JP3190786B2 - Seat reclining device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seat reclining device in an automobile seat device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A seat reclining device is a device for setting an inclination angle of a seat back in a seat device of an automobile to secure a comfortable posture or an optimum driving posture of a seated person.

A conventional seat reclining device is shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, a seat back 4 is fixed to a base plate 2 fixed to a seat cushion 1 via a hinge shaft 3.
The arm 5 is rotatably supported on the arm 5 and an upper tooth 6 having a tooth 6a formed on a circumference of a predetermined radius centered on the hinge shaft 3 is connected to the arm 5, and the arm 6 is connected to the tooth 6a. A lower tooth 7 having an engaging and disengaging tooth portion 7 a is supported by the base plate 2.

[0004] A cam 8 for rotating the lower tooth 7 and an operation lever 9 for rotating the cam 8 are rotatably supported by the base plate 2. In order to hold both the hinge shaft 3, the lower tooth 7, the cam 8, and the shafts 7e, 9a of the operation lever 9, the holder plate 2a
Are arranged in parallel with the base plate 2. And
A spring 9b is mounted between the operation lever 9 and the base plate 2, and the cam 8 moves the lower tooth 7 to the upper tooth 6
Is always urged to press.

[0005] Then, a pin protruding toward the base plate 2 side is protruded from the upper part 6 or the arm 5, and an arc-shaped long hole for inserting the pin is formed in the base plate 2 within a predetermined angle range around the hinge shaft 3. Alternatively, a standing bent portion that comes into contact with the pin within a predetermined angle range is protruded.

If the operation lever 9 is lifted upward and rotated, the cam 8 rotates and the contact portion 8a moves away from the normal contact portion 7b of the lower tooth 7 and moves into the cam groove 7c. While lowering the contact portion 7d, the lower tooth 7 separates from the upper part 6 and the meshing of the lower tooth 7 is released, so that the upper part 6 is rotatable about the hinge shaft 3.

Therefore, when the occupant releases the operation lever 9 at the stage when the seat back 4 is set at a desired angle, the operation lever 9 returns to the original state by the force of the spring 9b, and the cam 8 rotates in the opposite direction. The contact portion 8a is moved from the cam groove 7c to the normal contact portion 7a.
b, and the lower tooth 7 is pressed against the upper tooth 6 so that the teeth 6a and 7a of the two mesh with each other, whereby the seat back 4 is locked at a desired inclination angle.

[0008]

However, according to the conventional seat reclining device, since the forward and backward inclination angles of the arm 5 are often different for each vehicle type, the flange portion 2b is formed on the base plate 2. The notch portion and the arc-shaped long hole and the bent portion within a predetermined angle range centered on the hinge shaft 3 must be formed for each operating angle such as a vehicle type, so that the seat reclining device is used for each operating angle. It becomes extremely difficult.

The applicant has proposed that the locking mechanism (upper tooth, lower tooth, and cam) of the seat reclining device be unitized in order to share the operating angle of the seat reclining device. In the case where is unitized, when the automatic assembling is attempted, the assembling work of the spring 9b for urging the cam 8 toward the lock side is a bottleneck. This is because, because of the tension spring, the hooks at both ends are entangled with each other and it is difficult to carry out selection by a machine.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a seat reclining device having a lock mechanism unit having a structure that can be automatically assembled.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, a seat reclining device according to the present invention has an upper tooth having an arcuate tooth and a lower tooth having a tooth meshing with the tooth of the upper tooth. And a cam that engages with and disengages from the lower tooth to engage and disengage the tooth portion between the two holder plates. The cam and the lower tooth are disengaged by rotating the cam in a direction away from the shaft supporting portion of the lower tooth, and a compression spring is formed between the cam and the lower tooth by the two holder plates in a cylindrical shape.
The cam is pressed and urged against the upper part by the cam, and the compression spring is sandwiched and elastically mounted on the bent part, and the lower spring is biased against the upper part.

[0012]

[Action] When against the cam to the force of the compression spring is rotated to release the engagement of the upper tooth and Roatsusu, compression situ
The spring is compressed and the lower tooth pivots away from the cam to release the lock. When there is no more force to rotate the cam,
When the compression spring expands and the cam rotates in the opposite direction, the lower tooth rotates toward the upper part side and the two mesh with each other to be locked.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiment. 1 and 2 show a seat reclining device,
This seat reclining device is configured using the lock mechanism unit 24 of the lock mechanism shown in FIGS.

The lock mechanism unit 24 will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. An upper tooth 11, a lower tooth 12, and a cam 13 are provided between two holder plates 10.
Are rotatably supported by shafts 11a, 12a and 13a, respectively, to form a lock mechanism unit 24. Axis 12
13a and 13a are holder plates 10 at both ends.
And has a length that allows the protruding end to pass through a through hole formed in the base plate and be caulked.

The reason why the both ends of the shafts 12a and 13a are projected at a predetermined length is that when the lock mechanism unit 24 is disposed on the left and right base plates of the seat device, the lock mechanism units 24 are respectively disposed outside the base plate. Because it must be. Also, the shaft 11a is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), embossed holes 10a are formed in two holder plates 10, and both embossed holes 10a are formed.
Are formed in conformity with each other. Embossed hole 10a
, A hinge shaft 23 is inserted.

A hinge shaft 2 is attached to the upper part 11.
3, a tooth portion 11b is formed on the circumference of a predetermined radius around the center, and a through hole 1 for connecting the arm 27 (FIG. 1).
1c is drilled. An arm 27 provided with a through-hole matching this through-hole 11c is overlapped with a pin 26 (FIG. 1).
Is inserted, and the pins 26 are connected by caulking. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, a spacer plate 30 is interposed between the upper part 11 and the arm 27 to
Tighten together at 6. The spacer plate 30 having a different length for each operating angle such as a vehicle type is prepared.

The spacer plate 30 is an arc-shaped plate along the circumference of a predetermined radius centering on the hinge shaft 23. As shown in FIG. 2, the spacer plate 30 is arranged on the same plane as the holder plate 10 and both ends 33, 35 are provided on the holder plate. It contacts the plate 10. Therefore, the stepped portion is formed on the arm 27 to form the offset portion 31, and the holder plate 10 has the circumferential portion 3 having a predetermined radius centered on the hinge shaft 23.
2, an inclined portion 34 with which the front end 33 of the spacer plate 30 contacts, and a contact portion 36 with which the rear end 35 contacts.

The lower tooth 12 has a cam portion 15 formed on the other end portion opposite to the shaft support end portion, a tooth portion 12b formed on an upper side of the cam portion 15, and a spring hook on the shaft support end portion side. A protrusion 16 is formed. An arc-shaped part 17 is formed between the cam part 15 and the spring hooking part 16.

The cam 13 is a cam portion 1 of the lower tooth 12.
5 and a pin insertion hole 19 formed at an end 14 opposite to the contact portion 18 across the shaft 13a.
, And a spring hooking projection 20 is formed at the end portion 14.

A compression spring 21 is elastically mounted between the spring projection 20 of the cam 13 and the spring projection 16 of the lower tooth 12, and biases the cam 13 to rotate counterclockwise about the shaft 13a. I have. An operation lever 28 is coaxially and rotatably supported on a shaft 13a of the cam 13, and as shown in FIG.
The pin 29 protruding from the operation lever 28 is inserted into the pin insertion hole 19.

As shown in FIG. 6, the handle 21a may be formed by extending both ends of the compression spring 21 linearly in the same direction perpendicular to the axial direction. This handle 21a
Is compressed by being held or pinched by a jig, and both ends are fitted and fitted into the spring-hanging projections 16 and 20, and the handle 21a is bent by bending the holder plate 10 as shown in FIG. Part 2
By interposing between the two, assemblability is improved.

The holder plate 10 has shafts 11a, 12
a, a substantially triangular plate formed by connecting 13a
As shown in FIG. 4 (C), the compression springs 21 are formed on the cylindrical guide covers 22 which are formed by bending each holder plate into an arc shape having a substantially semicircular cross section so as to prevent the compression springs 21 from dropping. When inserted and compressed, illegal deformation (deformation in directions other than expansion and contraction in the axial direction) is regulated.

Therefore, this lock mechanism unit 24 is
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the protruding ends of the shafts 12 a and 13 a are inserted into holes corresponding to the specific base plate 25, and the ends are connected by caulking.
The arm 27 and the spacer plate 30 are connected to the through hole 11 c of the upper part 11 via the pin 26. The arm 27 has a through hole into which the hinge shaft 23 is fitted.
a. The length of the spacer plate 30 is determined for each operation angle, and the reclining device for each operation angle can be easily manufactured by appropriately selecting and assembling the spacer plate.

An operation lever 28 is coaxially mounted on the shaft 13a, and a pin 29 protruding from the operation lever 28 is inserted into a pin insertion hole 19 of the cam 13 so that the two can rotate together to seat recline. Forming device. Further, as shown in FIG.
7 is attached, and the outer end of the spiral spring 37 is engaged with one of the pins 26 by lengthening one of the pins 26.
7 is always urged to rotate forward.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, when the operating lever 28 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 13a, the cam 13 rotates clockwise while compressing the compression spring 21 about the shaft 13a. As shown, the contact portion 18 separates from the cam portion 15.

Accordingly, the lower tooth 12 urged to rotate clockwise by the compression spring 21 rotates clockwise about the shaft 12a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the engagement between the teeth 11b and the teeth 12b starts to be released.

Therefore, the contact portion 18 of the cam 13 is
5, as shown in FIG.
b, 12b are completely disengaged, and the cam portion 15 is
Move to the side of 8.

Therefore, the upper part 11 is
It becomes a state where it can rotate around a. Lower tooth 1
2 is never completely free from the cam 13,
It always contacts the cam 13 to maintain the engagement relationship.

Then, the arm 27 is inclined forward by the force of the spiral spring 37 which is biased by rotation, and the front end 33 of the spacer plate 30 contacts the inclined portion 34 of the holder plate 10 to regulate the forward inclination. Conversely, when the arm 27 is finally tilted via the seat back, the spacer plate 3
The rear end 35 of the zero is in contact with the contact portion 36 of the holder plate 10 to regulate the rearmost inclination.

Further, when the seat back is tilted at a desired angle and the operating lever 28 is released, the operating lever 28 returns to the original state by the force of the compression spring 21, and the cam 13 rotates in the opposite direction.

The contact portion 18 of the cam 13 is
, The lower tooth 12 is rotated by the force of the compression spring 21 to rotate counterclockwise around the shaft 12a, and the tooth portion is rotated. 12b meshes with the tooth portion 11b of the upper part 11. Therefore, the inclination angle of the seat back set as desired by the seated person is maintained.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the arm 27 and the holder plate 1 are used.
0, upper parts 11, lower teeth 12, cam 13
An example is shown in which the lock mechanism unit 24 in which the shape of the operation lever 28 is slightly changed is completed as a seat reclining device. The arm 27 is composed of a single plate whose center is fitted to the hinge shaft 23, and the hinge shaft 2
An arc around the center 3 covers the teeth 11b. 41
Is a spiral spring whose inner end is locked to the hinge shaft 23. The operation lever 28 and the cam 13 are connected by a pin 29.

The spring 21 has the holder plate 10 at both ends.
And the spring projections 16a formed on the cam 13 respectively.
20 and, as shown in FIG.
As in FIG. 4C, the two holder plates 10, 1
A guide cover 22 having a semicircular cross-section is provided in a part of the inner cover 0, and is inserted into a cylindrical space formed on the matching inner surface side, and is illegally deformed when compressed (deformation in a direction other than the axial expansion and contraction). ) Is regulated. Spring hook 1
6a is formed by forming a notch 42 for separating from the guide cover 22 in one of the holder plates 10 so as to be located at the center of the end of the spring 21. The guide cover 22 is provided with a cutout 43 into which the pin 29 of the cam 13 is inserted by operating the operation lever 28.

FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the lower tooth 12 is formed with a lever portion 12c protruding toward the cam 13, and the end of the lever portion 12c is formed in an arc shape. Arc-shaped recess 1 formed and abutted against it
3b is formed on the cam 13. The lever portion 12c can forcibly rotate the lower tooth 12 in conjunction with the movement of the cam 13.

[0035]

According to the present invention described above, the size of the lock mechanism unit can be reduced by using the compression spring, and the hook portion does not need to be provided. Without difficulty, automation of the assembly can therefore be facilitated.

By forming the spring hooking projection on either the lower tooth or the holder plate and the cam, there is no fear that the compression spring will come off when the compression spring is assembled. Furthermore, since the compression spring is sandwiched between the cylindrical bent portions formed on the holder plate, the compression spring is prevented from being deformed improperly.In addition, since the handle portions are formed at both ends of the compression spring, when the compression spring is assembled, It is easy to handle with a jig and the assemblability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a lock mechanism unit.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line AA (A), a sectional view taken along line BB (B), and a sectional view taken along line CC (C) of FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are explanatory diagrams of the operation.

FIG. 6 is a front view (A), a side view (B), and a cross-sectional view (C) of an example of an elastic arrangement showing a modification of the compression spring of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a main part showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Holder plate 11 ... Upper tooth 12 ... Lower tooth 13 ... Cam 15 ... Cam part 16a, 20 ... Spring hook protrusion 21 ... Compression spring 27 ... Arm 28 ... Operation lever

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A47C 1/025

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An upper tooth having an arcuate tooth, a lower tooth having a tooth engaged with the tooth of the upper tooth, and a cam engaging and disengaging the lower tooth to engage and disengage the tooth. In a seat reclining device having a lock mechanism unit rotatably supporting between the two holder plates, the engagement between the two is achieved by rotating the cam in a direction away from the shaft supporting portion of the lower tooth. With the configuration to remove,
Form a cylindrical bent part with the two holder plates
A seat reclining device characterized in that the compression spring is sandwiched and elastically mounted on the bent portion and the cam presses and biases the lower tooth against the upper part. 2. An upper tooth having an arcuate tooth, a lower tooth having a tooth engaged with the tooth of the upper tooth, and a cam engaging and disengaging the lower tooth to engage and disengage the tooth. In a seat reclining device having a lock mechanism unit rotatably supporting between the two holder plates, the engagement between the two is achieved by rotating the cam in a direction away from the shaft supporting portion of the lower tooth. With the configuration to remove,
Hol compression spring two said between cam and the holder plate
A bend plate is used to form a cylindrical bend, and
A seat reclining device characterized in that a cam is pressed and urged against an upper part by holding and compressing the compression spring . 3. A seat reclining apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 ends of the compression spring in either the cam Roatsusu or holder plate is characterized in that to form a spring peg projection engaging. 4. The seat reclining apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3 extends both ends of the compression springs in the direction perpendicular to the respective axis, characterized in that the formation of the handle portion.