JPH0838301A - Seat lifter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform stepless height adjustment and to aquire large stroke amount. CONSTITUTION:A lock means 40 is formed as a piston type hydraulic free lock system, and freely rockingly erected and connects between the connecting rod 24 of a link movable end 16R and the front terminal of an upper frame 12. The height of the upper frame 12 can be adjusted and set by regulating the expansion/shrinkage of the link 16 according to the lock of the lock means 40.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seat lifter in which an expandable link is provided between an upper frame and a lower frame, and the height of the upper frame with respect to the lower frame can be adjusted by restricting expansion and contraction of the link by a locking means. In particular, the present invention relates to a seat lifter mounted on a seat of a large vehicle such as a bus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a seat lifter that can secure a seat height according to a seated person's body shape and taste, and a viewpoint height suitable for driving etc. under arbitrary adjustment, It is installed on the driver seat of automobiles, especially large vehicles such as buses.

Such a seat lifter is, for example,
It is equipped with an upper frame (upper frame) on which the seat is placed and a lower frame (lower frame) attached to the vehicle floor, etc.
The upper frame is connected to the lower frame so that it can move up and down via a stretchable link assembled into an X shape. And
Such a seat lifter is configured to set the height of the upper frame, that is, the seat, which is arbitrarily adjusted under the expansion and contraction of the link, by preventing the expansion and contraction of the link by the locking means.

As a locking means of the seat lifter, a structure in which a locking pin (striker) and a latch having a multi-step engagement groove with which the locking pin can be engaged is combined is usually used. Depending on the position of the mating engagement groove,
The height of the seat can be set.

[0005]

However, as described above, in the known seat lifter, in order to prevent the link from expanding and contracting under the engagement of the engaging pin and the engaging groove of the latch, the upper frame, That is, the height of the seat is set in stages. That is, in the known seat lifter, the height of the seat to be set cannot be finely adjusted, and the seat height suitable for the seated person's body shape, taste, etc., and the height of the viewpoint suitable for driving etc. Not easily available.

The height adjustment range (stroke) of the known seat lifter is proportional to the size of the latch. However, since the latch is usually arranged so as to extend in the vertical direction, it cannot be formed so long. Therefore, in the known configuration, it is not easy to secure a stroke in a wide range.

An object of the present invention is to provide a seat lifter capable of ensuring height adjustment in a stepless manner and ensuring a large stroke amount.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, according to the present invention, the locking means can be locked in any length within the effective expansion / contraction range when the operating force of the operating piece is released. It is formed as a piston-type free lock type, and is erected and connected so as to be swingable between a movable end of a link and a base member that cannot move forward and backward. The height of the upper frame can be adjusted and set by restricting the expansion and contraction of the link due to the locking of the locking means.

[0009]

With this structure, since the locking means can be locked steplessly, the height of the upper frame can be finely adjusted. Further, since the locking means is arranged along the moving direction of the movable end of the link and is of a piston type that can be locked at any expansion / contraction length, the expansion / contraction range of the locking means, that is, the height of the upper frame. A wide adjustment range can be secured.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in a seat lifter 10 according to the present invention, an upper frame (upper frame) 12 on which a seat is placed is a lower frame (lower frame) 14 attached to a vehicle floor or the like. On the other hand, it is connected via a flexible link 16 so as to be able to move up and down.

The link 16 is assembled into a substantially X-shape which is vertically expandable and contractible by pivotally attaching a pair of inner link arms 16a and outer link arms 16b to each other by pivoting the centers of the link 16 with a pivot pin 18. . The front and rear ends of the link arms 16a and 16b, which are spaced apart from each other on the left and right, are connected by, for example, front connecting rods 20 and 21 and rear connecting rods 24 and 25.

In the embodiment, the connecting rods 20, 21, 24 and 25 are all made of pipe material,
A support shaft 28 is loosely inserted inside.

Then, for example, the front connecting rods 20 and 21 are rotatably supported with respect to the corresponding frames by erection of respective shafts 28 between the left and right sides of the upper frame 12 and the lower frame 14. ing.

In the embodiment, the connecting rod 20 is directly connected to the lower frame 14, whereas the connecting rod 21 is connected to the lower surface of the upper frame 12 via the bracket 30 which is vertically provided. It Further, fitting of the locking member 32 such as an E ring to the extended end prevents the shaft 28 from falling off the upper frame 12 and the lower frame 14.

The front connecting rods 20 and 21 are supported by the upper frame 12 and the lower frame 14 so as not to move forward and backward, whereas the rear connecting rods 24 and 25 are supported as shown in FIGS. For example, they are attached to the upper frame and the lower frame via rollers 34 such as rollers so as to be movable back and forth. The roller (roller) 34 is rotatably provided at the extending end of the shaft 28, for example, and is rotatably disposed inside a predetermined roller guide 36.

In such a structure, the front end 16F of the link 16 formed of the front connecting rods 20 and 21 is formed as the base end, and the rear end 16R of the link formed of the rear connecting rods 24 and 25 is formed as the movable end. Then, the connecting rods 21 and 24 of the upper frame 12 are moved by moving the movable end (rear end) 16R back and forth with respect to the base end (front end) 16F.
In the meantime, the link 16 is expanded and contracted in the vertical direction by guaranteeing the change in the distance between the connecting rods 20 and 25 of the lower frame 14, whereby the upper frame, that is, the seat is moved up and down with respect to the lower frame.

In the embodiment, the roller 34 on the upper frame side is the upper frame.
It is disposed on a separate roller guide 36 fixed to the lower surface of 12. Further, on the lower frame side, the frame material itself having a substantially U-shaped cross section is used as a roller guide 36 on which the roller 34 can roll.

Further, reference numeral 38 in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicates a stopper which defines the moving range of the movable end 16R of the link, that is, the expansion / contraction range of the link 16. The stopper 38 is, for example,
It is formed of an elastic member such as hard rubber.

Since the structure provided with the link 16 which expands and contracts under the forward and backward movement of the movable end 16R with respect to the base end 16F is sufficient, the upper frame 12, the lower frame 14, the shape of the link, etc. of the seat lifter, and The connection form thereof is not limited to the illustrated configuration.

Here, in the present invention, locking means is provided between the movable end 16R of the link and the base member that cannot move back and forth.
40 are erected. As the locking means 40, for example,
Piston 40a that expands and contracts with respect to the main body cylinder 40a
A piston-type free lock equipped with, for example, FLC series manufactured by Kayaba Industry Co., Ltd. can be used.

Such a free lock (locking means) 40
Is a hydraulic type that can suppress the moving speed of the piston 40b with respect to the cylinder 40a by using oil as a working medium.When the operating piece 40c is swung in a predetermined direction, the piston is in a free state, that is, The lock of the piston with respect to the cylinder can be released. Normally, in such a free lock 40, the operation piece 40 toward the main body
The lock between the main body 40a and the piston 40b is released by pressing c.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2, the free lock 40 is connected to the brackets 42 and 44 by pivotally attaching the respective ends to, for example, the connecting rod 24 and the upper side of the upper frame side of the rear end 16R of the link. Between the front end of the frame 12 and the frame 12, it is erected and connected so as to be swingable in the vertical direction.

Here, in the present invention, the free-lock operation piece 40c is connected to the operation lever 48 via the connection means 46 so as to be interlockable. The operation lever 48 is provided at a position where a seated person can operate, for example, at a side of the upper frame 12.

The operating lever 48 is, for example, bent and formed in a substantially L shape, and the bent portion 48b is swingable in the front-rear direction by the pivotal support of the base portion 48a to the side of the upper frame 12. Then, on the inner surface of the upper frame 12, the lock plate 50,
It is rotatably connected integrally with the operation lever 48.

The lock plate 50 is, for example, a hook 50a which can be engaged with a lock pin 52 which is provided on the inner side of the upper frame 12.
With the engagement between the lock pin and the hook, it is possible to prevent the operation lever from excessively swinging forward.

As the connecting means 46, for example, a cable wire capable of sliding the wire 46b with respect to the cover 46a serving as the main body can be used. The operation piece 40c and the lock plate 50 are engaged with the respective terminals of the wire 46b, and the brackets 54 and 56 adjacent to the operation piece and the lock plate are engaged with the respective terminals of the cover (main body) 46a. One piece,
The operation levers 48 can be interlocked.

Here, the operating lever 48 has a return spring 58.
Is biased in the initial position direction, that is, in the engagement direction between the lock plate hook 50a and the lock pin 52. As the return spring 58, for example, a tension coil spring stretched between the bracket 56 and the lock plate 50 can be used.

In such a structure, the operation piece 40c is centered around the pivot point 60 in the figure in conjunction with the swinging operation of the operation lever 48 against the biasing force of the return spring 58 by pulling backward. The free lock 40 is swung to the left and the lock is released accordingly, so that the free lock 40 can be expanded and contracted, that is, the upper frame 12 can be moved up and down. Then, if the operating force of the operating lever 48 is released at an arbitrary height of the upper frame 12 and the free lock release piece 40c is returned in the locking direction, the expansion and contraction of the free lock 40 at the length allows the upper frame to move. The height, that is, the height of the seat is set.

The link 16 may be biased in the extending direction under the biasing force of the biasing means 62. As the biasing means 62,
For example, the support rod 64 between the inner link arms 16a
A tension coil spring stretched between the support rod 66 and the outer link arm 16b can be used.

In such a structure, when the free lock 40 is unlocked, the link 16 tries to extend under the biasing force of the biasing means 62, so that the seated person lifts the hips to thereby lift the upper frame. You get 12 climbs. And the upper frame 12
To lower the upper frame 12 against the biasing force of the biasing means 62.
Since it is sufficient to press, the work of adjusting the height of the upper frame, that is, the height of the seat does not become complicated, and the operability is surely improved.

Reference numeral 68 indicates support rods 64, 6
A stopper for preventing the displacement of the end of the biasing means 62 with respect to 6 is shown. The stopper 68 is provided with, for example, the support rods 64, 6 via a space corresponding to the width of the end of the biasing means 62.
Pre-fixed to 6.

As described above, the seat lifter of the present invention
In the example 10, as the locking means 40, a piston type free lock capable of continuously adjusting and setting the expansion / contraction length is used. Therefore, the height of the upper frame 12, that is, the height of the seat can be adjusted and set steplessly, and the height of the seat can be accurately set according to the height of the seated person's body shape, preferences, driving, etc. Can be obtained.

Therefore, the comfort of the seated person is surely improved and the safety can be sufficiently ensured.

The free lock 40 can be locked in any length of the entire range of its own stroke, and can be expanded and contracted following the forward and backward movement of the movable end of the link. The lock can be secured in a wide range because it can be extended to and disposed. In other words, the seat lifter 10 with a large stroke is
It can be easily secured under the use of.

Here, in the embodiment, free lock
Although a hydraulic free lock is illustrated as 40, it is not limited to a hydraulic type as long as it is a piston type capable of expanding and contracting, and for example, the piston is locked to the cylinder by tightening with a torsion spring. , A so-called mechanical lock is used as a locking means for the movable end 16 of the link.
It may be installed between the R and the front end of the upper frame 12.

However, if the hydraulic free lock is used as the locking means 40, the expansion / contraction operation of which the speed is suppressed can be obtained in the locking means, so that the upper frame can be smoothly moved up and down without giving a shock to the seated person. Can be sufficiently secured.

The free lock 40 is a movable end of the link.
Since it suffices to be installed between 16R and a base member that cannot move back and forth, it is not limited to between the connecting rod 24 and the front end of the upper frame 12, and between other members, for example, between the connecting rods 24 and 21, A free lock may be installed between the connecting rod 25 and the front end of the lower frame 14 or the like.

The movable end of the link 16 is not limited to the rear end 16R. For example, the rear end may be the base end and the front end 16F may be the movable end, and the link may be interposed between the upper frame 12 and the lower frame 14. . When the movable end is the front end 16F of the link,
The free lock 40 is installed between the front connecting rod and the rear ends of the upper frame 12 and the lower frame 14.

Further, although a cable wire is shown as an example of the connecting means 46, the connecting means is not limited to the cable wire because it is sufficient to connect the free-lock operation piece 40c and the operation lever 48 so as to be interlockable. However, if a cable wire as shown is used as the connecting means 46,
Since the free-lock operation piece 40c and the operation lever 48 can be reliably connected, and the operation of the operation lever is accurately transmitted to the operation piece, a highly reliable connection can be easily obtained.

Further, the position where the operating lever 48 is provided is not limited to the position shown in the figure, as long as it can be operated by the seated person.

The operating lever 48 is embodied as a substantially L-shaped bent structure, but it is sufficient to unlock the operating piece 40c of the locking means under pulling.
The invention is not limited to this, and for example, a linear operation lever may be provided so as to be swingable in the horizontal direction. Further, a pullable knob or the like may be provided as an operation lever at the front end of the upper frame 12.

Although the seat lifter of the present invention is suitable for a driver seat of a large vehicle such as a bus, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, another vehicle, train, airplane,
It can be attached to any seat such as a ship.

The above-mentioned embodiments are for explaining the present invention, and do not limit the present invention in any way.
It goes without saying that the present invention includes all those which are modified or modified within the technical scope of the present invention.

[0045]

As described above, according to the seat lifter according to the present invention, since the piston type locking means capable of continuously adjusting the expansion / contraction length is used, the height of the upper frame, that is, the seat height is reduced. Adjustments and settings can be made steplessly. Therefore, the seat height can be precisely obtained according to the height of the seated person's body shape, preference, etc., and driving, etc., and the seated person's comfort can be surely improved and safety can be sufficiently improved. Can be secured.

The locking means can be locked in any length of the entire range of its own stroke, and can be expanded / contracted in accordance with the forward / backward movement of the movable end of the link so that it can be extended in the forward / backward direction of the seat lifter. Since it can be extended, the lock can be secured in a wide range. That is, a seat lifter with a large stroke amount can be easily secured by using the piston type locking means capable of continuously adjusting the expansion / contraction length.

If the locking means is formed of a piston type hydraulic free lock, the above effect can be obtained more reliably and the speed at the time of extension / contraction operation can be suppressed, so that a seated person is not shocked. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently ensure a smooth lifting operation of the upper frame.

If a substantially L-shaped operating lever is provided so as to be swingable in the front-rear direction on the side of the upper frame, the seat lifter with excellent operability can be easily and accurately unlocked by the seated person. Can be easily secured.

If a cable wire is used as the connecting means, the operating piece of the locking means and the operating lever can be reliably connected, and the operation of the operating lever is accurately transmitted to the operating piece, so that the reliability is excellent. The connection is easily obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a seat lifter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a seat lifter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Seat lifter 12 Upper frame (upper frame) 14 Lower frame (lower frame) 16 Link 16F Link front end (base end) 16R Link rear end (movable end) 40 Locking means (piston type hydraulic free lock) 40a Cylinder 40b Piston 46 Connection means (cable wire) 48 Control lever 58 Return spring

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An upper frame is movably connected to a lower frame via a link that expands and contracts under the forward and backward movement of a movable end with respect to a base end, and the expansion and contraction of the link is restricted by a locking means.
In the seat lifter with adjustable height of the upper frame, the locking mechanism is a piston-type free lock type that can be locked at any length within the effective expansion / contraction range when the operating force of the operating piece is released. The upper end of the link is adjusted and set by restricting the expansion and contraction of the link due to the locking of the locking means. A seat lifter characterized by being made possible. 2. An upper frame is movably connected to a lower frame via a link that expands and contracts under the longitudinal movement of a movable end with respect to a base end, and the expansion and contraction of the link is restricted by a locking means.
In the seat lifter with adjustable height of the upper frame, the locking mechanism is a piston-type free lock type that can be locked at any length within the effective expansion / contraction range when the operating force of the operating piece is released. Then, the movable end of the link is swingably installed and connected between the movable end of the link and the base member that cannot move back and forth, and the operation piece of the locking means connects the connection means to the operation lever that can be operated by the seated person. A seat lifter characterized in that the height of the upper frame can be adjusted and set by restricting the expansion and contraction of the link due to the locking of the locking means. 3. An upper frame is movably connected to a lower frame via a link that expands and contracts under the forward and backward movement of a movable end with respect to a base end, and the expansion and contraction of the link is restricted by a locking means.
In a seat lifter whose height of the upper frame is adjustable, a piston type hydraulic free lock that can be locked and unlocked by rocking the operating piece and releasing the operating force is formed as the locking means. The lock means is erected and connected so as to be swingable between the movable end of the vehicle and the base member that cannot move forward and backward, and the operation piece of the lock means is connected to the operation lever that can be operated by the seated person through the connection means. The seat lifter is characterized in that the height of the upper frame can be adjusted and set by restricting the expansion and contraction of the link due to the locking of the locking means. 4. The seat lifter according to claim 1, wherein the locking means is provided between the upper part of the movable end of the link and the upper frame. 5. The operation lever is bent and formed into a substantially L shape, and the bent portion of the operation lever is swingably provided in the front-rear direction by pivotal support of the base portion to the upper frame side portion, and a return spring. Is biased forward by the lock plate, the lock plate is rotatably connected to the base of the operation lever, and the lock piece is locked by the operation piece of the lock device and the lock plate by the connection device.
The seat lifter according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein unlocking can be performed by an operating lever. 6. The seat lifter according to claim 1, wherein the connecting means is a cable wire that transmits the pulling force of one of the wires to the other by sliding the wire with respect to the cover.