JP7468317B2 - Vehicle seat device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat device that is equipped with a movement mechanism that moves a seat body from a first position to a second position.

A related vehicle seat device is described in Patent Document 1. The vehicle seat device described in Patent Document 1 includes a seat slide mechanism that slides the seat body in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and a seat rotation mechanism that rotates the seat body. The seat rotation mechanism corresponds to the moving mechanism of the present invention, and is configured to rotate a plate (seating portion) that supports the seat body on a fore-and-aft slide table (base portion) on the seat slide mechanism. Four slides, which correspond to the sliding members of the present invention, are provided on the underside of the plate, separated into front, rear, left and right. In addition, a plurality of arc-shaped rail members, which correspond to the sliding parts of the present invention, are provided on the upper surface of the fore-and-aft slide table at positions corresponding to each slide.

The seat body is then rotated from a first position facing the front of the vehicle to a second position facing the door opening. In this case, the seat body is first slid in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle using the seat slide mechanism to a position where it does not interfere with the center pillar of the vehicle. Next, the seat body is rotated from the first position to the second position using the seat rotation mechanism. During this rotation, the plate and the fore-and-aft slide table rotate relative to each other while the slides arranged between them slide against the rail members.

JP 2001-206113 A

In the above configuration, it is desirable that the multiple slides (sliding members provided on the seating portion) provided on the plate are in contact with the rail member (the sliding portion of the base portion) provided on the front-rear slide table. In other words, if any of the multiple slides floats off the rail member, the floated slide may return to contact with the rail member, which may cause unintended noise. For this reason, each slide is precisely positioned so that it is in contact with the rail member, but in this type of configuration, the more slides there are, the greater the burden of precision control. The present invention was devised in light of the above points, and the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to precisely position the multiple sliding members between the base portion and the seating portion that constitute the moving mechanism, while making precision control as easy as possible.

As a means for solving the above problem, the vehicle seat device of the first invention includes a moving mechanism for moving the seat body from a first position to a second position. The moving mechanism includes a link mechanism for moving the seating part supporting the seat body relative to an immovable base part, and a plurality of sliding members arranged between the base part and the seating part. The plurality of sliding members are configured to be slidable against a sliding part provided on the other of the base part or the seating part, which is different from the one, while being provided on either the base part or the seating part. In this type of seat configuration, it is desirable to be able to accurately arrange the plurality of sliding members between the base part and the seating part while making it as easy as possible to manage the accuracy. Therefore, in the present invention, at least one of the plurality of sliding members is movable in the contact direction with the sliding part and in the opposite direction. In addition , a guide rail is provided as the sliding part along the relative movement trajectory of the sliding member, and the guide rail has a first guide surface facing either the base part or the seating part, and a second guide surface formed along the edge of the first guide surface and standing in the gap direction between the base part and the seating part. At least one of the plurality of sliding members has a first sliding part biased in a contact direction with the first guide surface and a second sliding part biased in a contact direction with the second guide surface. In the present invention, at least one of the plurality of sliding members can be moved in a contact direction with the slidable portion, so that the accuracy control can be made easier by the movable sliding member. In addition , in the present invention, by biasing at least one of the plurality of sliding members in a contact direction with the slidable portion, the accuracy control can be made easier by the biased sliding member. In addition, in the present invention, the first sliding part and the second sliding part can be made movable in a contact direction with the corresponding guide surface and in the opposite direction according to the structure of the guide rail used, so that the accuracy control can be made easier .

The vehicle seat device of the second invention is the vehicle seat device of the first invention, in which at least one of the multiple sliding members is movable in the contact direction and the opposite direction, that is, in the gap direction between the base part and the seating part. In the present invention, at least one of the multiple sliding members is moved in the gap direction between the base part and the seating part to contact the sliding part, making it easier to control accuracy by the amount of this movable sliding member.

The vehicle seat device of the third invention is the vehicle seat device of the first or second invention , further comprising a movement mechanism that rotates and moves the seat body from a first position facing the front of the vehicle to a second position facing the door opening, and the seat body is provided on the door opening side of the vehicle interior. In this invention, the seat body provided on the door opening side can be rotated and moved from the first position to the second position facing the door opening by the movement mechanism, which contributes to ensuring excellent ease of getting in and out.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the multiple sliding members can be accurately arranged between the base and seat that constitute the moving mechanism while facilitating the quality control of the multiple sliding members. According to the first aspect, the quality control of the multiple sliding members can be made even easier. According to the second aspect, the quality control of the multiple sliding members can be made even easier. And according to the third aspect, the multiple sliding members can be accurately arranged between the base and seat that constitute the moving mechanism while ensuring excellent ease of getting on and off.

1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle showing a door opening and a vehicle seat device; 1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle showing a seat main body in a first position. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a rear link in a first position as viewed from the rear. FIG. FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a front link in a first position as viewed from the rear. 4 is a schematic plan view of the vehicle seat device, illustrating an initial stage of operation of the movement mechanism; FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a vehicle seat device illustrating a movement mechanism during an operation thereof; 11 is a schematic plan view of the vehicle seat device, illustrating a later stage of operation of the movement mechanism. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the vehicle seat device, illustrating a final stage of operation of the movement mechanism. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a rear link in a second position as viewed from the rear. FIG. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the front link in a second position as viewed from the rear. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle seat device, illustrating each sliding member. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective top view of the moving mechanism, illustrating each sliding member in a first position. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a guide rail and a sliding member. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a guide rail and a sliding member. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a guide rail and a sliding member. FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of another sliding member. 4 is a schematic bottom view showing the positional relationship between a guide rail and a sliding member. FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of the movement mechanism illustrating each sliding member in a later stage of operation. FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view of the movement mechanism illustrating each sliding member in a final stage of operation. FIG.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention with reference to Figures 1 to 21. In each figure, for convenience, arrows indicating the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions of the vehicle seat device are appropriately shown. In Figures 2 to 10, for convenience, only the four-joint link mechanism of the vehicle seat device is shown, and each sliding member is omitted or simplified. In Figures 11 to 21, only the sliding members of the vehicle seat device are shown, and the four-joint link mechanism is omitted or simplified. In Figure 11, for convenience, the seating portion is shown by a two-dot dash line and the base portion is shown by a solid line. In Figure 12, the seating portion and link mechanism are shown by a two-dot dash line, and each sliding member and guide rail are shown by a solid line to show their positional relationship.

[Outline of vehicle seat device]
The vehicle seat device 10 is a seat device installed on the right side of the vehicle interior of a vehicle 2 as shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 2, the vehicle seat device 10 includes a seat body 20 on which an occupant sits, a front-rear slide mechanism 30 for sliding the seat body 20 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a rotation mechanism 40 for rotating the seat body 20 above the front-rear slide mechanism 30. The seat body 20 is a front seat on the right side of the vehicle 2, and is provided on the door opening D side in the vehicle interior. Here, the front-rear slide mechanism 30 includes a pair of left and right lower rails 32 fixed on a floor F in the vehicle interior and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a pair of left and right upper rails 33 that slide forward and backward along the pair of left and right lower rails 32. Each upper rail 33 is configured to be slide-locked in multiple stages relative to each lower rail 32 by the action of a multi-stage lock mechanism (not shown).

[Rotation mechanism (movement mechanism)]
The rotation mechanism 40 shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the moving mechanism of the present invention, and rotates the seat body 20 between a first position facing the front of the vehicle and a second position facing the door opening D on the right side. As described later, the rotation mechanism 40 includes a four-joint link mechanism 40r that rotates the seating portion 45 that supports the seat body 20 relative to a base portion 35 that cannot rotate, and a plurality of sliding members 51 to 54. The vehicle seat device 10 is provided with a rotation lock device (not shown) that locks the rotation of the rotation mechanism 40. The base portion 35 is a portion that cannot rotate, i.e., does not follow the rotation of the seat body 20, and can be composed of a pair of left and right upper rails 33 and a front-rear slide table 34 that is rectangular when viewed from above and is stretched between them. The seating portion 45 is a member that supports the seat body 20 and is rectangular when viewed from above, and is disposed above the base portion 35 while being supported by the four-joint link mechanism 40r and the sliding members 51 to 54. That is, the base portion 35 and the seat portion 45 are disposed so as to be spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and this vertical direction corresponds to the gap direction D1 between the base portion 35 and the seat portion 45.

When the seat body 20 is displaced, the seating portion 45 is rotated relative to the base portion 35 by the rotation mechanism 40 shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the base portion 35 and the seating portion 45 rotate relative to each other while sliding the sliding members 51 to 54 arranged between them. In the vehicle seat device 10, it is desirable to precisely arrange (ground) the sliding members 51 to 54 on the base portion 35 or the seating portion 45 in order to prevent the generation of abnormal noise as much as possible. Therefore, in this embodiment, the sliding members 51 to 54 are precisely arranged between the base portion 35 and the seating portion 45 that constitute the rotation mechanism 40 by the configuration described later, while facilitating the accuracy control of the sliding members 51 to 54. Each configuration of the rotation mechanism 40 as a moving mechanism will be described in detail below.

[Four-bar link mechanism (link mechanism)]
Before describing each of the sliding members 51 to 54, the four-joint link mechanism 40r and its action (rotational operation of the rotation mechanism) will be described. The four-joint link mechanism 40r shown in Figs. 2 to 4 corresponds to the link mechanism of the present invention, and supports the seating portion 45 on the front-rear slide table 34 of the base portion 35 so that it can rotate while tilting forward. This four-joint link mechanism 40r is composed of a front link 41 and a rear link 42. The front link 41 and the rear link 42 are connected to the front-rear slide table 34 and the seating portion 45 in a state in which the door opening D side, i.e., the right side, is inclined lower. The front link 41 and the rear link 42 are set so that the height dimension difference between the rotation center side and the free rotation end side, which will be described later, is equal to the gap dimension between the base portion 35 and the seating portion 45 (see the part indicated by the symbol D1 in Fig. 2).

As shown in FIG. 5, the rotation center side of the front link 41 is connected to the front right side of the width direction of the front and rear slide table 34 via the lower connecting shaft 41d in a rotatable state. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the part of the front and rear slide table 34 to which the front link 41 is connected is an inclined part 35k, and the inclined part 35k is inclined so that it is lower on the right side (door opening D side). The lower connecting shaft 41d is connected to the front and rear slide table 34 at a right angle to the inclined part 35k. That is, the lower connecting shaft 41d is erected on the front and rear slide table 34 in a state inclined to the right side. Also, the tip side of the front link 41, that is, the free rotating end side, is connected to the approximately center part of the seat 45 via the upper connecting shaft 41u in a rotatable state, as shown in FIG. 5. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the part of the seat 45 to which the front link 41 is connected is an inclined part 45k, and the inclined part 45k is inclined so that the right side is lower at an angle equal to the inclined part 35k of the front and rear slide table 34. The upper connecting shaft 41u is connected to the seating portion 45 at a right angle to the inclined portion 45k. In other words, the upper connecting shaft 41u is provided below the seating portion 45 at the same inclination angle as the lower connecting shaft 41d.

The rotation center side of the rear link 42 is connected to the rear width direction center of the front-rear slide table 34 via the lower connecting shaft 42d in a rotatable state, as shown in FIG. 5. Here, the front-rear slide table 34 has an inclined portion 35k at the part to which the rear link 42 is connected, as shown in FIG. 3. The lower connecting shaft 42d is connected to the front-rear slide table 34 at a right angle to the inclined portion 35k. That is, the lower connecting shaft 42d is erected on the front-rear slide table 34 at an inclination angle equal to that of the lower connecting shaft 41d of the front link 41. The tip side of the rear link 42, i.e., the free rotating end side, is connected to the rear right corner of the seat 45 via the upper connecting shaft 42u in a rotatable state, as shown in FIG. 5. Here, the seat 45 has an inclined portion 45k at the part to which the rear link 42 is connected, as shown in FIG. 3. The upper connecting shaft 42u is connected to the seat 45 at a right angle to the inclined portion 45k. That is, the upper connecting shaft 42u is provided below the seating section 45 at the same inclination angle as the upper connecting shaft 41u of the front link 41.

[Outline of rotational operation of the rotation mechanism]
Next, the rotational operation of the rotation mechanism 40 when the position of the seat body 20 is displaced will be described (the behavior of each sliding member will be described later). With the above-mentioned configuration, when an external force is applied in the rightward rotation direction to the seat body 20 in the first position (see FIG. 5), the tip end (the free rotation end) of the front link 41 of the four-joint link mechanism 40r receives the external force in the rightward direction via the seating portion 45. As a result, the front link 41 rotates leftward from the position shown in FIG. 5 around the lower connecting shaft 41d. That is, the upper connecting shaft 41u connected to the tip end of the front link 41 moves in an arc so as to approach the door opening D.

And at the beginning of the arcuate movement, that is, until the front link 41 rotates θ1° to the left from the first position (see FIG. 5), as shown in FIG. 6, the upper connecting shaft 41u and the seating portion 45 connected to this upper connecting shaft 41u move backward while moving toward the door opening D (right side). Also, as the upper connecting shaft 41u connected to the front link 41 moves backward, the upper connecting shaft 42u connected to the tip side of the rear link 42 receives a force in the rear direction through the seating portion 45. As a result, the rear link 42 rotates slightly to the right around the lower connecting shaft 42d. As a result, the seat body 20 and the seating portion 45 (seat body 20, etc.) move backward while moving toward the door opening D (right side) as shown in FIG. 6 (see white arrow).

When an external force is applied to the seat body 20 in the right rotation direction from the state in which the front link 41 has rotated left by θ1° from the first position (see FIG. 6), the seat body 20 and the like rotate rightward while moving to the right, and the front link 41 rotates left from the position of angle θ1, as shown in FIG. 7. Then, when the front link 41 has rotated left by angle θ2 from the position of angle θ1, the lower connecting shaft 41d and upper connecting shaft 41u of the front link 41 and the upper connecting shaft 42u of the rear link 42 are held in a straight line in a plan view. In this state, the seat 45 faces rightward by approximately angle θ2, and the rear right corner of the seat 45 protrudes rearward from the rear end edge of the front-rear slide table 34. This position is the rearmost position of the seat 45.

Next, when an external force is applied to the seat body 20 in the direction of further right rotation at the rearmost rear position, as shown in FIG. 8, the front link 41 and the rear link 42 both rotate left, and the seat body 20, etc., rotates right while moving forward. That is, the seat body 20, etc., rotates rightward while moving the center of rotation forward. Then, when the front link 41 has rotated an angle θ3 from the rearmost rear position (see FIG. 8), the seat body 20, etc., reaches the second position.

As described above, the front link 41 and rear link 42 of the four-joint link mechanism 40r are connected to the front-rear slide table 34 and the seat 45 in a state in which they are inclined so that the door opening D side (right side) is lower. Therefore, when the front link 41 and rear link 42 rotate left from the rearmost position and the seat body 20 etc. rotate rightward while moving the rotation center forward, the seat body 20 etc. inclines so that the front side is lower, as shown in Figures 9 and 10. Thus, in this embodiment, the seat body 20 provided on the door opening side can be rotated by the rotation mechanism 40 from the first position to the second position facing the door opening D, which contributes to ensuring excellent ease of getting in and out.

[Multiple Sliding Members]
Next, the sliding members 51 to 54 shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 11 will be described. In the vehicle seat device 10, sliding members are provided at approximately four corners, and each of the sliding members 51 to 54 can be provided on either the base portion 35 or the seat portion 45 constituting the rotation mechanism 40. For example, referring to Fig. 11, the first sliding member 51 located on the front right side of the vehicle seat device 10 and the second sliding member 52 located on the rear right side are provided on the base portion 35. On the other hand, the third sliding member 53 located on the front left side and the fourth sliding member 54 located on the rear left side are provided on the seat portion 45. As described later, each of the sliding members 51 to 54 is configured to be able to slide on the sliding portion (71 to 74) of either the base portion 35 or the seat portion 45, which is different from the other, when the seat body is displaced.

[Sliding member, guide rail]
The first sliding member 51 located on the front right side is configured to be slidable on a first guide rail 71 as a sliding part provided on the seating portion 45, as shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The first guide rail 71 is formed in an arc shape along the relative movement path of the first sliding member 51 when the seating portion 45 rotates by the action of the four-joint link mechanism 40r, and is positioned and fixed on the front right corner side of the seating portion 45. The right end of the first guide rail 71 is fixed to the support bracket 46 that protrudes forward from the front right corner of the seating portion 45 shown in Fig. 11, and the left end of the first guide rail 71 is fixed to the front edge side of the seating portion 45. The first guide rail 71 corresponds to the guide rail of the present invention, and is formed with a first guide surface 711 facing the base portion 35 side and a second guide surface 712 (inner wall) that rises upward (toward the gap) along the inner edge of the first guide surface 711, as shown in Figs. 13 and 14. A third guide surface 713 is formed on the upper edge of the second guide surface 712, which protrudes outward (to the left or rear in each drawing) generally horizontally and then bends downward in a step shape. An outer wall 714 is also formed on the outer edge of the first guide surface 711, and the upper edge of this outer wall 714 is bent so as to protrude outward (to the right or front in each drawing) generally horizontally.

Referring to Figures 13 and 15, the first sliding member 51 is composed of a plurality of sliding parts 61-63, an upper bracket 64 that holds each of the sliding parts 61-63, an upper and lower follower frame 65, a base bracket 66, and a plurality of biasing parts 67, 68. The base bracket 66 shown in Figure 13 has a fixed part 661 fixed to the front right side 351 (the right upper rail 33 side) of the base part 35, and a support part 662 that extends from this fixed part 661 so as to intersect with the first guide rail 71. A step part 663 is formed in the support part 662, and a positioning bolt BM that protrudes from this step part 663 is disposed below the first guide surface 711 of the first guide rail 71.

Also, on the upper side of the base bracket 66 shown in Figures 13 and 15, the vertical follower frame 65 and the upper bracket 64 are arranged in this order. Here, the vertical follower frame 65 is arranged so as to cross the base bracket 66, and is composed of a plate-shaped immovable frame 651 and a plate-shaped movable frame 652, which are axially connected in a state facing approximately in the front-rear direction. The immovable frame 651 is located in front of the vertical follower frame 65, and the movable frame 652 is located in front of the vertical follower frame 65. A bearing 653 with a U-shaped cross section is formed at the rear end of the immovable frame 651, and the tilting center axis A1, which is approximately horizontally stretched, is fixed to this bearing 653. The front end of the movable frame 652, which is formed in a U-shaped cross section, is fitted into the bearing 653 of the immovable frame 651 and is supported by the tilting center axis A1. As shown in FIG. 16, the front end of the stationary frame 651 is fixed to the base portion 35 with a bolt B, thereby supporting the movable frame 652 in a tiltable state around the tilting central axis A1.

The movable frame 652 shown in Figs. 13 and 15 has its rear side disposed above the step 663 of the base bracket 66. A first hole H1 (through hole) is formed at the rear of the movable frame 652 so as to overlap the positioning bolt BM of the step 663. A swivel center shaft A2 for axially connecting the upper bracket 64 described later is fitted into this first hole H1, and this swivel center shaft A2 passes vertically through the first hole H1. A coil spring-shaped upward biasing part 67 is also provided between the movable frame 652 and the base bracket 66 and fitted between the swivel center shaft A2 and the positioning bolt BM. Referring to Fig. 16, the movable frame 652 of the vertical follower frame 65 is biased upward by the biasing force of the upward biasing part 67, and can also be moved downward against the biasing force of the upward biasing part 67 (see the white arrow P1 in Fig. 16). Furthermore, the movable frame 652 has a second hole H2 (through hole) near the tilt central axis A1, and a cylindrical stopper portion 69 is fitted into the second hole H2 and protrudes downward. This stopper portion 69 is capable of moving up and down following the movable frame 652, and is located on the front-rear slide table 34 of the base portion 35. When the seating portion 45 receives the weight of the occupant, the first guide rail 71 provided on the seating portion 45 moves downward. At this time, the stopper portion 69 can support the movable frame 652 pressed by the first guide rail 71 by coming into contact with the base portion 35.

The upper bracket 64 shown in Figures 13 and 15 is axially connected to the movable frame 652 of the vertical follower frame 65 via the pivot center axis A2 and a washer W. This upper bracket 64 is a plate-shaped member that crosses the first guide rail 71 in the width direction DW (the direction from the outer wall 714 toward the second guide surface 712). The upper bracket 64 is disposed directly below the first guide rail 71, and the first sliding part 61, the second sliding part 62, and the third sliding part 63, which will be described later, are axially supported so as to be rotatable.

[Sliding part]
Here, the first sliding part 61 shown in Figs. 13 to 15 is a vertical roller-shaped member that slides against the first guide surface 711 of the first guide rail 71. In order to support the first sliding part 61, a first bearing part 641 having a U-shaped cross section as shown in Fig. 14 is formed at the right end of the upper bracket 64. The first sliding part 61 is rotatably supported by a shaft A3 that is passed over the first bearing part 641, and is arranged so that it can come into contact with the first guide surface 711 from below. The second sliding part 62 is a horizontal roller-shaped member that slides against the second guide surface 712 of the first guide rail 71. In order to support the second sliding part 62, a flat plate-shaped second bearing part 642 is provided at a position one step higher than the first bearing part 641 on the left side of the upper bracket 64. The second sliding part 62 is rotatably supported by a shaft A4 that protrudes upward from the second bearing part 642, and is arranged so that it can come into contact with the second guide surface 712 from the rear side. Furthermore, the third sliding portion 63 is a vertical roller-shaped member that slides against the upper surface of the third guide surface 713 of the first guide rail 71. In order to axially support the third sliding portion 63, a vertical plate portion 643 that is L-shaped when viewed from above is fixed to the upper bracket 64. The vertical plate portion 643 stands upright relative to the second bearing portion 642 and extends leftward, and a shaft A5 is protruded from the upper portion of the tip portion that bends forward. The third sliding portion 63 is rotatably supported by the shaft A5 of the vertical plate portion 643 shown in FIG. 14 and is disposed so as to be able to come into contact with the third guide surface 713 of the first guide rail 71 from above.

In the first sliding member 51 shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the upper bracket 64 having a plurality of sliding parts 61-63 is provided on the movable frame 652 of the upper and lower follower frame 65, and is biased upward by the upward biasing part 67 (see white arrow P1 in Fig. 16). The upper bracket 64 can also be moved downward against the biasing force of the upward biasing part 67. Furthermore, the upper bracket 64 shown in Figs. 15 and 17 is rotatable around the axis of the swivel central axis A2 (see white arrow P2 in Fig. 17), and is biased outward in the width direction DW of the first guide rail 71 (to the right or forward in each figure) by the coil spring-like swivel biasing part 68. In order to bias the upper bracket 64 outward, the upper end of the swivel biasing part 68 is hooked to the left side of the first bearing part 641 of the upper bracket 64, and the lower end of the swivel biasing part 68 is hooked to the front side of the fixed part 661 of the base bracket 66.

[Other sliding members]
11 and 12 have substantially the same basic configuration, except for the different positions of the second sliding member 52, the third sliding member 53, and the fourth sliding member 54. For example, the second sliding member 52 is a vertical roller-shaped member as shown in FIG. 18, and is rotatably supported by a bracket BR having a U-shaped cross section and disposed on the front-rear slide table 34 of the base unit 35. The second sliding member 52 is disposed below the rear link 42 of the four-joint link mechanism and configured to be slidable on a second guide rail 72 (sliding portion) provided on the lower surface of the seating portion 45. The second guide rail 72 is formed in an arc shape so as to follow the relative movement path of the second sliding member 52 when the seating portion 45 rotates. In order to ensure that the second sliding member 52 is grounded by the second guide rail 72, the rear right corner of the seating portion 45 may be pressed (biased) downward by an elastic material (not shown).

The third sliding member 53 located on the front left side and the fourth sliding member 54 located on the rear left side shown in Figures 11 and 12 are also vertical roller-shaped members, rotatably supported on a bracket (not shown) with a U-shaped cross section and disposed on the underside of the seating portion 45. The third sliding member 53 is configured to be slidable on a third guide rail 73 (sliding portion) provided on the upper surface of the base portion 35. This third guide rail 73 extends linearly toward the front right side when viewed from above, and gradually inclines forward as it moves to the right. The fourth sliding member 54 is configured to be slidable on a fourth guide rail 74 (sliding portion) provided on the upper surface of the base portion 35. This fourth guide rail 74 extends linearly toward the front right side when viewed from above, and gradually inclines forward as it moves to the right. In order to ensure that the left-side sliding members 53, 54 are in contact with the corresponding guide rails, the front left corner and rear left corner of the seating portion 45 can be pressed downward with an elastic material (not shown).

[Arrangement of sliding members]
In the rotation mechanism 40 shown in Fig. 11 and Fig. 12, when the position of the seat body is displaced as described above, the base portion 35 and the seating portion 45 rotate relative to each other while sliding the sliding members 51 to 54 arranged therebetween. In this type of configuration, the sliding members 51 to 54 are arranged (grounded) on the base portion 35 or the seating portion 45 with high precision from the viewpoint of minimizing the generation of abnormal noise, but the burden of precision control increases as the number of sliding members increases. For example, assume that the second sliding member 52 on the rear right side, the third sliding member 53 on the front left side, and the fourth sliding member 54 on the rear left side are grounded slidably on the corresponding guide rails. In this case, the second sliding member 52 and the third sliding member 53, which are in opposing positions, act like the base point of a pendulum, and the front right corner of the seating portion 45 is lifted, etc., so that it tends to be difficult to ground the first sliding member 51 on the front right side.

In this embodiment, the first sliding member 51 is movable in the contact direction with the first guide rail 71 (sliding part) and in the opposite direction, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16. That is, the upper bracket 64 of the first sliding member 51 having a plurality of sliding parts 61, etc., is biased upward (in the contact direction with the first guide surface 711) by the upward biasing part 67 as described above, and can also be moved downward (in the opposite direction) against the biasing force of the upward biasing part 67. And, by biasing the upper bracket 64 upward by the upward biasing part 67, the first sliding part 61 provided on this upper bracket 64 moves in the contact direction with the first guide surface 711 (upward) and is grounded. Therefore, even if the front right corner of the seating part 45 is lifted up, the lifted amount can be absorbed by the upward movement of the first sliding part 61. Thus, in this embodiment, the first sliding member 51 can be moved in the contact direction with the first guide rail 71 and grounded, so that the accuracy control is easier by the amount of this movable sliding member. In particular, in this embodiment, the contact direction and reverse direction between the first sliding member 51 and the first guide rail 71 coincide with the gap direction D1 between the base portion 35 and the seating portion 45. Therefore, the first sliding member 51 can be moved to close the gap direction D1, making it easier to manage precision.

In the first sliding member 51, it is desirable to align the vertical roller-shaped first sliding portion 61 in the top view shown in Figs. 12 and 19 so that it is aligned with the first guide surface 711 of the first guide rail 71 (see the solid line state in Fig. 19). In other words, by aligning the orientation of the first sliding portion 61 and the first guide surface 711, friction during sliding is reduced, and excellent operability can be ensured when rotating and moving the seat body. Now, referring to Figs. 15 and 17, the upper bracket 64 of the first sliding member 51 is rotatable around the axis of the swivel central axis A2. Therefore, the second sliding portion 62 provided on the upper bracket 64 is movable outward and inward in the width direction DW of the first guide rail 71 (in the contact direction with the second guide surface 712 and in the opposite direction). Furthermore, the upper bracket 64 is biased by the swivel biasing portion 68 toward the outside of the width direction DW of the first guide rail 71 (to the right or forward in each figure), so that the second sliding portion 62 is biased in the direction of contact with the second guide surface 712. Therefore, the upper bracket 64 is rotated around the axis of the swivel central axis A2 to align the orientation of the first sliding portion 61 provided on the upper bracket 64 with the orientation of the first guide surface 711. Then, the biasing force of the swivel biasing portion 68 causes the second sliding portion 62 to contact the second guide surface 712, so that the first sliding portion 61 can be positioned so as not to shift in the width direction DW of the first guide rail 71. In this way, in the top view shown in FIG. 19, when the position of the seat body is displaced, the orientation of the first sliding portion 61 can be prevented from shifting from the first guide surface 711 and sliding (drifting) as much as possible (see the state indicated by the two-dot dashed line in FIG. 19).

[Behavior of each sliding member accompanying rotational movement of the rotation mechanism]
Next, the behavior of each of the sliding members 51 to 54 during the positional displacement of the seat body will be described. For example, as shown in Figs. 12, 20, and 21, the first sliding portion 61 of the first sliding member 51 gradually moves (slides) relative to the first guide rail 71 from the right end of the first guide rail 71 at the first position, and reaches the left end of the first guide rail 71 at the second position. At this time, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the first sliding portion 61 of the first sliding member 51 can maintain a grounded state with the first guide surface 711 of the first guide rail 71 as much as possible due to the biasing force of the upward biasing portion 67, so that the generation of unintended abnormal noise can be prevented as much as possible. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 19, during the positional displacement of the seat body, the second sliding portion 62 slides (contacts) against the second guide surface 712, and the first sliding portion 61 is aligned with the direction of the first guide surface 711, reducing friction between them. Therefore, the seat body 20 shown in FIG. 2 can be smoothly rotated and moved, and this configuration contributes to ensuring excellent operability and an excellent operating feeling when changing the position.

When the seat body is displaced, the base portion 35 and the seating portion 45 shown in Figs. 12, 20, and 21 rotate relative to each other while sliding the other sliding members (second sliding member 52 to fourth sliding member 54) on the corresponding guide rails. At this time, the third sliding member 53 on the front left side fixed to the seating portion 45 gradually comes off the third guide rail 73 as shown in Figs. 20 and 21. When the third sliding member 53 becomes free, the front right corner of the seating portion 45 becomes more likely to swing up and down, and the vertical movement tends to become large especially when the rear side of the seating portion 45 is pressed downward by an elastic material not shown. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the front right corner of the seating portion 45 tries to swing excessively upward, the third sliding portion 63 of the first sliding member 51 shown in Fig. 14 comes into contact with the third guide surface 713 of the first guide rail 71 from above. In this way, the contact between the third sliding part 63 and the third guide surface 713 prevents excessive shaking of the seating part 45 as much as possible, which contributes to ensuring excellent operability. Conversely, downward shaking of the front right corner of the seating part 45 is absorbed by the first sliding part 61, which supports it, moving downward (in the opposite direction to the contact direction) while compressing the upward biasing part 67.

As described above, in this embodiment, the first sliding member 51 (at least one of the multiple sliding members) can be moved in the contact direction with the first guide rail 71 (the sliding portion), making it easier to control the accuracy by the amount of this movable sliding member. At this time, the first sliding member 51 is moved in the gap direction D1 between the base portion 35 and the seat portion 45 to contact the sliding portion, making it easier to control the accuracy by the amount of this movable sliding member. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the multiple sliding members 51 to 54 can be accurately positioned between the base portion 35 and the seat portion 45 that constitute the rotation mechanism 40 while facilitating the accuracy control. In this way, the vehicle seat device 10 of this embodiment does not require strict accuracy control or assembly work for each sliding member 51 to 54 as much as possible, so the number of assembly steps can be reduced, contributing to ensuring excellent productivity and reducing costs.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the first sliding member 51 (first sliding portion 61, second sliding portion 62) is biased in the direction of contact with the sliding portion, which makes it easier to control the accuracy by the amount of the biased sliding member. Also, in this embodiment, depending on the structure of the first guide rail 71 used, both the first sliding portion 61 and the second sliding portion 62 can be made movable in the contact direction with the corresponding guide surfaces 711, 712 and in the opposite direction, which makes it easier to control the accuracy. And in this embodiment, the seat body 20 provided on the door opening side can be rotated and moved by the moving mechanism from the first position to the second position facing the door opening D, which contributes to ensuring excellent ease of getting in and out.

[Modification]
Here, the configuration of the moving mechanism (sliding member, slidable portion) can take various configurations in addition to the above configuration. For example, depending on the configuration of the first guide rail (slidable portion), it is also possible to make either the first sliding portion or the second sliding portion of the first sliding member movable in the contact direction with the corresponding guide surface and in the opposite direction. The first sliding portion can be moved in the gap direction, and the second sliding portion can be moved in the direction perpendicular to the gap direction. As another specific example, assuming that the seat body is moved linearly on the floor of the vehicle by the moving mechanism, in this case, the linear first guide rail (slidable portion) is oriented in the vehicle front-rear direction or vehicle width direction. In this case, either or both of the first sliding portion and the second sliding portion can be moved in the contact direction with the corresponding guide surface of the first guide rail (the lower surface as the first guide surface, the inner wall or the outer wall as the second guide surface) and in the opposite direction. Thus, in this modified example, either or both of the first sliding portion and the second sliding portion can be moved in the contact direction with the corresponding guide surface and in the opposite direction, depending on the structure of the guide rail used, making it even easier to manage accuracy. When only one of the first sliding portion and the second sliding portion is used, the unused sliding portion (and its related structure) may be omitted.

The vehicle seat device 10 of this embodiment is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and may take various other embodiments. In this embodiment, the configuration of each sliding member 51 to 54 is exemplified, but the configuration of each sliding member is not limited. For example, a part (one or more) or all of the multiple sliding members can be configured to be movable in the moving direction and the opposite direction to the corresponding sliding part. In addition, the multiple sliding members can be independently provided on either the base part or the seat part. For example, the first sliding member can be provided on the seat part and the first guide rail can be provided on the base part. In addition, the number of sliding members is not limited to four, and can be set to two, three, or five or more, and the arrangement position of each sliding member (and the sliding part) does not need to be limited to the four corners of the vehicle seat device.

The sliding member (each sliding part) and the slidable part can have various configurations that allow relative movement (sliding) with respect to each other. If possible, a slide rail can be used as the sliding member, and a roller-shaped, wheel-shaped or spherical part can be used as the slidable part. Each biasing part can be made of materials such as springs, rubber or elastomer, and can also be configured with a structure such as an actuator. A multi-stage locking mechanism can also be provided on the sliding member as a substitute for each biasing part, and the sliding member can be locked so that the position in the contact direction and the opposite direction of the corresponding sliding part can be maintained. The second guide surface in this embodiment can be configured as either the inner wall or the outer wall of the first guide rail, or both.

In this embodiment, the rotating mechanism 40 and the like (seat portion, base portion, link mechanism) are exemplified as the moving mechanism, but the configuration of the moving mechanism is not limited to this. For example, the vehicle seat device can omit the front-rear slide mechanism, and in this case, the base portion is provided on the floor side of the vehicle. The sliding portion does not necessarily have to be configured with a guide rail, and the link mechanism is not limited to a four-joint link mechanism, but is configured according to the moving direction of the seat portion. The position of the vehicle seat device can be set according to the configuration of the moving mechanism, and does not necessarily have to be provided on the door opening side, and may be a center seat located between other vehicle seats. The first position and the second position of the vehicle seat device can be set according to the configuration of the vehicle seat device, and the vehicle seat device in the first position does not necessarily have to face the front of the vehicle, but can be oriented in an appropriate direction in the front, rear, left, or right directions of the vehicle. The vehicle seat device in the second position may be in a position (orientation) different from that in the first position. The vehicle seat device may also have a seat body for one person or multiple people.

Car 2
Car interior floor F
D Door opening 10 Vehicle seat device 20 Seat body 30 Front-rear slide mechanism 32 Lower rail 33 Upper rail 34 Front-rear slide table 35 Base portion 35k Inclined portion 40 Rotation mechanism (movement mechanism of the present invention)
40r Four-bar link mechanism (the link mechanism of the present invention)
41d Lower connecting shaft 41u Upper connecting shaft 41 Front link 42d Lower connecting shaft 42 Rear link 42u Upper connecting shaft 45 Seat portion 45k Inclined portion 46 Support bracket 51 First sliding member (at least one of the multiple sliding members of the present invention)
52 Second sliding member 53 Third sliding member 54 Fourth sliding member 61 First sliding portion 62 Second sliding portion 63 Third sliding portion 64 Upper bracket 641 First bearing portion 642 Second bearing portion 643 Vertical plate portion H1 First hole portion H2 Second hole portion 65 Vertical follow-up frame 651 Immovable frame 652 Movable frame 653 Bearing 66 Base bracket 661 Fixed portion 662 Support portion 663 Step portion 67 Upward biasing portion 68 Swing biasing portion 69 Stopper portion 71 First guide rail (sliding portion and guide rail of the present invention)
711 First guide surface 712 Second guide surface 713 Third guide surface 714 Outer wall 72 Second guide rail (sliding portion of the present invention)
73 Third guide rail (the sliding portion of the present invention)
74 Fourth guide rail (sliding portion of the present invention)
A1 Tilting central axis A2 Swing central axis A3 to A5 (Upper bracket) axis BM Positioning bolt BR Bracket

Claims (3)

A vehicle seat device including a movement mechanism for moving a seat body from a first position to a second position,
The movement mechanism includes a link mechanism that moves a seating portion supporting the seat body relative to a non-movable base portion, and a plurality of sliding members disposed between the base portion and the seating portion,
The plurality of sliding members are configured to be slidable relative to a sliding portion provided on the other of the base portion or the seating portion, the sliding portion being provided on the other of the base portion or the seating portion, the sliding portion being provided on the other of the base portion or the seating portion, the sliding portion being configured to be slidable relative to ...
At least one of the plurality of sliding members is movable in a contact direction with the slidable portion and in an opposite direction,
a guide rail is provided as the sliding portion so as to follow a relative movement path of the sliding member, and the guide rail has a first guide surface facing either the base portion or the seating portion, and a second guide surface formed along an edge of the first guide surface and standing in a gap direction between the base portion and the seating portion,
At least one of the plurality of sliding members has a first sliding portion biased in a contact direction with the first guide surface and a second sliding portion biased in a contact direction with the second guide surface . The vehicle seat device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of sliding members is movable in the contact direction and in the opposite direction, that is, in the gap direction between the base portion and the seating portion. a moving mechanism that rotates and moves the seat body from the first position facing the front of the vehicle to the second position facing a door opening,
3. The vehicle seat apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the seat body is provided on a door opening side in a vehicle compartment .

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