JPS61285148A - Automatic adjusting device for side support in vehicle seat assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively restrain a human body from oscillating, by adjusting the support force of side supports in the vehicle seat assembly in accordance with a detected steering angle during a running of a vehicle, and by changing the degree of adjustment of the support force to the steering angle in accordance with the speed of the vehicle. CONSTITUTION:When an automobile increases its speed exceeding, for example, 30 km/h at which the augmentation of support force is required, a control device 40 counts up or down steering angle information signals from a steering angle sensor 10 and sets a steering angle theta (response starting angle) at which the adjustment control of the support force is initiated, in accordance with the output of a vehicle speed sensor 9. When a steering wheel 11 is rotated clockwise on, for example, a right curve, so that the steering angle exceeds the response starting angle, a compensating data are issued in accordance with the deviation. Then an air feed solenoid valve 5 is opened in accordance with these compensating data, and air is fed into air mats 3a, 3b disposed in side supports 2a, 2b, thereby it is possible to enhance the support force.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic side support adjustment device for an automobile seat, and more particularly to means for automatically adjusting a support force against centrifugal force while an automobile is running.

Conventional technology Recently, automobile seats, especially the side seats of driver seats,
As a support device, the support force, or strength, of the side supports located on the sides of the seat back can be adjusted according to the driver's body shape, so that the optimal seating position for driving can be achieved.
Side support devices that can be adjusted to an appropriate size have come into use. As for the sabot 1 to the force adjustment means of the side support device, a means for manually adjusting them to a predetermined state while the vehicle is stopped is mainly employed.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

The side support device having the above configuration has the following problems. In other words, since the support force adjustment means is manually operated, the strength of the support can only be adjusted while the vehicle is stopped. In other words, manually controlling the support strength while the vehicle is running is not only very troublesome but also extremely dangerous, so it has to be done while the vehicle is stopped.

On the other hand, since the adjustment is fixedly set to a constant strength, it is not possible to obtain an optimal adjustment state that corresponds to changes in vehicle body conditions during driving. In other words, if the vehicle is adjusted in advance to be optimal when driving on a straight road, for example, the vehicle's body will be swayed from side to side every time it curves, which not only causes severe fatigue, but also poses a risk of erroneous steering operations. On the other hand, if the support force is adjusted to be strong enough to cause no problem when making a curve, the body will be tightened more than necessary when driving on a straight road, giving a feeling of being cramped.

Therefore, by taking simple measures, the present invention provides a comfortable seating position that does not make you feel cramped while driving on a straight road, allowing you to drive comfortably, and automatically providing support when making a curve. An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic side support adjustment device for a car seat that can prevent body shaking and ensure safety, and can also adjust the reporting force appropriately according to the vehicle speed.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the objects, the present invention is characterized by taking the following measures. That is, the automatic side support adjustment device for a car seat of the present invention detects the steering angle of a running car and adjusts the support force in the side support of the car seat based on the detected steering angle. Make it. On the other hand, the present invention is characterized in that the vehicle speed of the automobile is detected, and the degree of adjustment of the servo force with respect to the steering angle is changed based on the detected vehicle speed.

[Effect]

By taking the above measures, the body is held stably by a strong support force only when the car curves, and the support force is automatically adjusted to correspond to the size of the vehicle speed. become.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 1, 1 is the driver seat,
Side supports 2a, 2 of this driver seat 1
Air mats 3a and 3b are inserted in b, respectively. The above air mat 3a.

Two branched air pipes 4a and 4b are connected to 3b. 5 is an air supply electromagnetic valve, which supplies compressed air from the near compressor to an air pipe 4a.

By supplying air to the air mats 3a and 3b via the air mats 4b, the support force is strengthened. 6 is an exhaust electromagnetic valve that directs the air from the air mats 3a, 3b to the air pipes 4a,
4b] 1 to weaken the support force. The above air supply electricity 1 □73,575 and. 1wa□□7.7. Aro 1. The biasing is controlled by □□1 40. The control device 40 includes a support force detection signal from the support force sensor 7, an operation command signal from the operation switch 8, a vehicle speed information signal from the vehicle speed sensor 9, and a steering angle sensor, which will be explained in detail later. operates based on the steering angle information signal from 10;
It is for controlling the energization of each of the electric till valves 5.6.

The support force sensor 7 is the side sabot 1-2a.

This is a sensor installed to detect the support force of the air mats 2b and send out a detection signal. It is used to detect support force.

The operation switch 8 is a button 8 for turning on and off the power.
a, 8b, and depending on the driver's body type, for example, Ll,
It is provided with buttons 81, 82, and 83 for initializing the strength of Sabo 1 to step by step such as L2 and L3.

The vehicle speed sensor 9 consists of a gear 92 connected to the propeller shaft 91 and an electromagnetic pickup 93 placed opposite to the gear 92, and extracts and sends out a vehicle speed information signal corresponding to the rotational speed of the propeller shaft 91, that is, the vehicle speed. It has become something to do.

The steering angle sensor 10 has a gear 13 coupled to a shaft 12 directly connected to the steering wheel 11, and a rotation angle amplifying mechanism 14 consisting of gears or the like amplifies the rotation angle of the gear 13 according to the rotation angle of the steering wheel 11. is transmitted to the slit disk 15, and the passage through the slit of the slit disk 15 is transmitted to the light emitting elements 16a, 16b and the light receiving cables 17a, 17.
The steering angle information signal is detected by two sets of photoelectric detectors consisting of b, and is waveform-shaped by a waveform shaping circuit 18 to extract a steering angle information signal containing a rotational direction component.

Figure 2 shows the side support 20 (28 or 2 in Figure 1).
It is a sectional view showing the structure of (corresponding to b). As shown in FIG. 2, a pad 22 made of urethane or the like is loaded inside the backboard 21.
For example, air pines 1 to 23 made of rubber are inserted into the holes 2. Therefore, when air is introduced into the air mat 23,
It deforms as shown by the broken line, increasing the support force.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the functions of the waveform shaping circuit 18. As shown in FIG. 3, the sine wave signals 81 and 82 from the light receiving elements 17a and 17b inputted from the terminals 31 and 32 are waveform-shaped to form a rectangular wave signal S11.82 whose phase is shifted by 90 degrees. S1
2 and is output from terminals 33 and 34. Therefore, this square wave signal S11. S12 can be used as a steering angle information signal having a phase difference of 90' as a rotational direction component.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the control device together with its peripheral parts. In FIG. 4, 41 is a register for temporarily storing data, and 42 is a register for storing preset support forces L1, L2, . This is a memory that stores data corresponding to L3, and 43 is a support strength control circuit that energizes and controls the air supply solenoid valve 5 and the exhaust solenoid valve 6 according to the input signal, and controls the strength of the support force. 44 is a comparator that sends out a stop signal when the support force detection signal from the support force sensor 7 reaches a set value. Further, 45 is a travel speed detector that outputs a travel signal when the vehicle speed exceeds a certain speed based on the vehicle speed information signal from the vehicle speed sensor 9, and 46 is turned on by the travel signal from the detector, and is turned on by the steering angle sensor. 47 is a reversible counter that counts the steering angle information signal (count up pulse and count down pulse) that has passed through the gate;
48 is a response angle setter that sets the steering angle at which the adjustment control of the support force is started, that is, the response start angle, to be smaller as the vehicle speed increases; When a corner is exceeded, it is a deviation circuit that sends out the amount of deviation that has been exceeded, and 50 is a level determiner that sends out correction data every time the size of the deviation amount, that is, the size of the steering angle exceeds a predetermined level. be. The response angle setter 48 is configured such that the magnitude of the set response start angle is variably adjusted, for example, in stages, in response to the vehicle speed information signal from the vehicle speed sensor 9. Also, level judger 5o
In order to correct the steering force according to the steering angle, a plurality of (for example, three) threshold circuits having different threshold values set in advance are installed together. The variable adjustment range of the response start angle is, for example, 10' to 20°.
degree.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained with reference to the waveform diagram in FIG. 5 and the characteristic diagram in FIG. 6 as needed. First, the initial setting operation while the vehicle is stopped will be explained. After pressing the on-operation button 8a of the operation switch 8 to turn it on, the button 8 is pressed at time 10 in FIG.
Press 1. Then, the command signal as shown in Fig.
is sent out and given to the memory 42 of the control device 40. Therefore, data corresponding to the strength of support force Ll is read into the register 41.

The data read into the register 41 is given to the support strength control circuit 43. Then, the support strength control circuit 43 gives an "open" signal to the air supply solenoid valve 5, and the air supply solenoid valve 5 opens and compressed air from the compressor flows into the air pipe 4. Air is supplied to the air mats 3a and 3b via a and 4b. As a result, the support power is gradually strengthened. When the strength of support 1 to force reaches [1 at time t1, the signal from support force sensor 7 reaches the set value, which is the content of register 41, and comparator 44 sends out a stop signal. Therefore, the support strength control circuit 43 cuts off the "open" signal to the air supply electromagnetic valve 5. Therefore, the air mat 3a.

The air supply to 3b is stopped, and the initial setting operation is completed.

From this state, when the button 82 is pressed at time t2 to further change the strength of the support force to L2, a command signal ■ is given to the memory 42. Therefore, data corresponding to the strength L2 of the support force is read into the register 41,
The data is given to the support strength control circuit 43.

Then, the support strength control circuit 43 gives an "open" signal again to the air supply solenoid valve 5, and the air supply solenoid valve 5 opens and compressed air from the compressor passes through the air pipes 4a and 4b to the air pine 1. Air is supplied to ~3a and 3b. As a result, the support power is further strengthened. At time t3, when the strength of the lever force reaches L2 and the signal from the support force sensor 7 reaches the set value which is the content of the register 41, the comparator 44 force sends a stop signal to the support strength control circuit 43. is sent out, and the air supply solenoid valve 5
Cut off the "open" signal to. For this reason, air mats 3a and 3b
The air supply to is stopped, and the initial setting change operation is completed.

Next, the automatic adjustment operation during driving will be explained.

When the automobile starts running, the vehicle speed sensor 9 sends out a vehicle speed information signal, which is applied to the traveling speed detector 45 and the response angle setter 48 . When the vehicle is running at a low speed that does not require reinforcement of the support force or when the vehicle is running in reverse, such as when parking the vehicle in a garage, an off signal is given from the traveling speed detector 45 to the gate 46. Therefore, the steering angle information signal from the steering angle sensor 10 is transmitted to the gate 46.
It does not pass through and is not input to the counter 47. In such a state, automatic adjustment control of the support force is not performed. Therefore, the driver can freely adopt any posture when parking the vehicle in the garage or the like.

Transparent surface that requires increased vehicle speed or support force, e.g. 301m
/h or more, the traveling speed detector 45 alerts the gate 46.
An on signal is given to. Therefore, the steering angle information signal from the steering angle sensor 10 is input to the counter 47 through the gates 1-46. Therefore, the counter 47 counts up or down the steering angle information signal.

On the other hand, by inputting the vehicle speed information signal from the vehicle speed sensor 9 to the response angle setter 48, the steering angle at which the support force adjustment control is started, that is, the response start angle θ, is set in accordance with the vehicle speed. For example, when the vehicle speed is less than 601 m/h, the response start angle θ is set to 20° (corresponding to OA in Figure 6), and when the vehicle speed exceeds 60 m/h, the response start angle θ is set to 10°.
(corresponding to θB in FIG. 6).

For example, if the vehicle speed is currently less than 601 m/h, the response start steering angle θ is set to 20° (corresponding to OA in FIG. 6). Therefore, in this state, for example, when the steering wheel 11 is rotated to the right to make a right curve, the steering angle will be 2.
If the value exceeds 0', the count value of the counter 47 will exceed the set value of the response angle setter 48. Then, the exceeded value, that is, the amount of deviation is obtained by the four deviation circuits, and this is given to the level determiner 50. As shown in Figure 6,
If the deviation amount is less than the preset threshold X,
Correction data corresponding to the support force correction amount Vl is supplied from the level determiner 50 to the register 41. Then, the contents of the register 41 change from something corresponding to L2 to something corresponding to 12+V1, so air is supplied to the air mattresses 3a and 3b as in the case described above, and the support force is strengthened by +1. The steering angle becomes even larger and the amount of deviation exceeds the preset threshold value X.

When the range is less than 7, correction data corresponding to the support force correction amount V2 is sent from the level determiner 50 to the register 41.
given to. In addition, the deviation amount becomes even larger and exceeds the preset threshold value Y. When the range is less than Z, the level determiner 50 supplies the register 41 with correction data corresponding to the support force correction amount v3. Therefore, the contents of the register 41 change from what corresponds to 12 + V1 to what corresponds to 12 + V2 or L2 + V3, so air is supplied to the air mattresses 3a and 3b in the same way as in the case described above, and the support force becomes +V2. Or +V3
only strengthened.

When the vehicle finishes turning the curve and returns the steering wheel 11 in the opposite direction, the count value of the counter 47 is counted down.

Then, the deviation amount becomes less than Y at time t5, and time t
6 becomes less than X and becomes zero at time t7,
The correction data that had been sent out from the level determiner 50 until then is cut off.

This will return the contents of register 41 to its original state, so
As in the case described above, air is exhausted from the air mats 3a and 3b, and the support force is weakened to L2.

When the vehicle speed exceeds 60Kfn/h, the response start angle θ becomes 1.
It is set to 0° (corresponding to θB in FIG. 6).

Therefore, in this case, if the steering angle exceeds 10 degrees due to the clockwise rotation of the steering wheel 11, the count value of the counter 47 will exceed the set value of the response angle setter 48. Then, as in the case described above, the exceeding value, that is, the amount of deviation, is obtained by the deviation circuit 49, and this is obtained by the level judger 50.
are given to threshold values x, y, and the amount of deviation is set in advance.
Vl, V2 . A correction signal corresponding to the support force correction amount V3 is given to the register 41. Therefore, the contents of the register 41 change, and air is supplied to the air mattresses 3a, 3b in the same way as in the case described above, and the support force is strengthened to a predetermined strength.

Contrary to the above, when the steering wheel 11 is rotated to the left in a left curve, the operation is exactly the same as when it is rotated to the right.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the automobile is running at a low speed that does not require reinforcement of the support force or when the vehicle is running in reverse, such as when parking the vehicle in a garage, automatic adjustment control of the support force is not performed. Therefore, the driver can freely adopt any posture when parking the vehicle in the garage or the like. When the car makes a curve while driving and the steering angle exceeds a certain angle, the side support force is automatically increased to keep the body stable. When the driver completes the curve, the side support force automatically returns to its original initial setting, so when driving on a straight road, the driver's body is not forced to tighten, allowing for comfortable driving. In addition, since the support force is automatically adjusted to correspond to the vehicle speed, the support force can be adjusted appropriately according to the vehicle speed. (In other words, when driving at low speeds, the support force is not corrected unless the steering wheel is rotated by a relatively large amount. However, when driving at high speeds, the support force is corrected even if the steering wheel is rotated by a relatively small amount. Therefore, it corresponds to the magnitude of the centrifugal force.On the other hand, the strength of the support force also changes depending on the magnitude of the steering angle, so the strength of the support force can be further increased in this respect. corresponds precisely to the magnitude of centrifugal force.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

For example, in the above embodiment, air is supplied or exhausted to the air mat inserted into the side seat 1 as a force adjustment means.
The support may be rotatable like a swing door, and the side support may be rotated by a drive mechanism using a motor as a drive source. It goes without saying that various other modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The automatic side support adjustment device for a car seat of the present invention detects the steering angle of a running car and applies a support force to the side support of the car seat based on the detected steering angle. On the other hand, the vehicle speed of the vehicle is detected, and the degree of adjustment of the support force with respect to the steering angle is changed based on the detected vehicle speed.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the body is held stably by the strong support force only when the car is making a curve, and the support force is adjusted to a magnitude corresponding to the vehicle speed. It will be automatically adjusted. As a result, while driving on a straight road, you will be able to sit comfortably without feeling cramped, allowing you to drive comfortably, and when making a curve, the support force will be automatically increased to prevent your body from shaking. Side seats for car seats that not only ensure safety but also adjust support force appropriately according to vehicle speed.
Can provide support automatic adjustment device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 to 6 are diagrams showing one embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 being a diagram showing the overall configuration of the device, Figure 2 being a partial sectional view showing the structure of the side support, and Figure 3 being a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control device along with its peripheral parts, FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram for explaining the operation, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the support force correction amount and the steering angle. FIG. 1... Driver seat, 2a, 2b, 20... Side support, 3a, 3b, 23... Air pine 1~
．． 5... Solenoid valve for air supply, 6... Solenoid valve for exhaust, 7... Support force correction amount, 8... Operation switch, 9... Vehicle speed sensor, 10... Steering angle sensor, 11
... Steering, 13 ... Gear, 14 ... Rotation angle amplification mechanism, 15 ... Slit disk, 1'6a, 1
6b... Light emitting element, 17a, 17b... Light receiving element,
18... Waveform shaping circuit, 40... Control device.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) means for detecting a steering angle in a running automobile; means for adjusting a support force in a side support of an automobile seat based on the steering angle detected by the means; and detecting the vehicle speed of the automobile. and adjustment degree variable means for changing the degree of adjustment of the support force with respect to the steering angle based on the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection means. . (2) The means for adjusting the support force based on the steering angle includes means for variably setting the adjustment amount of the support force in accordance with the magnitude of the steering angle. Automatic side support adjustment device for the vehicle seat described. (3) The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment degree variable means is a means for setting the steering angle at which the adjustment control of the support force is started to be smaller as the vehicle speed increases. automatic seat side support adjustment device.