JP2603388Y2 - Chain guide device for reclining seat - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a reclining seat, and more particularly to a chain guide device for a reclining seat capable of adjusting a tilt angle of a seat back via a chain.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Reclining seats having a reclining function for tilting a seat back at an arbitrary angle are frequently used in front seats of automobiles and the like. Various reclining seats have been developed and commercialized. For example, upper arms fixed to both sides of the seat back are respectively pivotally attached to the rear portions of the lower arms on both sides of the seat cushion via hinge pins, and the angle of inclination of the upper arm,
That is, a planetary gear mechanism capable of continuously changing the inclination angle of the seat back is provided, and an operation mechanism for driving the planetary gear mechanism via a chain is provided on one of the lower arms.

This operating mechanism is fixed to an operating handle rotatably provided on the outer surface of one of the lower arms, a driving sprocket that rotates integrally with the operating handle, and a rotating shaft of a driving gear of a planetary gear mechanism. Driven sprocket,
And a chain wound around both sprockets. Therefore, when the operation handle is rotated, the rotation shaft is rotated via the chain, the planetary gear mechanism is operated, and the upper arm is rotated, so that the inclination angle of the seat back can be adjusted.

In the reclining seat having such a structure, the chain wound around the two sprockets is usually rotatably supported at another position by another driven sprocket. In such a structure in which the chain is supported by three sprockets, the sprockets are arranged according to the respective positions.
The chain wrap amount is different. That is, when the arrangement of the three sprockets is considered as a triangle, the chain is sufficiently wound around the sprocket arranged at the portion forming the acute angle, and the meshing between the teeth and the chain is sufficient. However, the sprocket arranged at the portion forming the obtuse angle has a smaller amount of winding of the chain than that of the sprocket located at the acute angle portion. For this reason, when the chain is stretched and loosened, problems such as tooth skipping are likely to occur in the portion where the chain is wound little.

However, in order to prevent such inconvenience, it is necessary to provide a special maneuvering structure for winding the chain around a large number of sprockets arranged at the portion forming the obtuse angle. This increases the reclining seat structure, which leads to problems such as an increase in the size of the device.

[0006]

The object of the present invention is based on the above-mentioned problem, and has a simple structure. The present invention is designed to prevent tooth jump and the like caused by the amount of winding of a chain rotatably supported by at least three sprockets. It is an object of the present invention to provide a reclining seat chain guide device capable of preventing a failure.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention transmits a turning force of an operation handle to a seat back rotatably provided on a seat cushion through a chain wound around at least three sprockets. In the reclining seat for adjusting the inclination angle of the seat back, at the position corresponding to at least one of the three sprockets , along the traveling direction of the chain , the tip of the sprocket tooth is provided.
A guide member made of a synthetic resin having an arcuate guide surface facing the guide member is provided, and the guide member extends along the chain.
One end in the extension direction is fixed to the seat, and the other end is
Constant elastic deformation is possible in the direction that comes into contact with and separates the tip of the proket
And ability of such free, further, a guide surface, that the corresponding clearance between the tip of the teeth of the sprocket, the position of the guide member to be smaller than the engagement allowance of the chain and the sprocket is determined Features.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a main part of an embodiment of a vehicle front seat reclining seat according to the present invention. At the left and right lower ends of the seat back B, upper arms 10 are respectively provided.
Are fixed, and the left and right upper arms 10 are pivotally connected to a pair of left and right lower arms 14 via hinge pins 12, respectively. The upper arm 10 is rotatably fitted to the hinge pin 12. The left and right hinge pins 12 are attached independently so as not to protrude inward of the seat cushion C.

On the floor 16, a pair of left and right lower rails 17 are fixed in parallel at a predetermined interval.
Each of the upper rails 7 is slidably fitted to the upper rail 7. The pair of left and right upper rails 18, respectively,
The lower arm 14 is fixed.
The seat cushion C is mounted therebetween via a support mechanism. Also, at the outer ends of the hinge pins 12 on both sides,
The ends are lower arm 14 and upper arm 10 respectively.
And a torsion spring (not shown) for urging the upper arm 10 to rotate constantly in a forwardly inclined direction is attached.

A ratchet mechanism 20 is provided in the vicinity of the hinge pins 12 of the lower arms 14 on both sides as a coarse adjustment mechanism for largely changing the inclination angle of the seat back B at one time. The ratchet mechanism 20 includes a hinge pin 1
2, a release arm 22 pivotally supported by the second gear plate 2, an intermediate gear plate 24 gear-coupled to the upper arm 10, and an engagement portion 26 a that can be disengaged from engagement teeth 24 a of the intermediate gear plate 24. The main pole 26 is provided. The left and right ratchet mechanisms 20 have basically the same structure, but one of the left and right
2 has a lever portion 22a at the distal end, but differs in that the other does not.

The release arm 22 has a lever portion 22a extending forward (to the left in FIG. 1).
The handle for operation is fixed to the tip of a. The pawl 26 is arranged close to the intermediate gear plate 24, and is pivotally supported by the lower arm 14 via a stepped pin 27. An engagement groove 26b is formed in the pole 26,
A roller 22c supported by a pin 22b implanted in the release arm 22 engages with the engagement groove 26b. When the release arm 22 is at the position shown in FIG. 1, the engagement groove 26 b engages the engagement portion 26 a of the pawl 26 with the engagement tooth 24 a of the intermediate gear plate 24, and the release arm 22
When the member rotates clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 1, the above-mentioned engagement is released.

The release arm 22 has a spring hook 22
In response to the urging force of the return spring 23 suspended between the lower arm 14 and the lower arm 14, the engaging portion 26a is pressed via the pin 22b, and is urged to rotate in the direction of engagement with the engaging tooth 24a. ing. As a result, the engaging portion 26a of the pawl 26 is always engaged with the engaging teeth 24a of the intermediate gear plate 24, and the upper arm 10 (seat back B) can be held at a predetermined different inclined position. In this embodiment,
The solid and imaginary lines show the three inclined positions of the upper arm 10.

When the lever portion 22a is rotated, the engaging portions 26a of the left and right pawls 26 are simultaneously moved to the intermediate gear plate 2.
4 is disengaged from the engaging teeth 24a of the left and right ratchet mechanisms 20.
Are driven simultaneously. The left and right ratchet mechanisms 20 are linked to each other by a ratchet link mechanism (not shown).

Each of the left and right lower arms 14 is formed with an arc-shaped groove 14a centered on the hinge pin 12, and a pin 22b is supported through the groove 14a.
Further, each of the left and right lower arms 14 is provided with a planetary gear mechanism 40 as a fine adjustment mechanism for continuously adjusting the inclination of the seat back B. The driven sprocket 42 of the planetary gear mechanism 40 is fixed to the hinge pin 12, and rotates integrally with the hinge pin 12.
An eccentric shaft (not shown) is formed on the hinge pin 12, and the eccentric shaft is rotatably fitted into a shaft hole of the upper arm 10. Also, the intermediate gear plate 24
Is rotatably fitted to the hinge pin 12.

An inner peripheral gear (not shown) is provided on the inner surface of each of the left and right upper arms 10, and an outer peripheral gear (not shown) is provided on the outer surface of each of the left and right intermediate gear plates 24.
Are embossed by precision press working or the like. These inner gear and outer gear are meshed with each other, and the number of teeth of the inner gear is formed at least one more than the number of teeth of the outer gear.

Normally, outer peripheral gear (intermediate gear plate 24)
Are locked so as not to rotate when the engaging portion 26a of the pawl 26 meshes with the engaging teeth 24a. In this state, when the driven sprocket 42 rotates, the hinge pin 12 and the eccentric shaft rotate integrally, and the outer gear meshes with the inner gear to revolve. Therefore, when the hinge pin 12 makes one rotation, the outer peripheral gear revolves once and the inner peripheral gear rotates by the difference in the number of teeth. That is, the upper arm 10 (the seat back B) having the inner peripheral gear integrally.
Is rotated, thereby changing the inclination angle of the seat back B.

An operating mechanism 50 for driving the planetary gear mechanism 40 is mounted on the outer surface of the lower arm 14. The operation mechanism 50 includes an operation handle 52 and a drive sprocket 54 that rotates integrally with the operation handle 52.
And a brake mechanism (not shown). This brake mechanism has no effect when a rotational torque is generated on the operating handle 52, but the drive sprocket 54
In addition, when a rotational torque is generated in the direction of tilting the upper arm 10 backward, the rotation of the upper arm 10 is prevented.

A driven sprocket 44 is fixed to each of the shafts 36 protruding to the outside of the left and right lower arms 14. The driven sprocket 44, the driving sprocket 54, and the driven sprocket 42 have operating handles 52, respectively.
Chain 56 for transmitting the operating force of the chain to the planetary gear mechanism 40
Is wrapped around. The chain 56 is wound around the sprockets 42, 44, 54 with a predetermined slack, and then pressed in an annular inward direction by a tension roller 55 to remove the slack. Therefore, when the operating handle 52 is rotated, the driving sprocket 54 rotates integrally, and the driven sprocket 4
The rotation of the driven sprocket 42 allows the inclination angle of one upper arm 10 to be changed via the planetary gear mechanism 40.

Each of the sprockets 42, 44, and 54 has a different amount of winding of the chain 56 depending on the position of the sprocket. That is, the sprockets 42, 4
When the arrangement of 4, 54 is considered as a triangle, a chain 56 is sufficiently wound around the driven sprocket 42 and the driving sprocket 54 arranged at the portion forming an acute angle, so that the teeth and the chain 56 mesh. Although it is sufficient, the driven sprocket 44 disposed in the portion forming the obtuse angle has a smaller amount of the chain 56 wound around the sprockets 42 and 54. Therefore, when the chain 56 is loosened, a tooth jump or the like is easily generated at a portion where the chain 56 meshes with the driven sprocket 44.

The chain guide device, which is a feature of the present invention, prevents such a problem and will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the chain guide device has a guide member 60 provided at a portion corresponding to the driven sprocket 44. The guide member 60 has a fixing portion 60 a to be fixed to the lower rail 14 side, a guide wall 60 b formed on one side of the guide member 60, and a guide surface 60 c to face the teeth 44 a of the driven sprocket 44. . Guide member 60
The positioning projection 61 and the screw hole 62
It is fixed to the lower rail 14 side by fitting the positioning protrusion 61 into a positioning hole provided on the lower rail 14 side and screwing a fixing screw inserted into the screw hole 62 to the lower rail 14 side. .

The guide member 60 has a clearance b between the tip end of the teeth 44a of the sprocket 44 and the guide surface 60c, and a margin a of engagement between the chain 56 and the sprocket 44.
The fixed position is determined so as to be smaller. Guide member 60 also has a synthetic resin material having a bullet power resistance
Is composed of a fee, the fixed part 6 of the extension direction of the end
The other end with respect to 0a is an unfixed free end.
Therefore, the free end side elastically deforms in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
be able to.

Similarly, a chain 56 is wound around driven sprockets 42 and 44 located on the other side of the reclining seat, and the rotation of one driven sprocket 44 is controlled by a shaft 36 connecting the left and right sides of the other. This is transmitted to the driven sprocket 44 so that the other upper arm 10 is transmitted through the other planetary gear mechanism 40.
Also, the inclination angle can be changed integrally with one upper arm 10. That is, when the operation handle 52 is rotated, the shaft 36
The left and right planetary gear mechanisms 40 are interlocked via the, and a tilt force in the same direction acts on the left and right sides of the seat back B simultaneously, so that the tilt angle of the seat back B changes.

The present reclining seat having the above configuration functions as follows. That is, the seat back B
The (upper arm 10) is normally stopped at an inclined position shown by a solid line in FIG. 1, the inclination angle of the seat back B can be greatly changed at a time by operating the release arm 22, and the occupant can be in an optimal position. In order to achieve the above, the inclination angle of the seat back B can be adjusted by turning the operation handle 52. When the occupant rotates the operation handle 52 at the time of adjusting the tilt angle, one planetary gear mechanism 40 via the drive sprocket 54, the chain 56 and the driven sprocket 42, and the other planetary gear mechanism via the shaft 36. 40 are simultaneously driven, and the inclination angle of the seat back B (upper arm 10) changes.

The rotation of the operation handle 52 causes the chain 56 wound around the driving sprocket 54 and the driven sprockets 44 and 42 to rotate the sprocket 5.
Move on 4, 44, 42. Among the three sprockets 54, 44 and 42, as described above, the chain 5
Since 6 is guided by the guide member 60, even if loosening occurs, troubles such as tooth skipping do not occur.

That is, when the chain 56 is loosened, in the sprocket 44, the slack portion which is to bulge downward and outward in FIG. Be regulated. Moreover, since the clearance b between the tip of the teeth 44a of the sprocket 44 and the guide surface 60c is set smaller than the meshing allowance a of the chain 56 and the sprocket 44, the meshing state between the teeth 44a of the sprocket 44 and the chain 56 is set. Is always secured. Further, the guide member 60 has a certain elastic deformation.
The chain 56 is loosened and
The chain 56 tries to play
In this case, the guide member 60 itself is
The chain 56 is loosened and impacted by elastic deformation
Absorbs to some extent and attempts to recover from elastic deformation
Therefore, the chain 56 is moved in the meshing direction with the sprocket 44.
Can be energized. As a result, the chain 56 and
When the number of teeth 44a of the proket 44 is small
Also, it is easy to ensure the meshing state.

[0026]

According to the present invention, as described above, the present invention has a simple structure and reliably prevents problems such as tooth skipping caused by the amount of chain wrapping around a chain rotatably supported by at least three sprockets. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a reclining seat according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing a main part of a chain guide device of the reclining seat.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part of the chain guide device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 42 44 Driven sprocket 44a Teeth 52 Operation handle 54 Drive sprocket 56 Chain 60 Guide member 60c Guide surface a Meshing allowance b Clearance B Seat back C Seat cushion

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47C 1/025 B60N 2/10

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A turning mechanism for operating a steering wheel, comprising: a seat back rotatably provided on a seat cushion;
In a reclining seat that transmits through a chain wrapped around three sprockets and adjusts the inclination angle of the seat back, a position corresponding to at least one of the three sprockets is provided along a traveling direction of the chain. , The sprocket
Tree with an arcuate guide surface facing the tip of a tooth
A guide member made of oil is provided, and one end of the guide member in the extending direction along the chain is provided.
Part to the seat, the other end of the sprocket teeth
Free to allow constant elastic deformation in the direction of first contact and separation
And then, further, to the above guide surface, the clearance between the corresponding front end portion of the teeth of the sprocket, the position <br/> location of the guide member is determined to be less than the engagement allowance of the chain and the sprocket A chain guide device for a reclining seat.