JPH0464246B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is configured such that the tilting position of the seat back relative to the seat cushion can be freely adjusted by a constantly meshing lock mechanism using a planetary gear mechanism. This invention relates to improvements in reclining devices.

[Conventional technology]

For example, in vehicle seats, it is common practice to provide a reclining device between a seat cushion and a seat back so that the seat back can tilt relative to the seat cushion. This type of reclining device consists of a base provided on the seat cushion side, an arm provided on the seat back side, and a locking mechanism interposed between the base and the arm that can lock them at a desired tilt angle. Therefore, devices having various configurations are well known.

Incidentally, in such a reclining device, a constantly meshing type locking mechanism is used, but it is not possible to do so as proposed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-48311 and Japanese Utility Model Application No. 60-187645. Compared to the conventional ratchet type, the tilting angle can be adjusted steplessly, the adjustment operation is easy, and it maintains an appropriate and sufficient locking state against the load of the seated person. It has the following advantages.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, there are some problems in constructing a reclining device having a constantly meshing lock mechanism as described above. That is,
In the conventional device, the internal teeth that mesh with the planetary gears constituting the lock mechanism are integrally formed in circular recesses provided in the base and part of the arm, which reduces the strength of these internal teeth. In order to ensure this, it is necessary to form the base and arms from thick plate materials, which makes the entire device thick and heavy, and also poses problems in terms of machinability of internal teeth, etc. , which had drawbacks such as high costs. Furthermore, the portions that form the internal teeth mentioned above are uneven places with different distances to the outer edges of the base and arms, and when forming the internal teeth by press working etc., the distances to the outer edges are different. Since the amount of deformation on one side of the short section is inevitably large, the internal teeth are easily deformed and it is difficult to ensure machining accuracy.This causes rattling when the planetary gear is engaged as a locking mechanism. There was also the problem that it was easy to cause problems such as the following.

Furthermore, in the conventional device described above, in order to movably combine the overlapping portions of the base and the arm, it is necessary to use multiple caulking pins etc. that lock the respective end portions, which complicates the structure. At the same time, it also had problems in terms of ease of assembly and operational performance. In other words, in the conventional device, it is necessary to swage the swaging pin with the base and arm combined, which is not only troublesome, but also makes it difficult to maintain the locked state with the required clearance by the swiveling pin. It is difficult to obtain and has problems such as lack of stability, and it is desired to take these points into consideration and take some measures that can eliminate the above-mentioned problems.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to meet such demands, the reclining device according to the present invention has an internal gear meshing with a planetary gear constituting a constantly meshing lock mechanism that is interposed between a base and an arm and connects them in a tilt adjustable manner. A pair of mechanism plates, which have circular concave portions formed on opposite sides thereof and are assembled so as to overlap each other so as to be relatively rotatable on the same axis, are inserted from corresponding parts of the lock mechanism of the base and the arm. A side edge portion on the rotating end side of the mechanism plate that is formed separately, has a base fixed to one of the mechanism plates, and an arm fixed to the other, and is fixed to the base and the arm on the other side. A pair of locking means are provided separately or integrally to rotatably lock the locking device in a state where the locking device is held in from the outside.

[Effect]

According to the present invention, a circular concave portion in which an internal toothed portion is formed with which a planetary gear constituting a constantly meshing type lock mechanism meshes is formed on mutually opposing sides, and the lock mechanism is relatively rotatable on the same axis. A pair of mechanism plates, which are assembled so as to overlap each other in a state of The side edge portions can be rotatably assembled and locked by locking means provided on the base and the arm, respectively, while being held from the outside with appropriate clearances.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the reclining device according to the present invention. In these figures, the reclining device, which is generally designated by the reference numeral 10, includes a seat cushion and a seat back (both of which constitute a seat). A base 11 and an arm 12 as a pair of plates respectively attached to a base 11 and an arm 1 (not shown);
A pair of mechanism plates 14 and 15 constitute a constantly meshing type lock mechanism 13 using a planetary gear mechanism that connects the two together in a relatively tiltable manner. Here, as shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b, circular recesses 16 facing each other are formed on the inner surfaces of each of the mechanism plates 14 and 15, and internal teeth 17 are formed on the inner periphery of the recesses 16. It is well known that elemental parts constituting the lock mechanism 13, such as a planetary gear and a sun gear (both not shown), are appropriately installed inside the lock mechanism 13. In addition, reference numeral 18 in the figure is an operating shaft of this constantly meshing lock mechanism 13, and this operating shaft 18 allows the pair of mechanism plates 14 and 15 to be overlapped on the same axis in a relatively rotatable state. It is ready to be assembled.

Now, according to the present invention, as described above, the planetary gear (not shown) constituting the constantly meshing lock mechanism 13 interposed between the base 11 and the arm 12 and connecting them in a tilt-adjustable manner is in mesh with the base 11 and the arm 12. A circular recess 1 in which internal teeth 17, 17 are formed.
6 and 16 on mutually opposing sides, and are assembled so as to be relatively rotatable on the same axis (operating shaft 18) and overlapped.
4 and 15 are formed separately from the corresponding parts of the lock mechanism 13 of the base 11 and arm 12, and these mechanism plates 14 and 1
The base 11 is fixed to one side 14 of 5, and the arm 12 is fixed to the other side 15 with a fastening pin 20 such as a rivet, and the rotating ends of the mechanism plates 15 and 14 are fixed to the base 11 and the arm 12 on opposite sides. A pair of locking brackets 21 and 22 (separate structures are adopted in this embodiment) are used as a pair of locking means for rotatably locking the side edge portions of each side from the outside. It is characterized by the fact that it is provided. In the figure, reference numerals 14a and 15a are attachment pieces to the base 11 and the arm 12 that protrude from parts of the mechanism plates 14 and 15.

According to this configuration, the thick portions forming the lock mechanism are formed as a pair of mechanism plates 14 and 15, which are separated from the base 11 and arm 12 sides. In addition, the base 11 and arm 12 can be made thinner, thereby making it possible to reduce the size, weight, and cost of the entire device. Further, according to the above-mentioned configuration, since the lock mechanism 13 is divided into parts, the lock mechanism 13 can be assembled in advance as a unit, which simplifies the configuration and also simplifies the entire device. It is also advantageous in terms of ease of assembly. Furthermore, the part having the circular recess 16 forming the internal tooth part 17, which has conventionally been a problem in terms of machining accuracy and workability, is separated by the mechanism plates 14 and 15, which have a substantially uniform surplus around the part. Because it is configured as a lock mechanism, conventional problems such as uneven deformation during machining do not occur, and its roundness is ensured, achieving high precision as the lock mechanism 13, and it also avoids rattling. Therefore, operational reliability can be ensured.

Further, according to the present invention, the locking brackets 21 and 22 for locking the mechanism plates 15 and 14 fixed to the other side in an overlapping state are fixed to the base 11 and the arm 12 of the plates 14 and 15. Not only is it easy to assemble and work is simple, but the bracket 21 also provides clearance for rotatably locking by holding the side edge of the other party's rotating end from the outside. , 22 can be maintained constant during processing, quality is stable, and productivity can be improved.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure of the embodiment described above, and the shape and structure of each part including the mechanism plates 14 and 15 and the locking brackets 21 and 22 may be modified and changed as necessary. is free. For example, in the embodiment described above, the locking brackets 21 and 22 are used as locking means for assembling and locking the mechanism plates 14 and 15 together in a state where they do not overlap between the base 11 and the arm 12. Although we have explained the case where it is used, as shown in FIG. 4, by deforming and forming the base 11 side, etc.
It will be easily understood that a part of this base 11 may be used as the locking portion 23.

Furthermore, the reclining device according to the present invention includes:
Although the present invention can be effectively applied to a vehicle seat, it is of course not limited thereto.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the reclining device according to the present invention, the internal toothed portion meshed with the planetary gear constituting the constantly meshing lock mechanism that is located between the base and the arm and connects them in a tilt adjustable manner. A pair of mechanism plate plates, which have circular recesses formed on opposing sides and are assembled so as to be relatively rotatable on the same axis and overlap each other, are separated from corresponding parts of the base and arm lock mechanisms. At the same time, a base is fixed to one of these mechanism plates and an arm is fixed to the other, and the side edge portion of the rotating end side of the mechanism plate fixed to the other side is attached to the base and the arm. , a pair of locking means that are rotatably locked when held from the outside are provided separately or integrally, so despite the simple and inexpensive structure, the plate thickness of the base, arm, etc. This has various excellent effects, such as making the lock mechanism thinner, reducing the overall size, weight, and cost, and improving the accuracy and operational reliability of a constantly meshing lock mechanism.

In particular, according to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the number of component parts as a reclining device, simplify the configuration, and improve ease of assembly. By means of this means, the side edges of the rotating end side of the mechanism plate provided on the mating side can be held from the outside and rotatably locked, so that the operation of the lock mechanism can be stably maintained in the desired state. Do it with
Moreover, it is sufficient to use only a pair of locking means as a means for locking and maintaining the movement of each part in the required state, and there is an advantage that the structure can be constructed with the minimum necessary number of components.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1 and 2 are a schematic side view showing an embodiment of the reclining device according to the present invention, and a side view showing a cross section of the main part thereof, and FIGS. 3a and 3b show the schematic shape of the mechanism plate. A front view, a side sectional view, and FIG. 4 are principal part sectional views showing another embodiment of the present invention. 10... Reclining device, 11... Base, 12... Arm, 13... Lock mechanism, 1
4, 15... Mechanism plate, 16... Circular recess, 17... Internal teeth, 20... Fastening pin, 21,
22... Locking bracket, 23... Locking portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A reclining device in which a base provided on the seat cushion side and an arm provided on the seat back side are connected so as to be relatively tiltable via a constantly meshing lock mechanism, comprising: A pair of gears that have circular recesses on opposing sides in which are formed internal teeth with which the planetary gears constituting the constantly meshing lock mechanism are assembled, and are assembled so as to be able to rotate relative to each other on the same axis. a mechanism plate is formed separately from corresponding parts of the lock mechanism of the base and the arm, and the base is fixed to one of the mechanism plates and the arm is fixed to the other of the mechanism plates, and the base and the arm are fixed to each other. In addition, a pair of locking means are provided for rotatably locking the side edge portions of the rotating end side of the mechanism plate fixed to the other side from the outside, respectively. reclining device.