Lock mechanism and seat slide device

Abstract

To provide a lock mechanism which enables improvement of lock strength while inhibiting influence on an adjustment width between front-back positions of a seat and a longitudinal length of a rail, and to provide a seat slide device using the lock mechanism.SOLUTION: A lock mechanism 300 includes: a main lock member 30 which is pivotally fixed so as to rotate around an axis in a longitudinal direction of an upper rail 10 relative to the upper rail 10, has, at a tip, main lock teeth 31 which are inserted into or removed from lock engagement parts 60L at one line provided at the lower rail 11 by the rotation, and has, at any position, an operation part 30P on which operational force acts; and a sub lock member 40 which is pivotally fixed so as to rotate around the axis in the longitudinal direction of the upper rail 10 relative to the upper rail 10 and has, at a tip, sub lock teeth 41 which are inserted into or removed from lock engagement parts 60R at the other line provided at the lower rail 11 through the rotation. The sub lock member 40 is rotated by contact with the main lock member 30 rotated by the operational force.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a lock mechanism for a seat slide device for adjusting the front - rear position of a vehicle seat, and a seat slide device using the same.

Background Art

[0002] A seat slide device for moving a seat in the front - rear direction is provided with a lock mechanism for prohibiting the movement. The basic structure of the lock mechanism is to provide a movable lock member that moves integrally with the upper rail. At the lock position of this lock member, it engages with the lower rail to restrict the movement of the upper rail, and when it is moved to the unlock position, the engagement with the lower rail is released to allow the movement of the upper rail.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a lock mechanism using a lock member pivotally supported and fixed around the longitudinal axis of the upper rail. The lock member disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a plurality of lock teeth inserted and removed through a through - hole provided in the upper rail into a through - hole (lock engagement portion) provided in the lower rail in the longitudinal direction of the upper rail.

[0004] Here, when a high lock strength is required for a lock member as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to increase the lock strength by increasing the width of the lock teeth and the lock engagement portion, or increasing the number of lock teeth. However, when the width of the lock teeth and the lock engagement portion is increased, the slide pitch increases accordingly, resulting in a problem that the adjustment width (adjustment interval) of the front - rear position of the seat increases. Also, when the number of lock teeth is increased, the length of the lock mechanism (the longitudinal length of the rail) increases accordingly, resulting in a problem that the front - rear length of the rail increases.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a locking mechanism capable of increasing the locking strength while suppressing the influence on the adjustment width of the front-rear position of the seat and the front-rear length of the rail, and a seat slide device using the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, a locking mechanism according to the present invention is a locking mechanism that performs locking and unlocking by inserting and removing locking teeth with respect to a locking engagement portion provided on a lower rail for adjusting the position of an upper rail with respect to the lower rail in a seat slide device. The main lock member is pivotally supported and fixed so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail with respect to the upper rail, and has main locking teeth at its tip that are inserted into and removed from one row of locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation. The main lock member has an operation portion to which an operating force for the locking mechanism acts at any position. The sub-lock member is pivotally supported and fixed so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail with respect to the upper rail, and has sub-locking teeth at its tip that are inserted into and removed from the other row of locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation. The sub-lock member rotates by coming into contact with the main lock member that rotates by an operating force.

[0008] The main lock member includes a main lock extension portion that extends toward the sub-lock member, the sub-lock member includes a sub-lock extension portion that extends toward the main lock member, and the contact may be between the main lock extension portion and the sub-lock extension portion.

[0009] At the time of locking, the main locking teeth may be inserted into the locking engagement portion prior to the sub-locking teeth, and at the time of unlocking, the sub-locking teeth may escape from the locking engagement portion prior to the main locking teeth.

[0010] In addition, in order to solve the above problems, a seat slide device according to the present invention includes a lower rail having a plurality of locking engagement portions provided on both sides at a predetermined interval in the width direction along the longitudinal direction, an upper rail slidably provided on the lower rail and to which a seat frame is connected, and a locking mechanism that locks and unlocks by inserting and removing locking teeth with respect to the locking engagement portions for adjusting the position of the upper rail with respect to the lower rail. As the locking mechanism, any one of the above locking mechanisms is used.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a locking mechanism capable of increasing the locking strength while suppressing the influence on the adjustment width of the front-rear position of the seat and the front-rear length of the rail, and a seat slide device using the same.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, a locking mechanism and a seat slide device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In each figure, those with the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a locking mechanism 300 and a seat slide device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The seat slide device 200 includes an upper rail 10 and a lower rail 11. Although only a set of the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 11 are shown in the figure, the seat slide device 200 can include two sets of the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 11 provided at different positions in the left - right direction of the seat. The lower rail 10 is a rail attached to the lower part of the seat frame 15 and is a rail slidably engaged with the lower rail 11 in the front - rear direction. The lower rail 11 is a rail attached to the floor 14 of the vehicle body by a mounting member 12.

[0016] The locking mechanism 300 is a mechanism for adjusting the position of the upper rail 10 with respect to the lower rail 11. According to the operating force applied by an operating lever indicated by reference numeral 13, locking teeth are inserted into and removed from a locking engagement portion provided on the lower rail 11, thereby locking and unlocking the upper rail 10 with respect to the lower rail 11. Note that the operating lever indicated by reference numeral 13 is merely an example, the shape of the operating lever is not limited to this, and applying an operating force by means other than the operating lever is not excluded.

[0017] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the seat slide device 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] As shown in the figure, the upper rail 10 includes a substantially flat upper wall 100 extending in the front - rear direction, upper side walls 101L and 101R extending downward at substantially right angles to the upper wall 100 from both left and right ends of the upper wall 100, upper bottom walls 102L and 102R extending obliquely upward from the upper side walls 101L and 101R so as to be away from the upper side walls 101L and 101R, and upper flange portions 103L and 103R extending obliquely upward from the upper bottom walls 102L and 102R so as to approach the upper side walls 101L and 101R.

[0019] The upper rail 10 further includes an opening 105 in the upper upper wall 100 for accommodating or fixing the locking mechanism 300.

[0020] The upper rail 10 further includes a row of through holes 50L in the upper side wall 101L for passing the locking teeth of one locking member provided in the locking mechanism 300, and a row of through holes 50R in the upper side wall 101R for passing the locking teeth of the other locking member provided in the locking mechanism 300. The positions and numbers of the through holes 50L and 50R may be any positions and numbers corresponding to the locking teeth to be passed.

[0021] As shown in the figure, the lower rail 11 includes a substantially flat lower bottom wall 110 extending in the front-rear direction, lower side walls 111L and 111R extending upward at substantially right angles to the lower bottom wall 110 from both left and right ends of the lower bottom wall 110, lower upper walls 112L and 112R extending from the upper ends of the lower side walls 111L and 111R toward the other lower side walls 111L and 111R, and lower flange portions 113L and 113R extending downward from the ends of the lower upper walls 112L and 112R and substantially parallel to the lower side walls 111L and 111R.

[0022] The lower rail 11 further includes a row of through holes 60L in the lower flange portion 113L as a locking engagement portion for the locking teeth of one locking member provided in the locking mechanism 300, and a row of through holes 60R in the lower flange portion 113R as a locking engagement portion for the locking teeth of the other locking member provided in the locking mechanism 300. The interval (pitch) in the front-rear direction between the through holes 60L and 60R is the same as the interval (pitch) of the locking teeth of the locking members provided in the locking mechanism 300.

[0023] The upper rail 10 and the lower rail 11 are slidably engaged with each other in the front-rear direction via a retainer indicated by reference numeral 20.

[0024] Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views showing the configuration and operation of the lock mechanism 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that Fig. 3 shows the locked state (lock state), and Fig. 4 shows the unlocked state (lock-off state).

[0025] The lock mechanism 300 includes two lock members, a main lock member 30 and a sub-lock member 40, as lock members. Note that the main lock member 30 and the sub-lock member 40 are biased in the locking direction by a single or separate biasing member.

[0026] The main lock member 30 is pivotally supported and fixed about a main lock shaft 35 that is fixed in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction) with respect to the upper rail 10 via a bracket. The main lock member 30 has a main lock tooth 31 at its tip that is inserted into a through hole 60L as an engaging portion for locking, and also has an operating portion at a position indicated by reference numeral 30P, for example, where an operating force on the lock mechanism acts. Note that the position or shape of the operating portion is not limited to the position or shape indicated by reference numeral 30P, and is not particularly limited as long as it is a position or shape that can rotate the main lock member 30 in the unlocking direction by an operating force. The number of main lock teeth 31 is four in the present embodiment, but the number of main lock teeth 31 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately increased or decreased according to the required locking strength and the like.

[0027] The sub-lock member 40 is pivotally supported and fixed about a sub-lock shaft 45 that is fixed in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction) with respect to the upper rail 10 via a bracket. The sub-lock member 40 has a sub-lock tooth 41 at its tip that is inserted into a through hole 60R as an engaging portion for locking. The number of sub-lock teeth 41 is three in the present embodiment, but the number of sub-lock teeth 41 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately increased or decreased according to the required locking strength and the like.

[0028] The sub-block member 40 is not directly subjected to the operating force, but is rotated by contacting the main lock member 30 that is rotated by the operating force. In the present embodiment, the main lock member 30 is provided with a main lock extension 30S extending toward the sub-block member 40, and the sub-block member 40 is provided with a sub-block extension 40S extending toward the main lock member 30. Thereby, the main lock extension 30S and the sub-block extension 40S come into contact with each other, and the sub-block member 40 is rotated as the main lock member 30 rotates. Note that the configuration for rotating the sub-block member 40 as the main lock member 30 rotates is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which protrusions are provided on each of the main lock member 30 and the sub-block member 40 and they are brought into contact with each other may be used, or a configuration using gears or wires may be used.

[0029] The lock mechanism 300 operates as follows. That is, in the locked state shown in FIG. 3, when an operating force is applied to the operating portion 30P of the main lock member 30, the main lock member 30 rotates about the axis of the main lock shaft 35. When the main lock member 30 rotates about the axis of the main lock shaft 35, the main lock tooth 31 escapes from the through hole 60L, and the lock by the main lock member 30 is released. Further, when the main lock member 30 rotates about the axis of the main lock shaft 35, the main lock extension 30S and the sub-block extension 40S come into contact with each other, and the sub-block member 40 rotates about the axis of the sub-block shaft 45. When the sub-block member 40 rotates about the axis of the sub-block shaft 45, the sub-block tooth 41 escapes from the through hole 60R, and the unlocked state (lock-off state) shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. When the operating force is no longer applied to the operating portion 30P, the lock mechanism 300 returns to the locked state shown in FIG. 3.

[0030] The timing at which the main lock teeth 31 are inserted into and removed from the through hole 60L and the timing at which the sub-lock teeth 41 are inserted into and removed from the through hole 60R can be set to the same timing or the timings can be shifted as required. For example, at the time of locking, the main lock teeth 31 are inserted into the through hole 60L prior to the insertion of the sub-lock teeth 41 into the through hole 60R, and at the time of unlocking, the sub-lock teeth 41 are removed from the through hole 60R prior to the removal of the main lock teeth 31 from the through hole 60L. When set in this way, the main lock member 30 directly bears the position adjustment of the upper rail 10 with respect to the lower rail 11, and the sub-lock member 40 functions as a member for increasing the locking strength.

[0031] According to the lock mechanism 300 and the seat slide device 200 according to the present embodiment described above, since lock teeth (main lock teeth 31 and sub-lock teeth 41) can be provided on two lock members (main lock member 30 and sub-lock member 40) arranged on the left and right, even when the slide pitch width (notch) is small, the locking strength can be increased without increasing the width of the lock teeth.

[0032] Also, according to the lock mechanism 300 and the seat slide device 200 according to the present embodiment described above, since lock teeth (main lock teeth 31 and sub-lock teeth 41) can be provided on two lock members (main lock member 30 and sub-lock member 40) arranged on the left and right, even when the number of lock teeth is increased, it is possible to suppress an increase in the length of the lock mechanism (the length of the rail in the longitudinal direction), and thereby suppress an increase in the front-rear length of the rail.

[0033] Also, according to the lock mechanism 300 and the seat slide device 200 according to the present embodiment described above, since the operating force only needs to be applied to one lock member (main lock member 30), the number of parts of the lock mechanism can be reduced and the structure of the lock mechanism can be simplified.

[0034] Moreover, according to the lock mechanism 300 and the seat slide device 200 according to the present embodiment described above, there is no problem in the operation even if the lock member (sub-lock member 40) to which the operating force is not directly applied is removed. Therefore, by attaching and detaching the lock member (sub-lock member 40) to which the operating force is not directly applied, the locking strength can be adjusted and the weight of the lock mechanism can be adjusted.

Explanation of Signs

[0035] 10 Upper Rail 11 Lower Rail 12 Mounting Member 13 Operating Lever 14 Floor 15 Seat Frame 20 Retainer 30 Main Lock Member 30S Main Lock Extension 30P Operating Portion 31 Main Lock Teeth 35 Main Lock Shaft 40 Sub-Lock Member 40S Sub-Lock Extension 41 Sub-Lock Teeth 45 Sub-Lock Shaft 50L Through-Hole 50R Through-Hole 60L Through-Hole (Lock Engagement Portion) 60R Through-Hole (Lock Engagement Portion) 100 Upper Upper Wall 101L Upper Side Wall 101R Upper Side Wall 102L Upper Bottom Wall 102R Upper Bottom Wall 103L Upper Flange Portion 103R Upper Flange Portion 105 Opening 110 Lower Bottom Wall 111L Lower Side Wall 111R Lower Side Wall 112L Lower Upper Wall 112R Lower Upper Wall 113L Lower flange part 113R Lower flange part 200 Sheet slide device 300 Lock mechanism

Claims

1. A locking mechanism for adjusting the position of an upper rail relative to a lower rail in a seat slide device, which performs locking and unlocking by inserting and removing locking teeth with respect to a locking engagement portion provided on the lower rail, a main lock member pivotally supported and fixed to the upper rail so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail, having a main lock tooth at its tip which is inserted into and removed from one row of the locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation, and having an operation portion to which an operating force for the locking mechanism is applied at any position; a sub-lock member pivotally supported and fixed to the upper rail so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail, having a sub-lock tooth at its tip which is inserted into and removed from the other row of the locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation; and the sub-lock member rotates by contacting the main lock member which rotates by the operating force, a locking mechanism.

2. The main lock member includes a main lock extension portion extending toward the sub-lock member, the sub-lock member includes a sub-lock extension portion extending toward the main lock member, and the contact is the contact between the main lock extension portion and the sub-lock extension portion. The locking mechanism according to Claim 1.

3. During locking, the main lock tooth is inserted into the locking engagement portion ahead of the sub-lock tooth, and during unlocking, the sub-lock tooth exits from the locking engagement portion ahead of the main lock tooth. The locking mechanism according to Claim 2.

4. A lower rail having a plurality of locking engagement portions provided along the longitudinal direction on both sides at a predetermined interval in the width direction, an upper rail slidably provided on the lower rail and to which a seat frame is connected, and a seat slide device having a locking mechanism for adjusting the position of the upper rail relative to the lower rail by inserting and removing locking teeth with respect to the locking engagement portion to perform locking and unlocking, wherein the locking mechanism is the locking mechanism according to any one of Claims 1 to 3.

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