JP5310173B2 - Sliding device for vehicle seat - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle seat slide device, and more particularly to a vehicle seat slide device provided with a safety lock.

  Conventionally, when the occupant releases the seat slide lock to adjust the seat slide position (position in the front-rear direction of the seat), for example, sudden acceleration or sudden stop of the vehicle causes rapid acceleration of the seat. Even in the case of the action of the vehicle, a vehicle seat slide device having a safety lock that prevents the passenger from sliding unintentionally due to the acceleration is already known. Here, in Patent Document 1 below, relative rotation of a ball screw (a screw and a nut screwed to the screw) is performed as the seat slides, and the occupant releases the slide lock of the seat. There is disclosed a vehicle seat slide device including a safety lock that prevents the seat from sliding by restricting the relative rotation of the ball screw even when a sudden acceleration is applied to the seat. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the seat from being slid unintentionally by the passenger.

JP-A-9-104274

  However, the above-described conventional technology has a structure in which the ball screw is also operated as the seat slides even during normal times when no rapid acceleration is applied to the seat. Therefore, there has been a problem that the operation load for sliding the seat becomes heavy due to the sliding resistance generated in the ball screw.

  The present invention is intended to solve such a problem, and its purpose is to slide the seat with a light operation load at normal times when a rapid lock is not applied to the seat even if a safety lock is provided. It is providing the vehicle seat slide device which can do.

The present invention is for achieving the above object, and is configured as follows.
The invention according to claim 1 includes a lower rail assembled on the vehicle floor side, an upper rail assembled on the vehicle seat side so as to be slidable with respect to the lower rail, and a slide lock that regulates sliding of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail, The slide lock is a vehicle seat slide device composed of a lock arm assembled on the upper rail side so as to be inserted into any of a plurality of locking holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail. The vehicle seat has a weight that can move on the upper rail side along the sliding direction of the vehicle seat, and the slide lock is unlocked when the lock arm is released from the locking hole. When a certain amount of acceleration acts in the sliding direction, The lock arm is pushed with due act acceleration of the movement of the weight, switches to its pushed-in locking arm is inserted into the locking hole slide lock locked, movably in the insertion and removal direction of the lock arm It has a lock base assembled on the upper rail side and a lever that moves this lock base in the lock arm pulling direction. The lock arm is attached to the lock base via a tension spring that biases itself in the pulling direction. When the lever is operated while the slide lock is in the locked state, the slide lock is switched to the unlocked state by moving the lock arm in the pulling direction together with the lock base .
According to this configuration, even when a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat when the slide lock is in the unlocked state, the vehicle seat can be prevented from sliding unintended by the occupant. Further, according to this configuration, since the ball screw described in the prior art is not necessary, the vehicle seat can be slid with a light operation load at normal times when a rapid acceleration is not applied to the vehicle seat. Further, according to this configuration, the lock arm can be integrally operated with respect to the lock base at a normal time when a sudden acceleration is not acting on the vehicle seat, while a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat. When acted, only the lock arm can be moved relative to the lock base.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a sliding device for a vehicle seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the assembled state of FIG. FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the left upper rail in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the slide lock of FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the slide lock in FIG. 5 that shows a state when, for example, sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat due to sudden start of the vehicle. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the slide lock showing a state in FIG. 5 when, for example, a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat due to a sudden stop of the vehicle.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, and “right” refer to the directions of “up”, “down”, “front”, “back”, “left”, and “right” described in the above-described drawings. It shows the direction of up, down, front, back, left, right when used as a reference.

  First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a schematic configuration of a sliding device 4 for a vehicle seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. As an example of the sliding device 4 for the vehicle seat 1, the sliding device 4 for the passenger seat will be described as an example. The sliding device 4 includes a pair of left and right lower rails 10 and 10 assembled along the front-rear direction of the vehicle floor F, and left and right assembled to the seat cushion 2 of the vehicle seat 1 so as to be slidable with respect to both the lower rails 10. A pair of upper rails 20, 20 and left and right slide locks 30, 30 that are respectively assembled to the upper rails 20 and restrict the sliding of the upper rails 20 with respect to the lower rails 10 are provided. A plurality of locking holes 12a into which locking claws 38a of a lock arm 38 (to be described later) can be inserted are formed in the bottom surfaces 12 of the lower rails 10 along the longitudinal direction thereof.

  Next, the detailed configuration of the left and right slide locks 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. The left and right slide locks 30 and 30 are configured so as to be symmetrical. Therefore, in the following description, only the left slide lock 30 is described, and the description of the right slide lock 30 is omitted. The left slide lock 30 (hereinafter simply referred to as “slide lock 30”) includes a lock base 32, a weight 34, a lock arm 38, a lock cover 42, and a lever 48. Below, each structural member 32, 34, 38, 42, 48 of this slide lock 30 is demonstrated separately.

  First, the lock base 32 will be described. The lock base 32 is a cover member formed in a substantially U shape, which is composed of an upper surface 32a and left and right wall surfaces 32b, 32b that are bent downward from the left and right. A weight 34 described later is accommodated in the lock base 32. A long hole 32c into which a protrusion 48a of a lever 48 described later can be inserted is formed in the left wall surface 32b of the lock base 32. The long hole 32c is formed such that its longitudinal direction forms the front-rear direction so as to be able to cope with the rotation of the lever 48.

  Next, the weight 34 will be described. The weight 34 is a spherical member that detects acceleration acting on the vehicle seat 1. The weight 34 is housed inside the lock base 32 as described above in a state where the weight 34 is placed in a recessed portion 38b of a lock arm 38 to be described later. At this time, the weight 34 is restricted in its upward movement by the upper surface 32a of the lock base 32 (see FIG. 5), and further, its movement in the lateral direction is also restricted by both wall surfaces 32b of the lock base 32. In this state, the lock base 32 is housed. Therefore, the weight 34 is movable only in the sliding direction of the vehicle seat 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “sliding direction”), which is the front-rear direction.

  Next, the lock arm 38 will be described. The lock arm 38 is a member formed in a plate shape that restricts the sliding of the upper rail 20 with respect to the lower rail 10. Therefore, at the tip of the lock arm 38 (the lower end in FIG. 4), two engagements that can be simultaneously inserted into two consecutive engagement holes 12 a among the plurality of engagement holes 12 a of the bottom surface 12 of the lower rail 10. A pawl 38a is formed. This description corresponds to “a lock arm that is assembled on the upper rail side so as to be inserted into any of a plurality of locking holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail” described in the claims.

  Further, the lock arm 38 is assembled to the lock base 32 in such a manner that the lock arm 38 can be suspended from the front and rear of the lock arm 32 via tension springs 36 and 36 respectively. At this time, the lock arm 38 is assembled in such a manner that the weight 34 accommodated in the lock base 32 is placed on the upper edge thereof. The upper edge of the lock arm 38 has a concave shape (hereinafter referred to as a “dent portion 38b”) in which a substantially V-shaped gentle inclined surface is formed so as to be symmetrical in the front-rear direction. As a result, the weight 34 can be held in the recessed portion 38 b of the lock arm 38 by the urging force of the tension spring 36 at normal times when no rapid acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1.

  The lock arm 38 is formed with a long hole 38c into which the first pin 40 formed in a rectangular shape can be inserted. Thereby, the lock arm 38 can be regulated so as to move only in the vertical direction. Therefore, when the locking claw 38a of the lock arm 38 is inserted into the locking hole 12a of the lower rail 10, the insertion can be performed easily. The lock arm 38 is in a state where the locking claw 38a is inserted into the locking hole 12a by its own weight together with the lock base 32 when the occupant is not operating a knob described later (hereinafter, this state is referred to as "slide"). The lock state of the lock 30 ”).

  Next, the lock cover 42 will be described. The lock cover 42 is a cover member that places the lock base 32 in which the weight 34 is housed in a notch 20 a formed in the upper rail 20. Therefore, the lock cover 42 includes a left lock cover 44 and a right lock cover 46 that sandwich the lock base 32 from the left and right sides thereof. In the front surface of the left lock cover 44, a long hole 44c through which a projection 48a of a lever 48 described later is passed is formed. The long hole 44c is formed such that the longitudinal direction thereof is the vertical direction so that the lever 48 can be rotated.

  Both ends 44a of the left lock cover 44 are joined to the left side of the wall surface 22 of the left upper rail 20 with the left wall surface 32b of the lock base 32 sandwiched therebetween. Similarly, both ends 46a of the right lock cover 46 are joined to the right side of the wall surface 22 of the left upper rail 20 with the right wall surface 32b of the lock base 32 sandwiched therebetween. Both the lock covers 44 and 46 are respectively formed with guides 44b and 46b for restricting the lock base 32 sandwiched therebetween to move only in the vertical direction.

  Finally, the lever 48 will be described. The lever 48 is an operation member that moves the lock base 32 upward. Therefore, the lever 48 is locked to the lock left cover 44 by the second pin 50 in a state where the protrusion 48a formed at the tip thereof is inserted into the long hole 32c of the lock base 32 through the long hole 44c of the left lock cover 44. It is pivotally attached. The lever 48 is connected to a knob (not shown) that can be operated by an occupant via an operation cable (not shown). Accordingly, when the occupant operates the knob, the lever 48 is rotated, and the lock base 32 can be moved upward together with the lock arm 38. The slide lock 30 is configured in this way.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 5-7, the effect | action of the sliding apparatus 4 of the vehicle seat 1 which consists of the structure mentioned above is demonstrated. In this description, the slide lock 30 will be described from the locked state.

  First, when the occupant operates the knob to adjust the slide position of the vehicle seat 1, the lever 48 is rotated (in FIG. 5, from the state indicated by the imaginary line to the state indicated by the solid line), and the lock arm is operated. The lock base 32 moves upward together with 38. Thereby, since the latching claw 38a of the lock arm 38 is pulled out from the latching hole 12a of the lower rail 10, the vehicle seat 1 can be freely slid. This state is referred to as an unlocked state of the slide lock 30.

  When the vehicle seat 1 is slid to a desired position and the knob operation is released, the lock base 32 moves together with the lock arm 38 by its own weight. Thereby, the locking claw 38a of the lock arm 38 can be inserted into the locking hole 12a of the lower rail 10 again. In this way, the slide lock can be returned to the locked state with the slide position of the vehicle seat 1 adjusted.

  Here, when the occupant is operating the knob, for example, when a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1 due to the sudden start of the vehicle, the vehicle seat 1 slides backward due to the applied acceleration. That is, the rearward sliding that is not intended by the passenger is performed. At this time, since a sudden acceleration acts on the weight 34 of the slide lock 30, the weight 34 also moves rearward while climbing the inclined surface of the recess 38 b of the lock arm 38 due to the acting acceleration.

  Then, as described above, since the upward movement of the weight 34 is regulated by the upper surface 32a of the lock base 32, the weight 34 pushes down the lock arm 38 against the urging force of the tension spring 36. Move backwards. Thereby, the latching claw 38a of the lock arm 38 can be inserted into the latching hole 12a of the lower rail 10, and the slide lock 30 can be switched to a locked state (refer FIG. 6). Therefore, the safety lock is activated, and the rearward sliding of the vehicle seat 1 can be prevented.

  When the rapid acceleration applied to the vehicle seat 1 is eliminated, the weight 34 that has moved rearward is also returned to the recess 38b while descending the inclined surface by its own weight. Thereby, the lock arm 38 is also returned to the position before being pushed down by the urging force of the tension spring 36. Therefore, the locking claw 38a of the lock arm 38 is also pulled out from the locking hole 12a of the lower rail 10, and the slide lock 30 is returned to the unlocked state (see FIG. 5).

  In the description of the operation of the sliding device 4 for the vehicle seat 1, the description “when the occupant operates the knob, for example, when a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1 due to the sudden start of the vehicle”. However, when the slide lock is in the unlocked state where the lock arm is released from the locking hole, the vehicle seat has a predetermined size in the sliding direction. Corresponds to “when acceleration acts”. The acceleration of the predetermined magnitude is an acceleration when it is desired to operate the safety lock. In this embodiment, the acceleration is determined by the inclination angle of the recess 38b of the lock arm 38 and / or the spring constant of the tension spring 36, and the like. It is a design matter.

  On the other hand, when the occupant is operating the knob, on the other hand, even if a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1 due to the sudden stop of the vehicle, for example, the above explanation (the occupant operates the knob When, for example, a description is given of a case where a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1 due to a sudden start of the vehicle), the safety lock can be activated to prevent the vehicle seat 1 from sliding forward. (See FIG. 7).

  The sliding device 4 for the vehicle seat 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is configured as described above. According to this configuration, even when a sudden acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1 when the slide lock 30 is in the unlocked state, the vehicle seat 1 that is not intended by the passenger can be prevented from sliding. Further, according to this configuration, since the ball screw described in the related art is not necessary, the vehicle seat 1 can be slid with a light operation load at a normal time when the vehicle seat 1 is not subjected to rapid acceleration. .

  Further, according to this configuration, the lock arm 38 is assembled to the lock base 32 via the tension spring 36 whose locking claw 38a is biased in the pulling direction. For this reason, the lock arm 38 can be integrally operated with respect to the lock base 32 at a normal time when no rapid acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1, while rapid acceleration is applied to the vehicle seat 1. Sometimes, only the lock arm 38 can be moved downward relative to the lock base 32.

The contents described above are only related to one embodiment of the present invention, and do not mean that the present invention is limited to the above contents.
In the embodiment, as an example of the sliding device 4 for the vehicle seat 1, the sliding device 4 for the passenger seat has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a rear seat slide device may be used.

  In the embodiment, the configuration in which the lock base 32 moves downward by its own weight together with the lock arm 38 when the slide lock 30 is in the locked state has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the lock base 32 together with the lock arm 38 may be configured to move downward by a biasing force of a spring (not shown). In the embodiment, the configuration in which the slide locks 30 and 30 are assembled to the pair of left and right upper rails 20 and 20 has been described. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and the slide lock 30 may be assembled to only one of the pair of left and right upper rails 20 and 20.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle seat 10 Lower rail 12a Locking hole 20 Upper rail 30 Slide lock 32 Lock base 34 Weight 36 Tension spring 38 Lock arm 48 Lever

Claims (1)

A lower rail assembled on the vehicle floor side, an upper rail assembled on the vehicle seat side so as to be slidable with respect to the lower rail, and a slide lock that regulates sliding of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail,
The slide lock is a vehicle seat slide device composed of a lock arm assembled on the upper rail side so as to be inserted into any of a plurality of locking holes formed along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail. ,
It has a weight that can move on the upper rail side along the sliding direction of the vehicle seat,
When an acceleration of a predetermined magnitude acts on the vehicle seat in the sliding direction when the slide lock is unlocked and the lock arm is released from the locking hole, the acceleration depends on the applied acceleration. the lock arm is pushed along with the movement of the weight, the pushed-in locked arm slide lock is inserted into the locking hole switches to the locked state,
It has a lock base that is assembled on the upper rail side so that it can move in the direction of inserting and removing the lock arm, and a lever that moves this lock base in the direction of removing the lock arm.
The lock arm is assembled to the lock base via a tension spring that urges itself in the pulling direction,
When the slide lock is in a locked state, when the lever is operated, the lock arm and the lock arm move in the pulling direction, and the slide lock is switched to the unlocked state .

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