JPH02193606A - Interlocking mechanism in bilaterally lockable reclining device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothly operate a bilaterally lockable reclining device by using engagement between a roller and an engaging groove for a rotational force transmission mechanism between a release arm, which releases ratchet mechanisms in both sides, and a plate fixed to the respective edge parts of an interlock shaft and applying resin for friction and impact reduction to the internal part of the engaging groove. CONSTITUTION:An upper arm 10 is fixed respectively to the right and left lower edges of a seat back B and oscillatably fitted through a hinge pin 12 to both lower arms 14. Ratchet mechanisms 20 are respectively provided in the both hinge pin parts. Then, a release arm 22 is provided to release this ratchet mechanism and a lever part 22a for releasing the ratchet mechanism is provided in one lower arm. Between the both lower arms, an interlock shaft 30 for the ratchet mechanisms in the both sides is spread in a lower direction rather than the hinge pin and a plate 34 unitedly turning turned with this interlock shaft is fixed to the both edges. Further, the plate and release arm in the both sides are interlocked by engaging a roller 32 provided in one side with an engage groove 34a formed in the other side. The resin friction reduction is applied to to the internal surface of the engage groove. Thus, transmission loss and impact due to sliding friction is reduced and reclining operation is made smooth.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a reclining device equipped with a ratchet mechanism that can lock both sides of a seat back, and more particularly, to an improvement in an interlocking mechanism that interlocks the ratchet mechanisms on both sides. .

"Prior Art and its Problems" Seats equipped with reclining devices that allow the seat back to be tilted at any angle are often used in the front seats of automobiles. Various types of reclining devices have been developed and commercialized. For example, the upper arms fixed to both sides of the seat back are pivotally attached to the rear of the lower arms on both sides of the seat cushion via hinge pins, and a ratchet mechanism is used to lock the upper arms to the left and right hinge pins at different inclined positions. on either side (outer side) of the hinge pin,
There is a double-sided reclining device in which the release lever of the ratchet mechanism is rotatably provided and the rotation of the release lever is directly transmitted to the other release member via an interlocking shaft.

In this conventional double-sided reclining device, a hinge pin is installed between the left and right upper arms, and the left and right ratchet mechanisms are interlocked by this hinge pin, so that the hinge pin rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the ratchet release lever. was.

However, if the hinge pin is installed between the left and right upper arms, if the passenger sits down deeply into the seat cushion,
There were problems such as the hinge pin sometimes feeling rough on the lower back and other areas, making the ride uncomfortable.

Further, a double-sided reclining device has been proposed in which an interlocking shaft for interlocking left and right ratchet mechanisms is provided below the lower arm (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 160911/1983).

However, in the above conventional device, the operating lever and
A link member that interlocks the interlocking shaft that interlocks the left and right reclining mechanisms is connected by fitting the bottle and the bottle hole, and there is no space or play between the bottle and the bottle hole that is larger than the gap that allows rotation. was not provided. Therefore, the locking position (tilted position) of the left and right ratchet mechanisms
It is difficult to make adjustments when a difference occurs. There were other problems.

In the conventional device described above, if play is provided between the bottle and the bottle hole, even if the positions of the left and right lower arms shift back and forth during the process of assembling it to the floor of the car, causing errors in the left and right locking positions, these errors will occur. etc. are absorbed by the play, making it unnecessary to adjust the lock position, making assembly work easier. However, when the operating lever is rotated, the bottle and the bottle hole may come into contact with each other, causing abnormal noise or increasing sliding friction, which may adversely affect the operating feeling and operating force. Ta.

``Object of the Invention'' The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional double-sided reclining devices for the above-mentioned baths, and is an interlocking mechanism for the reclining mechanisms on both sides that allows smooth reclining operations without impact with a small operating force. The purpose is to provide

``Summary of the Invention'' The present invention comprises pivotally connecting upper arms fixed to both sides of the seat back to the rear portions of lower arms fixed to both sides of the seat cushion via hinge pins; The ratchet mechanisms on both sides are provided with a release arm that rotates around a hinge pin to release the ratchet mechanism, and a lower arm that is rotatably installed on one of the lower arms. In a double-sided reclining device having a lever part that rotates one of the release arms in conjunction with the rotation and releases the ratchet mechanism, the ratchets on both sides are positioned between the lower arms on both sides and below the hinge pin. An interlocking shaft that interlocks the mechanism is suspended, plates are fixed to both ends of this interlocking shaft so as to rotate together with the interlocking shaft, and the plates on both sides and a release arm are provided on one side. The roller and the engagement groove formed on the other roller are engaged with each other so as to rotate in conjunction with each other, and further,
A feature is that a material for reducing friction is attached to the inner surface of the engagement groove that the roller comes into contact with.

According to the interlocking mechanism of the double-sided reclining device of the present invention having the above configuration, transmission loss and impact due to sliding friction are reduced, and reclining operations can be performed smoothly.

“Embodiments of the invention” The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

1 and 2 are side views showing main parts of an embodiment of a reclining seat for a front seat of an automobile to which the interlocking mechanism according to the present invention is applied, and FIG.
Cutting line i't> cross section [, is a diagram.

Upper arms 10 are fixed to the left and right lower ends of the seat back B, respectively, and the left and right upper arms 10 are swingably fitted to a pair of lower arms 14 via hinge pins 12, respectively.

Note that the upper arm 10 is rotatably fitted to the hinge pin 12. In addition, the hinge pins 12 are each independent and are attached so as not to protrude inwardly from the seat cushion C. On the two floors 16, a pair of lower wheels 17 are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval. The upper rails 18 are fixed to each of the pair of lower rails 18 and are movable by 7 m. A lower arm 14 is fixed to each of the pair of upper rails 18. Further, a seat cushion C is attached between the left and right lower arms 14 via a support mechanism.

Spiral springs 19 are attached to the outer ends of the hinge pins I2 on both sides, the ends of which are engaged with the lower arm 14 and the upper arm 10, respectively, and which always bias the upper arm 10 to rotate in a forward tilting direction.

A ratchet mechanism 20 is provided in the vicinity of the hinge pin 12 of each lower arm 14 on both sides as a coarse adjustment device that changes the inclination of the seat back B at once. The main components are a release arm 22 pivotally supported by the upper arm 10, an intermediate gear plate 24 gear-coupled to the upper arm 10, and a ball 26 equipped with an engaging portion 26a that can be engaged and detached from the intermediate gear plate 24. The ratchet mechanisms 20 have basically the same structure, except that one release arm 22 has a lever portion 22a, whereas the other does not.

One of the release arms 22 has a lever portion 22a that extends forward (leftward in the figure).
A handle for operation is fixed to the tip of a.

The ball 26 is disposed near the intermediate gear plate 24 and is rotatably supported on the lower arm 14 via a stepped pin 27. An engagement groove 26b is formed in the ball 26, and a roller 22c supported by a pin 22b implanted in the release arm 22 is engaged with the engagement groove 26b. When the release arm 22 is in the position shown in FIG.
a into engagement teeth 24a of the intermediate gear plate 24,
When the release arm 22 rotates clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the position shown in FIG. 2, the lock 8 self-engages.

The release arm 22 is always urged to rotate in the direction of engaging the engagement portion 26a with the engagement tooth 24a1 by a return spring 23 that is stretched between the release arm 22 and the lower arm 14. Therefore, at all times, the engaging portion 26a of the ball 26 is engaged with the intermediate gear play 1-24.
The upper arm 10 (seat back B) is held at a predetermined inclined position. In this example, three tilt positions are shown by solid lines and imaginary lines.

Both ratchet mechanisms 20 are interlocked by a ratchet interlocking mechanism 30, which is one of the features of this embodiment. This interlocking mechanism 30 is located on the inner surface of the lower arm 14 and includes a release arm brake [32] that rotates together with the release arm 22, and a play [34] that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the release arm 32. , and a connecting vibe 35 for coarse adjustment as an interlocking shaft that interlocks the left and right plates 34.

The release arm plate 32 is rotatably supported at the end of the hinge pin 12 that protrudes inward from the lower arm 14. The lower arm 14 is formed with an arc-shaped groove 14a centered around the hinge pin 2.
The release arm plate 32 and the release arm 22 are connected to each other via a pin 22b that passes through the release arm plate 32 and the release arm 22. Also,
A bottle 32 is provided at the tip of the arm of the release arm plate 32.
A roller 32b, which is one of the features of the present invention, is rotatably attached to the bin 32b.

A shaft 36 is rotatably attached to each of the lower arms 14 on both sides at a position below the hinge pin 14. Rough adjustment connecting vibes 35 are rotatably fitted into the inner ends of the shafts 36 on both sides.

A plate 34 is fixed to each end of the connecting vibe 35 for coarse adjustment.

The plate 34 has a U-shape, and the roller 32b is fitted into an engagement groove 34a. therefore,
When the release arm plate 32 rotates, the roller 32
b comes into contact with the wall of the engagement groove 34a and presses it, rotating the plate 34 while shifting. Also, conversely, plate 3
4 rotates, the engagement groove 34a contacts and pushes the roller 32b, causing the release arm plate 32 to rotate while the roller 32b rolls.

When one plate 34 rotates, the other plate 34 fixed to the other end of the coarse adjustment connecting vibe 35 simultaneously rotates, and the other release arm plate 32 rotates via the roller 32b. Then, due to the rotation of the other plate 34, the ball 2 is passed through the release arm plate 32 and the roller 22c via the pin 22b.
6 rotates in the ratchet release direction, and the engaging portion 26a of the ball 26 separates from the engaging tooth 24a of the intermediate gear plate 24. In other words, when the lever portion 22a is rotated, the engaging portions 26a of the balls 26 on both sides simultaneously engage the intermediate gear plate 2.
4, and the ratchet mechanisms 20 on both sides are driven simultaneously.

Further, the engagement groove 34a of the plate 34 is coated with resin for reducing sliding friction, which is one of the features of the present invention.

This can be done, for example, by dipping or by coating with fluorine resin. In the illustrated embodiment, where the area 34c to which the resin has been applied is indicated by diagonal lines in FIG. It is sufficient to apply only the inner surface.

A predetermined gap (
(see Fig. 4), which allows the rails 17, 18, lower arm 14, and other members to be placed on the floor 16.
During the assembling process, the left and right lower arms 14 may be misaligned or errors may occur in the dimensions between each member, so this is to absorb these and ensure smooth assembly and operation.

A known planetary gear mechanism 40 is provided on each of the left and right lower arms 14 as a fine adjustment mechanism that continuously adjusts the inclination of the seat back B. A driven sprocket 42 of the planetary gear mechanism 40 is rotatably fixed to the hinge pin 12. The hinge pin 12 has an eccentric shaft portion 1
2a is formed, and this eccentric shaft portion 12a is rotatably fitted into the shaft hole of the upper arm 10. Further, the intermediate gear plate 24 is rotatably fitted onto the hinge pin 12.

Inner gears 10a are provided on the outer surfaces of both upper arms 10.
An outer gear 24b is provided on the inner surface of the rain intermediate gear plate 24.
are each embossed by precision press processing or the like, and these gears 10a and 24b are meshed with each other. Note that the number of teeth of the inner gear 10a is the same as that of the outer gear 24.
The number of teeth is less than the number of teeth b (both are one or more teeth formed).

Here, the outer gear 24b (intermediate gear plate 24) is locked so that it does not rotate by engaging the engaging portion 26a of the ball 26 with the engaging teeth 24a. Therefore, when the driven sprocket 42 rotates, the hinge pin 12 and the eccentric shaft portion 12a rotate together, and the inner gear loa meshes with the outer gear 24b and revolves. Therefore, when the hinge pin 12 rotates once, the inner gear 10
a revolves once and rotates by the difference in the number of teeth between the inner gear 10a and the outer gear 24b. That is, the upper arm 10 (seat back B) with which the inner gear lOa is integrally formed swings, and the inclination angle changes.

Further, in a normal state, the engaging portion 26a of the ball 26 meshes with the engaging tooth 24a of the intermediate gear plate 24, and rotation of the intermediate gear plate 24 is prevented. Therefore, the inner gear 10a that meshes with the outer gear 24b of the intermediate gear plate 24, that is, the upper arm 10 (seat back B), is held so as not to rotate.

The shaft 36 protruding outward from the lower arms 14 on both sides has a
One or more structures to which the sprockets 44 are fixed are the same in the left and right planetary gear mechanisms 40.

A chain is wound around the sprockets 42, 44 on the other side. Therefore, one sprocket 4
4 and the other sprocket 44 are interlocked via a connecting vibe 36.

A connecting vibe 37 for fine adjustment is fitted into the inner ends of both shafts 36 to connect both shafts 36 so as to rotate together. In addition, this fine adjustment connecting pipe 3
Connecting vibes 35 for coarse adjustment are rotatably fitted to the outer sides of 7.

Furthermore, an operating slide 50 for driving the planetary gear mechanism 40 is attached to the outer surface of one of the lower arms 14 .

The operation tjlll150 is a rotatable operation handle 5.
2. It has a sprocket 54 and a brake mechanism that rotate together with the operating handle 52. The brake mechanism does not operate in the same way when rotational torque is generated on the operating handle 52, but when rotational torque is generated on the sprocket 54 in a direction that causes the upper arm IO to tilt backward,
It acts to prevent its rotation.

One sprocket 54, 42, 44 has a chain 56 that transmits the rotational force of the operating handle 52 to the planetary gear mechanism.
is wrapped around it. Sprocket on other side 42.44
There is also a chain wrapped around it. Therefore, when the operating handle 52 rotates, the driven sprockets 42, 44 rotate via the chain 5G. As the driven sprocket 42 rotates, one upper arm 10 changes its inclination angle via the planetary gear mechanism 40.

Furthermore, together with one sprocket 44, the other sprocket 44 is connected via the connecting vibe 37 for fine adjustment.
rotates, and the other upper arm 10 also changes its inclination angle integrally with the one upper arm 10 via the other planetary gear mechanism 40.

In other words, when the operating handle 52 is rotated, the planetary gear mechanisms 4 on both sides are
0 is interlocked, the tilting force moves in the same direction on the left and right sides of the seatback B at the same time, and the tilting angle of the seatback B changes.

Next, the operation and operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

The seat back B (upper arm 10) is normally stopped at the inclined position shown by the solid line in FIG. Passengers are
In order to obtain the optimum position, the inclination angle of the seat back B is adjusted by rotating the operating handle 52. When the passenger rotates the operating handle 52, one planetary gear mechanism 40 is simultaneously activated via the drive sprocket 54, chain 56, and driven sprocket 42, and the other planetary gear mechanism 40 is activated simultaneously via the connecting vibe 37 for fine adjustment. Driven, seat back B (upper arm 10)
The angle of inclination changes.

The above is a fine adjustment of the seat back B', but if you want to quickly tilt the seat back B back and forth, such as when a passenger in the rear seat gets on or off, lift the lever part 22a. Then, the engaging portion 26a of the ball 26 engages the intermediate gear plate 2.
4, release arm 22 and bottle 2.
Release arm plate 32 interlocked via 2b
rotates, and the plate 34 rotates via the roller 32b.

Therefore, the other plate 34 rotates via the coarse adjustment connecting vibe 35, the release arm plate 32 rotates via the roller 32b, and further the roller 2
2c, the ball 26 rotates, the engaging portion 26a disengages from the engaging teeth 24a of the intermediate gear plate 24, the rotation preventing force of the intermediate gear plates 24 on both sides is released, and the outer gears 24b on both sides become free. become.

That is, when the lever part 22a is lifted in the release direction, the locking of the ratchets 20 on both sides is simultaneously released, and the seat back B is tilted forward by the biasing force of the spiral spring 19, or You can also move it backwards.

In the process of operating the lever portion 22a, the plate 34
The resin coating surface 34c contacts the roller 32b and rotates. Therefore, the interlocking movement of the ratchet mechanisms 20 on both sides is smooth, and the transmission loss is small, so the operation feeling is good and no extra operating force is required.

As described above, in this embodiment, the release arm 22 and the plate 35 fixed to the connecting vibe 35 are not connected directly, but are connected via the roller 35b and the engagement groove 34a, so that they are not engaged with the roller 32b. The sliding friction with the matching groove 34a is small.

Furthermore, if the roller 32b is made of an elastic synthetic resin, the impact generated when the roller 32b and the groove 34a come into contact is alleviated, and it is possible to prevent impact noise from occurring.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, the present invention can also be applied to a reclining device having either the ratchet mechanism 20 or the planetary gear mechanism 40. Further, as a mechanism for interlocking the release arm 22 and the ball 26, a gear mechanism or a winding interlocking mechanism can be used.

The roller 32b and the engagement groove 34a may be formed by providing the roller 32b in the plate 34 and forming the engagement groove 34a in the release arm plate 32.

As shown in FIG. 5, the engagement groove 34a of the plate 34 is
According to this structure, which may be a long hole 34b, even if the release arm plate 32 rotates beyond the normal rotation range, the roller 32b will not come out of the long hole 34b.

"Effects of the Invention" As is clear from the above explanation, the interlocking mechanism of the reclining device on both sides of the present invention includes a release arm that releases the ratchet mechanisms on both sides, and an interlocking mechanism that transmits the rotation of one release arm to the other release arm. The mechanism that mutually transmits rotational force between the plates fixed to each end of the shaft uses the engagement of rollers and engagement grooves, and the inner surface of the engagement groove that the rollers come into contact with is protected against friction and impact. Since a reducing resin is applied, the impact caused by the collision between the roller and the engagement groove during the reclining operation is alleviated, and the sliding friction between the roller and the engagement groove is reduced, so the interlocking of the ratchet mechanisms on both sides is reduced. The operation is quiet and smooth, and there is little transmission loss, so no extra operating force is required.
The feeling of operation is much improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the main parts of an embodiment of a reclining seat for a front seat of an automobile using the interlocking mechanism of the reclining device on both sides according to the present invention, and FIG. A side view showing a state in which the part is lifted;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section line ■-■ in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the plate of the same embodiment, which is the main part of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the plate. lO... Upper arm, 12... Hinge pin, 14
...Lower arm, 20...Ratchet mechanism, 22.
...Release arm, 22a...Lever part, 24...
・Intermediate gear play 1・, 24a... engaging tooth, 26...
-Ball, 26a...engaging portion, 30...interlocking mechanism,
32... Release arm plate, 32b... Bin, 32c... Roller, 34... Plate, 34a.
... Engagement groove, 35... Connecting vibe for coarse adjustment (interlocking shaft), 36... Shaft, 37... Connecting vibe for fine adjustment, 40... Planetary gear mechanism, 42...
Driven sprocket, 44...Sprocket, 50...
・Operation mechanism of planetary gear mechanism, 52...operation handle,
56... Chain patent applicant Shiroki Kogyo Co., Ltd. Patent applicant Toyota Motor Corporation Agent Kunio Miura Figure Figure Figure Figure

Claims (1)

[Claims] Upper arms fixed to both sides of the seat back are pivotally connected to the rear parts of lower arms fixed to both sides of the seat cushion via hinge pins; A ratchet mechanism is provided to lock the ratchet mechanism in position; each of the ratchet mechanisms on both sides is provided with a release arm that rotates around a hinge pin to release the ratchet mechanism, and a lower arm that is rotatably provided with one of the lower arms. In a double-sided reclining device having a lever part that rotates one of the release arms in conjunction with the other to release the ratchet mechanism, the lever part is positioned between the lower arms on both sides below the hinge pin to interlock the ratchet mechanisms on both sides. At the same time, plates are fixed to both ends of this interlocking shaft so as to rotate together with the interlocking shaft, and the plates and release arm on both sides are connected to a roller provided on one side. The rollers are engaged with an engagement groove formed on the other side so as to rotate in conjunction with each other, and further, a material for reducing friction is attached to the inner surface of the engagement groove that the roller comes into contact with. An interlocking mechanism for reclining devices on both sides.