Seat slide device

Abstract

To provide a seat slide device which restrains a lock body from collision noise caused by crash while securing lock strength by the lock body.SOLUTION: A seat slide device 100 comprises a lock body 30 and a lever bracket 50. The lock body 30 includes a plate part 31. The lever bracket 50 includes a connection part 511 which comes into connect with the lock body 30 in front of the plate part 31 and an engagement part 55 which engages with the lock body 30 behind the connection part 511. The lock body 30 moves in one piece with the lever bracket 50 when the plate part 31 restores from lock release position to lock position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6B

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seat slide device. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, seat slide devices for adjusting the front-rear position of a vehicle seat have been known. Such a seat slide device is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0003] When adjusting the fore-aft position of the seat, the passenger first lifts the lever operation part to move the locking body to the unlocked position. When the locking body moves to the unlocked position, the lower rail and the upper rail become slidable in the fore-aft direction, making it possible to adjust the fore-aft position of the seat.

[0004] When the passenger releases the lever after adjusting the seat's fore-aft position, the locking body returns to the locked position and locks the lower and upper rails again. If the locking body returns to the locked position too quickly, it may collide with the lower and / or upper rails, causing a collision noise. If the collision noise is loud, the passenger may feel uncomfortable.

[0005] Some conventional seat slide devices are provided with a damper for slowing down the moving speed of the locking body. Here, a conventional damper D will be briefly described with reference to Figs. 9A to 9C. The conventional damper D is made of a single elastically deformable plate-like member and is attached to the upper rail. The damper D is in contact with the locking body L and biases the locking body L downward. When the locking body L returns from the unlocked position (Fig. 9B) to the locked position (Fig. 9C), the locking body L moves against the biasing force of the damper D. Therefore, the damper D can slow down the moving speed of the locking body L. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2022-037307 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] As described above, the damper biases the locking body downward, and therefore the damper may inhibit the movement of the locking body from the unlocked position to the locked position (hereinafter, this may be referred to as "lock-in inhibition"), and the locking body may not return to the locked position. If the locking body does not return to the locked position, appropriate lock strength cannot be ensured.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a seat slide device that ensures the locking strength of a locking body while suppressing impact noise caused by the impact of the locking body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The present invention provides the following aspects. (Section 1) A seat slide device for adjusting the front-rear position of a vehicle seat, A lower rail that can be fixed to the vehicle body, An upper rail that can be fixed to the seat; a locking body having a locking portion that locks the lower rail and the upper rail, the locking portion being movable between a locked position where the locking portion locks the lower rail and the upper rail so that they cannot move relative to each other and an unlocked position where the lower rail and the upper rail are movable relative to each other; A lever operated by a passenger; a lever bracket that rotates in accordance with the operation of the lever, and that presses the lock body when the lever is operated to unlock, thereby moving the lock portion from the locked position to the unlocked position; Equipped with The lever bracket is a contact portion that is in contact with the locking body forward of the locking portion and serves as a rotation center of the lever bracket; an engagement portion that engages with the lock body rearward of the contact portion; Equipped with When the locking portion returns from the unlocked position to the locked position, the locking body moves integrally with the lever bracket. Seat slide device.

[0010] (Section 2) The engagement portion is in contact with a part of the locking body from below. Item 1. A seat slide device according to item 1.

[0011] (Section 3) The locking body has a protrusion, The engagement portion is a protrusion that contacts the protrusion from below. Item 3. The seat slide device according to item 1 or 2.

[0012] (Section 4) The lever bracket has an opening. A portion of the locking body is disposed within the opening, The engagement portion is in contact with a portion of the locking body disposed in the opening from below. Item 3. The seat slide device according to item 1 or 2. Effect of the Invention

[0013] In the seat slide device of the present invention, the lever bracket is engaged with the locking body, so when the locking part returns from the unlocked position to the locked position, the locking body moves together with the lever bracket. The weight of the lever bracket can slow down the moving speed of the locking part, so the volume of the collision sound caused by the locking part can be reduced. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of a seat and a seat slide device. [Diagram 2] FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4A] FIG. [Figure 4B] 4B is a perspective view of a locking body seen from a different direction from that of FIG. 4A. [Figure 4C] FIG. [Figure 5A] FIG. [Figure 5B] FIG. [Figure 6A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the seat slide device after assembly. [Figure 6B] FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of part VIB of FIG. 6A. [Figure 7A] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide device when the plate portion is in a locked position (i.e., when the lever is not operated). [Figure 7B] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide device when the plate portion is in an unlocked position (i.e., when an unlocking operation of the lever is performed). [Figure 8A] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a lever bracket according to a modified example. [Figure 8B] 13 is a perspective view showing an engaged state between a lever bracket and a locking body according to a modified example. FIG. [Figure 9A] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional damper. [Figure 9B] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating mechanism of a conventional damper. [Figure 9C] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing an operating mechanism of a conventional damper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The seat slide device 100 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following, the "vehicle up-down direction", "vehicle front-rear direction", and "vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction)" will be simply referred to as the "up-down direction", the "front-rear direction", and the "left-right direction", respectively.

[0016] <1. Overview of the seat slide device> The seat slide device 100 is a device for adjusting the front-rear position of a seat S of a vehicle. As shown in Fig. 1, the seat slide device 100 mainly includes a lower rail 10, an upper rail 20, a locking body 30, a lever 40, and a lever bracket 50. The lower rail 10, the upper rail 20, the locking body 30, and the lever bracket 50 are provided in a left-right pair (i.e., on the inner side and the outer side) for one seat S. Figs. 1 and 2 show only one of the pair of left-right components.

[0017] The lower rail 10 is fixed to the vehicle floor via a mounting bracket B. The upper rail 20 is fixed to the seat S and assembled to the lower rail 10. When the passenger is not operating the lever 40, the upper rail 20 is locked to the lower rail 10 by a locking body 30 and cannot move in the front-rear direction relative to the lower rail 10.

[0018] When a passenger lifts the lever 40, the movement of the lever 40 is transmitted to the locking body 30 by the lever bracket 50. Then, the lock by the locking body 30 is released, and the upper rails 20 and the seat S become movable in the fore-aft direction relative to the lower rails 10. In this way, the passenger can adjust the fore-aft position of the seat S.

[0019] Each component will be described in detail below.

[0020] <1-1. Lower rail and upper rail> The lower rail 10 will be described mainly with reference to Fig. 2. The lower rail 10 is made of a long member extending in the front-rear direction. The lower rail 10 includes a bottom wall 11, two side walls 12, two upper walls 13, and two flange portions 14. The lower rail 10 is made of, for example, metal, and is integrally formed by pressing.

[0021] The bottom wall 11 is generally flat and extends in the front-rear direction. Each side wall 12 extends upward from both the left and right ends of the bottom wall 11. Each top wall 13 extends from the upper end of each side wall 12 toward the opposing side wall 12. Each flange portion 14 extends downward from the end of each top wall 13 generally parallel to the side wall 12.

[0022] A plurality of notches 14a are formed at intervals in the front-rear direction in each flange portion 14. By providing the plurality of notches 14a, a plurality of locking teeth 14b are formed at the lower end of each flange portion 14. When the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 are locked by the locking body 30, the locking teeth 14b are disposed within the through-holes 31a (see FIG. 4A) of the locking body 30.

[0023] Next, the upper rail 20 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.

[0024] The upper rail 20 is made of a long member extending in the front-rear direction. The upper rail 20 includes a top wall 21, two side walls 22, two bottom walls 23, and two flange portions 24. The upper rail 20 is made of, for example, metal, and is integrally formed by pressing.

[0025] The top wall 21 is generally flat and extends in the front-rear direction. The side walls 22 extend downward from both left and right ends of the top wall 21. The bottom walls 23 extend obliquely upward so as to move away from the side walls 22. The flanges 24 extend obliquely upward from the bottom wall 23 so as to approach the side walls 22.

[0026] 3, a plurality of notches 22a are provided at intervals in the front-rear direction in each side wall 22. By providing the plurality of notches 22a, a plurality of locking teeth 22b are formed in each side wall 22. When the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 are locked by the locking body 30, the locking teeth 22b are disposed in the through holes 31a (see FIG. 4A) of the locking body 30.

[0027] Both of the two side walls 22 of the upper rail 20 are disposed between the pair of flange portions 14 of the lower rail 10. In addition, each flange portion 24 of the upper rail 20 is disposed between the side wall 12 and the flange portion 14 of the lower rail 10.

[0028] 2 are disposed between the corner portion between the bottom wall 11 and the side wall 12 of the lower rail 10 and the bottom wall 23 of the upper rail 20. In addition, a rolling member 60 is disposed between the upper end of the side wall 12 of the lower rail 10 and the upper end of the flange portion 24 of the upper rail 20. The rolling member 60 allows the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 to slide smoothly in the front-rear direction.

[0029] <1-2. Lock body> The locking body 30 will be described mainly with reference to Figures 4A to 4C. The locking body 30 locks the movement of the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 in the front-rear direction. The locking body 30 is manufactured by, for example, pressing a single elastically deformable plate material such as spring steel.

[0030] As shown in Figures 4A to 4C, the locking body 30 includes a plate portion 31 (an example of a locking portion), two first extension portions 32, a pressed portion 33, a rising portion 34, two protrusion portions 35, a second extension portion 36, a bending portion 37, an attachment portion 38, and a hanging portion 39.

[0031] 4A and 4B, the plate portion 31 has a plurality of through holes 31a. Portions of the plate portion 31 adjacent to the plurality of through holes 31a in the front-rear direction function as lock teeth 31b. When the lock teeth 14b of the lower rail 10 and the lock teeth 22b of the upper rail 20 are inserted into the through holes 31a and the lock teeth 31b of the lock body 30 are inserted into the notches 14a of the lower rail 10 and the notches 22a of the upper rail 20, the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 are locked by the lock body 30, and the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 cannot slide forward or backward.

[0032] The two first extending portions 32 are provided with a gap therebetween in the left-right direction. The two first extending portions 32 extend forward from the front end of the plate portion 31. The front portions of the two first extending portions 32 are inclined portions 32a that rise up while inclining forward. The front ends of the two inclined portions 32a are connected to each other and to the mounting portion 38. As shown in FIG. 4B, an opening 32b is provided between the two inclined portions 32a. A lever bracket 50 is inserted into the opening 32b (see FIG. 6A).

[0033] The pressed portion 33 is a portion that is pressed by a pressing portion 54 (see FIG. 5A) of the lever bracket 50. The pressed portion 33 is provided in front of the plate portion 31 and between the two first extending portions 32.

[0034] The rising portion 34 rises upward from the rear end of the pressed portion 33. The two protrusions 35 protrude in opposite directions from both left and right ends of the rising portion 34. The two protrusions 35 are provided above the lower end of the rising portion 34.

[0035] The second extending portion 36 is a portion that supports the weight of the lever bracket 50. The second extending portion 36 extends forward from the front end of the pressed portion 33. The second extending portion 36 is provided between the two first extending portions 32 in the left-right direction. The bent portion 37 is a portion where the front portion of the second extending portion 36 is bent so as to be convex upward. A part of the bent portion 37 is inserted into an opening 51a of an upper wall 51 of the lever bracket 50 (see FIG. 6A).

[0036] The mounting portion 38 is a portion for fixing the locking body 30 to the upper rail 20. The locking body 30 is fixed to the upper rail 20 by, for example, a rivet.

[0037] Hanging portion 39 extends downward from the front end of mounting portion 38. Hanging portion 39 has an opening 39a. As shown in Fig. 6A, a lever bracket 50 is inserted into opening 39a.

[0038] <1-3. Lever and Lever Bracket> 2 and 5A to 6B, the lever 40 and the lever bracket 50 will be described.

[0039] The lever 40 is a member that is operated by the passenger when releasing the lock provided by the locking body 30. As shown in Fig. 2, the lever 40 includes an operating portion 41 and a pair of left and right arm portions 42 (the left portion of the lever 40 is omitted in Fig. 2). The lever 40 is integrally formed, for example, by pressing a single pipe. A notch 42a is provided on the lower surface of each arm portion 42.

[0040] The lever bracket 50 is a member that transmits the force applied to the lever 40 to the locking body 30. As shown in Fig. 5A, the lever bracket 50 is made of a long member that extends in the front-rear direction.

[0041] As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the lever bracket 50 includes an upper wall 51, two side walls 52, a plurality of receiving portions 53, two pressing portions 54, and two engaging portions 55. As shown in FIG.

[0042] As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the lever bracket 50 passes through the opening 39a of the locking body 30 and the opening 32b (see FIG. 4B), and extends up to above the pressed portion 33.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 5A, the upper wall 51 has an opening 51a. As shown in FIG. 6A, the bent portion 37 of the locking body 30 is inserted into the opening 51a. The second extending portion 36 of the locking body 30 bears the weight of the lever bracket 50, and the elastic force of the second extending portion 36 urges the lever bracket 50 upward. As a result, a part of the upper wall 51 contacts the upper edge 32c of the opening 32b (see FIG. 4B). As will be described later, when the lever 40 is operated to unlock, the lever bracket 50 rotates about a portion of the upper wall 51 that contacts the upper edge 32c (contact portion 511; see FIG. 7A).

[0044] As shown in Figures 5A and 5B, each side wall 52 extends downward from both left and right ends of the upper wall 51. As shown in Figure 5A, each side wall 52 has an opening 52a. An elastic member 70 (see Figures 2 and 6A) is engaged with the notch 42a of the lever 40 and the opening 52a of the side wall 52. The elastic member 70 is, for example, a spring formed by bending a wire. The elastic member 70 extends between the lever 40 and the lever bracket 50. The elastic member 70 supports the lever 40 from below.

[0045] Each pressing portion 54 is a portion for pressing downward the pressed portion 33 of the locking body 30. Two pressing portions 54 are provided on the two side walls 52, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6B, each pressing portion 54 is disposed on the pressed portion 33.

[0046] As shown in Fig. 6A, a part of the arm portion 42 is inserted into a space surrounded by an upper wall 51 and two side walls 52. Each receiving portion 53 supports the arm portion 42 from below. As shown in Figs. 5A and 5B, the receiving portion 53 extends from the lower end of each side wall 52 toward the opposing side wall 52. The arm portion 42 is placed on the receiving portion 53.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 5A, the two engagement portions 55 protrude rearward from the rear ends of the two side walls 52. As shown in Fig. 6B, the two engagement portions 55 contact the two protrusions 35 of the locking body 30 from below, respectively.

[0048] <2. Unlock and lock operations> The unlocking and locking operations will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 6B, 7A and 7B.

[0049] When the passenger lifts the operating portion 41 (see FIG. 2) of the lever 40 while the plate portion 31 is in the locked position (see FIGS. 6B and 7A), the front portion of the lever bracket 50 is lifted by the arm portion 42. The lever bracket 50 rotates about the contact portion 511 that contacts the upper edge 32c. That is, as shown in FIG. 7B, the lever bracket 50 rotates so that the portion of the lever bracket 50 in front of the contact portion 511 moves upward, and the portion of the lever bracket 50 behind the contact portion 511 moves downward.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 7B, the rotation of the lever bracket 50 causes the pressing portion 54 to press the pressed portion 33 of the locking body 30 downward. When the pressed portion 33 is pressed by the pressing portion 54, mainly the first extension portion 32 and the second extension portion 36 are elastically deformed, and the plate portion 31 moves downward. When the plate portion 31 moves downward, the lock teeth 31b are released from the notches 14a of the lower rail 10 and the notches 22a of the upper rail 20. In this way, the plate portion 31 moves to the unlocked position, and the lock between the lower rail 10 and the upper rail 20 is released. When the lock is released, the upper rail 20 becomes slidable in the front-rear direction relative to the lower rail 10, so that the passenger can adjust the front-rear position of the seat S.

[0051] When the passenger releases the operating portion 41 of the lever 40 after adjusting the fore-aft position of the seat S, the lever 40 and the lever bracket 50 rotate in the reverse direction due to their own weights and the restoring force of the locking body 30. The plate portion 31 returns to the locked position due to the restoring force of the locking body 30. In the process of the plate portion 31 returning to the locked position, the locking body 30 moves while pushing up the lever bracket 50. In addition, because the engaging portion 55 of the lever bracket 50 contacts the protruding portion 35 of the locking body 30 from below, the lever bracket 50 does not separate from the locking body 30, and the lever bracket 50 and the locking body 30 move together.

[0052] <3.Effects> Since the engagement portion 55 of the lever bracket 50 is engaged with the locking body 30, the locking body 30 moves together with the lever bracket 50 when the plate portion 31 returns from the unlocked position to the locked position. The weight of the lever 40 and the lever bracket 50 can reduce the speed at which the plate portion 31 returns to the locked position. As a result, the volume of the collision sound can be suppressed. Unlike the dampers of the prior art, the lever bracket 50 does not bias the plate portion 31 in the unlocked direction, and therefore has less lock-in inhibition compared to the dampers of the prior art.

[0053] Furthermore, since the engagement portion 55 of the lever bracket 50 is not engaged with the locking body 30 using a connecting member such as a pin or spring, engagement between the lever bracket 50 and the locking body 30 can be achieved with a simple structure.

[0054] <4. Modifications> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. Modifications of the present invention will be described below. The modifications described below can be applied to the above-described embodiment alone or in appropriate combination without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0055] (4-1) As shown in FIG. 8A, the lever bracket 50 may have an opening 52b in which a part of the locking body 30 is disposed. The opening 52b is provided at the rear end of each of the two side walls 52. By providing the opening 52b in each side wall 52, a pressing portion 54 is provided on the upper side of each side wall 52, and an engaging portion 56 is provided on the lower side instead of the engaging portion 55, with the opening 52b being sandwiched therebetween. As shown in FIG. 8B, the pressed portion 33 of the locking body 30 is inserted into the opening 52b. The engaging portion 56 is in contact with the lower surface of the pressed portion 33. Even with the structure of the lever bracket 50 and the locking body 30 shown in FIG. 8B, when the plate portion 31 returns from the unlocked position to the locked position, the locking body 30 moves together with the lever bracket 50. Therefore, the speed at which the plate portion 31 returns to the locked position due to the weight of the lever 40 and the lever bracket 50 can be reduced, and the volume of the collision sound can be suppressed.

[0056] (4-2) The engaging portions 55 and 56 may be provided at a portion of the lever bracket 50 other than the rear end thereof. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 100 Seat slide device 10 Lower rail 20 Upper Rail 30 Rock Body 31 Plate part (lock part) 35 Protrusion 40 Lever 50 Lever bracket 511 Contact part 52b opening 55 Engagement part 56 Engagement part S Seat

Claims

1. A seat slide device for adjusting the front-rear position of a vehicle seat, A lower rail that can be fixed to the vehicle body, An upper rail that can be fixed to the seat; a locking body having a locking portion that locks the lower rail and the upper rail, the locking portion being movable between a locked position where the locking portion locks the lower rail and the upper rail so that they cannot move relative to each other and an unlocked position where the lower rail and the upper rail are movable relative to each other; A lever operated by a passenger; a lever bracket that rotates in accordance with the operation of the lever, and that presses the lock body when the lever is operated to unlock, thereby moving the lock portion from the locked position to the unlocked position; Equipped with The lever bracket is a contact portion that is in contact with the locking body forward of the locking portion and serves as a rotation center of the lever bracket; an engagement portion that engages with the lock body rearward of the contact portion; Equipped with When the locking portion returns from the unlocked position to the locked position, the locking body moves integrally with the lever bracket. Seat slide device.

2. The engagement portion is in contact with a part of the locking body from below. The seat slide device according to claim 1 .

3. The locking body has a protrusion, The engagement portion is a protrusion that contacts the protrusion from below. The seat slide device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The lever bracket has an opening. A portion of the locking body is disposed within the opening, The engagement portion is in contact with a portion of the locking body disposed in the opening from below. The seat slide device according to claim 1 or 2.

Images