JP6739802B2 - Seat slide adjuster - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a seat slide adjuster used for a vehicle seat such as an automobile, an aircraft, a train, a ship, and a bus.

The seat slide adjuster includes a lower rail attached to a floor of a vehicle and an upper rail slidably provided on the lower rail and connected to a seat frame (see Patent Documents 1 and 2). The seat slide adjuster is provided with a lock mechanism, which is used by releasing the lock to adjust the relative position of the upper rail with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lower rail and locking it at a desired position.

On the other hand, vehicle seats are always required to be lightweight in order to improve fuel efficiency from the viewpoint of energy saving. Regarding the seat body, the applicant of the present invention has also made various proposals of techniques relating to weight reduction. For example, as cushion members for the seat back portion and the seat cushion portion, instead of the generally popular urethane material, three-dimensional A structure in which a three-dimensional knit is stretched is proposed (see Patent Document 3).

JP, 9-109744, A JP, 2011-79414, A JP, 2011-42302, A

Various techniques are known for reducing the weight of a vehicle seat body, including Patent Document 3, but there have been few studies on reducing the weight of a seat slide adjuster. Since various forces are applied to the seat frame, the seat slide adjuster needs to have a predetermined rigidity. Therefore, conventionally, a lower rail, an upper rail, etc. are formed of a steel material having a predetermined thickness (usually around 2 mm), and have a certain weight.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a seat slide adjuster suitable for weight reduction, which is capable of exerting a required function while receiving an added force even when it is formed of a material thinner than before. It is an issue. Another object of the present invention is to provide a seat slide adjuster capable of suppressing rattling between the upper rail and the lower rail in the locked state.

To solve the above problems, the seat slide adjuster of the present invention, there is provided a seat slide adjuster for supporting the seat frame constituting the vehicle seat, for regulating longitudinal position of the vehicle seat, the vehicle A lower rail attached to the floor, an upper rail slidably provided on the lower rail, to which the seat frame is connected, and a lock mechanism for locking the upper rail at an appropriate sliding position with respect to the lower rail. The lower side reinforcing plate is fixed to the bottom wall portion of the lower rail, and the upper side reinforcing plate is fixed to the upper wall portion of the upper rail.

The lower side reinforcing plate is formed such that the cross section in the width direction has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and is fixed with the opening side facing the inner surface of the bottom wall portion of the lower rail, and the bottom wall portion and the lower side reinforcing plate are It is preferable that a hollow portion having at least a part having a closed cross-section structure along the longitudinal direction is formed therebetween.
The upper side reinforcing plate is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section in the width direction, and is laminated back to back on the inner surface in the range from the upper wall portion of the upper rail to the middle portion in the vertical direction of each side wall portion. It is preferable that a hollow portion is formed between the wall portion and each of the side wall portions and the upper side reinforcing plate, at least a part of which has a closed cross-section structure along the longitudinal direction.

The lower side reinforcing plate, each side surface portion is formed in the shape of an inclined surface inclined from the upper surface portion to the skirt spread, the lower end portion is fixed to the inner surface of the bottom wall portion of the lower rail, the lower side reinforcing plate of the Rolling members are preferably disposed between each side surface portion and each side wall portion of the upper rail.

The upper rail has a folding piece that is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section in the width direction and is folded back upward from the lower end portion of each side wall portion so that each folding piece faces each side wall portion of the lower rail. Rolling members are respectively arranged between the folded-back pieces and the side wall portions of the lower rail, and when viewed in a cross section in the width direction, a total of four rolling members are substantially circular. It is preferably arranged in an arc shape.

Having a predetermined length along the upper rail, the midway portion is rotatably supported by the upper rail, and the front end portion sandwiching the midway portion moves up or down to move the midway portion. A lock releasing operation member whose sandwiched rear end operates in a direction opposite to that of the front end, and a shaft portion provided on one end side in the width direction connected to the vicinity of the rear end portion of the lock releasing operation member is provided on the upper rail. A lock mechanism that is axially supported and that has, on the other end in the width direction, a lock member that includes an engaging portion that is engageable with the engaged portion provided on the lower rail, and one end in the width direction that has the shaft portion. It is preferable that a regulation member that regulates the movement of the lock member along the longitudinal direction is provided at a position on the side adjacent to each end edge along the longitudinal direction of the upper rail.
It is preferable that the restricting member is provided on the upper-side reinforcing plate and includes a pair of protrusions protruding downward.

The seat slide adjuster of the present invention has a structure in which the lower side reinforcing plate is fixed to the bottom wall portion of the lower rail, and the upper side reinforcing plate is fixed to the upper wall portion of the upper rail. That is, since the reinforcing plates are fixed to both the lower rail and the upper rail, even if the material forming the lower rail and the upper rail is thinner than the conventional one, it is possible to provide a predetermined strength and perform the necessary function. Therefore, it is possible to contribute to the weight reduction of the seat slide adjuster. The lower side reinforcing plate and the upper side reinforcing plate are preferably fixed to the inner surface of the bottom wall portion of the lower rail and the inner surface of the upper wall portion of the upper rail, respectively, thereby improving strength and not changing the outer shape. It is possible to adopt a structure similar to the conventional one in a mounting portion to a seat or a vehicle body floor. The lower side reinforcing plate is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section, and is fixed to the inner surface of the bottom wall of the lower rail by facing the opening side, and at least a part along the longitudinal direction between them has a closed cross section structure. It is possible to form a hollow portion having a high cross-sectional modulus, which makes it possible to exhibit a predetermined strength even when a thinner material is less likely to be twisted and deformed. The upper side reinforcing plate has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and when laminated on the inner surface of the upper rail, at least a part along the longitudinal direction has a closed cross section structure between the upper wall portion and the side wall portion of the upper rail. It is preferable to have a shape in which a hollow portion is formed. As a result, the sectional modulus of the upper rail is also increased, and even a thinner material can exhibit a predetermined strength, and torsional deformation is less likely to occur.

The lower side reinforcing plate is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section, and when fixing the opening side to the inner surface of the lower rail with the opening side facing each other, each side part of the lower side reinforcing plate is formed into an inclined surface shape that inclines from the upper surface to the hem. If the rolling member is formed between each side surface of the lower side reinforcing plate and each side wall of the upper rail, the vertical force applied to the upper rail will not be distributed much to the left and right. The upper rail and the lower rail are less likely to be deformed.

Further, when the regulating member is provided on one end side in the width direction of the lock member at a position adjacent to each end edge of the lock member along the longitudinal direction of the upper rail, the lock supported by the unlocking operation member is provided. When the engaging portion of the member is engaged with the engaged portion of the lower rail, the locking member can be prevented from rattling and abnormal noise due to rattling can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a seat slide adjuster according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is a front view of the seat slide adjuster of FIG. 1 viewed from the front end side, and FIG. 2B is a side view. 3A is a perspective view showing a first retainer holding a ball member, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a second retainer holding a ball member. FIGS. 4A and 4B are views for explaining the arrangement positional relationship of the ball members held by the first retainer and the second retainer, and FIG. 4A is a side surface of the seat slide adjuster. FIG. 4B is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 4A. 5(a) is a perspective view showing the lower side reinforcing plate and the lower rail, FIG. 5(b) is a plan view showing a state in which the lower side reinforcing plate is attached to the lower rail, and FIG. 5(c) is 5(b) is a side view, FIG. 5(d) is a front view seen from the front end side of FIG. 5(b), and FIG. 5(e) is a perspective view showing the lower side reinforcing plate. It is a figure. FIG. 6A is a side view showing the upper rail in a state in which the upper side reinforcing plate is attached, FIG. 6B is a plan view of FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 7(a) is a side view showing the upper side reinforcing plate, FIG. 7(b) is a plan view of FIG. 7(a), and FIG. 7(c) is a plan view of FIG. 7(a). It is the front view seen from the front end side, and FIG.7(d) is an enlarged view of the C section of FIG.7(c). FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the upper rail, the upper side reinforcing plate and the lock member. 9A is a plan view of the upper rail, FIG. 9B is a side view of FIG. 9A, and FIG. 9C is a line D-D of FIG. 9B. FIG. FIG. 10 is a view showing the peripheral portion of the lock member that constitutes the lock mechanism. 11A is a side view showing the measurement position of the section modulus in the longitudinal direction of the seat slide adjuster according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a sectional view taken along the line EE of FIG. 11A. 11(c) is a side view showing the measurement position of the section modulus in the longitudinal direction of the seat slide adjuster according to Comparative Example 1, and FIG. 11(d) is FF of FIG. 11(c). It is a line sectional view. 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams for explaining the deformation behavior of the upper rail and the lower rail when a large load is applied to the upper rail. 13A and 13B show load-displacement characteristics measured by applying a load to the upper rail in the front-back direction, and FIG. 13A is a diagram showing the measurement results of Example 1. 13(b) is a diagram showing the measurement results of Comparative Example 2. FIG. 14A is a side view of a seat slide adjuster that employs an upper side reinforcing plate according to another aspect, and FIG. 14B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 14A.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the seat slide adjuster 10 includes a lower rail 11, an upper rail 12, a lock mechanism 15, and the like. A pair of seat slide adjusters 10 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the vehicle body. Each lower rail 11 is fixed to the vehicle body floor, and each side frame of the seat is connected to each upper rail 12.

The lower rail 11 is bent inward from the bottom wall portion 11a, a pair of side wall portions 11b and 11b standing up from both sides of the bottom wall portion 11a and facing each other, and the upper edges of the side wall portions 11b and 11b. , A pair of upper wall portions 11c, 11c whose opposing edges are separated from each other by a predetermined distance, and inner wall portions 11d, 11d bent downward from the inner end edges of the upper wall portions 11c, 11c. It is formed in a substantially U-shape with an upper surface opening in a cross section in a width direction orthogonal to each other (see FIGS. 5A to 5D ).

The upper rail 12 has an upper wall portion 12a and a pair of side wall portions 12b and 12b that are bent downward from both sides of the upper wall portion 12a and face each other. Has been done. Further, it has folding-back pieces 12c, 12c which are folded back outward and upward from the lower end portions of the side wall portions 12b, 12b (see FIGS. 2, 8 and 9). The upper rail 12 is positioned between the side wall portions 11b and 11b and the inner wall portions 11d and 11d so that the folded-back pieces 12c and 12c face the side wall portions 11b and 11b of the lower rail 11, respectively. (See FIG. 2A).

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, balls 14 a to 14 d as rolling members are interposed between the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12, and the upper rail 12 is fixed to the lower rail 11 fixed to the vehicle body floor. Are slidable in the longitudinal direction, and the details of the balls 14a to 14d will be described later.

The lower side reinforcing plate 110 is fixed to the lower rail 11, and the upper side reinforcing plate 120 is fixed to the upper rail 12 (see FIG. 4B). The lower-side reinforcing plate 110 is formed in a substantially U-shape in a cross section in the width direction, and is arranged with its opening side facing the bottom wall portion 11a side of the lower rail 11. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4B and FIG. 5E, the upper surface portion 111 and a pair of inclined surface-shaped side surfaces that incline toward the bottom from each side edge in the width direction of the upper surface portion 111. And the lower end portions 113, 113 are processed so as to extend outward substantially flat, and the lower end portions 113, 113 are laminated on the inner surface of the bottom wall portion 11a of the lower rail 11. Has been done. The lower end portions 113, 113 are fixed to the bottom wall portion 11a of the lower rail 11 by means such as laser welding. As shown in FIGS. 2B, 5</b>A, and 5</b>B, the lower-side reinforcing plate 110 extends along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail 11 for a length equal to or larger than the slide distance of the upper rail 12. Since the lower end portions 113 and 113 are integrated with the bottom wall portion 11a of the lower rail 11 by welding as described above, the lower side reinforcing plate 110 and the bottom wall portion 11a extend along the longitudinal direction. A hollow portion (lower hollow portion) 110a having a closed cross-section structure is formed at least in part (see FIGS. 2A, 4B, and 11B).

The upper side reinforcing plate 120 is formed in a substantially U-shape in a width direction cross section having an upper surface portion 121 and a pair of side surface portions 122, 122 bent downward from respective side edges in the width direction thereof, and the opening side is lower rail 11. Toward the side, that is, on the inner surfaces in the range from the upper wall portion 12a of the upper rail 12 to the middle portions in the vertical direction of the side wall portions 12b, 12b, they are laminated back to back (FIG. 4(b), FIG. c), FIG. 8 and FIG. 11B). As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the upper side reinforcing plate 120 is an inclined surface portion that is formed by crushing the corners of the upper surface portion 121 and the side surface portions 122, 122 in a predetermined range of the substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction. 123, 123 are formed. Then, the upper surface portion 121 and the side surface portions 122, 122 are fixed to the inner surface of the upper wall portion 12a of the upper rail 12 and the side wall portions 12b, 12b by laser welding or the like. Thereby, hollow portions (upper side hollow portions) 120a, 120a having a closed cross-section structure are formed between the inclined surface portions 123, 123 and the upper wall portion 12a and the side wall portions 12b, 12b of the upper rail 12, respectively. This is the case (see FIG. 6(c) and FIG. 11(b)).

As described above, the upper rail 12 and the upper side reinforcing plate 120 form the two upper side hollow portions 120a, 120a in at least a part along the longitudinal direction thereof, and at the same time, the lower rail 11 and the lower side reinforcing plate 110 , The lower hollow portion 110a is formed, and the section modulus including the range in which the respective hollow portions 120a, 120a, 110a are formed is higher than that in the case where they are not formed, and torsional deformation is less likely to occur. It becomes a structure. The upper reinforcing plate 120 has a predetermined portion, preferably each corner in the width direction of the upper surface portion 121, as shown in FIG. 7D, in order to have higher strength against torsional deformation. It is preferable to heat-treat the range from the vicinity to the middle of each side surface 122, 122 (the range shown by hatching in FIG. 7D).

As shown in FIG. 11, a seat slide adjuster 10 (Example 1) of the present embodiment having upper side hollow portions 120a, 120a and a lower side hollow portion 110a, and a seat slide adjuster not having such a hollow portion. The cross-sectional modulus was compared with that of (Comparative Example 1). Specifically, in the seat slide adjuster 10 (Example 1) of the present embodiment, the upper side hollow portions 120a and 120a are located at positions where the upper rail 12 is slid backward by a predetermined amount from the longitudinal ends of the lower rails 11. In the widthwise cross section at a position separated from the longitudinal end of the formed lower rail 11 by a distance L, the folded-back pieces 12c and 12c of the upper rail 12 and the side walls of the lower rail 11 sandwiching the folded-back pieces 12c and 12c therebetween. The section modulus was measured in two regions excluding the portions 11b and 11b and the inner wall portions 11d and 11d (see FIGS. 11A and 11B). That is, the C region from the upper wall portion 12a of the upper rail 12 in the seat slide adjuster 10 (Embodiment 1) of the present embodiment to slightly lower than the lower end edges of the side surface portions 122, 122 of the upper side reinforcing plate 120. The section modulus was measured for the D region including the bottom wall portion 11a of the lower rail 11 and the lower side reinforcing plate 110. In Comparative Example 1 as well, similar to Example 1, the section modulus was measured for the C region and the D region at the same position at a distance L from the longitudinal end of the lower rail 11 (FIGS. 11C and 11D). reference).

As a result, Example 1 of the section modulus of the C region _K C2 = _922mm ^3, the section modulus of the D region _{K D} 2 = _632mm ^3, Comparative Example 1 _K C1 = _581mm ^3, the section modulus of the D region _K D1 = 383 mm ³ Thus, in Example 1, the cross-sectional modulus was 1.6 times in the C region and 1.7 times in the D region, and the strength was 50% or more higher than that in Comparative Example 1.

When the strength of the area C and the area D is low, as shown in FIGS. 12(a) and 12(b), a large load (load (1) is applied to the belt anchor portion of the seat frame connected to the upper rail 12 due to a rear impact or the like. ) Is added, the C region including the upper wall portion 12a of the upper rail 12 and the D region including the bottom wall portion 11a of the lower rail 11 are deformed in advance. As a result, a force in the arrow (2) direction acts on the upper rail 12 and a force in the arrow (3) direction acts on the lower rail 11, and the upper rail 12 easily separates from the lower rail 11. However, in the case of the present embodiment, since the C region and the D region have high strength, the deformation is suppressed and the upper rail 12 is also prevented from being separated from the lower rail 11.

Here, the balls 14a to 14d as the rolling members will be described. First, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the balls 14a and 14b (hereinafter, left side of FIG. 4B) are respectively provided on the left and right side wall portions 11b and 11b of the lower rail 11 in the middle of the vertical direction. The ball arranged on the side wall portion 11b of the above is referred to as a "left side ball 14a", and the ball arranged on the right side wall portion 11b is referred to as a "right side ball 14b"). Two left balls 14a and two right balls 14b are provided on the front end side and the rear end side of the lower rail 11 in the longitudinal direction at predetermined intervals, respectively, two each (see FIGS. 1 and 4A). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, two left balls 14a or two right balls 14b are rotatably held along the longitudinal direction of the retainer (first retainer) 141, respectively. The first retainer 141 is disposed on each of the left and right side wall portions 11b, 11b of the lower rail 11 on the front end side and the rear end side in the longitudinal direction. The side walls 12b and 12b of the upper rail 12 face the side walls 11b and 11b of the lower rail 11, respectively, as described above, and the side walls 12b and 12b of the upper rail 12 include the left ball 14a and the right ball. 14 b, and slides back and forth with respect to the lower rail 11 by these rolling movements.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the folded-back pieces 12c, 12c of the upper rail 12 are formed with curved concave portions 12g that are curved inward along the longitudinal direction, so that the upper rail 12 is moved forward and backward. When slid, the balls 14a and 14b held by the first retainer 141 roll while contacting the curved recess 12g, and the relative positions of the two are displaced. In addition, in the curved concave portion 12g, a curved portion is formed near each end portion in the longitudinal direction of the upper rail 12 and each end portion of an insertion hole 12e into which a lock member 17 described later formed in the longitudinal direction is inserted. Instead, a stopper 12h is provided which is formed linearly in the vertical direction and is positioned relatively outward with respect to the curved recess 12g. As the upper rail 12 slides back and forth, the stoppers 12h come into contact with the first retainers 141. In addition, near the front end and the rear end of each of the side wall portions 11b, 11b of the lower rail 11, there are provided convex portions 11f that are bent so as to project inward (see FIGS. 1 and 2(b)). ), at the front end position and the rear end position of the upper rail 12 in the sliding direction, the first retainers 141 are sandwiched between the respective projections 11f and the stoppers 12h, whereby the upper rail 12 moves. The front and rear slide amount is regulated.

In the present embodiment, balls 14c and 14d as rolling members are further arranged near the bottom wall portion 11a of the lower rail 11. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4( b ), the side surface portions 112, 112 formed on the lower side reinforcing plate 110 in the shape of a sloping skirt and facing the side surface portions 112, 112. The side walls 12b, 12b of the upper rail 12 (more accurately, the side walls 12b, 12b reach the folded-back pieces 12c, 12c in a shape which is located slightly below the midway portion in the up-down direction and expands slightly outward. 4b (hereinafter, in FIG. 4B), the balls arranged on the left side surface portion 112 of the lower side reinforcing plate 110 are located between the inclined facing surfaces 12b1 and 12b1). The "lower left ball 14c" and the ball arranged on the right side surface portion 112 are referred to as "lower right ball 14d"). In order to dispose the lower left ball 14c and the lower right ball 14d, in the present embodiment, a retainer (second retainer) 142 having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view as shown in FIG. 3B is used. This second retainer 142 has a structure capable of holding a total of four balls 14c and 14d, two each in the longitudinal direction on the left and right, and corresponds to the position where the first retainer 141 is arranged. Then, the lower side reinforcing plate 110 is laminated on the lower side reinforcing plate 110 at a predetermined distance between the front end side and the rear end side in the longitudinal direction of the lower side reinforcing plate 110 (FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, ( See b) and 4(a)). When the second retainer 142 is arranged on the lower side reinforcing plate 110 in a stacked manner, the balls 14c and 14d held on the left and right are, as described above, formed on the side surface portions 112 and 112 of the lower side reinforcing plate 110, respectively. It is arranged between the side wall portions 12b and 12b (the inclined facing surfaces 12b1 and 12b1) of the upper rail 12 facing the side surface portions 112 and 112. As a result, in the upper rail 12, the side wall portions 12b and 12b (the inclined facing surfaces 12b1 and 12b1) come into contact with the balls 14c and 14d, and slide forward and backward while rolling them.

The lower left side ball 14c and the lower right side ball 14d are thus arranged inside the side wall portions 11b, 11b of the lower rail 11 on the inclined side surface side portions 112, 112 of the lower side reinforcing plate 110, and the upper side balls 11c, 11b. The rail 12 is arranged between the side walls 12b and 12b of the rail 12 and the inclined facing surfaces 12b1 and 12b1 located below the side walls 12b and 12b. Therefore, when combined with the left side balls 14a and the right side balls 14b arranged between the side wall portions 11b and 11b of the lower rail 11 and the side wall portions 12b and 12b of the upper rail 12, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the four balls 14a to 14d are arranged in a substantially arc shape. Therefore, the lower left-side ball 14c and the lower right-side ball 14d apply a vertical force to the upper rail 12 through the lower left-side ball 14c and the lower right-side ball 14d, and the bottom wall portions of the lower-side reinforcing plate 110 and the lower rail 11. A force that is transmitted almost vertically to 11a and is dispersed in the left and right width directions is suppressed. This suppresses the deformation of the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12 as shown in FIG. 12 when a heavy load is applied, and suppresses the deformation even when a thin plate is used as a material forming the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12. It can contribute to the improvement of strength. The lower left ball 14c and the lower right ball 14d are, of course, the upper ball 12a and the left ball 14a arranged between the side walls 11b and 11b of the lower rail 11 and the side walls 12b and 12b of the upper rail 12, respectively. It has a function of reducing resistance when the rail 12 is slid with respect to the lower rail 11.

Next, the lock mechanism 15 used in the seat slide adjuster 10 of the present embodiment will be described. The lock mechanism 15 includes a lock release operation member 16 and a lock member 17, and has a structure similar to that shown in Patent Document 2 (JP 2011-79414A). First, the unlocking operation member 16 has a predetermined length and is arranged inside the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12 (see FIGS. 1 to 3 ). A front end portion 16a of the unlocking operation member 16 projects from a front end of the upper rail 12, and a grip portion is connected to the front end portion 16a so that an operator can operate the lock release operation member 16 up and down. When the front end portion 16a of the unlocking operation member 16 is displaced up and down about the midway portion in the longitudinal direction, the rear end portion is displaced in the opposite direction. Therefore, the engaged portion 11e formed on the lower rail 11 at the rear end portion (in the present embodiment, the inner wall portions 11d, 11d is composed of a plurality of protrusions provided in a comb-teeth shape (see FIGS. 1 and 2(b )))), the lock member 17 provided with the engaging portion 17b (in the present embodiment, constituted by a hole into which the projecting piece is inserted) is attached (see FIGS. 8 and 10) to unlock. When the front end portion 16a of the operation member 16 is displaced upward, the engaging portion 17b of the lock member 17 is disengaged from the engaged portion 11e to be in the unlocked state, and when displaced in the opposite direction, the engaging portion 17 is engaged. The mating portion 11e is engaged and the locked state is established.

Since the unlocking operation member 16 operates in this way, it is known that the middle portion in the longitudinal direction is axially supported by the upper rail 12 by a shaft member. However, as in the present embodiment, the folding back pieces 12c, 12c are outward. In the case of the upper rail 12 having the above, the folding pieces 12c, 12c interfere with the arrangement of the shaft member, and the assembling property of the unlocking operation member 16 is impaired. Patent Document 2 is to solve this point, the shaft member is abolished, and a convex portion that can be axially supported by the inner surfaces of the side wall portions 12b and 12b of the upper rail 12 at the middle portion in the longitudinal direction of the lock release operation member 16. (Not shown) is provided, and the upper and lower sides of a rotary shaft portion (not shown) located at a midway portion in the longitudinal direction where the convex portion is provided are sandwiched and rotatably supported. A leaf spring 18 having a portion that fits into a mounting hole 12f formed in the upper wall portion 12a of the upper rail 12 is arranged above the rotary shaft portion to elastically support the rotary shaft portion (Fig. 1). The leaf spring 18 constantly urges the rear end of the unlocking operation member 16 upward, that is, the direction in which the engaging portion 17b of the lock member 17 engages with the engaged portion 11e of the lower rail 11. Are urged to. Therefore, when the operator displaces the front end portion 16a upward, the engaging portion 17b is disengaged from the engaged portion 11e against the elastic force of the leaf spring 18, and when the operator releases the hand, the plate is released. The elastic force of the spring 18 causes the engaging portion 17b to engage with the engaged portion 11e.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the lock member 17 includes a substantially rectangular plate portion 17a having a shaft portion 17c at one end in the width direction (the same direction as the width direction of the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12). .. An insertion hole 12e into which the plate portion 17a can be inserted is formed in one of the folded pieces 12c of the upper rail 12 and one of the side wall portions 12b adjacent thereto, and a concave portion is formed on the outer surface side of the insertion hole 12e of the folded piece 12c. 12i is formed. The lock member 17 is disposed by inserting it into the insertion hole 12e from the other end in the width direction where the shaft portion 17c is not formed and bearing the shaft portion 17c in the recess 12i of the folded piece 12c. On the other end side of the plate portion 17a, a plurality of holes are formed along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail 11, and these holes constitute the engaging portion 17b. Therefore, in the lock member 17, the plate portion 17a rotates up and down about the shaft portion 17c, and the engaging portion 17b formed of a hole is disengaged from the engaged portion 11e of the lower rail 11.

The rear end portion of the lock release operating member 16 is connected through a connecting hole 17d near the engaging portion 17b located on the other end side of the plate portion 17a, and thereby the lock member 17 is supported. As described above, since the elastic force of the leaf spring 18 is used for restraining the rotation shaft portion of the unlocking operation member 16, the position of the lock member 17 may vary depending on the dimensional accuracy of each member due to vibration during traveling. May slightly rattle back and forth, and a large unlocking sound may be generated when unlocking.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the movement of the plate portion 17a of the lock member 17 along the longitudinal direction (the same direction as the longitudinal directions of the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12) is restricted. A regulation member is provided. The regulating member is provided at a position adjacent to each of the end edges 17e, 17e along the longitudinal direction on the one end side in the width direction having the shaft portion 17c. In the present embodiment, a pair of protrusions 122a and 122a are formed to project downward from one side surface 122 of the upper side reinforcing plate 120 at a predetermined interval and extend to positions adjacent to the respective end edges 17e and 17e of the lock member 17. To be done. Even if the respective end edges 17e, 17e on the one end side in the width direction try to be displaced in the longitudinal direction, they cannot contact the protrusions 122a, 122a and cannot be displaced, so rattling is suppressed. Further, rattling along the longitudinal direction of the lock member 17 is regulated by the pair of projections 122a, 122a, but the rear end portion of the unlocking operation member 16 has a connecting hole on the other end side in the width direction of the plate portion 17a. Since it is connected to 17d, it does not affect the operation force and operation feeling when rotating the plate part 17a around the shaft part 17c.

FIG. 13 shows a lower slide of a seat slide adjuster 10 (Example 1) of the present embodiment having projections 122a and 122a and a seat slide adjuster (Comparative Example 2) having the same structure except that the projection is not provided. Is fixed to a jig, the upper rail is locked by a lock member at the longitudinal central position of the lower rail, and in this state, a load-displacement characteristic measured by applying a load to the front end of the upper rail in the front-back direction is shown. As is clear from FIGS. 13(a) and 13(b), the maximum displacement amount of Comparative Example 2 is about 0.38 mm, whereas the maximum displacement amount of Example 1 is about 0.15 mm, The backlash in Example 1 is significantly reduced as compared with Comparative Example 2.

According to the present embodiment, the lower side reinforcing plate 110 and the upper side reinforcing plate 120 are both provided, and preferably, a plurality of hollow portions 110a, 120a, 120a are formed by them to increase the section modulus. As a result, the strength can be increased and the torsional deformation can be suppressed. In addition, by providing the balls 14a to 14d as rolling members at predetermined positions, the inclined side surface portion 112 of the lower side reinforcing plate 110, particularly in the range between the side wall portions 12b and 12b of the upper rail 12, By providing the lower left ball 14c and the lower right ball 14d on the 112, the vertical load applied to the upper rail 12 can be transmitted in the vertical direction without being much dispersed in the horizontal direction. Due to these actions, even if thinner materials are used for the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12, a predetermined strength can be exhibited, which contributes to weight reduction of the seat slide adjuster 10.
In addition, the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12 have not only a high section modulus in the width direction as described above, but also the lower side reinforcing plate 110 and the upper side reinforcing plate 120 have a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction. Moreover, since the hollow portions 110a, 120a, 120a are also formed over a predetermined length, the rigidity in the longitudinal direction is higher than that in the case without them. When only a thin material is used for the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12 to reduce the weight, the sound is easily propagated by the vibration of the thin material when an abnormal noise occurs. However, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the lower rail 11 and the upper rail 12 Even when a thin material is used as 12, the rigidity is high in both the width direction and the longitudinal direction as described above, so that the solid propagating sound is highly attenuated and the resonance box effect is unlikely to occur. As a result, generation of abnormal noise that can be perceived by a person is suppressed.

Further, by providing the regulating member including the pair of protrusions 122a, 122a for regulating the movement of the lock mechanism 15 along the longitudinal direction, rattling at the time of locking is suppressed, and accompanying abnormal noise is also generated. Can be suppressed. Further, the operation of the lock member 17 is stable, and the release sound when releasing the lock can be suppressed.

In addition, in the said embodiment, each side surface part 122,122 of the upper side reinforcement plate 120 is a vertical position of each side wall part 12b, 12b from the boundary position of the upper wall part 12a of the upper rail 12, and each side wall part 12b, 12b. As shown in FIG. 4B, for example, as shown in FIG. 4B, between the lower edges of the side surface portions 122 and 122 and the balls 14c and 14d located below the side edges 122 and 122, A gap having a size corresponding to or larger than the diameter of the balls 14c and 14d is formed. However, as shown in FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b), the side surface portions 122, 122 have a shape extending downward, and the lower edge 122b of each side surface portion 122, 122 is close to the balls 14c, 14d. It is preferable that the structure is made. For example, it is preferable to set the gap Y between the lower edges 122b of the side surface portions 122, 122 and the balls 14a to 14d to be 2 mm or less, preferably about 0.3 to 0.8 mm. As a result, when the lower rail 11 or the upper rail 12 tries to bend due to a large shake during traveling, the balls 14c and 14d and the lower edges 122b of the side surface portions 122 and 122 are quickly brought into contact with each other, so that the deformation is restricted and the lower rail 11 It is also useful for suppressing the bending of the upper rail 12.

The seat slide adjuster of the present invention is preferably used in an automobile as described in the above embodiments, but is also applicable to various vehicle seats such as airplanes, trains, ships and buses.

10 Seat Slide Adjuster 11 Lower Rail 11a Bottom Wall 11b Side Wall 110 Lower Side Reinforcement Plate 110a Hollow Part 111 Top Side 112 Side View 12 Upper Rail 12a Upper Wall 12b Side Wall 120 Upper Side Reinforcement Plate 120a Hollow Part 121 Upper Side 122 Side Part 122a Protrusions 14a to 14d Ball 15 Lock mechanism 16 Lock release operation member 17 Lock member

Claims (5)

A seat slide adjuster for supporting a seat frame constituting a vehicle seat, for adjusting the position of the vehicle seat in the front-rear direction,
A lower rail that is attached to the floor of the vehicle , and a cross section in the width direction that has an upper wall portion and a pair of side wall portions is a substantially U-shape, is provided slidably on the lower rail, and an upper rail to which the seat frame is connected, ,
And a lock mechanism for locking the upper rail with respect to the lower rail at an appropriate slide position,
While the lower side reinforcing plate is fixed to the bottom wall of the lower rail, the upper side reinforcing plate is fixed to the upper wall of the upper rail ,
The lower side reinforcing plate has a substantially U-shaped cross-section in the width direction, and each side surface portion is formed into an inclined surface shape that inclines toward the bottom from the upper surface portion, and an opening side is formed on the inner surface of the bottom wall portion of the lower rail. The lower end of each side surface part is fixed by facing each other, and by each side surface part and the upper surface part and the bottom wall part of the lower rail, at least a part along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail has a closed cross-section structure. A hollow part is formed,
A seat slide adjuster , wherein rolling members are respectively arranged between the side surface portions of the lower side reinforcing plate and the side wall portions of the upper rail . The upper side reinforcing plate is formed in a substantially U-shaped cross section in the width direction, and is laminated back to back on the inner surface of the range from the upper wall portion of the upper rail to the vertical midway portion of each side wall portion,
And the upper wall portion and the respective side wall portions, the between the upper-side reinforcing plate, at least the bottom of the hollow section has a closed cross section is formed in a portion along the longitudinal direction of the upper rail between the wall portion and the lower-side reinforcing plate, sheet slide adjuster according to claim 1, wherein the hollow portion at least partially along the longitudinal direction has a closed section structure is formed. The upper rail has a folded piece that is folded back upward from the lower end portion of each side wall portion , each folded piece is arranged so as to face each side wall portion of the lower rail, and each folded piece. also between each side wall of the lower rail are respectively the rolling member is disposed, viewed, together four claim 1 or 2, wherein the rolling member is disposed in a substantially arcuate shape in widthwise sectional Seat slide adjuster. Having a predetermined length along the upper rail, the midway portion is rotatably supported by the upper rail, and the front end portion sandwiching the midway portion moves up or down to move the midway portion. A lock release operating member in which the sandwiched rear end portion operates in a direction opposite to the front end portion,
A shaft portion connected to the rear end portion of the unlocking operation member and provided on one end side in the width direction is pivotally supported by the upper rail, and on the other end side in the width direction to an engaged portion provided on the lower rail. With a lock mechanism having a lock member having an engageable engaging portion,
A restricting member that restricts the movement of the lock member along the longitudinal direction is provided at a position adjacent to each end edge along the longitudinal direction of the upper rail on the one end side in the width direction having the shaft portion. seat slide adjuster according to any one of claims 1-3. The seat slide adjuster according to claim 4 , wherein the restricting member is provided on the upper-side reinforcing plate and includes a pair of protrusions protruding downward.