JPH024818Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (1) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an improvement in a locking device for fixing the sliding position of an automobile seat slide device.

(2) Prior Art and Problems In general, the front seat of a car can be slid forward and backward by a seat slide device installed on the underside of the seat. The device is designed to fix the sliding position of the seat, giving the driver a comfortable driving position.

Conventionally, this type of seat slide device S, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a seat cushion (not shown) on a lower rail 1 fixed to a floor (not shown) or the like. An upper rail 2 fixed to the lower surface is slidably attached, and a locking device L for fixing the sliding position of the upper rail 2 is provided on the upper rail 2 via a bracket 3. This lock device L has a lock bar 6 supported by the front and rear support walls 4 and 5 of the bracket 3 so as to be slidable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the upper rail 2, and a spring 7 wound around the lock bar 6. By locking both ends to the rear support wall 5 of the bracket 3 and a locking pin 8 that projects integrally with the lock bar 6, the lock bar 6 is always locked in the locking direction (direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 2). The upper rail 2 is fixed by fitting the tip of the lock bar 6 into a plurality of locking holes 10 provided at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the lower rail 1. The bracket 3 has a lever 11 pivoted near the rear end by a shaft pin 9, and a protrusion 12 erected at the rear end of the lever 11 is connected to the locking pin 8.
The lock bar 6 can be moved forward and backward relative to the lower rail 1 by rotating this lever 11 in the left and right directions on a horizontal plane.

Therefore, when the tip grip portion 13 of the lever 11 is rotated against the spring 7 in the direction of the arrow b shown in FIG. The top rail 2 moves to , and its tip comes out of the locking hole 10, allowing the upper rail 2 to slide. Then, when the lever 11 is released again at an appropriate position, the lock bar 6 moves in the direction of arrow a by the action of the spring 7, and its tip engages with the locking hole 10, so that the locked state is maintained again. .

However, in such a conventional lock device, the lock bar 6 is locked and unlocked by rotating the lever 11 disposed under the seat in the left and right directions on a horizontal plane.
1 becomes larger, and a large space must be secured under the seat for this purpose, which tends to increase the overall size of the device. has become a nuisance. In addition, in such a structure, since the lever 11 is supported at one point with respect to the bracket 3, the strength is unstable, and there are also problems such as the lever 11 rattling due to vibrations of the vehicle body while driving. It was hot. Furthermore, since the locking hole 10 provided in the lower rail 1 is located at the corner between the bottom wall and the side wall, the rigidity of the lower rail 1 at this portion is reduced, making it necessary to increase the panel thickness or install a reinforcing bracket. There was no need to set one up.

(3) Purpose of the invention The present invention has been made by focusing on the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its purpose is to reduce the size of the entire seat slide device by reducing the operation of the lever. The seat slide has been developed to reduce weight, improve lever operability, improve lever support strength, and improve lower rail support rigidity against loads without increasing weight. The goal is to provide security.

(4) Structure of the invention As a means to achieve the above object, the invention provides a lower rail that is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section with a bottom wall and both side walls and has outward flanges on both sides, and a lower rail that is slidably attached to the lower rail. , an upper rail having inward flanges on both sides that hold one of the outward flanges directly and the other indirectly through a steel ball, and a locking device that is attached to the upper rail and engages and disengages from the lower rail. In the seat slide, the lower rail is provided with a plurality of locking holes along the longitudinal direction in the center of the side wall on the outward flange side that is directly held by the inward flange, and the locking device is provided with the upper rail. a bracket fixed to the upper rail; a lever disposed approximately parallel to the upper rail and rotatably supported by the bracket; The main feature is that it is comprised of a lock plate that engages and disengages from a locking hole in the lower rail when rotated, and a spring that is wound around the lever and always biases the lock plate in the locking direction.

(5) Examples of the invention The present invention will be explained in detail below based on the attached drawings.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a seat slide device S equipped with a locking device L according to the present invention, and this seat slide device S has a pair of slide rails 16a, 1
6b, and slide rails 16a,
A lower rail 17, which is a component of the seat 16b, is fixed to the floor via front and rear brackets 18 and 19, and an upper rail 20, which is slidably attached to the lower rail 17, is fixed to the seat cushion 22 of the seat 21. There is. Then, by operating the lever 23 of the locking device L provided on one slide rail 16a, the seat 21 can be locked.
You can slide it back and forth and fix it in the correct position.

As shown in FIG. 6, the slide rail 16a includes a bottom wall 50 and side walls 2 rising from both side edges of the bottom wall 50.
4a and 24b, and an upper rail 20 that is slidably attached to the upper part of the lower rail 17 and has a substantially C-shaped cross section.
A pair of rotating rollers 37 supported by a retainer 39 are incorporated inside. Further, the lower rail 17 is formed with outward flanges 52a, 52b at the upper ends of the side walls 24a, 24b, while the upper rail 20 is formed with inward flanges 53a, 53b that hold the outward flanges 52a, 52b. The flanges are engaged with each other to prevent them from coming off. This engagement means is the slide rail 1
6a, the inward flange 53a of the upper rail 20 is connected to the outward flange 5 of the lower rail 17.
2a, and has a structure in which the steel balls 38 held by the retainer 39 are sandwiched between the two, and on the inside, the inward flange 53b of the upper rail 20 is connected to the outward flange of the lower rail 17. It has a structure that directly embraces 52b. Further, on the side wall 24b of the inner side of the lower rail 17, the lower rail 17 is located approximately at the center in the height direction.
A plurality of locking holes 25 are provided along the longitudinal direction, and by leaving a side wall portion between the locking holes 25 and the bottom wall 50, the rigidity of the side wall 24b is increased. In FIG. 4, reference numerals 42 and 42 are a pair of embossments provided at the longitudinal center of the lower rail 17 and at both front and rear ends of the upper rail 20, which serve as stoppers for the rotating roller 37 when the upper rail 20 slides. It is something.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the lock device L is provided approximately at the center of the upper rail 20, and is disposed approximately parallel to the upper rail 20 on a bracket 15 whose one end is fixed to the upper rail 20. The rear end of the substantially L-shaped lever 23 is rotatably supported, and one side wall 24 of the lower rail 17
A spring 27 that slidably supports a lock plate 26 that engages and disengages from a plurality of locking holes 25 opened at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of b, and is suspended between the lock plate 26 and the bracket 15.
As a result, the lock plate 26 is always urged in the locking direction (direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 6).

In this embodiment, the bracket 15 is formed of a single plate-like member, and includes a flat part 28 welded to the upper surface of the upper rail 20, and a pair of bent parts on one side of the flat part 28. Cylindrical support portions 29a, 29b and each of these support portions 29
a, 29b, a front support wall 30a that hangs down from one side end of the flat portion 28, and a front support wall 30a that extends further to one side from the lower end of the front support wall 30a,
It is composed of a front support wall 30a and a rear support wall 30b that stands in an opposing position. The lever 23 is supported rotatably around its longitudinal direction by the supporting parts 29a and 29b, which fit and hold the two rear ends of the lever 23, and are attached to the front and rear supporting walls 30a and 30b. is slide hole 3
1a and 31b are respectively opened, and by inserting the longitudinal direction front and rear ends of the lock plate 26 formed in a substantially rectangular shape into these slide holes 31a and 31b, the lock plate 26 is aligned with the longitudinal direction of the lower rail 17. It is supported so as to be slidable in substantially orthogonal directions.

Further, a locking hole 25 formed in the lower rail 17 is provided at the longitudinal end of the lock plate 26.
In addition to being provided with a plurality of locking claws 32 that engage with each other, the rear part of the lock plate 26 is cut out on both sides and is narrower than the other parts, so that the lock plate 26 cannot be slid in the detachment direction. At times, by bringing the cutout steps 33a and 33b into contact with the peripheral edge of the slide hole 31b of the rear support wall 30b, the amount of slide of the lock plate 26 in the detachment direction is regulated and the lock plate 26 is prevented from falling off. There is.

The lock plate 26 is always urged in the locking direction by the elastic action of a spring 27 wound around the lever 23. In this embodiment, one end 27a of the spring 27 is attached to the spring 27 of the lever 23. The other end portion 2
By locking the spring 7b to one support portion 29a of the bracket 15, an elastic action is imparted to the spring 27.

Therefore, the lock device L having such a configuration
In this case, the action of the spring 27 causes the pin 3 to
6, the lock plate 26 is always urged in the locking direction, and the locking hole 2 of the lower rail 17 is closed at a predetermined position.
The upper rail 20 can be fixed by fitting the end locking claw 32 of the lock plate 26 into the upper rail 5. In addition, when adjusting the position of the seat 21 in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. When the lever 27 is rotated in the direction b), the lever 27 rotates in the same direction with its longitudinal direction as an axis, and the pin 36 that rotates accordingly causes the lock plate 26 to retreat, and the locking claw 32 at the tip of the lever 27 rotates in the same direction. can be removed from the locking hole 25. In this state, the upper rail 20 becomes slidable, and after sliding the seat 21 position, the grip portion 23 of the lever 23 is returned to the appropriate position.
When a is released, the lever 23 rotates in the opposite direction to the arrow b direction due to the elastic return action of the spring 27, and the lock plate 26 is accordingly moved in the locking direction (in the arrow a direction shown in FIG. 6). The lower rail 17 protrudes to engage with the locking hole 25 of the opposing lower rail 17 to maintain a locked state.

In this manner, in the embodiment described above, the lock plate 26 is slid only by the rotational movement about the longitudinal direction of the lever 23, so that the operation of the lever 23 is extremely small compared to the prior art. Therefore, it is only necessary to secure a space at the bottom of the seat cushion 22 to accommodate one lever 23, and the entire seat slide device S becomes smaller.
The height of the seat cushion 22 can be lowered or the space can be used for other purposes. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the lever 23 can be operated simply by slightly rotating the lever 23, so the operation is extremely simple.

In addition, in this embodiment, the two rear ends of the lever 23 are fitted and supported by the support parts 29a and 29b of the bracket 15, which not only ensures the strength but also prevents the lever from being damaged by vibrations of the vehicle body or the like. There is no possibility that 23 may become loose.

Furthermore, since the plurality of locking pawls 32 provided at the tip of the lock plate 26 are engaged with the locking holes 25, the fixation to the upper rail 20 is ensured, and there is a risk that the seat may shift in the front-rear direction. Nor.

(6) Effects of the invention As explained above, according to the seat slide locking device according to the present invention, since the bar can be arranged in a narrow space, the entire seat slide device can be made smaller and lighter. , lever operation becomes easy, and the seat position can be easily adjusted. Further, the support strength of the lever is also increased compared to the conventional lever. Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the locking hole is provided in the center of the side wall of the lower rail, the rigidity of the side wall of the lower rail can be increased without increasing the plate thickness of the lower rail, which reduces the weight of the slide rail and improves the seat. It is possible to improve the support strength of the lower rail against the load from the cushion.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional locking device for a seat slide, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line taken in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a seat slide device equipped with a locking device according to the present invention. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a slide rail equipped with a locking device, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the slide rail, and FIG.
The line sectional view, FIG. 7, is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6, showing a detached state of the lock plate. L...Lock device, 1, 17...Lower rail, 2,
20... Upper rail, 10, 25... Locking hole, 15
...Bracket, 23...Lever, 26...Lock plate, 27...Spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A lower rail that is formed into a substantially U-shaped cross section with a bottom wall and both side walls and has outward flanges on both sides, and a lower rail that is slidably attached to the lower rail and that has one of the outward flanges. A seat slide comprising an upper rail having inward flanges on both sides that hold the other directly and indirectly through a steel ball, and a locking device that is attached to the upper rail and engages and disengages from the lower rail, The lower rail is provided with a plurality of locking holes along the longitudinal direction in the center of the side wall on the outward flange side that is directly held by the inward flange, and the locking device has a bracket fixed to the upper rail, a lever disposed substantially parallel to the lower rail and rotatably supported by the bracket; and a lever supported by the bracket so as to be slidable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the lower rail; when the lever is rotated, the lower rail is rotated. A locking device for a seat slide comprising a lock plate that engages and disengages from a locking hole, and a spring that is wound around the lever and always biases the lock plate in the locking direction.