JPH018208Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention relates to a lifter device, and more specifically to a lifter device that gently lowers a raised seat.

[Conventional technology]

Gear type, piston type, and the like are well known as lift devices for raising and lowering the seat.
These are designed to raise or lower the seat in several stages, and in order to lower the raised seat, the lock that fixes the seat in that position must be released and the seat on the seat must be lowered. The seat is lowered by weight. For example, there is one described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 49-74306. In this system, the main body of the shock absorber has leg members that can be adjusted, expanded and contracted, and fixed, and the tips of these legs are pivotally connected to a fixed frame and a seat that is supported by the fixed frame so that it can be raised and lowered, so that the leg members can be adjusted and expanded. An operating lever is provided for switching between the fixed state and the fixed state.

[Problem to be solved]

A conventional lifter mechanism for raising and lowering a seat is composed of a link, a cylindrical body, and an elastic body consisting of a leg member and a coil spring. It is provided. Therefore, the distance between the tip of the piston rod of the shock absorber body and the tip of the leg member must become long, and as a result,
The distance between the vehicle body and the bottom surface of the seat had to be increased. Therefore, in passenger cars where the seat is located at a low center of gravity,
It was impossible to employ a lifter mechanism like the conventional example. In addition, when lowering the seat in the conventional example, the leg members are switched to a retractable state by operating the operating lever, and the load applied to the seat causes the leg members to fit into the cylindrical body, reducing the overall length. However, what cushions the sudden drop of the seat at this time is an elastic body made of a coil spring installed between the flange provided at one end of the leg member and the end surface of the cylindrical body. . In the conventional example, the distance that the seat descends is proportional to the depth of the cylindrical body, so when raising and lowering a considerable distance, it is necessary to lengthen the cylindrical body and the length of the leg members. First, it is unavoidable that the distance between the vehicle body and the bottom surface of the seat becomes even longer. In addition, the elastic body made of coil springs that acts as a buffer when the seat descends may lose its spring force due to repeated expansion and contraction over a long period of time, and due to the characteristics of coil springs, it contracts greatly at the beginning of the descent and then gradually decreases. Because of the small size, it was difficult to gradually create an average buffer. Conventional devices are also equipped with a shock absorber body, which determines the vertical position of the seat by sliding leg members and a cylindrical body, and then moves the seat slightly up and down within the shock absorbing capacity of the shock absorber body. This function was merely to cause the seat to move, and did not have the function of absorbing shock when the seat was lowered.

Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide a lifter device that can gradually and uniformly lower the raised seat part without giving a large impact to the occupant. Furthermore, this invention provides a lifter device suitable for application to seats in passenger cars, etc., which are provided at a low center of gravity, that is, seats where a large distance cannot be maintained between the vehicle body and the lower surface of the seat. The purpose is to

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, this invention is such that the rear end side of the cushion frame of the seat is rotatably attached to the vehicle body or a base fixed to the vehicle body, and the shoe is installed between the base and the cushion frame. A lifter device is provided with a lifter mechanism for raising and lowering the front end side of the front frame, and the seat part rotates within a predetermined rotation angle range using the rear end side as a pivot axis due to the operation of the lifter mechanism. A bellows-shaped air pump that can be expanded and contracted is installed between the front end of the cushion frame and a valve that opens when the front end of the cushion frame rises and closes when the front end of the cushion frame descends. A small hole is formed to gradually exhaust the air inside the air pump.

[Effect]

In this invention, when the seat is fixed after the lifter mechanism is operated and the front end of the seat is rotated within a predetermined rotation angle range, there is a gap between the base and the front end of the cushion frame. The installed air pump is
It does not operate at all even if there is a load on the seat. To lower the seat, the lifter mechanism is activated to rotate the front end of the seat downward, but even if the load remains on the seat at that time, the load on the seat is absorbed by the air pump. When this kind of load is applied to the air pump, the air inside the air pump is gradually discharged from the small hole, and the front end of the seat gradually descends at a uniform speed.

[Embodiments] Preferred embodiments of this invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The seat 10 includes a vehicle body or a base 1 fixed to the vehicle body, a seat 2 placed on the base 1, and a backrest 3 rotatably attached to the seat 2.
and a headrest 4 that is secured to the upper end of the backrest 3. On the side of the base 1, there is a lever 5 for operating a lifter mechanism (not shown).
is rotatably mounted. Further, the cushion portion of the seat portion 2 is placed on a cushion frame 6, and an air pump 7 is installed between the cushion frame 6 and the base 1. The upper and lower ends of the air pump 7 are fixed to the cushion frame 6 and the base 1, respectively, and as the seat 2 moves up and down, the air pump 7
The upper end of the frame also moves up and down. Further, the air pump 7 is installed inside the lower part of the seat 2, that is, at a position surrounded by the outer side of the seat 2, and is housed inside the seat 2.

Furthermore, regarding the air pump 7, Fig. 2 A and B
To explain in detail with reference to , the air pump 7 is made of a flexible material such as vinyl resin and molded into an approximately cylindrical hollow body, the body is bellows-shaped, and the air pump 7 itself is expandable and contractible. ing. A hole 8 is formed at the lower end of the air pump 7, and a ring 71 to prevent air leakage is fixed around the hole 8. The rear end of a ring 72 having a large diameter tip is inserted into the ring 71. - A short tube 73 is attached to this ring 72, and an air inlet and outlet is formed by these. A valve 74 is attached to the inner surface of the short tube 73 at the tip of this air inlet and outlet.
It is designed to fall only in the direction of hole 8 (second
Figure B). This valve 74 may be one piece or may be divided into several parts, and in short, any structure may be used as long as it opens when air is taken in and closes when air is discharged. In addition, the valve 74
A small hole 75 is formed approximately in the center of the
Even when the valve 74 is closed, a small amount of air can be exhausted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned lifter mechanism is such that the rear end side of the cushion frame 6 on which the cushion portion of the seat portion 2 is placed is pivotally connected to a bracket 61 fixed on the base 1. The front end of the cushion frame 6 is configured to move up and down using the pivot portion 62 as a fulcrum. Further, a link mechanism 63 is provided on one side (left side in FIG. 3) of the front end side of the cushion frame 6.
A locking mechanism 6 is provided on the cushion frame 6 facing the
4, and a shaft 65 is installed between the locking mechanism 64 and the link mechanism 63. The link mechanism 63 consists of a bracket 66 fixed on the base 1 and a link plate 67 whose lower end is pivotally connected to the bracket 66 and whose upper end is pivotally connected to the cushion frame 6. The left end of the shaft 65 is attached to. Locking mechanism 64
consists of a lock plate 68 which is rotatably locked to the cushion frame 6, and a toothed plate 69 which is fixed to the shaft 65 and meshes with the lock plate 68. Lock plate 68 is biased by a biasing member (not shown) into engagement with toothed plate 69. When the engagement between the lock plate 68 and the toothed plate 69 is released by pulling the lever 5 toward you and rotating the shaft 65, the movement of the link mechanism 63 accompanying the rotation of the shaft 65 causes the cushion frame to move. 6 is now lifted up. Although the lifter mechanism shown in FIG. 3 has been described as an example of the lifter mechanism, it is of course possible to employ various other structures. However, the lifter mechanism in this invention is rotatably attached to the rear end side of the cushion frame 6 of the seat part 2, and is located between the base 1 and the cushion frame 6 so that the front end side of the cushion frame 6 is rotatably attached. It must be something that can be raised and lowered.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of this invention will be explained.
First, when the lever 5 is operated from the state shown in FIG. 1A and the lifter mechanism is activated to raise the seat 2 (the state shown in FIG. 1B), as the seat 2 rises, the upper end of the air pump 7 also rises, and the volume inside the air pump 7 increases. At this time, the valve body 7 of the air pump 7
4 is opened (state shown in FIG. 2B), and air is sucked into the air pump 7. When the lever 5 is operated to operate the lifter mechanism and the seat 2 is lowered, the air pump 7 is also contracted as the seat 2 is lowered. When the air pump 7 is contracted, the air inside is discharged, but when the air is discharged, the valve 74 is closed and the air flows through the small hole 75, as shown in FIG. 2A.
Excreted only from A small amount of air is discharged from this small hole 75, and the air pump 7 lowers the cushion frame 6 of the seat 2 by the weight of the seater.
is reduced by the front end side, and air is gradually discharged from the small hole 75. In this way, the air discharged from the air pump 7 is discharged from the small hole 75, and is not discharged suddenly but gradually and almost uniformly, so that the air pump 7 is also gradually reduced in size. Therefore, the seat 2 located at the top of the air pump 7
The seat portion 2 also descends as the air pump 7 contracts, and the lowering speed of the seat portion 2 becomes gentle and uniform.

〔effect〕

As explained above, this invention involves rotatably attaching the rear end of the cushion frame of the seat to the vehicle body or a base fixed to the vehicle body, and attaching the cushion frame between the base and the cushion frame. The lifter device is equipped with a lifter mechanism that raises and lowers the front end of the seat, and when the lifter mechanism operates, the seat rotates within a predetermined rotation angle range using the rear end as a pivot axis. A bellows-shaped air pump that can be expanded and contracted is installed between the front end of the front frame,
The air pump is equipped with a valve that opens when the front end of the cushion frame rises and opens when it lowers, and a small hole is formed in this valve to gradually exhaust the air inside the air pump when the front end of the cushion frame lowers.The air pump has a lifter mechanism. After activating the lifter mechanism to fix the seat at the desired height, it does not function at all and remains on the lower surface of the front end of the seat, and when the lifter mechanism is activated to lower the front end of the seat, the air pump valve closes, and the air inside the air pump is gradually and evenly discharged from the small hole provided in the valve, and as a result, the descent of the front end of the seat is cushioned, and the seat descends slowly and at a nearly uniform speed. . Further, since the air pump is disposed inside the seat, when the air pump is contracted, it is housed inside the seat, and the appearance of the seat can be improved. Furthermore, since the lifter mechanism of this invention rotates only the front end side of the seat, even seats with a low center of gravity that are installed closely to the vehicle body or base, such as passenger car seats, can be used. Becomes employable. Furthermore, the bellows-shaped air pump does not have a spring force that tries to return to a constant state like a coil spring, but when the front end of the seat is raised, it expands as the front end of the seat rises. At that time, the valve opens and sucks in air, and when it contracts, it is compressed by the load applied to the seat, so there is a drawback that the spring force deteriorates with long-term use. do not have.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1A is a partially cutaway side view of a seat to which the mechanism's lifter device is applied, Fig. 1B is a partially cutaway side view showing the seat in a lifted state, and Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the air pump. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of the lifter mechanism. 1...Base, 2...Seat, 6...Cushion frame, 7...Air pump, 10...Seat, 74
...Valve, 75...small hole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of claim for utility model registration] A seat 2 on a vehicle body or a base 1 fixed to the vehicle body.
The rear end of the cushion frame 6 is rotatably mounted, and a lifter mechanism is installed between the base 1 and the cushion frame 6 to raise and lower the front end of the cushion frame 6. 2 is a lifter device that rotates within a predetermined rotation angle range with the rear end side as a pivot axis, and a bellows-shaped expandable and retractable An air pump 7 is installed, and a valve 74 is attached to the air pump 7 that opens when the front end of the cushion frame 6 rises and closes when the cushion frame 6 descends, and the air in the air pump 7 is gradually discharged from the valve 74 when the front end of the cushion frame 6 descends. A lifter device characterized in that a small hole 75 is formed.