JP2024070174A - Vehicle seat frame and vehicle seat - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To obtain a vehicle seat frame and a vehicle seat capable of suppressing the occurrence of cracks around the recliner while suppressing an increase in the mass of the seat frame body. [Solution] A reinforcing bracket 84 is fixed to a shaft portion 54 with a gap t provided on the outer side in the seat width direction of a mounting bracket 66 connected to a recliner 58 and a cushion side frame 24. As a result, when the mounting bracket 66 deforms toward the outer side in the seat width direction, it abuts against the reinforcing bracket 84, suppressing further deformation of the mounting bracket 66, and the load transmitted to the mounting bracket 66 is transmitted to the reinforcing bracket 84, relieving distortion on the lower side of the recliner 58 and suppressing peeling of the welded portion between the mounting bracket 66 and the recliner 58. As a result, cracks around the welded portion are suppressed, and it is possible to suppress an increase in the mass of the seat cushion frame 18 caused by increasing the plate thickness of the mounting bracket 66. [Selected Figure] Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat frame and a vehicle seat.

The following Patent Document 1 discloses technology relating to a backside frame that constitutes the side of the seatback frame and is reclining-enabled. In this prior art, a stopper plate is provided on the outer side of the recliner in the seat width direction, and is capable of rotating in the front-rear direction of the seat while being independent of the backside frame.

Here, a stopper is welded to the back side frame. The stopper is formed with an abutment portion that is roughly U-shaped in plan view with an opening on the outer side in the seat width direction, and the rotation of the back side frame is restricted by the abutment portion formed on the stopper plate abutting against the abutment portion.

On the other hand, when a large load is input to the back side frame through the occupant toward the rear of the seat due to inertia during a rear-end collision of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as "vehicle rear-end collision"), the stopper can disperse the stress acting on the back side frame, making it possible to suppress the occurrence of cracks around the recliner.

JP 2020-142580 A

However, in the above prior art, when a large load is applied to the backside frame toward the rear of the seat, peeling occurs at the weld between the stopper and the backside frame, making it difficult to distribute the stress acting on the backside frame, and cracks may occur around the recliner.

In general, one way to prevent peeling of welded parts is to increase the thickness of the welded parts or to improve their rigidity, but increasing the thickness of the welded parts increases the mass of the seat frame body.

In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle seat frame and a vehicle seat that can suppress the occurrence of cracks around the recliner while suppressing an increase in the mass of the seat frame body.

The vehicle seat frame according to the first aspect includes a seat cushion frame that constitutes a skeletal member of a seat cushion on which an occupant sits, a seat back frame that constitutes a skeletal member of a seat back that supports the upper body of the seated occupant seated on the seat cushion, a cushion side frame that constitutes a side of the seat cushion frame, and a back side frame that constitutes a side of the seat back frame, and a recliner that is fixed to both and allows the back side frame to rotate relative to the cushion side frame around an axis to which the cushion side frame is fixed when the lock is released, a mounting bracket that is joined to the recliner from the outside in the seat width direction and joined to the rear end of the cushion side frame, and a reinforcing bracket that is fixed to the axis with a gap provided on the outside in the seat width direction relative to the mounting bracket, and that abuts against the mounting bracket when the lower side of the recliner in the mounting bracket deforms toward the outside in the seat width direction to suppress further deformation of the mounting bracket.

The vehicle seat frame according to the first aspect includes a seat cushion frame, a seat back frame, and a recliner. The seat cushion frame forms a skeletal member of the seat cushion, and the seat back frame forms a skeletal member of the seat back. The recliner is provided between a cushion side frame that constitutes a side of the seat cushion frame and a back side frame that constitutes a side of the seat back frame and is fixed to both, and when the recliner is unlocked, the back side frame can rotate relative to the cushion side frame around the axis to which the cushion side frame is fixed.

Here, in this embodiment, the vehicle seat frame further includes a mounting bracket and a reinforcing bracket. The mounting bracket is joined to the recliner from the outside in the seat width direction and is joined to the rear end of the cushion side frame. In other words, the mounting bracket is fixed to the recliner and the cushion side frame.

The reinforcing bracket is fixed to the shaft with a gap provided on the outer side of the seat width direction relative to the mounting bracket. When the lower side of the recliner on the mounting bracket deforms toward the outer side in the seat width direction, it comes into contact with the reinforcing bracket, which makes it possible to suppress further deformation of the mounting bracket.

For example, when a large load is applied to the seatback frame toward the rear of the seat, the load is transmitted to the peripheral portion of the recliner below the shaft via the shaft of the recliner, and a reaction force is received from the vehicle floor.

As mentioned above, the mounting bracket is fixed to the recliner and cushion side frame. When a large load is applied to the seatback frame toward the rear of the seat, a buckling stress acts on the mounting bracket, and the mounting bracket tries to buckle outward in the seat width direction.

The mounting bracket is joined (for example, welded) to the recliner and cushion side frame (joints). Therefore, if the mounting bracket, which is joined to the outside of the recliner and cushion side frame in the seat width direction, deforms toward the outside of the seat width direction, peeling may occur at the joint.

In contrast, in this embodiment, a reinforcing bracket is provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket in the seat width direction. Therefore, when the lower side of the recliner on the mounting bracket deforms toward the outer side in the seat width direction, it comes into contact with the reinforcing bracket, making it possible to suppress further deformation of the mounting bracket and to suppress peeling at the joint of the mounting bracket.

In this way, by suppressing further deformation of the mounting bracket, it is possible to alleviate distortion around the periphery of the recliner and suppress cracks around the joints of the mounting bracket. In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to suppress cracks around the joints of the mounting bracket without increasing the plate thickness of the mounting bracket, and therefore it is possible to suppress an increase in the mass of the seat frame body that would be caused by increasing the plate thickness of the mounting bracket.

In addition, when the lower side of the recliner on the mounting bracket deforms outward in the seat width direction, it comes into contact with the reinforcing bracket, and the load transmitted to the mounting bracket is transmitted to the reinforcing bracket, making it possible to distribute the stress acting on the joint of the mounting bracket via the reinforcing bracket.

As a comparative example, if the reinforcing bracket is placed without leaving a gap on the outside of the mounting bracket in the seat width direction, the thickness of the mounting bracket on the recliner side will increase by the thickness of the reinforcing bracket, improving the rigidity of the mounting bracket. On the other hand, the rigidity of the mounting bracket on the lower side of the recliner will be reduced by that amount compared to the recliner side.

When this type of change in rigidity occurs and the lower side of the recliner on the mounting bracket deforms outward in the seat width direction, in the comparative example, there is a possibility that the mounting bracket may break, starting from the lower end of the reinforcing bracket.

In contrast, in this embodiment, the reinforcing bracket is arranged with a gap provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket in the seat width direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the thickness of the mounting bracket itself does not change, and by abutting against the reinforcing bracket, bending of the mounting bracket can be suppressed, and the load transmitted to the mounting bracket via the reinforcing bracket can be transmitted to the cushion side frame.

The vehicle seat frame according to the second aspect is the vehicle seat frame according to the first aspect, in which the reinforcing bracket includes a main body portion fixed to the shaft portion and arranged along the vertical direction of the seat, an axial hole portion formed on the upper side of the main body portion and having an axial hole to which the shaft portion is fixed, and a pair of vertical wall portions arranged in the front and rear of the seat in the front-rear direction between the axial hole and the main body portion, formed along the vertical direction of the seat, and bent outward in the width direction of the seat.

In the vehicle seat frame according to the second aspect, the reinforcing bracket is configured to include a main body portion, an axial hole portion, and a pair of vertical wall portions. The main body portion is arranged along the vertical direction of the seat, and the axial hole portion is formed on the upper side of the main body portion, and an axial hole is formed to which an axial portion that serves as the rotation center of the back side frame is fixed. The pair of vertical wall portions are arranged in the front and rear of the seat in the front-rear direction between the axial hole and the main body portion, and are formed along the vertical direction of the seat and are bent outward in the width direction of the seat.

In this way, the vertical wall portions are formed in the reinforcing bracket at the front and rear of the shaft hole and the main body portion in the seat front-rear direction, respectively, thereby improving the rigidity of the reinforcing bracket. Also, the vertical wall portions are formed along the seat up-down direction, making it possible to transmit the load transmitted to the reinforcing bracket via the recliner shaft portion and shaft hole along the seat up-down direction.

The vehicle seat frame according to the third aspect is the vehicle seat frame according to the first or second aspect, in which the pair of vertical wall portions are a pair of arc ribs that protrude in a generally arc shape toward each other at approximately the center of the seat in the vertical direction when viewed from the side of the seat.

In the vehicle seat frame according to the third aspect, the pair of vertical wall portions are formed as a pair of arc ribs, which are formed so as to protrude in a generally arc shape toward each other in a direction approaching each other at approximately the center of the seat in the vertical direction when viewed from the side of the seat. As a result, in this aspect, it is possible to suppress deformation of the main body portion toward the outside in the seat width direction, for example, compared to a case in which the vertical wall portions are formed in a straight line in the reinforcing bracket (comparative example).

In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to improve the rigidity of the reinforcing bracket compared to the comparative example, and when the lower side of the recliner in the mounting bracket deforms toward the outside in the seat width direction, the reinforcing bracket can more effectively suppress deformation of the mounting bracket.

The vehicle seat frame according to the fourth aspect is a vehicle seat frame according to any one of the first to third aspects, in which the joint where the mounting bracket is joined to the recliner includes a first joint located below the axle and forward in the seat front-rear direction and a second joint located below the axle and rearward in the seat front-rear direction, and the apex of the arc rib is located on an imaginary first straight line connecting the lower end of the first joint and the lower end of the second joint in a side view of the seat.

In the vehicle seat frame according to the fourth aspect, the joint where the mounting bracket is joined to the recliner includes a first joint and a second joint located below the axle, the first joint being located forward of the axle in the seat longitudinal direction, and the second joint being located rearward of the axle in the seat longitudinal direction. The apex of the arc rib is located on an imaginary first straight line connecting the lower end of the first joint and the lower end of the second joint.

When a large load is applied to the seatback frame toward the rear of the seat, the load is transmitted to the periphery of the recliner via the recliner's shaft to the lower side of the shaft. Therefore, in the mounting bracket, the load is transmitted via the first and second joints, which are located below the shaft.

In this embodiment, the apex of the arc rib is set to be located on an imaginary first straight line connecting the lower end of the first joint and the lower end of the second joint when viewed from the side of the seat. This makes it possible for the load to be transmitted to the upper and lower sides of the arc rib via the apex of the arc rib when the lower side of the recliner in the mounting bracket deforms outward in the seat width direction and abuts against the reinforcing bracket. In other words, it is possible to reliably distribute the stress acting on the joint of the mounting bracket via the reinforcing bracket. Note that "apex" here includes not only the apex but also its surroundings.

The vehicle seat frame according to the fifth aspect is the vehicle seat frame according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, in which the reinforcing bracket is set so that the intersection of the first line and an imaginary second line that is substantially perpendicular to the first line and passes through the center of the shaft hole is located midway between the center of the shaft hole and the lower end of the seat in the vertical direction.

In the vehicle seat frame according to the fifth aspect, the reinforcing bracket is set so that the intersection of the first line and an imaginary second line that is substantially perpendicular to the first line and passes through the center of the shaft hole is located midway between the center of the shaft hole and the lower end of the reinforcing bracket, and thus the apex of the arc rib is provided in the center of the main body in the vertical direction of the seat. This makes it possible to efficiently distribute the load transmitted to the apex to the upper and lower sides of the arc rib.

In other words, the entire reinforcing bracket can bear the load, and the reaction force from the reinforcing bracket is correspondingly larger, so that when the lower side of the recliner on the mounting bracket deforms toward the outside in the seat width direction, the reinforcing bracket can more effectively suppress deformation of the mounting bracket.

The vehicle seat according to the sixth aspect includes a vehicle seat frame according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and the seat back can be reclined relative to the seat cushion via the recliner.

The vehicle seat according to the sixth aspect is equipped with a recliner that allows the seat back to be reclined relative to the seat cushion, and it is possible to enjoy the effects obtained by the vehicle seat frame according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

As described above, the vehicle seat frame and vehicle seat of the present invention have the excellent effect of suppressing the occurrence of cracks around the recliner while suppressing an increase in the mass of the seat frame body.

1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from an obliquely front left side. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle seat frame constituting a framework member of a vehicle seat according to the present embodiment, as viewed from an obliquely front left side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a main part of FIG. 2 . FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of a main part of FIG. 3 . 5A to 5C are cross-sectional views that diagrammatically show the operation of the vehicle seat frame according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view showing a main part of FIG. 2 . 5 is a diagram showing the distribution of strain in a main portion of the vehicle seat frame according to the present embodiment, the distribution being determined by finite element method analysis. 7 is an enlarged side view of a main portion corresponding to FIG. 6 and showing a modified example of the vehicle seat frame according to the present embodiment. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the distribution of strains in a vehicle seat frame as a comparative example, analyzed by a finite element method.

Below, a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the arrows FR, UP, RH, and LH shown in the drawings indicate the front, upper, right, and left sides of the seat, respectively, as seen by an occupant seated in the vehicle seat 10. Hereinafter, when the directions of front-rear, up-down, and left-right are used in the description, they refer to front-rear in the front-rear direction of the seat, up-down in the up-down direction of the seat, and left-right in the left-right direction of the seat, unless otherwise specified. The left-right direction of the seat coincides with the width direction of the seat.

(Configuration of vehicle seat)
First, the configuration of the vehicle seat according to this embodiment will be described.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment includes a seat cushion 12 that supports the buttocks and thighs of a seated occupant, a seat back 14 that supports the back of the seated occupant, and a headrest 16 that supports the head of the seated occupant.

The seat cushion 12 is composed of a seat cushion frame 18 that forms a skeleton member of the seat cushion 12 and has a generally rectangular frame shape in a plan view, a seat cushion pad 20 that covers the seat cushion frame 18 and elastically supports a seated occupant, and a seat cushion skin 22 that covers the seat cushion pad 20 and forms a design surface.

The seat cushion frame 18 is composed of a pair of left and right cushion side frames 24, 26 arranged on the left and right sides of the seat cushion 12, a front frame 28 that spans the front ends of the left and right cushion side frames 24, 26 in the seat width direction (seat left-right direction), and a rear frame 30 that spans the rear ends of the left and right cushion side frames 24, 26 in the seat width direction, and is connected to the vehicle floor 34 via left and right slide rails 32.

In this embodiment, for example, the left and right cushion side frames 24, 26 and the front frame 28 are manufactured by press-molding metal plate material, and the rear frame 30 is manufactured from metal pipe material, but this is not limited to this.

The seat back 14, on the other hand, is composed of a seat back frame 36 that forms the framework of the seat back 14 and has a rectangular frame shape when viewed from the front, a seat back pad 38 that covers the seat back frame 36 and elastically supports the seated occupant, and a seat back skin 40 that covers the seat back pad 38 and forms a design surface.

The seatback frame 36 is composed of a pair of left and right backside frames 42, 44 arranged on the left and right sides of the seatback 14, an upper frame 46 that spans the upper ends of the left and right backside frames 42, 44 in the seat width direction, and a lower frame 48 that spans the lower ends of the left and right backside frames 42, 44 in the seat width direction.

In this embodiment, for example, the left and right back side frames 42, 44 and the lower frame 48 are manufactured by press-molding metal plate material, and the upper frame 46 is manufactured from metal pipe material, but this is not limited to this.

Here, hinges 50, 52 protrude upward from the rear ends of the cushion side frames 24, 26, respectively, and an axle (recliner pin) 54 is fixed to the hinges 50, 52. The axle 54 is inserted into a hole (not shown) formed in the lower ends of the back side frames 42, 44, allowing the back side frames 42, 44 to rotate around the axle 54. As a result, the seat back frame 36 is able to rotate relative to the seat cushion frame 18 via the back side frames 42, 44.

In this embodiment, the shaft portion 54 is provided at both ends in the seat width direction. A pipe-shaped shaft portion 56 is provided in the center of the seat width direction, and shaft portions 54 are fixed to both ends of the shaft portion 56. The shaft portion 54 is solid and has a so-called double D cut shape. In other words, in this embodiment, solid shaft portions are used in areas where high rigidity is required, and hollow shaft portions are used in other areas to ensure the minimum necessary rigidity and reduce the weight of the shaft portion. Of course, this is not limited to this, and the shaft portion may be configured with a single solid shaft portion.

Here, a disk-shaped recliner 58 is provided on the back side frame 42 side located on the left side of the vehicle seat 10. The recliner 58 is fixed to the shaft portion 54, the cushion side frame 24, and the back side frame 42, and is unlocked to allow the seat back frame 36 to rotate relative to the seat cushion frame 18, and the angle of the seat back frame 36 relative to the seat cushion frame 18 can be adjusted.

In other words, the seat back frame 36 can be reclined (tilted) relative to the seat cushion frame 18 via the recliner 58. In this embodiment, the recliner 58 is also provided on the right side of the vehicle seat 10. However, this is not limited to this, and although not shown, the recliner 58 may be provided only on the right or left side.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the outer surface 58A of the recliner 58 (see Figure 5) is provided with protruding portions 60, 62, and 64 that protrude outward in the seat width direction so that the top surface is flat.

In this embodiment, the protrusion 60 is disposed above the shaft 54 and has a generally rectangular shape in a side view of the seat. The protrusion 62 is disposed on the front side of the shaft 54 in the seat front-rear direction and has a generally triangular shape with the apex 62A at the front side in the seat front-rear direction in a side view of the seat. The protrusion 64 is disposed on the rear side of the shaft 54 in the seat front-rear direction and has a generally rectangular shape with an extension 64A extending upward at the rear side in the seat front-rear direction in a side view of the seat. Note that the shapes of the protrusions 60, 62, 64 are merely examples and are not limited to these shapes.

A mounting bracket 66 is fixed to the outer side of the recliner 58 in the seat width direction. The mounting bracket 66 is formed, for example, by pressing a metal plate. As shown in FIG. 6, the mounting bracket 66 includes a disk-shaped upper seating surface 68 fixed to the outer surface 58A of the recliner 58, and a lower seating surface 70 extending from the upper seating surface 68 toward the front side in the seat front-rear direction, the lower side in the seat up-down direction, and the rear side in the seat front-rear direction, and fixed to the outer surface 50A of the hinge portion 50 of the cushion side frame 24.

The upper seat surface 68 is formed with a circular insertion hole 72 (see FIG. 4) through which the shaft portion 54 can be inserted, and also with holes 74, 76, and 78 through which the protrusions 60, 62, and 64 formed on the recliner 58 can be inserted. With the protrusions 60, 62, and 64 formed on the recliner 58 inserted into the holes 74, 76, and 78 formed on the mounting bracket 66, the upper seat surface 68 of the mounting bracket 66 is fixed to the recliner 58 by welding (weld 75, weld (first joint) 77, weld (second joint) 79) along the inner edges of the holes 74, 76, and 78 and the outer shapes of the protrusions 60, 62, and 64.

On the other hand, a hook portion 80 is formed at the rear end of the lower seat surface 70, which is bent so as to face the back surface of the lower seat surface 70, and the rear end of the cushion side frame 24 can be inserted into the hook portion 80. When the rear end of the cushion side frame 24 is inserted into the hook portion 80, the mounting bracket 66 is restricted from moving forward in the front-to-rear direction of the seat via the lower seat surface 70.

A positioning hole 82 is formed at the front end of the lower seat surface 70. A welding jig is positioned by this positioning hole 82, and the lower seat surface 70 is welded to the cushion side frame 24 in a state in which the movement of the lower seat surface 70 forward in the seat front-rear direction is restricted via the hook portion 80. Note that the lower seat surface 70 may be fastened to the cushion side frame 24 via the positioning hole 82 with fasteners such as bolts and nuts (not shown).

In this manner, as described above, the upper seating surface 68 of the mounting bracket 66 is fixed to the recliner 58 and the lower seating surface 70 is fixed to the cushion side frame 24.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a reinforcing bracket 84 is fixed to the shaft portion 54 on the outer side of the recliner 58 in the seat width direction, with a gap t between the mounting bracket 66 and the reinforcing bracket 84 in the seat width direction. Note that the gap t is set so that the lower seat surface 70 side of the mounting bracket 66 abuts against the reinforcing bracket 84 when it is deformed toward the outer side in the seat width direction, as shown by the two-dot chain line.

That is, in this embodiment, the mounting bracket 66 and the reinforcing bracket 84 are provided on the outer side of the recliner 58 in the seat width direction. As described above, in this embodiment, the recliner 58 is provided on the right and left sides of the vehicle seat 10. Therefore, although the reinforcing bracket 84 may be provided on the right and left sides of the vehicle seat 10, in this embodiment, due to its relationship with the parts around the shaft portion 54, it is provided only on the left side of the vehicle seat 10.

The reinforcing bracket 84 is formed, for example, by pressing a metal plate. As shown in FIG. 4, the reinforcing bracket 84 includes a main body 86 and an axial hole 88, which is provided on the upper side of the main body 86. The axial hole 88 has an axial hole 90 formed to match the shape of the shaft 54. When the shaft 54 is inserted into the axial hole 90, the reinforcing bracket 84 is prevented from rotating relative to the shaft 54 and is fixed to the shaft 54 via the axial hole 90.

Here, at the front end of the main body 86 in the seat front-rear direction, an arc rib (vertical wall portion) 92 is formed in an arc shape centered on the front side of the main body 86 and is formed over approximately the entire length of the main body 86, and the arc rib 92 is bent outward in the seat width direction. At the rear end of the main body 86 in the seat front-rear direction, an arc rib (vertical wall portion) 94 is formed in an arc shape centered on the rear side of the main body 86 and faces the arc rib 92 and is formed over approximately the entire length of the main body 86, and the arc rib 94 is bent outward in the seat width direction. The arc ribs 92 and 94 are set at a height that does not interfere with a reclining lever (not shown) that performs the reclining operation.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the arc ribs 92, 94 are formed so that their apexes 92A, 94A approach each other at approximately the center in the height direction of the main body 86. The apexes 92A, 94A include not only the apex but also the peripheral portions. The apexes 92A, 94A are set so as to be approximately positioned on an imaginary straight line (first straight line) P that connects the lower ends of the welds 77, 79 welded along the outer shape of the protrusions 62, 64 formed on the recliner 58. In this embodiment, the straight line P is an imaginary straight line that connects the lower ends of the welds 77, 79, but it does not necessarily have to be the lower ends of the welds 77, 79, as long as it is a straight line that connects the lower ends of the welds 77, 79.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the reinforcing bracket 84 is set so that the intersection O between an imaginary line (second line) Q that is approximately perpendicular to the line P and passes through the center of the shaft hole 90 and the line P is located midway between the center of the shaft hole 90 and the lower end of the reinforcing bracket 84 (dimension a ≒ dimension b).

(Functions and Effects of Vehicle Seat)
Next, the operation and effects of the vehicle seat according to this embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, the recliner 58 shown in FIG. 3 is provided between the cushion side frame 24 and the back side frame 42 and is fixed to both, and when the recliner 58 is unlocked, the back side frame 42 can rotate relative to the cushion side frame 24 around the shaft 54 to which the cushion side frame 24 is fixed. In this embodiment, a mounting bracket 66 and a reinforcing bracket 84 are fixed to the shaft 54.

The mounting bracket 66 is joined to the recliner 58 from the outside in the seat width direction and is fastened to the hinge portion 50 of the cushion side frame 24. In other words, the mounting bracket 66 is fixed to the recliner 58 and the cushion side frame 24.

As shown in FIG. 5, the reinforcing bracket 84 is fixed to the shaft 54 with a gap t provided on the outer side in the seat width direction relative to the mounting bracket 66. The lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 (the lower side of the recliner 58 on the mounting bracket 66) abuts against the reinforcing bracket 84 when deformed toward the outer side in the seat width direction, thereby making it possible to suppress further deformation of the mounting bracket 66.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when a large load (F) toward the rear of the seat is applied to the seatback frame 36, the peripheral portion of the recliner 58 receives a load (F1) via the shaft 54 of the recliner 58 toward the lower side of the shaft 54, as shown in FIG. 5, and also receives a reaction force (N) from the vehicle floor 34 (see FIG. 2).

Here, since the mounting bracket 66 is fixed to the recliner 58 and the cushion side frame 24, when a large load (F; see FIG. 2) toward the rear of the seat is input to the seatback frame 36, a buckling stress acts on the mounting bracket 66, and the mounting bracket 66 tries to buckle outward in the seat width direction.

As a comparative example, a case will be described in which the reinforcing bracket 84 is not provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket 66 in the seat width direction. Here, FIG. 9 shows a distribution diagram of distortion by finite element method analysis in the comparative example, where the distortion increases as the dots become darker. Note that FIG. 7, which will be described later, is the same as FIG. 9. As shown in FIG. 9, distortion is large on the lower side of the recliner 100, and peeling may occur at the welds 104, 106 between the mounting bracket 102 and the recliner 100.

In contrast, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a reinforcing bracket 84 is provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket 66 in the seat width direction, so that when the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 deforms toward the outer side in the seat width direction, it abuts against the reinforcing bracket 84, thereby suppressing further deformation of the mounting bracket 66 and transmitting the load transmitted to the mounting bracket 66 to the reinforcing bracket 84.

As a result, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to reduce distortion on the lower side of the recliner 58. As an example, by applying this embodiment, the distortion value of the welded portions 77 and 79 was greatly improved from 21.7% in the comparative example to 13.8%.

In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to suppress peeling at the welds 77, 79 of the mounting bracket 66, and cracks around the welds 77, 79 are suppressed. In this way, in this embodiment, cracks around the welds 77, 79 of the mounting bracket 66 are suppressed without increasing the plate thickness of the mounting bracket 66, so it is possible to suppress an increase in the mass of the seat cushion frame 18 that would be caused by increasing the plate thickness of the mounting bracket 66.

In addition, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, when the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 deforms toward the outside in the seat width direction, it abuts against the reinforcing bracket 84, and the load transmitted to the mounting bracket 66 is also transmitted to the reinforcing bracket 84, so that it is possible to disperse the stress acting on the welded portions 77, 79 (see FIG. 6) of the mounting bracket 66 via the reinforcing bracket 84.

In addition, in this embodiment, the reinforcing bracket 84 is fixed to the shaft portion 54 with a gap t provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket 66 in the seat width direction.

As a comparative example (not shown), if the reinforcing bracket 84 is placed without leaving a gap t on the outer side of the mounting bracket 66 in the seat width direction, the thickness of the mounting bracket 66 on the recliner 58 side of the mounting bracket 66 will increase by the thickness of the reinforcing bracket 84, improving the rigidity of the mounting bracket 66. On the other hand, the rigidity of the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 will be reduced by that amount compared to the recliner 58 side.

When this change in rigidity occurs and the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 deforms outward in the seat width direction, in the comparative example, there is a possibility that the mounting bracket 66 may break, starting from the lower end of the reinforcing bracket 84.

In contrast, in this embodiment, as described above, the reinforcing bracket 84 is disposed with a gap t provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket 66 in the seat width direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the thickness of the mounting bracket 66 itself does not change, and the mounting bracket 66 comes into contact with the reinforcing bracket 84, thereby preventing the mounting bracket 66 from bending. In addition, the load (F1) transmitted to the mounting bracket 66 via the reinforcing bracket 84 can be transmitted to the cushion side frame 24.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the reinforcing bracket 84 is configured to include a main body 86, an axial hole 88, and a pair of arc ribs 92, 94. The main body 86 is disposed along the vertical direction of the seat, and the axial hole 88 is formed on the upper side of the main body 86, and an axial hole 90 is formed to which the axial portion 54, which serves as the rotation center of the back side frame 42, is fixed. The pair of arc ribs 92, 94 are disposed in the front and rear of the seat in the front-rear direction between the axial hole 90 and the main body 86, and are formed along the vertical direction of the seat and are bent outward in the width direction of the seat.

In this way, the arc ribs 92, 94 are formed in the reinforcement bracket 84 at the front and rear of the shaft hole 90 and the main body 86 in the seat front-rear direction, respectively, thereby improving the rigidity of the reinforcement bracket 84. In addition, the arc ribs 92, 94 are formed along the seat up-down direction, making it possible to transmit the load (F2; see FIG. 5) transmitted to the reinforcement bracket 84 via the shaft 54 and shaft hole 90 of the recliner 58 along the seat up-down direction.

The pair of arc ribs 92, 94 are formed so as to protrude in an approximately arc shape toward each other at approximately the center of the seat in the vertical direction. This makes it possible to suppress deformation of the main body 86 toward the outside in the seat width direction, for example, in the reinforcing bracket 84, compared to a case in which the arc ribs 92, 94 are formed in a straight line (not shown in the figure) (comparative example).

In other words, in this embodiment, it is possible to improve the rigidity of the reinforcing bracket 84 compared to the comparative example, and the reinforcing bracket 84 more effectively suppresses deformation of the mounting bracket 66 when the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 deforms toward the outside in the seat width direction.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, of the welds 75, 77, 79 at which the mounting bracket 66 is joined to the recliner 58, the weld 77, which is located below the shaft 54, is located forward of the shaft 54 in the seat front-rear direction, and the weld 79 is located rearward of the shaft 54 in the seat front-rear direction. The apexes 92A, 94A of the arc ribs 92, 94 are located on an imaginary straight line P that connects the lower ends of the welds 77 and 79.

As shown in FIG. 2, when a large load (F) toward the rear of the seat is applied to the seatback frame 36, as shown in FIG. 5, the load (F1) is transmitted to the peripheral portion of the recliner 58 via the shaft 54 of the recliner 58 toward the lower side of the shaft 54. Therefore, in the mounting bracket 66, the load (F1) is transmitted via the welds 77 and 79, which are located below the shaft 54.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the apexes 92A, 94A of the arc ribs 92, 94 are arranged on a straight line P, so that when the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 deforms outward in the seat width direction and abuts against the reinforcing bracket 84, the load (F2; see FIG. 5) can be transmitted to the upper and lower sides of the arc rib 92 via the apexes 92A, 94A of the arc ribs 92, 94. In other words, the stress acting on the welds 77, 79 of the mounting bracket 66 can be reliably dispersed via the reinforcing bracket 84.

In addition, in this embodiment, the intersection O of the straight lines Q and P in the reinforcing bracket 84 is set to be located midway between the center of the shaft hole 90 and the lower end of the reinforcing bracket 84 (dimension a ≒ dimension b). As a result, in this embodiment, the tops 92A, 94A of the arc ribs 92, 94 are provided in the center of the main body 86 in the seat vertical direction in the reinforcing bracket 84. Therefore, the load (F2) transmitted to the tops 92A, 94A can be efficiently distributed to the upper and lower sides of the arc ribs 92, 94, respectively.

In other words, the entire reinforcing bracket 84 is able to bear the load (F2; see Figure 5), and the reaction force from the reinforcing bracket 84 is correspondingly larger, so that when the lower seat surface 70 of the mounting bracket 66 deforms toward the outside in the seat width direction, the reinforcing bracket 84 can more effectively suppress deformation of the mounting bracket 66.

As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the reinforcing bracket 84 is provided only on the left side of the vehicle seat 10, but the above effect can be obtained by providing the reinforcing bracket 84 only on one side of the vehicle seat 10. Therefore, the above effect can be doubled by providing the reinforcing bracket 84 on both sides of the vehicle seat 10.

In this embodiment, the welds 75, 77, and 79 where the mounting bracket 66 is joined to the recliner 58 are located below the shaft 54, but the welds differ depending on the position of the recliner 58.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, there may be one weld 96 provided below the shaft 54. In this case, imaginary straight lines P and Q are formed based on the weld 96.

The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention. It goes without saying that the scope of the invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

10 Vehicle seat 12 Seat cushion 14 Seat back 18 Seat cushion frame (vehicle seat frame)
24 Cushion side frame 36 Seat back frame (vehicle seat frame)
42 Back side frame 54 Shaft portion 56 Shaft portion 58 Recliner 66 Mounting bracket 75 Welded portion (joint portion)
77 Welded section (first joint, joint)
79 Welded section (second joint, joint)
84 Reinforcement bracket 86 Main body (reinforcement bracket)
88 Shaft hole portion (reinforcement bracket)
90 Axial hole 92 Circular rib (vertical wall portion, reinforcing bracket)
92A Top 94 Circular rib (vertical wall, reinforcing bracket)
94A Top 96 Welded part (joint)
P Line (first line)
Q Straight line (second straight line)
O Intersection

Claims (6)

A seat cushion frame that constitutes a framework of a seat cushion on which an occupant sits;
a seat back frame forming a framework of a seat back that supports an upper body of a seated occupant seated on the seat cushion;
a recliner that is provided between a cushion side frame constituting a side portion of the seat cushion frame and a back side frame constituting a side portion of the seatback frame and is fixed to both of them, and that, when unlocked, allows the back side frame to rotate relative to the cushion side frame around an axis portion to which the cushion side frame is fixed, and is disposed along the seat width direction;
Equipped with
a mounting bracket joined to the recliner from an outer side in a seat width direction and joined to a rear end portion of the cushion side frame;
a reinforcing bracket that is fixed to the shaft portion with a gap provided on the outer side of the mounting bracket in the seat width direction, and that abuts against the mounting bracket when a lower side of the recliner in the mounting bracket deforms toward the outer side in the seat width direction to suppress further deformation of the mounting bracket;
A vehicle seat frame having a seat support member. The reinforcing bracket is
a main body portion disposed along a top-bottom direction of the seat; a shaft hole portion formed on an upper side of the main body portion and having a shaft hole to which the shaft portion is fixed;
a pair of vertical wall portions disposed in front and rear of the seat in the front-rear direction with the shaft hole and the main body portion therebetween, the vertical wall portions being formed along the seat up-down direction and being curved toward the outside in the seat width direction;
The vehicle seat frame according to claim 1 , comprising: The vehicle seat frame according to claim 2, wherein the pair of vertical wall portions are a pair of arc ribs that protrude in a generally arc shape toward each other at approximately the center of the seat in the vertical direction when viewed from the side of the seat. a joint at which the mounting bracket is joined to the recliner includes a first joint located on a seat lower side than the shaft portion and forward in the seat front-rear direction, and a second joint located on a seat lower side than the shaft portion and rearward in the seat front-rear direction,
4. The vehicle seat frame according to claim 3, wherein an apex of the arc rib is disposed on an imaginary first straight line connecting a lower end of the first joint portion and a lower end of the second joint portion in a side view of the seat. The vehicle seat frame according to claim 4, wherein the reinforcing bracket is set so that the intersection of the first line and an imaginary second line that is substantially perpendicular to the first line and passes through the center of the shaft hole is located midway between the center of the shaft hole and the lower end of the seat in the vertical direction. A vehicle seat comprising the vehicle seat frame according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the seat back can be reclined relative to the seat cushion via the recliner.