JPH06206486A - Seat back lock device for automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To let a lock device be so constituted as to be kept locked with respect to a fall-down type seat back even when a car body is subjected to external force. CONSTITUTION:For the lock device 4 equipped with a striker 8 in an U shape in a plane view which is opened outward in the car width direction, and with a lock plate 5 which is rotated around a rotating shaft extended in the car width direction so as to be locked on the striker 8, a part of a protector 7 fixed onto a base member 2e formed over the frame member 2a of a seat back, is disposed at the outside position in the car width direction of a tip end section which is projected downward lower than the striker 8 at the hook section 5a of the lock plate 5, while being faced thereto. By this constitution, even in a state that the striker 8 is moved to the outside in the car width direction so as to allow the hook section 5a to be pushed to the outside in the car width direction, the protector 7 prevents the tip end section of the hook section 5a from being moved, so that a lock condition is thereby prevented from being released.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle seat back lock device, and more particularly, to an improvement in a structure for increasing the reliability of a lock state of a retractable seat back on the vehicle body side.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an automobile seat, in particular, as a rear seat, as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-98150, a retractable seat back which is rotatable forward with respect to a seat cushion. By rotating the seat back forward and tilting the seat back, the trunk room at the rear of the rear seat communicates with the passenger compartment, so that long luggage can be stored in the trunk room and the passenger compartment. It is known to have been made.

Further, in this type of seat, when it is not necessary to incline the seat back, the seat back is raised and locked to the vehicle body side (for example, an inner panel on the cab side), and this standing state is set. A locking device is provided to maintain the lock. As an example of the configuration of this locking device, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a lock rotatably supported on the outer end of the upper end of the frame b of the seat back a about a rotation axis extending in the horizontal direction. A plate c is provided, and the lock plate c is configured to be lockable with respect to a striker e which is substantially U-shaped in a plan view and extends from the vehicle body side (the cab-side inner panel d). Then, in the locked state as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the hook portion f at the tip of the lock plate c has the striker e.
The seat back a is maintained in an upright state by being locked by a locking portion g extending in the vehicle width direction.

[0004]

However, the structure of such a conventional lock device has a drawback that the lock is easily released at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle. Specifically, at the time of a rear-end collision of the vehicle, a deformation that spreads outward in the vehicle width direction generally occurs in the cab side portion. Therefore, at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 8, the striker e moves outward in the vehicle width direction along with the deformation of the inner panel d on the cab side (see the arrow in FIG. 8), and the moving striker e moves. A portion h of e that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction abuts and presses the inner surface of the hook portion f of the lock plate c, and the hook portion f is deformed outward in the vehicle width direction, whereby the engagement between the hook portion f and the striker e. If the lock is released, the locked state will be released easily.
When the locked state of the lock device is released in this way, there is a problem that the standing state of the seat back a cannot be maintained.

The present invention has been made in view of this point, and maintains the locked state of the locking device even in a situation where the above-mentioned external force acts on the retractable seat back. The purpose is to obtain a possible configuration.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention positions the tip of the hook portion of the lock plate even when the lock plate is deformed by the movement of the striker. By regulating the lock plate, the locked state between the lock plate and the striker is maintained. Specifically, in the invention according to claim 1, one end is fixed to the vehicle body-side member, and an engaging portion and an extending portion that is continuous with one end of the engaging portion and extends in a direction orthogonal to the engaging portion. And a hook portion formed at a tip end of the striker, which is assembled to a base member provided in the seat back, is inserted into a region partially surrounded by the engagement portion and the extension portion of the striker. A lock plate that rotates between a lock position in which the hook portion is locked to the locking portion and a lock release position in which the hook portion is disengaged from the locking portion; It is premised on a vehicle seat back lock device that allows the seat back to be tilted at the lock plate unlock position while maintaining the seat back upright at the plate lock position. Then, the hook portion straddles both sides of the locking portion at the lock position of the lock plate so that the tip portion thereof extends to a position beyond the locking portion, and the striker is provided on the base member. When the vehicle body side member moves along with the deformation and its extension presses the lock plate, it abuts against the tip of the hook portion of the lock plate to prevent movement of the tip of the hook portion, thereby preventing the hook portion from moving. In order to maintain the engagement state between the striker and the striker, the one end is opposite to the position where the extension of the striker is arranged with respect to the hook and is opposed to the tip of the hook. The protector extended to the position is fixed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle seat back lock device according to the first aspect, the striker is formed in a U-shape when viewed from the top so as to open to the outside in the vehicle width direction, and one end of the vehicle body side portion. A locking portion that is fixed to the vehicle body and extends inward in the vehicle width direction, and an extension portion that continuously extends in the vehicle front-rear direction at an inner end in the vehicle width direction of the locking portion. Further, the lock plate is attached to the seat back rotatably around a rotation axis extending in the vehicle width direction so that the lock plate can be locked to the locking portion at the vehicle width direction outer end of the seat back. It is configured.

[0008]

With the above construction, the present invention provides the following actions. By rotating the lock plate, a lock position where the hook portion of the lock plate is locked to the locking portion of the striker and a lock release position where the hook portion is disengaged from the locking portion of the striker are obtained, In the locked position, the seat back can be maintained upright, and in the unlocked position, the seat back can be tilted. And, the lock plate is in the lock position,
In the state where the hook part is locked to the locking part of the striker, the vehicle body side member is deformed due to the influence of external force due to the rear collision of the vehicle, etc., and the striker moves with this deformation, and its extension part locks the lock plate. In the case of pressing, the tip of the hook portion of the lock plate comes into contact with the protector, and the protector prevents movement of the tip portion of the hook portion. As a result, the hooked state of the striker and the locking portion of the striker are maintained, and the upright state of the seat back is maintained.

[0009]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, a seat 1 according to this example is a rear seat for an automobile including a retractable seat back in which a seat back 2 is rotatable frontward (see an arrow in FIG. 1). That is, the seat 1 includes a seat back 2 rotatably supported on a support bracket 3a attached to a rear end portion of the seat cushion 3 by a rotation shaft extending in the vehicle width direction. By rotating and tilting forward, the trunk room (not shown) at the rear of the rear seat communicates with the passenger compartment, and long luggage and the like can be stored in the trunk room and the passenger compartment. There is.

As shown in FIG. 2, a locking device 4 for supporting the seatback 2 on the vehicle body side in the upright state is provided at a position slightly lower than the upper end of the upright seatback 2. It is arranged. The configuration of the lock device 4 and its peripherals will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking device 4 is arranged around the corner portion of a frame member 2a, which is a frame of the seatback 2 and is provided inside the seatback 2. . Specifically, in the frame member 2a, a lateral member 2b extending in the vehicle width direction and a vertical member 2c extending in the vertical direction when the seat back 2 is in the upright state are formed on the upper end portion of a joint member 2d, and the thickness in the vehicle width direction is formed. A lock plate 5 attached to the meat base member 2e,
The rubber member 6, the protector 7, and the vehicle body side striker 8 with which the lock plate 5 is locked are provided.

The lock plate 5 is rotatable about a horizontal axis extending in the vehicle width direction with respect to the base member 2e, and its tip portion (the rear end portion of the vehicle body in the state of FIG. 3). A hook-shaped hook portion 5a is formed on the. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the disposition position of the lock plate 5 is set to an outer position in the vehicle width direction with a gap of a predetermined dimension from the base member 2e.

The striker 8 is U-shaped in a plan view and is fixed to an inner panel 9 on the cab side as a vehicle body side member. The striker 8 has a hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 attached thereto. Can be locked. That is, the striker 8 includes front and rear horizontal portions 8a and 8b extending parallel to each other in the vehicle width direction and the horizontal portions 8a and 8a.
8b and a connecting portion 8c for connecting inner ends in the vehicle width direction to each other, and outer ends in the vehicle width direction of the front and rear horizontal portions 8a and 8b are fixed to the inner panel 9 of the cab side. Therefore, when the lock plate 5 is engaged with the striker 8 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 is formed by the horizontal portions 8a and 8b of the striker 8 and the connecting portion 8c. The seatback 2 is inserted into the enclosed area and is locked by the front horizontal portion 8a to prevent the seatback 2 from rotating forward and maintain the seatback 2 in an upright state. There is. Therefore, the horizontal portion 8a on the front side serves as a locking portion in the present invention, and the connecting portion 8c serves as an extension portion in the present invention. In the locked state of the lock plate 5, the tip of the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 is located below the striker 8 at a position beyond the horizontal portion 8a. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, on the back surface of the seat back 2 corresponding to the position where the lock plate 5 is arranged, the striker 8 is inserted into the seat back 2 toward the lock plate 5. An opening 2f that opens rearward is formed.

On the other hand, the rubber member 6 is a rubber member located behind the center of rotation of the lock plate 5, the upper surface 6a of which is a flat surface, and the lock plate 5 is in a locked state. Then, the lock plate 5
The lower surface of the base end portion of the hook portion 5a of the above is brought into contact with the upper surface 6a of the rubber member 6 so as to elastically maintain the locked state of the lock plate 5, that is, the lock plate 5 is locked. It is designed to prevent rattling in the state.

The protector 7, which is a characteristic member of the present embodiment, is a member whose longitudinal section is formed in a substantially U-shape open to the outside in the vehicle width direction, and the upper half thereof is the base member 2e. The lower half of the lock plate 5 is located inside the gap formed between the lock plate 5 and the lock plate 5, and is located outside the hook plate 5a of the lock plate 5 in the vehicle width direction. Specifically, in the upper half, as shown in FIG. 4, an inner side surface in the vehicle width direction of a vertical wall 7a forming a part of a substantially U-shaped cross section is fixed to an outer side surface in the vehicle width direction of the base member 2e. Below the fixed portion of the vertical wall 7a, the vertical wall 7a is extended outward in the vehicle width direction so as to wrap around the lower side of the lock plate 5 and the rubber member 6, and the lower end thereof is located at the rear of the vehicle body. Is extended toward the outer side of the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 in the vehicle width direction. In other words, the protector 7 has the upper end fixed to the highly rigid base member 2e and the lower end located outside the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 in the vehicle width direction and the striker 8a.
Of the striker 8 at a position opposite to the position where the connecting portion 8c of the striker 8 is provided and below the striker 8 so as to closely face the tip of the hook 5a. There is. Further, a flange portion 7b extending outwardly in the vehicle width direction with a small dimension is integrally formed at the upper, lower, and rear edges of the vertical wall 7a of the protector 7 to reinforce the protector 7.

Therefore, in such a structure, when the lock plate 5 is rotated, the lock plate 5 is rotated from this state as shown in FIG. The seat back 2 can be maintained in the upright state in the locked state, and the seat back 2 can be rotated forward in the unlocked state.

Next, the lock device 4 constructed as described above.
The operation at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle in the locked state will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the seat back 2 is in the upright state, the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 is locked to the front horizontal portion 8a of the striker 8 to maintain the upright state of the seat back 2. When a rear collision of the vehicle occurs while the vehicle is in motion, deformation occurs in the cab side portion so as to spread outward in the vehicle width direction. As a result, at the time of a rear-end collision of the vehicle, as shown in FIG. 5, the striker 8 also moves outward in the vehicle width direction as the inner panel 9 on the cab side deforms outward in the vehicle width direction (arrow in FIG. 5). The connecting portion 8c of the moving striker 8 abuts the inner surface of the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5, and the hook portion 5a is deformed outward in the vehicle width direction.

In such a situation that the hook portion 5a is deformed, the outer side surface in the vehicle width direction of the deformed hook portion 5a is brought into contact with the inner side surface in the vehicle width direction of the lower end portion of the protector 7. become. That is, in the deformed hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5, the connecting portion 8c of the striker 8 contacts the inner side surface in the vehicle width direction, and the lower end portion of the vertical wall 7a of the protector 7 contacts the outer surface in the vehicle width direction. It will be in a state of being held by 8 and 7. As a result, the tip end of the hook portion 5a of the lock plate 5 is prevented from moving outward in the vehicle width direction by the protector 7, and the engagement state between the hook portion 5a and the striker 8 is maintained. Become. Therefore, the seatback 2 can be reliably maintained in the upright state even in the event of a rear-end collision of the vehicle, and the lock state can be easily released by an external force as in the conventional case, and the upright state of the seatback 2 can be maintained. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of a situation that disappears.

As described above, according to the structure of this embodiment, the locked state can be reliably prevented from being released at the time of a rear-end collision of the vehicle with a simple structure in which the protector 7 is added to the conventional structure. Therefore, the stable locked state can be always maintained, and the reliability of the lock device can be improved.

In the present embodiment, the striker 8 has a U-shape that opens outward in the vehicle width direction in plan view. However, the invention according to claim 1 is not limited to this. It may have a U-shape that opens to the rear of the vehicle body, or may have a U-shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle body.

[0021]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the hook portion of the lock plate straddles both sides of the engagement portion of the striker at the lock position of the lock plate so that the tip portion thereof extends to a position beyond the engagement portion, The base member provided on the back,
The striker has a structure in which one end is fixed to a position opposite to the position where the extension part of the striker is arranged with respect to the hook part and to a position facing the tip part of the hook part. When the body part moves along with the deformation of the member on the vehicle body side and its extension part presses the lock plate, it abuts on the tip part of the hook part of the lock plate to prevent the tip part of the hook part from moving, and the hook part Since the locking state of the striking part and the locking part of the striker is maintained, the striker moves due to the deformation of the vehicle body side member due to the influence of external force with a simple structure such as adding a protector to the conventional structure. Release of the locked state can be reliably prevented, a stable locked state can always be maintained, and the reliability of the locking device can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in particular, with respect to the structure in which the lock state is easily released by the striker moving outward in the vehicle width direction due to the deformation of the vehicle body side member at the time of a vehicle rear collision, The locked state can be reliably maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a seat with a foldable seat back.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view around the upper end of the seat back.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lock device peripheral portion.

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the peripheral portion of the lock device.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a deformed state of the lock plate at the time of a vehicle rear collision.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 in the related art.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 in the related art.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 in the related art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 seat back 2e base member 5 lock plate 5a hook part 7 protector 8 striker 8a horizontal part (locking part) 8c connecting part (extension part) 9 cab side inner panel (body side member)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A striker, one end of which is fixed to a vehicle body side member, and which has a locking portion and an extension portion which is continuous with one end of the locking portion and extends in a direction orthogonal to the locking portion, and a seat. The hook portion formed on the tip portion of the base member provided on the back is inserted into a region partially surrounded by the engaging portion and the extension portion of the striker, so that the hook portion is engaged. A lock plate that rotates between a lock position in which the hook portion is locked and a lock release position in which the hook portion is disengaged from the lock portion; In a vehicle seat back lock device that allows the seat back to be tilted at an unlocked position of the lock plate while maintaining the seat back in an upright state, the hook portion includes a lock plate lock member. At the position, it straddles both sides of the locking portion, and its tip extends to a position beyond the locking portion, and the striker moves on the base member along with the deformation of the vehicle body-side member. When the extension portion presses the lock plate, the extension portion abuts on the tip portion of the hook portion of the lock plate to prevent the movement of the tip portion of the hook portion, thereby engaging the hook portion with the engagement portion of the striker. A protector extended to a position where one end is opposite to the position where the extension part of the striker is arranged with respect to the hook part and which is opposed to the tip part of the hook part so as to maintain the stopped state. An automobile seat back lock device characterized by being provided. 2. The striker is formed in a U-shape in a plan view that is open to the outside in the vehicle width direction, one end of which is fixed to a side portion of the vehicle body and extends toward the inside of the vehicle width direction, and the locking portion. An extension portion that continuously extends in the vehicle front-rear direction at the vehicle width direction inner end is provided, and the lock plate can be locked to the locking portion at the vehicle width direction outer end portion of the seat back. 2. The vehicle seat back lock device according to claim 1, wherein the seat back lock device is attached to the seat back so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending in the vehicle width direction.