JPH0143940Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a suspension device for a vehicle seat installed in a vehicle such as an automobile, and particularly to a means for preventing bottoming out and flip-up phenomena caused by rough roads, etc.

[Conventional technology]

Vehicle seats, particularly driver seats for automobile drivers, are generally equipped with air suspension devices. This air suspension device consists of a suspension mechanism, an air spring, a damper, an air valve for air supply and exhaust, etc., and when vibrations are applied from the outside, it absorbs the vibrations and prevents the vibrations from being directly applied to the driver etc. It is configured as follows. However, in the above air suspension device, the height of the suspension changes depending on the weight of the person sitting on the seat. Therefore, recently, systems have been developed to adjust the height of the suspension to the optimal position by changing the air pressure inside the air spring according to the amount of weight applied to the suspension.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, the vehicle seat suspension device having the above structure has the following problems. In other words, as shown in period T1 in Fig. 13, if the magnitude of vibration is normal, the seat will reach the upper limit level LU regardless of whether the seat is adjusted to height A, B, or C. Since the vibration occurs within the stroke range between the lower limit level LD, the so-called bottoming out phenomenon and bounce-up phenomenon do not occur. However, as shown in period T2, when severe vibration is applied, for example when driving on a rough road, in case A where the seat is adjusted to the lower stroke position, a bottoming phenomenon called bottoming occurs at point M, and the seat In the case of C, in which the stroke is adjusted to the upper position, a bounce-up phenomenon occurs at the N point. As a result, not only does the seat become very uncomfortable, but in extreme cases, there is even a risk of driving errors. For this reason, in the past, there was a problem that a suspension mechanism with a relatively short stroke could not be provided with a height adjustment function.

Therefore, the present invention provides a suspension device for a vehicle seat that can add a height adjustment function to a suspension mechanism with a relatively short stroke, and provides a comfortable ride even when driving on rough roads. It is intended to.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention is characterized by taking the following measures in order to solve the above problems and achieve the objectives. That is, the suspension device for a vehicle seat of the present invention adjusts and sets the vehicle seat to a predetermined height by adjusting the suspension device body, which is provided to hold the vehicle seat, using the height adjustment means. do it like this. Changes in the height of the vehicle seat adjusted and set by the height adjusting means are constantly monitored by a monitoring means comprising, for example, a seat height sensor and a height monitoring circuit, The present invention is characterized in that when it is confirmed that the upper limit level or the lower limit level has been reached, the height of the vehicle seat is forcibly changed to a preset specified level over a predetermined period of time.

[Effect]

By taking the above measures, when bottoming out or flipping up phenomenon occurs, the height of the vehicle seat automatically returns to a specified level, such as the midpoint of the vehicle seat's vertical stroke, regardless of the driver's intention. The suspension function will be given priority.

[Example of idea]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes, for example, a driver seat (hereinafter simply referred to as a seat) for a driver, and this seat 1 is held by a suspension device main body 2. As shown in FIG. The suspension device main body 2 includes a suspension mechanism 3, a damper 4,
It consists of an air spring 5 or the like, and is provided so that external vibrations are not directly applied to the driver seated on the seat 1. The height of the seat 1 can be adjusted by adjusting the suspension device main body 2 using a height adjusting means. That is, by supplying air to the air spring 5 of the suspension device main body 2 using the first air valve 6 for supplying air, the seat 1
The height of the seat 1 is increased and the height of the seat 1 is lowered by evacuation using a second air valve 7 for evacuation. These first and second air valves 6 and 7 are driven and controlled by a control device 8. The control device 8 will be explained in detail later, but includes an operation panel 9, an engine key sensor 10,
Handbrake sensor 11, seat height sensor 1
The first and second air valves 6 and 7 are driven and controlled in accordance with these signals.

The operation panel 9 allows the driver to set the height H of the seat 1 according to his/her body shape, for example, H1, H2...H.
An operation switch 13 that sets the level in stages such as 5, an indicator light 14 that displays the height position of the seat 1, and an operation button 1 for when the vehicle is stopped.
5. Personal memory setting buttons 16, 17
etc. are installed. The stop operation button 15 is an operation button that sets the height of the seat 1 to a low level when the vehicle is stopped, making it easier to get on and off the vehicle. In addition, the personal memory setting buttons 16 and 17 can be used, for example, if there are multiple drivers, the height of the seat 1 unique to each person is stored in advance in the memory in the control device 8 at the time of initial setting. This is an operation button that allows you to automatically set the height to a predetermined height by simply pressing your own button.

The engine key sensor 10 is configured to send out a predetermined signal when an engine key (not shown) is turned on or off.

The handbrake sensor 11 is configured to send out a predetermined signal when a handbrake (not shown) is turned on or off.

The seat height sensor 12 is disposed facing a slit 20 provided in the horizontal sliding portion of the suspension mechanism 3, as shown in FIG. 2, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the height sensor 12 uses seven light emitting diodes 21, 22, . . . , 27 connected together as a light emitting body. Thus, the height sensor 12 detects the height H of the sheet 1 from the moving state of the edge portion 20a of the slit 20, and sends out a digital signal corresponding to this height H.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device 6 together with its peripheral parts. In Figure 4, 3
0 is a 1-chip microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as microcomputer), which includes a CPU 31, ROM 32,
It consists of RAM33, I/O/PORT34, etc. The microcomputer 30 is supplied with power from a power supply device 35, and the CPU 31 is supplied with an oscillation output from an oscillator 36. Also, the height sensor 12, engine key sensor 10, and handbrake sensor 1 are connected to the I/O port 34 via a buffer 37.
The signal from 1 is input. An expansion I/O port 39 installed outside the microcomputer 30 is connected to the data bus 38 of the microcomputer 30 . A signal from the operation panel 9 is input to this expansion I/O port 39 via a buffer 40, and a signal is input from the expansion I/O port 39 to the first and second air valves 6, A control output is sent to the display lamp 7 and the indicator light 14.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram that blocks the functions of the microcomputer 30 shown in FIG. 4 and shows the configuration of the main parts of the control system. Diagrams showing circuit examples, 1st
1 is a flowchart showing the operation of FIG. 5, and FIG. 12 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. 5. The configuration and operation of the main parts of the control system will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 12.

In FIG. 5, a determination circuit 50 determines whether the seat 1 is
This circuit determines whether the vehicle is sitting or not, and determines whether the vehicle is running or stopped based on the on/off signal from the handbrake sensor 11.

The seat height setting circuit 51 is connected to the determination circuit 50.
The vehicle is activated by a signal output when the vehicle is seated in seat 1 and the vehicle is stopped;
This circuit forms and outputs a height adjustment signal based on the signal from the operation switch 13 on the operation panel 9 and the height signal from the height sensor 12. The output signal from this circuit 51 is supplied to a drive circuit 53 via a changeover switch 52.

The drive circuit 53 drives the first and second drives based on the input signal.
A drive control output is supplied to the air valves 6 and 7 and the indicator light 14. In this way, the seat 1 is set at a predetermined height.

When the height sensor 12 outputs a signal SU or SD indicating that the seat 1 has reached the upper limit level or the lower limit level, the height monitoring circuit 54 switches the changeover switch 52 to the seat height changing circuit for a predetermined period of time. This circuit switches to the 55 side. This height monitoring circuit 54 is configured to control the height sensor 1 again within a certain period of time.
For example, a re-trigger monostable multi-function device is incorporated so that when the signals SU and SD are input from 2, the switch 52 is kept switched to the sheet change circuit 55 side. In order to prevent the height monitoring circuit 54 from responding too sensitively, the circuit 54 is activated only when the signals SU and SD from the height sensor 12 are input continuously for a certain period of time or more than a certain number of times. A timer, an integrating circuit, a counter, etc. may be incorporated as shown in FIG.

The seat height change circuit 55 receives a signal from the height sensor 12 indicating that the seat 1 has reached the upper limit level.
When SU is output, a command signal is sent to forcefully lower the height of seat 1 by one level, and when seat sensor 1 outputs a signal SD indicating that seat 1 has reached the lower limit level. is sheet 1
This is a circuit that sends out a command signal to forcefully raise the stroke to the intermediate level of the vertical stroke. These command signals are supplied to the drive circuit 53 via the changeover switch 52. In this way, the sheet 1 is forcibly set to a specified level for a predetermined period of time.

FIG. 6 shows a specific circuit example of the height sensor 12. 61, 62...67 are light emitting diodes 21, 22...27 mentioned above, and phototransistors 7.
1, 72...77 facing each other, and the edge portion 20a of the slit 20
By moving as indicated by the arrow, the phototransistors 71, 72, . . . , 77 are turned on and off. For example, the first photocoupler 61
In the illustrated state in which the photocoupler 61 is not blocked by the edge portion 20a, the phototransistor 71 is turned on, but when the photocoupler 61 is blocked by the edge portion 20a, the phototransistor 71 is turned off. Become. When the phototransistor 71 is turned on, the inverter 8
The output of the inverter 81 becomes a high level signal "1", and when the phototransistor 71 is turned off, the output of the inverter 81 becomes a low level signal "0". In this way, a signal indicating the level of the height of the seat 1 is obtained at the output ends of the inverters 81, 82, . . . , 87.

FIG. 7 shows a specific circuit example of the engine sensor 10 and the handbrake sensor 11. Switches 91 and 92 are switches that are turned on and off in response to turning on and off an engine key (not shown) and a handbrake (not shown), respectively. When these switches 91 and 92 are turned on, inverters 101 and 102 are turned on and off. The output of each inverter 101 and 102 becomes a high level signal "1", and when turned off, the output of each inverter 101 and 102 becomes a low level signal "0". In this way, signals indicating the state of the engine and handbrake, that is, whether the seat 1 is seated or not, and whether the vehicle is running, are obtained at the output terminals of the inverters 101 and 102.

FIG. 8 shows a specific circuit example of the operation switch 13. When the rotary switch lever 110 is rotated, one of the terminals 111, 112...115 is grounded by the rotation of the lever 110, and one of the inverters 121, 122...125 connected to the grounded terminal is connected to the ground. Only this output becomes a high level signal "1". In this way, a signal is obtained at the output ends of the inverters 111, 112, .

FIG. 9 shows a specific example of the air valve drive circuit in the drive circuit 53. However, only the drive circuit for the first air valve 6 is shown in FIG. Note that the drive circuit for the second air valve 7 is also completely similar. The switching transistor 130 is connected to the seat height setting circuit 51 or the seat height changing circuit 55.
When turned on by a signal from the first air valve 6, the solenoid 131 of the first air valve 6 is energized, and the air valve 6
to open. Air is thus supplied to the air spring 5.

FIG. 10 shows a specific example of the indicator light drive circuit in the drive circuit 53. When a set input is given to one of the flip-flop circuits 141, 142, .
One of 1,152...155 lights up. In this way, the seat height level is displayed.

Therefore, the operation of the above-mentioned control system will be explained next with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. First, it is checked whether the engine key is turned on. Assuming that the engine key is currently on, the engine key sensor 10 sends an on signal. Then, the determination circuit 50 determines that the driver is seated on the seat. Next, a check is made to see if the handbrake is on. If the handbrake is on, the handbrake sensor 11 sends an on signal, so the determination circuit 50 determines that the vehicle is stopped. Then, the driver operates the operating switch 13 to set the seat heights H, H1, H2, . . . H5 according to his/her body type. Then, the setting signal and the height signal from the height sensor 12 are compared, and a height setting signal is sent from the seat height setting circuit 51 according to the difference.
This signal is supplied to the drive circuit 53 via the changeover switch 52. Then, a drive control output is supplied from the drive circuit 53 to the first and second air valves 6 or 7. Therefore, air spring 5
air is supplied or exhausted. In this way, the height of the seat 1 is adjusted and set to an optimal height, for example, H1, which is a relatively low level, before the vehicle travels.

When the handbrake is turned off to start driving the vehicle, the determination circuit 50 determines that the vehicle has started traveling, and the seat height changing circuit 55 starts operating.
The height monitoring circuit 54 also starts operating to monitor changes in height. When the car actually starts running, vibrations are applied to the air suspension device body 2, but even if vibrations of a normal magnitude are applied, the seat height can be changed as long as it is within the range of the vertical stroke of the air suspension. is not carried out. Suppose now that the car is on a rough road and is subjected to severe vibrations as shown in Figure 12. In this case, first, it is checked whether there is a bottoming out phenomenon, that is, whether a signal SD at the lower limit level is sent out from the height sensor 12. Now, assume that the lower limit level signal SD is sent out from the height sensor 12 at time t1 in FIG. Then, a switching command signal is sent from the height monitoring circuit 54 to the switching switch 52. Therefore, the changeover switch 52 is switched to the sheet change circuit 55 side. At the same time, the lower limit level signal SD from the height sensor 12 is output to the seat height change circuit 55.
In order to input
A command signal is sent to increase the temperature to a certain level. This command signal is given to the drive circuit 53 via the changeover switch 52. Then, an opening drive signal is given to the first air valve 6. Therefore, the first air valve 6 is opened only until time t2 in FIG. 12, and air is supplied to the air spring 5. As a result, the sheet 1 is raised to the intermediate level H4. In this way, the vibration of the seat 1 is kept within the stroke range of the suspension, that is, between the upper limit level LU and the lower limit level LD, and the bottoming out phenomenon is avoided. The lower limit level signal SD is not sent out for a predetermined period, for example at time t3 in FIG.
If this continues until the height monitoring circuit 54 continues, the switching command signal sent from the height monitoring circuit 54 is cut off. Therefore, the changeover switch 52 is returned to its original state. As a result, in response to the output signal from the seat height setting circuit 51, the original level is reset in the same manner as at the time of initial setting. That is, the second air valve 7 is opened only from time t3 to time t4, and the first set level H is reached.
It is returned to 1.

If the lower limit level signal SD is not detected, the presence or absence of the upper limit level signal SU is checked.
When the upper limit level signal SU is detected, substantially the same operation as that at the time of detecting the lower limit level signal described above is performed, and the seat height is changed. However, in this case, the seat height changing circuit 55 sends a command signal to lower the seat 1 by one step below the initial setting level. Thus, in this case the seat 1 is lowered by one step.

When the upper limit level signal SU is detected, that is, when a jump phenomenon occurs, the degree of impact is smaller than when the lower limit level signal SD is detected, that is, when a bottoming out phenomenon occurs, so the initial A change that is one level lower than the set level is sufficient.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the one embodiment described above. For example, in the embodiment described above, a microcomputer is used as the main part of the control system, but other circuits may be used instead. Further, in the above embodiment, an air spring is used as the suspension spring, but other springs may be used. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, when a flip-up phenomenon occurs, the level of the sheet 1 is lowered by one level, but in the same way as when a bottoming-out phenomenon occurs, it is changed to an intermediate level. Good too. It goes without saying that various other modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Effect of idea]

The vehicle seat suspension device of the present invention is
The vehicle seat is adjusted to a predetermined height by adjusting the main body of the suspension device provided to hold the vehicle seat using the height adjusting means, and the height adjusting means adjusts and sets the vehicle seat. The change in the height of the vehicle seat is constantly monitored by monitoring means comprising, for example, a seat height sensor and a height monitoring circuit, and it is confirmed that the vehicle seat has reached an upper limit level or a lower limit level while the vehicle is running. The height of the vehicle seat is forcibly changed to a predetermined level for a predetermined period when the height of the vehicle seat is changed to a predetermined level.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when a bottoming out phenomenon or a flipping up phenomenon occurs, the height of the vehicle seat reaches a specified level, such as the midpoint of the vertical stroke of the vehicle seat, regardless of the driver's intention. It will be set automatically and the suspension function will take priority. As a result, it is possible to add a height adjustment function to a suspension mechanism with a relatively short stroke, and to provide a suspension device for a vehicle seat that can always provide a comfortable ride even when driving on rough roads. I can do it.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 to 12 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a suspension device for a vehicle seat, and Figure 2 is a diagram showing a state in which a seat height sensor is installed. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the light emitter of the seat height sensor, and FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device along with its peripheral parts.
Figure 5 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the main parts of the control system by dividing the functions of the microcomputer in Figure 4 into blocks, and Figures 6 to 10 are diagrams showing specific circuit examples of each part in Figure 5. , FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of FIG. 5, and FIG. 12 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation of FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the conventional problems. 1... Driver seat for driver, 2... Air suspension device main body, 3... Suspension mechanism,
4...Damper, 5...Air spring, 6...First air valve for air supply, 7...Second air valve for exhaust, 8...Control device, 9...Operation panel, 10...Engine key sensor, 11...Handbrake sensor,
12... Seat height sensor, 13... Operation switch,
14...Indicator light, 15...Operation button for stopping, 1
6, 17...Personal memory setting button, 2
0...Slit, 21-27...Light emitting diode, 3
0...Microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A suspension device body provided to hold a vehicle seat, a height adjustment means for adjusting and setting the vehicle seat to a predetermined height by adjusting the device body, and adjustment by the height adjustment means. A monitoring means for constantly monitoring changes in the set height of the vehicle seat, and a monitoring means for a predetermined period of time when it is confirmed by the monitoring means that the vehicle seat has reached an upper limit level or a lower limit level while the vehicle is running. A suspension device for a vehicle seat, comprising means for forcibly changing the height of the vehicle seat to a preset regulation level.