JPH0628038Y2 - Reclining device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an improvement of a reclining device which supports a seat cushion by connecting the tilt angle of the seat back so as to be adjustable.

[Conventional technology]

For example, in a vehicle seat, a reclining device is provided between a seat cushion and a seat back so that the tilt angle of the seat back can be freely adjusted with respect to the seat cushion according to the physique and preference of a seated person. Has been generally conducted since.

By the way, what is required in this type of reclining device is that the structure is simple, the processability and assembly of each part are excellent, and the cost is low, and the seat back can be freely and appropriately used. The tilt can be adjusted at an angle, and the adjustment operation can be performed very easily, and the positional relationship between the seat cushion and the seat back can be locked and the state can be reliably maintained against the load of the seated person. Is. Then, in consideration of such a point, there have been conventionally proposed those having various configurations. Among them, the simplest one is a lock plate having a plurality of ratchet teeth and a lock selectively engaged with the lock plate. A lock lever having a pawl is provided on the arm on the seat back side and the base on the seat cushion side, and the lock lever can be normally locked to the lock plate side and is unlocked to rotate in the unlocking direction. It is known that the lever is provided on the base side. Here, an urging force of a lock spring that constantly urges in the locking direction is applied to the unlocking operation lever, whereby the locked state between the lock lever and the lock plate is secured.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

However, according to the conventional reclining device having the above-described configuration, although the lock state of the lock lever to the lock plate side can be secured by the lock spring that urges the lock release operation lever in the lock direction, the tilt angle of the seat back is reduced. In order to perform the unlocking operation in the case of adjustment, there is a problem that an operating force that overcomes the biasing force of the lock spring is required and a large operating force is required. Of course, if the urging force of the lock spring is weakened, the operating force can be reduced, but the above-mentioned locked state tends to become unstable, and taking these measures, some measures can be taken to solve the above-mentioned problems such as operability. Is desired.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to meet such a demand, a reclining device according to the present invention includes a lock plate having a tooth portion provided on an arm on a seat back side, and a pivot plate rotatably supported on a seat cushion side base on the tooth portion. A lock lever having a locking claw that meshes with it, and an engagement portion that engages with this lock lever and holds it in a locked or unlocked state are provided at one end side and are rotatably supported on the base and An unlocking operation lever having an unlocking operation end on the end side,
A lock spring for urging the lock release operation lever in the direction to keep the lock lever in the locked state by the engaging portion and one end is fixed on the base, and the rotation release fulcrum is eccentric on the lock release operation lever. The other end is locked at a locking position that is set so as to cross over a line segment that connects the fixed position on the base and the lever rotation fulcrum when the operating lever is in the locked state and the unlocked state. It is configured to include a helper spring.

[Operation] According to the present invention, the biasing force of the helper spring with respect to the unlocking operation lever is determined by the line segment connecting the lock position of the helper spring to the fixed position on the base and the lever rotation fulcrum. By overcoming, the biasing direction is reversed between the locked state and the unlocked state of the lock lever on the lock plate, and in the locked state, the force in the direction to maintain the locked state of the lock lever is applied to the unlocking operation lever. During unlocking, the force in the opposite direction, that is, the unlocking operation direction can be applied by passing through the dead point of the line segment.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an embodiment in which the reclining device according to the present invention is applied to a vehicle seat.
A vehicle seat shown by reference numeral 1 in the drawings will be briefly described. The seat 1 includes a seat cushion 2 and a seat back 3 (both of which are partially shown by imaginary lines) as well known. The base 11 and the arm 12 which constitute the reclining device 10 characterizing the present invention are assembled by screwing or the like from one side of the seat 1 to the seat back 3, and the base 11 and the arm 12 are pivoted. The support shafts 13 are pivotally supported so as to be rotatable with respect to each other.

The reclining device 10 according to the present invention is provided integrally with the arm 12 on the seat back 3 side, and is supported on the base 11 on the seat cushion 2 side and the lock plate 14 having a plurality of ratchet teeth 14a as an example. The lock lever 16 is rotatably supported via a shaft 15 and integrally has a lock claw 16a that meshes with the ratchet teeth 14a. Here, in the present embodiment, a saw tooth structure is adopted as the lock pawl 16a so that the ratchet teeth 14a can be reliably engaged with the lock pawl 16a, and the rotation force on the lock plate 14 side due to the load from the seated person is not easily received. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the lock plate 14 is formed separately from the arm 12 and the lock claw 16a is formed integrally with the lock lever 16 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the ratchet teeth 14a are formed. It may be formed integrally with the arm 12, or the lock claw 16a may be attached to the lock lever 16 as a separate member configuration.

According to the present invention, in the reclining device 10 having such a configuration, the lock lever 16 having the lock claw 16a that meshes with the ratchet teeth 14a of the lock plate 14 is engaged with and held in the locked state and the unlocked state. The engaging portion 20 is provided at one end side and the support shaft 2 is provided on the base 11.
1, a lock release operation lever 22 having a lock release operation end 22a is pivotally supported by 1 and the lock release operation lever 22 is provided on the other end side.
The lock spring 23 for urging the lock lever 16 in a direction to keep the lock lever 16 in a locked state and one end of the lock spring 23 fixed on the base 11 and the lever rotation fulcrum O on the lock release operation lever 22 are eccentric to each other. There is a line segment x connecting the fixed position 24a on the base 11 and the lever rotation fulcrum O in the locked state and the unlocked state of the operating lever 22.
It is characterized in that a helper spring 24, the other end of which is locked, is additionally provided at a locking position 24b which is set so as to get over.

In such a structure, the operation lever 22 is rotated upward in the drawing, and the engaging portion 20 at the tip of the lever 22 resists the urging force of the springs 23 and 24 and rotates clockwise around the support shaft 21 in the drawing. When it is turned to, the engaging portion 20 engages with the engaging end 16b of the lock lever 16 and a turning force in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, that is, the unlocking direction is applied to the supporting shaft 15 to cause engagement. When the seat back 3 is released, the locked state is released, and the seat back 3 can be adjusted to an arbitrary inclination angle.
On the other hand, when the seat back 3 is adjusted to the required state and the hand is released from the operation lever 22, the unlocking operation lever 22 is returned to the original state and rotated by the urging force of the lock spring 23, and the engaging portion 20 thereof is released. The lock lever 16 is rotated in the locking direction with respect to the lock plate 14 to be in the locked state, and the state can be maintained.

According to the device of the present invention, the locking position 24b of the helper spring 24 exerts the urging force on the unlocking operation lever 22 by the helper spring 24 during the unlocking operation and the locking operation as described above. Fixed position 24a on the base 11 side and lever rotation fulcrum O
By crossing the dead point D on the line segment x that connects the lock lever 16 and the unlocked state of the lock lever 16 to the lock plate 14, the biasing direction of the lock lever 16 is reversed. Is applied to the lock release operation lever 22, and when the lock is released, the force is applied in the opposite direction, that is, in the lock release operation direction by passing through the dead point D due to the line segment x. . That is, according to the present invention, the locking position 24b of the helper spring 24 is indicated by A in FIG.
It is skillfully utilized that the biasing direction to the lever 22 is reversed by moving from the position indicated by to the position indicated by B and crossing the dead point D on the line segment x.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the force for maintaining the locked state of the lock lever 16 in the locked state is locked with a force sufficiently larger than that of the conventional characteristic b, as is clear from a in FIG. It can be applied to the release operation lever 22 and can be applied as a force in the lock release operation direction which is smaller than the conventional characteristic b at the time of unlocking, so that the lock release operation force can be greatly reduced compared to the conventional case. On the other hand, it is possible to maintain a reliable locked state.

The present invention is not limited to the structure of the embodiment described above, and the shape and structure of each part can be freely modified or changed as necessary, and various modifications can be considered. For example, the urging force by the helper spring 24 described above is
It is possible to freely select the position by which the dead point D is crossed, and it is preferable to set it as necessary. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the engaging portion 20 which is a separate member is integrally provided in a part of the unlocking operation lever 22 is illustrated, but it goes without saying that the invention is not limited to this. Further, the locking position of the helper spring 24 and the lock spring 23 is not limited to the structure of the embodiment, and an appropriate mounting position can be selected.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the reclining device of the present invention, the lock plate provided on the arm on the seat back side and having the tooth portion, and the seat plate on the seat cushion side are rotatably pivotally supported on the tooth portion. A lock lever having a locking claw that meshes with it, and an engagement portion that engages with this lock lever and holds it in a locked or unlocked state are provided at one end side and are rotatably supported on the base and An unlocking operation lever having an unlocking operation end on the end side, a lock spring for urging the unlocking operation lever in the direction to keep the lock lever in the locked state by the engaging portion, and one end fixed on the base. On the unlocking operation lever, the rotation fulcrum is eccentric to the lock release operation lever, and when the operation lever is in the locked state and the unlocked state, the fixed position and the lever are fixed on the base. The helper spring having the other end locked at the locking position set to cross the line connecting the rotation fulcrum, the helper despite the simple and inexpensive structure. The biasing force of the spring on the lock release lever is reversed between the locked state and the unlocked state of the lock lever to the lock plate, and in the locked state, the lock lever is maintained in the locked state. A force can be applied to the unlocking operation lever, and when unlocking, it can be applied as a force in the unlocking operation direction, which can significantly reduce the unlocking operation force compared to the conventional one, while ensuring a secure locked state. There are various practically excellent effects such as the possibility of maintaining the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged side view of an essential part of a lock release operation lever showing an embodiment of a reclining device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the entire reclining device, and FIG.
The figure is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the spring load and the lever operating angle according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 ... Vehicle seat, 2 ... Seat cushion,
3 ... Seat back, 10 ... Reclining device, 1
1 ... Base, 12 ... Arm, 13 ... Pivot shaft, 14
...... Lock plate, 14a ...... Ratchet tooth (tooth portion), 15, 21 ...... Support shaft, 16 ...... Lock lever, 1
6a ... lock claw, 20 ... engaging portion, 22 ... lock release operating lever, 22a ... lock release operating end, 23 ...
Lock spring, 24 ... Helper spring, 24
a: fixed position, 24b: locked position.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A lock plate provided on an arm on the seat back side and having a tooth portion, and a lock claw rotatably supported on a seat cushion side base on which the arm is pivotally supported and meshed with the tooth portion. A lock lever and an engaging portion that engages with the lock lever and holds the lock lever in a locked state and a non-locked state is provided at one end side and is rotatably supported on the base while the other end side is provided. The lock release operation lever has a lock release operation end, and a lock spring for urging the lock release operation lever in a direction to keep the lock lever in the locked state at the engaging portion. The lock release operation lever is fixed and is eccentrically located on its rotation fulcrum, and the operation lever is locked and unlocked with respect to the fixed position on the base. Reclining apparatus and the other end is provided with a helper spring to be engaged to a line connecting the over rotation fulcrum to the set locking position as overcome.