arm portions 167 extend in the front-rear direction and are inserted into the left and right upper rails 105 from the front ends. The grip portion 168 grips the operation handle 133 when the occupant operates it.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 19, the rear end portion of the arm portion 167 is inserted between the left and right side walls 147 of the release lever 131. The arm portion 167 is entirely composed of a cylindrical member including the grip portion 168, and the rear side from the periphery of the portion provided with the through hole 169h described above is a connecting portion 169 having a shape in which the cylindrical portion is crushed from above and below. There is. The crushed shape of the connecting portion 169 differs between the front portion 169f on the grip portion 168 side and the rear portion 169r on the front end side (rear side) opposite to the grip portion 168 with the front portion 169f in between.

As shown in FIG. 23, the front portion 169f includes a curved concave portion 169e whose lower surface is recessed upward in a curved shape. The left and right ends of the curved concave portion 169e are connected to the lower end of the side wall portion 169k via a curved bent portion 169j. The upper end of the side wall portion 169k is connected to the arc-shaped portion 169s on the upper surface. The above-mentioned through hole 169h is formed at the center in the left-right direction of the arc-shaped portion 169s located close to the rear portion 169r. As shown in FIG. 24, the rear portion 169r has a substantially M-shaped cross section. The processing of the M-shaped portion is performed, for example, after processing the entire connecting portion 169 after processing the curved concave portion 169e as in the front portion 169f.

As shown in FIG. 22, the lower surface of the front portion 169f and the rear portion 169r are substantially the same, and the rear portion 169r is located lower than the front portion 169f in the vertical direction on the upper surface. With respect to the upper surfaces of the front portion 169f and the rear portion 169r, the portion between the front portion 169f and the rear portion 169r is inclined as an inclined portion 169 g. As shown in FIG. 21, the widths of the front portion 169f and the rear portion 169r in the left-right direction are substantially the same. As shown in FIG. 24, the substantially M-shaped portion of the rear portion 169r extends in a direction approaching each other from the upper ends of a pair of vertical wall portions 169r1 extending in the vertical direction at both left and right positions and a pair of vertical wall portions 169r1. It includes a horizontal wall portion 169r2 and a curved wall portion 169r3 formed between the left and right horizontal wall portions 169r2.

The upper surface of the curved wall portion 169r3 is curved in a concave shape, and the lower end of the portion protruding downward is located above the lower end of the vertical wall portion 169r1 in the vertical direction. The vertical wall portion 169r1, the horizontal wall portion 169r2, and the curved wall portion 169r3 here include both the outer portion (upper portion) and the inner portion (lower portion) in a state where the cylindrical member is vertically crushed, respectively. .. The outer portion (upper portion) and the inner portion (lower portion) are in close contact with each other or a gap is formed between them.

As shown in FIG. 10, the above-mentioned through hole 169h is formed in the lower portion near the front end of the front portion 169f. With the front end claw portion 145 inserted into the through hole 169h, the lock member 117 presses the operation handle 133 upward by the front elastic deformation portion 141. A bent piece 169i bent inward is formed at the front end of the through hole 169h. The bent piece 169i and the front end claw portion 145 face each other in the front-rear direction.

In this state, the operation handle 133 is pressed from below by the upper surface of the front portion 169f against the lower surface of the front upper wall 157 (acting portion 159) while the engagement hole 169c is engaged with the engagement protrusion 157b of the release lever 131. Be done. On the other hand, the lower end of the vertical wall portion 169r1 of the substantially M-shaped portion of the rear portion 169r is pressed against the arc projection 147r shown in FIG. 10 from above and comes into contact with the vertical wall portion 169r1. At this time, a pair of protruding shaped portions 147 m of the release lever 131 are located above the left and right horizontal wall portions 169r2 of the substantially M-shaped portion.

As shown in FIG. 20, in the operation handle 133, the left and right side wall portions 169k of the front portion 169f are the left and right side walls of the release lever 131 in a state where the engagement hole 169c is engaged with the engagement protrusion 157b of the release lever 131. It is close to 147. At this time, the lower end of the front portion 169f (the lower end of the bent portion 169j) is separated from the lower flange 147n of the release lever 131 by forming a gap S.

Next, the operation of the seat slide device 101 configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 2 shows a lock holding state in which the lock teeth 125b of the lock member 117 shown in FIG. 13 are engaged with the lock groove 127 of the lower rail 103 and locked. From this state, when the occupant operates the operation handle 133 upward, as shown in FIG. 10, the rear portion 169r of the connecting portion 169 presses the arc projection 147r downward while the front portion 169f of the operation handle 133f. Presses the lower surface of the operating portion 159 upward. At this time, the operating force toward the upper side of the operating handle 133 is transmitted to the release lever 131 via the operating portion 159.

As a result, the operation handle 133, together with the release lever 131, swings and rotates integrally in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 with the swing fulcrum portion 151 as the center. At this time, the release lever 131 is unlocked by the curved convex portion 153a of the release pressing portion 153 shown in FIGS. 12 and 19 pushing down the rear end portion 125 of the lock member 117.

After determining the front-rear position of the seat in the unlocked state, when the occupant releases the operation handle 133, the rear elastic deformation portion 123 of the lock member 117 pushes the release pressing portion 153 upward, and the release lever 131 is released. It swings and rotates to return to the lock holding state shown in FIG. At this time, the release lever 131 swings and rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 around the swing fulcrum portion 151 together with the operation handle 133.

In the state of FIG. 2, for example, it is assumed that the vehicle collides from behind and the heel of the occupant collides with the operation handle 133 toward the rear. In this case, as the operation handle 133 moves rearward, the rear portion 169r comes into contact with the stopper portion 147p of the release lever 131, and the rearward movement of the operation handle 133 with respect to the release lever 131 is restricted.

In the release lever 131, when the stopper portion 147p receives a load from the operation handle 133 toward the rear, the recess 147a at the swing fulcrum portion 151 is disengaged from the protruding portion 119b of the lock member 117, and the release lever 131 moves rearward together with the operation handle 133. To do. As a result, the impact when the heel of the occupant collides with the operation handle 133 is alleviated.

The lock member 117 and the release lever 131 are assembled to each other before being assembled to the upper rail 105. The operation handle 133 inserts the connecting portion 169 from the front end opening of the release lever 131 while bending the front elastic deformation portion 141 of the lock member 117 downward in a state where the lock member 117 and the release lever 131 are assembled to the upper rail 105. .. At this time, the front end claw portion 145 of the lock member 117 moves relative to the lower side of the curved wall portion 169r3 of the substantially M-shaped portion and the inner surface of the curved surface recess 169e while sliding or in close proximity to the curved wall portion 169r3.

As a result, the rear portion 169r (substantially M-shaped portion) of the connecting portion 169 is inserted between the protruding shape portion 147m and the lower flange 147n, and the front end claw portion 145 of the lock member 117 enters the through hole 169h. As a result, the assembly as shown in FIGS. 2 and 10 is completed. As described above, the operation handle 133 only needs to be inserted into the release lever 131 in a state where the front elastically deformed portion 141 of the lock member 117 is bent downward, and the assembling workability of the operation handle 133 is improved.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the engaging projection 157b and the engaging hole 169c are engaged with each other, and the locking claw 147m1 and the locking groove 169d are separated from each other. A gap is formed between the rear end of the rear portion 169r and the stopper portion 147p.

When the operation handle 133 is inserted into the release lever 131, about half of the front portion 169f is inserted following the rear portion 169r in the front-rear direction. At that time, as shown in FIG. 20, a gap S is formed between the lower flange 147n of the release lever 131 and the connecting portion 169 (front portion 169f) of the operation handle 133. Therefore, the work of inserting the connecting portion 169 into the release lever 131 becomes easy.

A lower flange 147n is located below the actuating portion 159 at the front end of the release lever 131. In this state, when the periphery of the grip portion 168 is pushed downward, the rear portion 169r of the operation handle 133 is displaced upward with the front end portion of the lower surface of the operating portion 159 as a fulcrum while elastically deforming the front elastic deformation portion 141. , The rear portion 169r engages with the protruding shape portion 147m. When the operation handle 133 is further pushed downward, the operation handle 133 swings counterclockwise in FIGS. 2 and 10 with the lower surface of the protruding shape portion 147 m as a fulcrum, and is in the state shown in FIG. 25. As shown in FIG. 20, the swing of the operation handle 133 in the counterclockwise direction is facilitated by forming a gap S between the lower flange 147n of the release lever 131 and the operation handle 133.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 25, the engaging projection 157b and the engaging hole 169c are disengaged, and the rear portion 169r of the connecting portion 169 is displaced upward. The upward displacement of the rear portion 169r locks the locking claw 147m1 and the locking groove 169d. The locking claw 147m1 is formed so as to prevent the operation handle 133 from coming off forward from the release lever 131 by entering the locking groove 169d.

When the operation handle 133 receives a downward load, it is possible to suppress the release lever 131 from coming off forward, which improves reliability and also causes a load to act on the lock member 117 in the front-rear direction. Can be suppressed. Further, when the bent portion 169j of the connecting portion 169 shown in FIG. 20 comes into contact with the front end portion of the lower flange 147n, it is possible to prevent the grip portion 168 of the operation handle 133 from moving downward more than necessary.

In this embodiment, the lower rail 103 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the upper rail 105 that moves relative to the lower rail 103 in the longitudinal direction, and the upper rail 105 swing in the vertical direction around the swing fulcrum portion 151. A lock tooth 125b that is freely attached and can be engaged with the lock groove 127 formed in the lower rail 103, and a lock member 117 that is urged in the locking direction to engage the lock tooth 125b with the lock groove 127. Have. A plurality of lock grooves 127 are provided on both the left and right sides of the lower rail 103 along the vehicle front-rear direction, and five lock teeth 125b are provided along the vehicle front-rear direction on both the left and right sides of the lock member 117.

Of the five lock teeth 125b, there is no gap in the vehicle front-rear direction between the lock tooth 125b3 on the right side located in the center of the vehicle front-rear direction and the lock groove 127 with which the lock tooth 125b3 engages. Of the plurality of lock teeth 125b, a pair of left and right lock teeth 125b3 located at the center between the left lock tooth 125b8 located at the center in the vehicle front-rear direction and the lock groove 127 with which the lock tooth 125b8 engages. A gap narrower than the gap in the vehicle front-rear direction formed between the other lock teeth other than 125b8 and the lock groove 127 with which the other lock teeth engage is formed in the vehicle front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 15, the lock groove 127 has a groove width in the front-rear direction that is wider in the lower portion than in the upper portion, and the position where the upper corner portion of the lock tooth 125b3 and the lock groove 127 contact is locked. It is about one-third from the bottom of the groove at the height position of the groove 127 in the vertical direction. In this locked state, a gap in the front-rear direction is formed between the other lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4 to 125b10 and the lock groove 127.

In this case, normally, only the lock tooth 125b3 in the center on the right side is in contact with the lock groove 127 at both the front and rear ends and does not form a gap. On the other hand, the other nine lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4 to 125b10 are not in contact with the lock groove 127 at both front and rear ends, forming a gap. Therefore, the accessibility of the lock tooth 125b to the lock groove 127 is ensured. However, the gap in the front-rear direction of the lock tooth 125b with respect to the lock groove 127 is such that the lock tooth 125b8 in the center on the left side of the nine lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4 to 125b10 has the other eight lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4. Both front and rear are narrower than 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, 125b10.

In this state, for example, when a vehicle collides in the front-rear direction and the rail body 106 composed of the lower rail 103 and the upper rail 105 receives an impact load in the front-rear direction, the lower rail 103 and the upper rail 105 are relative to each other in the front-rear direction. Receives force in the direction in which the deviation occurs. Then, a force is also applied between the lower rail 103 (lock groove 127) and the lock member 117 (lock teeth 125b) attached to the upper rail 105 in a direction in which a relative displacement occurs in the front-rear direction.

Here, since the lock tooth 125b3 at the center of the right side and the lock groove 127 are engaged with each other in the front-rear direction without a gap, the above-mentioned force is first received at the engaging portion. After that, the lock tooth 125b8 whose front-rear gap between the lock groove 127 and the lock groove 127 is narrower than the other eight lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4, 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, 125b10 comes into contact with the lock groove 127. Receive power.

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the rail body 106 receives an impact load in the front-rear direction, among the plurality of lock teeth 125b provided in the front-rear direction on both the left and right sides, the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 in the central portion are The other lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4, 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, 125b10 are in contact with the lock groove 127 before the other lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b4, 125b5, 125b6, 125b7, 125b9, 125b10. Such a contact state is designed to occur in the same manner even if the lock teeth and the lock groove have some dimensional variations at the time of manufacture.

Here, in the lock member 117, since the rear end portion 125 having the fixing portion 119 and the lock teeth 125b is vertically offset by the inclined portion 121, the lock member 117 is moved up and down with the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 in the center in the front-rear direction as fulcrums due to an impact load. Deforms in the direction. For example, in FIG. 15, when an impact load is generated in the direction in which the upper rail 105 moves to the front side (left side in the drawing), the inclined portion 121 tries to return to the horizontal direction, so that the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 are used as fulcrums to move forward. The lock teeth 125b1, 125b6 side of the above are deformed upward, and the rear lock teeth 125b5, 125b10 side are deformed downward. As a result, the rear end portion 125 of the lock member 117 is in a state of being inclined in the front-rear direction as a whole as shown in FIG. In this case, the amount of downward movement of the lock teeth 125b5 and 125b10 at the rear end is relatively small because it swings around the central portion in the front-rear direction as a fulcrum.

On the other hand, the comparative example shown in FIG. 27 shows a case where the lock teeth 125b1 and 125b6 at the front end come into contact with the lock groove 127 before the other eight lock teeth. In the comparative example, the front lock teeth 125b1 and 125b6 are used as fulcrums for deformation. In the comparative example, when the impact load received by the lock member 117 is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 26, the distance from the fulcrum to the lock teeth 125b5 and 125b10 at the rear end is two as compared with the embodiment shown in FIG. Since it is doubled, the amount of downward movement of the lock teeth 125b5 and 125b10 is also doubled. As a result, the lock teeth 125b5 and 125b10 at the rear end move significantly downward with respect to the lock groove 127, resulting in shallow meshing.

Since the lock teeth 125b5 and 125b10 are easily disengaged from the lock groove 127 as in the comparative example, even if the number of lock teeth is increased to five in order to increase the lock strength, a sufficient effect of improving the lock strength cannot be obtained. .. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 26, the lock teeth 125b5 and 125b10 at the rear end have a small amount of movement in the vertical direction, so that a sufficient meshing strength with the lock groove 127 can be obtained. ..

Contrary to the above, when an impact load is generated in the direction in which the upper rail 105 moves to the rear side (right side in FIG. 15), the inclined portion 121 becomes more inclined, so that the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 are used as fulcrums. Since the rear lock teeth 125b5, 125b10 side are deformed upward and the front lock teeth 125b1, 125b6 side are deformed downward, the rear end portion 125 of the lock member 117 is in a state of being inclined in the direction opposite to that in FIG. 26. .. Therefore, when the upper rail 105 moves to the rear side, it is possible to obtain a lock strength substantially equivalent to that when the upper rail 105 moves to the front side. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to secure the improvement of the lock strength by setting the number of the lock teeth 125b to five in the front-rear direction, and the impact load acts on the front side and the rear side of the upper rail 105. It is possible to obtain substantially the same lock strength as in the case of the above.

In the present embodiment, the plurality of lock grooves 127 formed along the vehicle front-rear direction have the same groove widths in the vehicle front-rear direction by design. Of the five lock teeth 125b, the width of the right lock tooth 125b3 located in the center of the vehicle front-rear direction in the vehicle front-rear direction is the largest as compared with the width of the other lock teeth 125b in the vehicle front-rear direction. Of the five lock teeth 125b, the width of the left lock tooth 125b8 located at the center of the vehicle front-rear direction in the vehicle front-rear direction is formed to be the second largest after the width of the right lock tooth 125b3 in the vehicle front-rear direction.

In this case, even if the lock teeth 125b and the lock groove 127 have some dimensional variations at the time of manufacture, the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 in the central portion in the front-rear direction in which the widths L1 and L2 are larger than L are the other eight lock teeth. It is in a state of being in contact with the lock groove 127 before. Therefore, as described above, even if the rear end portion 125 is deformed so as to be inclined in the front-rear direction while the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 in the central portion in the front-rear direction are in contact with the lock groove 127 first, both front and rear ends It is possible to suppress the detachment of the lock teeth and secure the lock strength.

In this embodiment, the lock member 117 is composed of a leaf spring having a rear elastic deformation portion 123 between the five lock teeth 125b and the fixing portion 119 attached to the upper rail 105. The rear elastic deformation portion 123 is elastically deformed between the lock position where the lock teeth 125b1 to 125b10 engage with the lock groove 127 and the release position where the lock teeth 125b1 to 125b10 are disengaged from the lock groove 127.

The lock member 117 made of a leaf spring is elastically deformed between the fixing portion 119 and the lock tooth 125b, so that the rear end portion 125 is likely to be deformed in the vertical direction. Therefore, it is extremely effective in suppressing the ease of disengagement of the lock teeth 125b at both front and rear ends due to the rear end portion 125 being deformed so as to be inclined in the front-rear direction.

In the present embodiment, the lock teeth 125b1, 125b2, 125b6, 125b7 located closer to the swing fulcrum 151 are located in the center with respect to the lock teeth 125b3, 125b8 located in the center of the five lock teeth 125b. It is located above the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 in the lock groove 127 so as to be displaceable.

When the lock member 117 receives an impact load in the front-rear direction, the lock tooth 125b on one side in the front-rear direction rotates in a direction away from the lock groove 127 around the center lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8, and the lock on the other side is locked. The teeth 125b can rotate in the direction of biting into the lock groove 127.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are merely examples described for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific technical matters disclosed in the above-described embodiment, but also includes various modifications, modifications, and alternative technologies that can be easily derived from the specific technical matters.

In the above embodiment, the width L1 of the lock tooth 125b3 in the center on the right side is the largest, and the width L2 of the lock tooth 125b8 in the center on the left side is the second largest after the width L1, but the lock tooth 125b8 in the center on the left side. The width L2 of the lock tooth 125b3 at the center of the right side may be made the largest, and the width L1 of the lock tooth 125b3 at the center of the right side may be made the largest next to the width L2. That is, the width in the front-rear direction of any one of the lock teeth 125b3 and 125b8 in the central portion of the left and right is maximized, and the width in the front-rear direction of any one is made the next largest.

In the above-described embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the lock teeth 125b of the lock member 117 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 125c extending in the front-rear direction to form a hole 125a. However, instead of forming the connecting portion 125c, the lock tooth 125b may be formed as a recess in which the left and right outer sides are open instead of the hole 125a.

103 Lower rail 105 Upper rail 117 Lock member 119 Fixed part (base)
123 Rear elastic deformation part (elastic deformation part)
125b1 to 125b10 Lock teeth of lock member 127 Lock groove of lower rail 151 Swing fulcrum (swing fulcrum)

Claims (4)

The lower rail that extends along the front-rear direction of the vehicle,
An upper rail that moves relative to each other along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail,
A lock that is swingably attached to the upper rail in the vertical direction about a swing fulcrum and has lock teeth that can be engaged with a lock groove formed in the lower rail, and that engages the lock teeth with the lock groove. With a lock member urged in the direction,
A plurality of lock grooves are provided on both the left and right sides of the lower rail along the vehicle front-rear direction.
Five lock teeth are provided on the left and right sides of the lock member along the vehicle front-rear direction.
Between one of the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center of the five lock teeth in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and the lock groove in which one of the lock teeth engages, in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. There are no gaps
Between the other of the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center of the five lock teeth in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and the lock groove in which the lock tooth of the other one is engaged, in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. A gap narrower than the gap in the vehicle front-rear direction formed between the other lock teeth excluding the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center and the lock groove in which the other lock teeth engage is formed in the vehicle front-rear direction. A seat slide device characterized by being The plurality of lock grooves formed along the vehicle front-rear direction have groove widths in the vehicle front-rear direction equal to each other by design.
Of the five lock teeth, the width of one of the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center of the vehicle front-rear direction in the vehicle front-rear direction is the largest as compared with the width of the other lock teeth in the vehicle front-rear direction.
The width of the pair of left and right lock teeth located in the center of the plurality of lock teeth in the vehicle front-rear direction in the vehicle front-rear direction is the second largest after the width of any one of the lock teeth in the vehicle front-rear direction. The seat slide device according to claim 1, wherein the seat slide device is formed. The lock member is composed of a leaf spring having an elastically deformed portion between the five lock teeth and a base attached to the upper rail.
Claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the elastically deformed portion is elastically deformed between a lock position where the lock tooth engages with the lock groove and a release position where the lock tooth is disengaged from the lock groove. The seat slide device according to. Of the five lock teeth, the lock tooth located closer to the swing fulcrum with respect to the lock tooth located at the center in the vehicle front-rear direction is located above the lock tooth located at the center in the lock groove. The seat slide device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the seat slide device is located so as to be displaceable.

Images