JP3747889B2 - Slide device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a slide device applied to, for example, a vehicle seat device.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A vehicle seat device provided with a slide device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-246967. The above publication discloses a vehicle including a slide device for moving the seat in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a rotating device for rotating between a seating position facing the front of the vehicle and a boarding / alighting position facing the vehicle entrance / exit. A sheet apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed. The sliding device includes left and right fixed rails that extend in the vehicle front-rear direction on the vehicle floor, and a movable rail that is slidably supported by the fixed rail. The fixed-side rail and the movable-side rail are arranged so that the side surfaces face each other, and a plurality of balls held by the ball cage are interposed between the facing side surfaces. The ball rolls in a triangular guide groove formed on the opposing surface of the fixed side rail and the movable side rail, so that the movable side rail slides smoothly with respect to the fixed side rail. ing.
In the slide device configured as described above, in order to improve the durability of the guide groove on which the ball rolls, the guide groove is quenched to ensure the hardness of the groove surface. In this case, since the groove surface is distorted, there is a problem that a distortion correcting process is required, and manufacturing labor and cost are increased.
[0003]
Therefore, the present applicant has proposed Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-278945 (hereinafter referred to as the prior invention) as a slide device for solving the above-described problems. FIG. 9 schematically shows the slide device of the prior invention. As shown in the figure, the slide device of the prior invention is configured such that the movable rail 101 is sandwiched from above and below by the upper rail 102 and the lower rail 103 which are fixed rails. As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of balls that roll on guide grooves 101 a to 103 a are provided between the opposing surfaces of the movable rail 101 and the upper rail 102 and between the opposing surfaces of the movable rail 101 and the lower rail 103. 104 are interposed, and these balls 104 are held in a predetermined arrangement by a ball cage 105 made of a long plate made of resin. The guide grooves 101a to 103a are formed in two rows on the opposing surface of each rail, and the formation intervals of the two rows of guide grooves 101a to 103a are determined when the balls 104 that roll on the rails 104 are viewed from the rail moving direction. They are set to overlap each other.
According to the slide device configured as described above, a sufficient number of balls 104 are installed between the movable rail 101, the upper rail 102, and the lower rail 103 while ensuring the sliding amount of the movable rail 101 with respect to the fixed rail. can do. For this reason, sufficient load resistance can be ensured without quenching the groove surfaces of the guide grooves 101a to 103a.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the sliding device of the prior invention, the upper and lower balls are caused by fluctuations in the load acting on the upper ball 104 between the movable rail 101 and the upper rail 102 and the lower ball 104 between the movable rail 101 and the lower rail 103. There is a possibility that a displacement in the moving direction occurs in 104. When such a displacement occurs, when the movable rail 101 slides, the ball 104 reaches the stroke end at an early stage by an amount corresponding to the displacement. As a result, the movable rail 101 There is a problem that a predetermined sliding amount cannot be secured.
The above-described problem of misalignment can be solved by, for example, integrally forming the upper and lower ball cages. However, since the ball cage is formed into a U-shaped cross section, for example, the ball cage is formed of a resin molded product. In some cases, there is a problem that the mold for forming the ball cage becomes extremely complicated and the cost increases.
[0005]
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plurality of rolling surfaces between opposed surfaces of members slidably opposed to each other. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique for preventing a plurality of cages from being displaced from each other in a slide device provided with a plurality of rolling elements and cages that hold the rolling elements in a predetermined arrangement.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the slide device according to the present invention is configured as described in claims 1 to 4. In the inventions according to these claims, the first member and another member are slidably opposed to each other, and a sliding direction is provided between the opposed surfaces of the first member and the other member. In the slide device in which a plurality of rolling elements that roll along a guide groove formed along the guide groove are arranged, and the plurality of rolling elements are held in a predetermined arrangement by a cage, the opposing surfaces of the first member and another member This is a technique for preventing a plurality of cages provided between them from being displaced from each other.
[0007]
In the slide device according to claim 1, a plurality of guide grooves are provided in a parallel state, a plurality of rolling elements and cages are provided corresponding to the plurality of guide grooves, and the plurality of cages include the slide. Engagement portions that engage with each other in the direction are formed. In this case, the engaging aspect of the engaging portion is performed, for example, in a form of surface contact with each other via a plane, a curved surface, or a slope that intersects the sliding direction.
Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of cages are integrated via the engaging portions with respect to the sliding direction, so that the load acting on the rolling elements held by the respective cages is not affected. The positional deviation of the plurality of cages can be prevented. In the first aspect of the invention, since the plurality of cages are not formed integrally but separately formed, for example, if the cage is formed of a resin material, the cage mold can be simplified. This improves cage productivity and reduces costs.
[0008]
In the slide device according to claim 2, in the slide device according to claim 1, the other member includes a second member slidably opposed to one surface of the first member, and the other member of the first member. And a third member slidably facing the surface. And one cage arrange | positioned at the opposing surface of a 1st member and a 2nd member, and the other cage arrange | positioned at the opposing surface of a 1st member and a 3rd member slide through an engaging part. It is characterized by being engaged with each other in the direction. In this case, the direction in which the members face each other includes a form in which they face each other in the vertical direction (vertical direction) and a form in which they face each other in the left-right direction (horizontal direction).
In the case of the slide device configured as described above, the magnitude of the load acting on the rolling elements disposed on both surfaces of the first member with the first member interposed therebetween is likely to be different from each other, and the rolling element is positioned. Although it is easy to cause the displacement, the slide device having such a configuration can effectively prevent the displacement of the cage.
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the slide device according to the second aspect, the one cage and the other cage are formed in the same shape, and the engaging portion formed in each cage is a sliding device. Concave portions and convex portions formed alternately in the moving direction are provided. Then, the engaging portion formed on one cage and the engaging portion formed on the other cage are arranged in the concave portion of the one engaging portion with the other cage inverted with respect to the one cage. The projections of the other engagement portion are fitted, and the projections of one engagement portion are engaged with each other by fitting into the recesses of the other engagement portion.
Therefore, according to the invention of claim 3, since one cage and the other cage are formed in the same shape, they can be manufactured using the same mold. For this reason, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the engaging portion having a reasonable engaging structure can be configured without wasting material.
[0010]
In the slide device according to a fourth aspect, in the slide device according to the second or third aspect, the respective members are overlapped in the same direction, and the engaging portions can be separated from each other in a direction in which the respective members overlap each other. It is characterized by having. Therefore, according to the invention of claim 4, for example, after the third member, the cage, the first member, the cage, and the second member are stacked in this order from the lower side, the lowermost second member and the uppermost third member are stacked. In the case where the above-described members are assembled by joining the members with bolts or the like, the engaging portions formed on the upper and lower cages can be assembled by overlapping the cages. For this reason, the assembly | attachment operation | work of the cage with respect to each said member can be performed easily.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The slide device according to the present embodiment is applied to a vehicle seat device. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the slide device, and FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. The sliding device for a vehicle seat device includes left and right fixed rails 10 that extend in the vehicle front-rear direction on a vehicle floor F, and a movable rail 20 that is slidably supported by the left and right fixed rails 10. ing. The movable rail 20 corresponds to the first member in the present invention, and the fixed rail 10 corresponds to another member in the present invention. The movable rail 20 is formed in a flat plate shape having a lateral width that can be laid between the left and right fixed rails 10, and on the upper surface thereof, as schematically shown by a two-dot chain line, one side from the center in the width direction is formed. A turntable 21 composed of an outer ring 21a and an inner ring 21b is provided at a position offset from the side edge. Although not shown, a seat is supported on an outer race 21a as a movable wheel of the turntable 21 via a flat seat mounting bracket. A gear 21c that meshes with a rack (not shown) provided on one fixed-side rail 10 is formed on the outer periphery of the outer ring 21a. In the state shown in FIG. 1, the seat faces the front of the vehicle, and when the movable rail 20 slides forward from the state, the outer ring 21a rotates while meshing with the rack. Rotated in the direction.
[0012]
As shown in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixed rail 10 includes an upper rail 11 and a lower rail 12. The upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12 have the same cross-sectional shape obtained by press-molding a long plate made of an iron plate and bent so as to deviate in the vertical direction in the rail width direction. Are fixed to a bracket M on the floor F by mounting bolts 13. The fixed-side rail 10 having a substantially U-shaped space in the half in the width direction is configured by overlapping the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12. Two rows of guide grooves 11a and 12a are formed on the opposing surfaces of the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12 on the U-shaped space side so as to be adjacent to each other and recessed in an arc shape, and the guide grooves 11a and 12a are formed in the rail longitudinal direction. It is extended parallel to.
[0013]
The movable rail 20 is formed in a shape in which a flat iron plate is bent by press molding so that left and right width direction end portions are shifted downward. Both end portions in the width direction of the movable rail 20 are located in the U-shaped space of the left and right fixed rails 10, and the upper and lower surfaces of the end portions in the width direction have a predetermined interval in the vertical direction with respect to the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12. Are facing each other. Two rows of guide grooves 20a are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the end portion in the width direction of the movable rail 20 so as to correspond to the guide grooves 11a of the upper rail 11 and the guide grooves 12a of the lower rail 12 and are respectively recessed in an arc shape. Is formed. The upper rail 11 corresponds to the second member referred to in the present invention, and the lower rail 12 corresponds to the third member referred to in the present invention.
Between the opposed surfaces of the movable rail 10 and the upper rail 11, a plurality of balls (steel balls) 31 as rolling elements that roll in the guide grooves 20 a and 11 a are interposed, and between the movable rail 20 and the lower rail 12. A plurality of balls 32 as rolling elements that roll on the guide grooves 20a and 12a are interposed between the opposing surfaces. Thus, the movable rail 20 can be slid between the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12 of the fixed rail 10 from above and below via the upper and lower balls 31 and 32. The intervals between the adjacent guide grooves 20a, 11a, and 12a are set so that the balls 31 and 32 positioned in the guide grooves 20a, 11a, and 12a overlap each other when viewed from the rail longitudinal direction.
[0014]
The upper balls 31 disposed between the movable rail 20 and the upper rail 11 are held at a predetermined interval by an upper ball cage 33 as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, and are disposed between the movable rail 20 and the lower rail 12. The lower balls 32 are held at a predetermined interval by a lower ball cage 34 as shown in FIG. The upper ball cage 33 and the lower ball cage 34 are long plate bodies each having a constant width formed of a resin material, and are formed in the same shape having a substantially L-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion and a vertical portion. . The horizontal portions of the upper and lower ball cages 33, 34 constitute holding portions 35, 36 that hold the balls 31, 32, and the vertical portion wraps around the end in the width direction of the movable rail 20 and moves to the upper and lower ball cages 33. , 34 constitute engaging portions 37, 38 that engage with each other in the longitudinal direction. The ball cages 33 and 34 described above correspond to the cage in the present invention.
[0015]
The holding portions 35 and 36 of the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 are thick at the center in the width direction and thin at both sides, and the holding portions 35 and 36 have a plurality of ball holding holes in two rows in the longitudinal direction. 35a and 36a are formed. The ball holding holes 35a and 36a in each row are alternately displaced in the longitudinal direction, and the ball holding holes 35a and 36a in one row are intermediate between the ball holding holes 35a and 36a located in the front and rear of the other row. The ball holding holes 35a and 36a located at the front and rear as viewed from the width direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction overlap each other. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the ball holding holes 35a and 36a in each row are formed so as to overlap each other when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the ball cages 33 and 34 so as to correspond to the guide grooves 20a, 11a and 12a. ing. The ball holding holes 35a and 36a are formed across both the thick part and the thin part. The balls 31 and 32 are pushed into the ball holding holes 35a and 36a by utilizing the flexibility of the resin material, and are held rotatably in a state where parts are exposed from both surfaces of the holding portions 35 and 36. .
[0016]
The engaging portions 37, 38 of the upper and lower ball cages 33, 34 are constituted by a plurality of convex portions 37a, 38a and concave portions 37b, 38b that are alternately formed in the longitudinal direction. The convex portions 37a and 38a are formed in a block shape having a rectangular cross section extending in the longitudinal direction, and the concave portions 37b and 38b are formed in a shape in which the convex portions 37a and 38a are fitted. Then, the upper engaging portion 37 formed on the upper ball cage 33 and the lower engaging portion 38 formed on the lower ball cage 34 connect the upper ball cage 33 to the lower ball cage 34. When reversed and overlapped, the convex portion 37a and the concave portion 37b of the upper engaging portion 37 are configured to fit into the concave portion 38b and the convex portion 38a of the lower engaging portion 38, whereby the upper and lower balls The cages 33 and 34 are engaged with each other in the sliding direction. That is, the upper and lower engaging portions 37 and 38 are engaged with each other in the sliding direction, but can be separated from each other in the direction in which the rails overlap each other. At this time, the engaging portions 37 and 38 are engaged with each other through a plane intersecting at right angles to the sliding direction.
[0017]
As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the longitudinal ends of the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12 of the fixed side rail 10 can contact the longitudinal ends of the ball cages 33 and 34. A stopper 41 is provided. Thereby, the stroke end of the balls 31 and 32 with respect to the fixed side rail 10, that is, the stroke end of the movable side rail 20 is determined.
[0018]
The slide device according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. As shown in FIG. 8, first, the lower rail 12 is placed on an assembly jig (not shown). A lower ball cage 34 to which a ball 32 is previously attached is placed on the upper portion so that the engaging portion 38 faces upward. At this time, the ball cage 34 is positioned so that one end in the longitudinal direction of the ball cage 34 comes into contact with the front or rear stopper 41 attached to the lower rail 12. Next, the movable rail 20 is placed on the lower ball cage 34 so that the balls 32 fit into the guide grooves 20a.
Subsequently, the upper ball cage 33 having the balls 31 previously mounted thereon is placed on the movable rail 20 so that the engaging portion 37 faces downward. At this time, the convex portions 37a and 38a of the engaging portions 37 and 38 of the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 are fitted to the concave portions 37b and 38b, whereby the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 are engaged with each other in the sliding direction. And are relatively positioned. Next, the upper rail 11 is placed on the upper ball cage 33 so that the balls 31 fit into the guide grooves 12a. Thereafter, the overlapping portion of the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12 is coupled by the bolt 14. Thus, the slide device in which the movable rail 20 slides with respect to the fixed rail 10 is assembled.
The slide device assembled as described above can be assembled to the vehicle by fixing the fixed rail 10 to the bracket M on the floor F with the mounting bolt 13 as described above.
[0019]
In the slide device according to the present embodiment, the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 that hold the upper and lower balls 31 and 32 rotatably at a predetermined interval are slid in the sliding direction via the engaging portions 37 and 38. Is engaged. For this reason, the load acting on the upper ball 31 and the load acting on the lower ball 32 are different from each other (the lower load is large), and the load fluctuates as the movable rail 20 slides. Even if the upper and lower balls 31 and 32 are about to be displaced in the sliding direction due to the above, the displacement can be prevented. Thereby, a predetermined stroke amount of the movable rail 20 can be maintained.
[0020]
Further, since the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 are not formed integrally, but formed separately, the cage mold can be simplified, and the work of assembling the balls 31 and 32 to the ball cages 33 and 34 can be performed. It can be done easily. In that case, since the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 are formed in the same shape including the engaging portions 37 and 38, they can be manufactured using one type of mold. For this reason, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the engaging portions 37 and 38 having a reasonable engaging structure can be provided without wasting materials.
Further, the upper and lower ball cages 33 and 34 can be assembled by inverting the other ball cages 33 and 34 with respect to the one ball cage 33 and 34, and the direction of the stack is different for each. Since the rails 11, 12, and 20 are the same as the overlapping direction, the assembly work to the rails can be easily performed.
[0021]
In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the summary.
For example, in the slide device according to the embodiment, the movable side rail 20 has been described as being sandwiched from above and below by the upper rail 11 and the lower rail 12 of the fixed side rail 10 via the balls 31 and 32. The present invention may be applied to a slide device having a structure in which the fixed side rail is sandwiched from the left and right (side) via the ball.
The movable rail is slidably opposed to the fixed rail in one plane, and a plurality of rows of guide grooves extending in the sliding direction between the opposed surfaces, and a plurality of balls rolling in the respective guide grooves. The present invention may be applied to a slide device having a configuration provided with
Further, in the present embodiment, the engaging portions 37, 38 are constituted by a plurality of convex portions 37a, 38a and concave portions 37b, 38b alternately formed in the sliding direction. Even if it is the engagement structure by a part and a recessed part, the shape of a convex part and a recessed part etc. can be changed suitably. Further, the engaging mode of the engaging portions 37 and 38 does not have to be the plane surface contact perpendicular to the sliding direction described in the embodiment, and is the surface contact of the inclined surface or curved surface orthogonal to the sliding direction. May be.
In the present embodiment, the guide grooves 11a, 12a, and 20a formed on the opposing surface of the upper rail 11 and the movable rail 20 and the opposing surface of the lower rail 12 and the movable rail 20 are each in two rows. These may be formed in one row or three or more rows. In addition, the rolling elements disposed between the fixed rail 10 and the movable rail 20 can use rollers instead of the balls 31 and 32.
Moreover, although this Embodiment demonstrated as a slide apparatus applied to the vehicle seat apparatus, the application is not limited to a vehicle seat apparatus.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a plurality of rolling elements that roll between the opposing surfaces between the opposing surfaces of the members that are slidably opposed to each other, and a cage that holds the rolling members in a predetermined arrangement. In the slide device provided with a plurality of the above, a technique for preventing the plurality of cages from being displaced from each other can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a slide device applied to a vehicle seat device. FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the slide device.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing upper and lower ball cages.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the upper ball cage.
7 is a view taken in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating assembly of the slide device.
FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a conventional slide device.
10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line DD of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Fixed side rail 11 ... Upper rail 11a ... Guide groove 12 ... Lower rail 12a ... Guide groove 20 ... Movable side rail 20a ... Guide groove 31 ... Upper ball 32 ... Lower ball 33 ... Upper ball cage 34 ... Lower ball cage 35, 36 ... holding portions 37, 38 ... engaging portions 37a, 38a ... convex portions 37b, 38b ... concave portions

Claims (4)

A first member and another member are slidably opposed to each other, and a guide groove extending in a sliding direction is formed on a facing surface between the first member and the other member. A plurality of rolling elements that can roll along the guide groove are disposed between the opposing surfaces of the other members, and the plurality of rolling elements are slide devices that are held in a predetermined arrangement by a cage,
A plurality of guide grooves are provided in parallel , and a plurality of rolling elements and cages are provided corresponding to the plurality of guide grooves, and the plurality of cages engage with each other in the sliding direction. The slide device in which the part is formed. The sliding device according to claim 1,
The another member includes a second member slidably opposed to one surface of the first member and a third member slidably opposed to the other surface of the first member. One of the cages disposed on the opposing surface of the first member and the second member and the other cage disposed on the opposing surfaces of the first member and the third member are in the sliding direction via an engaging portion. A sliding device characterized by being engaged with each other. The slide device according to claim 2,
The one cage and the other cage are formed in the same shape, and the engaging portion formed in each cage includes concave and convex portions alternately formed in the sliding direction, The engaging portion formed on one of the cages and the engaging portion formed on the other cage are in a state in which the other cage is inverted with respect to one cage, and the other engaging portion is recessed in the one engaging portion. A slide device characterized in that the convex portions of the joint portion are fitted and the convex portions of one engaging portion are engaged with each other by fitting into the concave portion of the other engaging portion. The slide device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein
Each of the members overlaps in the same direction, and the engaging portion is detachable from each other in a direction in which the members overlap each other.

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