JP7450562B2 - seat sliding device - Google Patents

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a seat slide device that slides an automobile seat.

A seat slide device that slides a seat includes a lower rail that can be attached to the vehicle body and an upper rail that can be attached to the bottom of the seat. The upper rail is slidably engaged with the lower rail.

The seat slide device includes a locking mechanism that fixes the upper rail to the lower rail. A typical locking mechanism includes a plurality of grooves provided in a lower rail and a lock lever supported by an upper rail (for example, Patent Document 1). A plurality of lock teeth that engage with a plurality of grooves in the lower rail are provided at the tip of the lock lever. The lock lever is supported by the upper rail so that the lock teeth rotate in directions toward and away from the groove. When the user pushes the lock lever in a predetermined direction, the lock teeth separate from the grooves, the upper rail is unlocked, and the upper rail can slide relative to the lower rail. That is, the seat becomes slidable.

The lock lever is provided with a plurality of lock teeth to prevent the lock teeth from coming out of the groove when the car receives a strong impact. The plurality of lock teeth are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the lock lever. For convenience of explanation, the lock teeth closest to the rotation axis of the lock lever are referred to as proximal teeth, and the lock teeth furthest from the rotation axis are referred to as distal teeth. The distance traveled by the distal teeth is greater than the distance traveled by the proximal teeth. When the locking lever is rotated until the proximal tooth leaves the groove, the distal tooth moves far away from the groove. Providing space to allow a large distance of movement of the distal teeth increases the size of the seat sliding device in the direction of movement of the locking teeth.

Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for reducing the size of a seat slide device in the direction of movement of lock teeth. The seat slide device of Patent Document 1 has the following structure. The seat slide device includes a main latch and an additional latch. The main latch corresponds to the lock lever herein and includes lock teeth that engage grooves in the lower rail. The additional latch includes additional locking teeth that engage grooves in the lower rail. The main latch is rotatably attached to the upper rail about a first pivot. The additional latch is rotatably attached to the primary latch at a second pivot. An additional latch is located above the main latch, above which a control member (a member for releasing the lock) is located. Further, the first pivot, additional lock teeth, lock teeth, and second pivot are arranged in this order. That is, the first pivot corresponds to the rotation axis of the lock lever, the additional lock teeth correspond to the proximal teeth, and the lock teeth correspond to the distal teeth.

The control member simultaneously depresses the main latch and the additional latch between the first and second pivots. The additional latch pressed by the control member rotates to the left (for example) about the second pivot, and the additional lock tooth lowers. The additional latch pushes down on the main latch, causing the main latch to rotate clockwise about the first pivot and the locking teeth to move down as well. The main latch and the additional latch rotate in opposite directions, and the locking teeth and the additional locking teeth move down approximately the same distance. Since the difference in movement distance between the lock tooth and the additional lock tooth becomes smaller, that is, the difference in movement distance between the proximal tooth and the distal tooth becomes smaller. The size of the seat slide device can be reduced without moving the distal teeth unnecessarily long.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-314961

This specification provides a technique for reducing the size (size in the tooth movement direction) of a seat slide device with a simpler structure than the structure disclosed in Patent Document 1.

The seat slide device disclosed in this specification includes a lower rail, an upper rail, a lock lever, and an auxiliary tooth support plate. The lock lever is provided with a main lock tooth that engages with the groove, and the main lock tooth is supported by the upper rail so as to be rotatable in a direction toward/away from the groove. The auxiliary tooth support plate includes a lock auxiliary tooth that engages with the groove, and is connected to the lock lever via an elastic member. One of the upper rail and the lower rail includes a bottom plate facing a plurality of grooves with the main lock tooth and the secondary lock tooth interposed therebetween. A main lock tooth is located between the rotation shaft of the lock lever and the secondary lock tooth. In other words, the secondary lock teeth are aligned with the main lock teeth on the opposite side of the rotation axis of the lock lever. That is, the lock main tooth corresponds to the proximal tooth, and the lock accessory tooth corresponds to the distal tooth. When the lock lever rotates in a direction in which the main lock teeth leave the groove, the secondary lock teeth come into contact with the bottom plate before the main lock teeth. When the lock lever is further rotated with the secondary lock teeth in contact with the bottom plate, the elastic member is bent and both the main lock teeth and the secondary lock teeth are in contact with the bottom plate, and both the main lock teeth and the secondary lock teeth are separated from the groove. do.

When the lock lever rotates, the secondary lock teeth, which are distal teeth, come into contact with the bottom plate before the main lock teeth, which are proximal teeth. Since the secondary tooth support plate is connected to the lock lever via the elastic member, the lock lever can further rotate, and both the main lock tooth and the secondary lock tooth contact the bottom plate. Both the main lock teeth and the secondary lock teeth contacting the bottom plate means that the distance between the groove and the main lock tooth and the distance between the groove and the secondary lock tooth are approximately equal. That is, the distal tooth does not have to move a large distance to move the proximal tooth away from the groove. According to the technology disclosed in this specification, the size of the seat slide device (size in the tooth movement direction) can be reduced with a simple structure.

The auxiliary tooth support plate is preferably placed above the lock lever. When the main lock tooth is engaged with the groove, the sub-tooth support plate including the sub-lock tooth is sandwiched between the groove and the lock lever. Although the secondary tooth support plate is connected to the lock lever via an elastic member, the secondary lock tooth does not come out of the groove while the main lock tooth is engaged with the groove.

Details and further improvements of the technology disclosed in this specification will be explained in the following "Detailed Description of the Invention".

FIG. 2 is a side view of the seat slide device of the first embodiment. It is a perspective view of an upper rail and a lower rail. It is an exploded perspective view of an upper rail. It is a side view of a seat slide device (locked state). FIG. 3 is a side view of the seat slide device (in the middle of unlocking). FIG. 3 is a side view of the seat slide device (in an unlocked state). FIG. 3 is a side view for explaining the difference in width between the main lock tooth and the auxiliary lock tooth.

A seat slide device 2 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a side view of a seat slide device 2 installed in an automobile. The seat slide device 2 includes a lower rail 10 and an upper rail 20. The upper rail 20 is slidably attached to the lower rail 10. The lower rail 10 is fixed to a floor panel 99 of the vehicle. The upper rail 20 is attached to the lower part of the seat cushion 91 of the seat 90. An operating lever 38 connected to a lock lever 30 (described later) extends from the front end of the upper rail 20. When the user lifts the operating lever 38, the upper rail 20 is unlocked from the lower rail 10, and the upper rail 20 becomes slidable. That is, the seat 90 becomes slidable. The X direction of the coordinate system in the figure corresponds to the rail longitudinal direction of the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20. The Y direction corresponds to the short direction of the rail. The +Z direction of the coordinate system in the figure indicates upward. For convenience of explanation, the +X direction will be referred to as "front" and the -X direction will be referred to as "rear". The meaning of each axis of the coordinate system is the same in the following figures.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20. In FIG. 2, a part of the longitudinal direction of both the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 is omitted.

The lower rail 10 includes a bottom plate 11 attached to the vehicle body, a pair of outer vertical plates 12, a pair of upper plates 13, and a pair of inner vertical plates 14. The pair of outer vertical plates 12 extend upward from both ends of the bottom plate 11 in the short direction of the rail (Y direction in the figure). The pair of upper plates 13 extend from the upper ends of the respective outer vertical plates 12 toward the inner side of the rail in the transverse direction of the rail. The pair of inner vertical plates 14 extend downward from the inner ends of the respective upper plates 13. A pair of inner vertical plates 14 are opposed to each other. The outer longitudinal plate 12 and the inner longitudinal plate 14 are substantially parallel. The inner vertical plate 14 of the lower rail 10 is provided with a plurality of grooves 15 lined up in the rail longitudinal direction (X direction). In FIG. 2, only two grooves are labeled with numerals 15, and the remaining grooves are omitted. The grooves 15 are arranged so as to be uneven downward. In other words, the groove 15 is open at the bottom. The groove 15 is provided in each of the pair of inner vertical plates 14. Further, in FIG. 2, the groove 15 is drawn in a rectangular shape for the sake of simplicity, but it is tapered so that the groove width (groove width in the longitudinal direction of the rail) narrows from the bottom to the top. The shape of the groove 15 will be explained again later with reference to FIG.

The upper rail 20 includes a top plate 21 attached to the seat, a pair of inner vertical plates 22, a pair of bottom plates 23, and a pair of outer vertical plates 24. The pair of inner vertical plates 22 extend downward from both ends of the top plate 21 in the short direction of the rail (Y direction in the figure). The pair of bottom plates 23 extend from the lower end of each inner vertical plate 22 toward the outside of the rail in the short direction of the rail. The pair of outer vertical plates 24 extend upward from the outer ends of the respective bottom plates 23. Although rollers are attached to the outside of the pair of outer vertical plates 24, illustration of the rollers is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a diagram in which the upper rail 20 is separated from the lower rail 10. The upper rail 20 is attached to the lower rail 10 such that the outer vertical plate 24 and rollers of the upper rail 20 are located between the outer vertical plate 12 and the inner vertical plate 14 of the lower rail 10. The roller rotates while contacting the bottom plate 11 of the lower rail 10. As the rollers rotate, the upper rail 20 smoothly slides with respect to the lower rail 10.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded perspective view of the upper rail 20. The structure of the upper rail 20 and the lock lever 30 will be described with reference to FIG. 3 as well as FIG. 2. The inner vertical plate 22 of the upper rail 20 is provided with a shaft hole 25 and a tooth hole 26. A lock lever 30 is arranged between the pair of inner vertical plates 22 of the upper rail 20. A spring plate 40 and an auxiliary tooth support plate 41 are attached to the lock lever 30. In FIG. 3, the solid line spring plate 40 and the secondary tooth support plate 41 are drawn apart from the lock lever 30, and the spring plate 40 and the secondary tooth support plate 41 assembled to the lock lever 30 are drawn in imaginary lines. .

The lock lever 30 includes an elongated main plate 31, a shaft 32 provided on the main plate 31, and a main lock tooth 33. The shaft 32 of the lock lever 30 fits into the shaft hole 25 of the pair of inner vertical plates 22 of the upper rail 20. The lock lever 30 is rotatably supported by the upper rail 20 so that its front end and rear end can swing up and down. A lock main tooth 33 is provided at the rear of the lock lever 30. The lock main teeth 33 are provided on both sides of the lock lever 30 in the short direction of the rail. A pair of lock main teeth 33 protrude toward the outside of the rail in the short direction of the rail.

A secondary tooth support plate 41 is attached on the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30. The auxiliary tooth support plate 41 is attached to the main plate 31 via the spring plate 40. The tip of the spring plate 40 is fixed to the main plate 31 with a rivet 49, and the rear end of the spring plate 40 is connected to an auxiliary tooth support plate 41. The spring plate 40 can be bent in the vertical direction. That is, the auxiliary tooth support plate 41 can swing up and down with respect to the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30.

A plurality of lock auxiliary teeth 42 are provided on the auxiliary tooth support plate 41 . The plurality of secondary lock teeth 42 are arranged to line up with the main lock teeth 33 in the rail longitudinal direction. The main lock tooth 33 and the plurality of auxiliary lock teeth 42 are provided so as to protrude toward the outside of the rail in the short direction of the rail. As shown in FIG. 2, the main lock teeth 33 and the secondary lock teeth 42 protrude from the tooth holes 26 of the inner vertical plate 22 of the upper rail 20 toward the outside (the outside of the rail in the short direction of the rail). The upper rail 20 is fixed (locked) to the lower rail 10 by the lock main tooth 33 and the lock auxiliary tooth 42 engaging with the groove 15 of the lower rail 10 . Note that the lock auxiliary teeth 42 are also provided on both sides of the lock lever 30 in the rail transverse direction (Y direction).

A tension spring 27 is attached between the top plate 21 of the upper rail 20 and the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30. The tension spring 27 is not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and will be shown later in FIG. 4.

The tension spring 27 pulls the main lock tooth 33 and the secondary lock tooth 42 upward. The tension spring 27 maintains the engagement between the main lock tooth 33 and the secondary lock tooth 42 and the groove 15 of the lower rail 10 . Although FIG. 2 omits illustration of the front half of the upper rail 20, and FIG. It is attached. When the user pulls up the operating lever 38, the rear part of the lock lever 30 swings downward, the main lock teeth 33 and the secondary lock teeth 42 disengage from the grooves 15 of the lower rail 10, and the lock is released. That is, the upper rail 20 becomes slidable with respect to the lower rail 10.

The movements of the main lock tooth 33 and the auxiliary lock tooth 42 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. The upper figure in FIG. 4 is a cut side view of the inner vertical plate 22 and outer vertical plate 24 of the upper rail 20 and the outer vertical plate 12 of the lower rail 10, for ease of understanding. The groove 15 (inner vertical plate 14) of the lower rail 10 is drawn with imaginary lines. To further facilitate understanding, the top plate 21 and bottom plate 23 of the upper rail 20, as well as the main lock teeth 33 and the secondary lock teeth 42, are hatched. A portion of the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30 that is hidden by the auxiliary tooth support plate 41 is drawn with a broken line. Further, in the lower left of FIG. 4, a cross section along line BB is drawn. The lower left sectional view of FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the seat slide device 2 cut along a plane that crosses the main lock teeth 33. 5 and 6 are views from the same perspective as FIG. 4.

The main lock tooth 33 is located between the shaft 32 of the lock lever 30 and the secondary lock tooth 42 . In other words, the plurality of secondary lock teeth 42 are aligned with the main lock teeth 33 on the side far from the shaft 32. The main lock tooth 33 corresponds to the tooth closest to the shaft 32 (proximal tooth) in the tooth row of the main lock tooth 33 and the secondary lock tooth 42 . For convenience of explanation, the tooth farthest from the shaft 32 in the tooth row of the main lock tooth 33 and the sub-lock tooth 42 is referred to as the distal sub-lock tooth 42a.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the upper rail 20 is locked. As mentioned above, the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30 and the top plate 21 of the upper rail 20 are connected by the tension spring 27, and the tension spring 27 urges the main lock tooth 33 and the secondary lock tooth 42 upward. . The main lock tooth 33 and the plurality of auxiliary lock teeth 42 all fit into the groove 15. Even when looking at the lower left sectional view of FIG. 4, it can be seen that the lock main teeth 33 fit into the grooves 15 of the lower rail 10. The tension spring 27 keeps the main lock tooth 33 and the plurality of secondary lock teeth 42 fitted into the groove 15 . That is, the tension spring 27 maintains the locked state of the upper rail 20. A spring plate 40 connecting the main plate 31 and the auxiliary tooth support plate 41 of the lock lever 30 is in contact with the upper surface of the main plate 31.

FIG. 5 shows a side view and a BB sectional view while the user is pulling up the operating lever 38. Similar to FIG. 4, the inner vertical plate 22 and outer vertical plate 24 of the upper rail 20 and the outer vertical plate 12 of the lower rail 10 are cut. The groove 15 (inner vertical plate 14) of the lower rail 10 is drawn with imaginary lines. The top plate 21 and bottom plate 23 of the upper rail 20, as well as the main lock teeth 33 and the auxiliary lock teeth 42, are hatched.

As indicated by the thick arrow line F1 in FIG. 5, when the user pulls up the operating lever 38, the rear end of the lock lever 30 swings downward. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the distal lock auxiliary tooth 42a is in contact with the bottom plate 23 of the upper rail 20, as indicated by the arrow line P1. As indicated by the arrow line P2 in the lower left diagram of FIG. 5, the main lock tooth 33 has not yet left the groove 15, and the upper rail 20 is locked to the lower rail 10. Even in the state shown in FIG. 5, the spring plate 40 connecting the main plate 31 and the auxiliary tooth support plate 41 of the lock lever 30 is in contact with the upper surface of the main plate 31.

When the secondary lock teeth 42 are fixed to the lock lever 30, the lock lever 30 cannot rotate clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 5. In order to move the lock main tooth 33 away from the groove 15, the bottom plate 23 of the upper rail 20 must be further lowered. In this case, the size of the upper rail 20 in the vertical direction becomes large.

In the seat slide device 2 of the embodiment, a secondary tooth support plate 41 having secondary lock teeth 42 is connected to the lock lever 30 via a spring plate 40 . Therefore, as indicated by the thick arrow line F2 in FIG. 6, the operating lever 38 can be pulled up further and the lock lever 30 further rotates clockwise. The lower right of FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in the upper side view of FIG. The lower right cross-sectional view in FIG. 6 shows a cross section of the seat slide device 2 cut along a plane that crosses the distal locking auxiliary teeth 42a. When the operating lever 38 is further pulled upward, the spring plate 40 is bent, and the rear end of the main plate 31 is separated from the secondary tooth support plate 41 and lowered (see the cross-sectional view along line CC). While the distal secondary lock teeth 42a are in contact with the bottom plate 23, the main lock teeth 33 are lowered until they are in contact with the bottom plate 23, and the main lock teeth 33 are separated from the grooves 15. In other words, when the lock lever 30 rotates in a direction in which the main lock tooth 33 separates from the groove 15, the spring plate 40 bends, causing both the main lock tooth 33 and the secondary lock tooth 42 to move away from the groove 15 while contacting the bottom plate 23. Separate. That is, the upper rail 20 is unlocked. The arrow line P4 in the lower left view (BB sectional view) of FIG. 6 also shows that the lock main tooth 33 is separated from the groove 15 of the lower rail 10.

In the seat slide device 2, a secondary tooth support plate 41 (lock secondary tooth 42) is connected to the lock lever 30 via a spring plate 40 (elastic member), and the lock secondary tooth 42 is locked on the side far from the shaft 32. It is lined up with the main tooth 33. With such a structure, when the lock lever 30 rotates, the secondary lock teeth 42 come into contact with the bottom plate 23 and the main lock teeth 33 can also come into contact with the bottom plate 23. That is, the main lock tooth 33 (proximal tooth) and the secondary lock tooth 42 (distal secondary lock tooth 42a) move approximately the same distance and leave the groove 15 of the lower rail 10. According to the technology described in the embodiment, the size of the upper rail 20 in the Z direction (swinging direction of the main lock tooth 33) can be reduced compared to a conventional seat slide device with a simple structure.

A secondary tooth support plate 41 that supports the secondary lock teeth 42 is located above the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30. In other words, the secondary tooth support plate 41 is located between the main plate 31 of the lock lever 30 and the top plate 21 of the upper rail 20. The secondary tooth support plate 41 is connected to the lock lever 30 via the spring plate 40, but while the lock main tooth 33 is engaged with the groove 15, the spring plate 40 cannot bend and the lock is not activated. The auxiliary tooth 42 never leaves the groove 15.

FIG. 7 shows a partially enlarged side view of the seat slide device 2. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, only the main lock tooth 33, the secondary lock tooth 42, and the inner vertical plate 14 (groove 15) of the lower rail 10 are depicted. FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating the difference in width (width in the longitudinal direction of the rail) between the main lock teeth 33 and the auxiliary lock teeth 42.

The width D2 of the secondary lock teeth 42 in the rail longitudinal direction is shorter than the width D1 of the main lock teeth 33 in the rail longitudinal direction. Further, the width of the groove 15 gradually becomes narrower from the bottom to the top. Therefore, when the upper rail 20 is in the locked state, as shown in FIG. It is away from the side edge of the groove 15.

If the main lock teeth 33 alone are engaged with the grooves 15, the upper rail 20 can be kept in a locked state. However, when a vehicle collides and a strong impact is applied to the upper rail 20 (seat 90), there is a risk that the upper rail 20 (seat 90) will separate from the lower rail 10 (vehicle body floor panel 99) with only the lock main teeth 33. be. The plurality of secondary lock teeth 42 prevent the upper rail 20 from coming off the lower rail 10 when a strong impact is applied to the upper rail 20. Therefore, the width D2 of the secondary lock teeth 42 may be shorter than the width D1 of the main lock teeth 33.

Points to note regarding the techniques described in the examples will be described. The main lock teeth 33 and the secondary lock teeth 42 may be able to abut against the bottom plate 11 of the lower rail 10 instead of the bottom plate 23 of the upper rail 20.

The number of main lock teeth 33 is not limited to one, and a plurality of main lock teeth 33 may be arranged in the longitudinal direction of the rail. However, it is desirable that only one main lock tooth 33, which is rigidly fixed to the lock lever 30, be arranged in the longitudinal direction of the rail.

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely illustrative and do not limit the scope of the claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and changes to the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims as filed. Furthermore, the techniques illustrated in this specification or the drawings can achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of the objectives has technical utility in itself.

2: Seat slide device 10: Lower rail 11, 23: Bottom plate 12, 24: Outer vertical plate 13: Upper plate 14, 22: Inner vertical plate 15: Groove 20: Upper rail 21: Top plate 25: Shaft hole 26: Teeth hole 27 : Tension spring 30: Lock lever 31: Main plate 32: Shaft 33: Main lock tooth 38: Operation lever 40: Spring plate 41: Secondary tooth support plate 42: Secondary lock tooth 42a: Distal secondary lock tooth 49: Rivet 90: Seat 91: Seat cushion 99: Floor panel

Claims (2)

a lower rail that can be attached to the vehicle body and is provided with a plurality of grooves lined up along the longitudinal direction of the rail;
an upper rail that is attachable to the seat and slidably engages with the lower rail;
a lock lever comprising a main lock tooth that engages with the groove, the main lock tooth being rotatably supported by the upper rail in a direction toward/away from the groove;
a secondary tooth support plate that includes a secondary lock tooth that engages with the groove and is connected to the lock lever via an elastic member;
It is equipped with
One of the upper rail and the lower rail includes a bottom plate that faces the plurality of grooves with the main lock teeth and the secondary lock teeth interposed therebetween,
The main lock tooth is located between the rotation axis of the lock lever and the secondary lock tooth,
When the lock lever rotates in a direction in which the main lock tooth leaves the groove, the elastic member is bent, and both the main lock tooth and the secondary lock tooth separate from the groove while contacting the bottom plate. Slide device. The seat slide device according to claim 1, wherein the secondary tooth support plate is located above the lock lever.

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