Lock mechanism and seat slide device

Abstract

To provide a lock mechanism in which two lock members are engaged with left and right sides of a lower rail and which enables reduction of the number of components of the lock mechanism to achieve weight reduction and downsizing of the entire lock mechanism, and to provide a seat slide device using the lock mechanism.SOLUTION: A lock mechanism 300 includes: a main lock member 400 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 401 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 402 on which operational force acts; and a sub lock member 500 which is pivotally fixed so as to rotate around the axis in the longitudinal direction of the upper rail 10 relative to the main lock member 400 and has, at a tip, sub lock teeth 501 which are inserted into or removed from lock engagement parts 60R at the other line provided at the lower rail 11 through the rotation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

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 pair of lock members having the same shape and rotatably provided around a rotation axis along the longitudinal direction of the upper rail.

[0004] Here, a lock mechanism as disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires a complicated structure and a large space to pivotally support and fix two lock members by one shaft member, resulting in problems such as an increase in the weight and size of the entire lock mechanism. Also, in the lock mechanism as disclosed in Patent Document 1, although a holding member for the lock member, that is, a shaft member and a shaft - member holding bracket, can be prepared for each of the two lock members, this increases the number of parts of the lock mechanism, and still causes problems such as an increase in the weight and size of the entire lock mechanism.

Prior - Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] Therefore, the present invention provides a locking mechanism for engaging two locking members on the left and right of a lower rail, which can reduce the number of parts of the locking mechanism and lightweight and miniaturize the entire locking mechanism, and a seat slide device using the same.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the locking mechanism according to the present invention is a locking mechanism that locks and unlocks 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, and is pivotally supported and fixed to the upper rail so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail, and has a main locking tooth at its tip that is inserted into and removed from one row of locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation, and has an operation portion to which an operating force for the locking mechanism acts at any position. And a sub-lock member that is pivotally supported and fixed to the main lock member so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail, and has a sub-lock tooth at its tip that is inserted into and removed from the other row of locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation.

[0008] The sub-lock member may be pivotally supported and fixed back-to-back with respect to the main lock member.

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

[0010] 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.

Advantages of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, there is provided a locking mechanism that engages two locking members on the left and right of a lower rail, can reduce the number of parts of the locking mechanism, and can reduce the weight and size of the entire locking mechanism, and a seat slide device using the same.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

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Figure 12

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, the lock mechanism and the seat slide device according to the embodiments 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 lock 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 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 lock mechanism 300 is a mechanism for adjusting the position of the upper rail 10 with respect to the lower rail 11. It inserts and removes locking teeth with respect to a locking engagement portion provided on the lower rail 11 according to the operating force applied by an operating lever indicated by reference numeral 13, 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 thereto, and applying an operating force by means other than the operating lever is not excluded.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a seat slide device and a lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the seat slide device and the lock mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] As shown in the drawing, 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 wall 100 for accommodating or fixing the lock mechanism 300.

[0020] The upper rail 10 further includes a row of through holes 50L in the upper side wall 101L for allowing the locking teeth of one locking member provided in the lock mechanism 300 to pass therethrough, and a row of through holes 50R in the upper side wall 101R for allowing the locking teeth of the other locking member provided in the lock mechanism 300 to pass therethrough. 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 through.

[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 from both left and right ends of the lower bottom wall 110 at a substantially right angle to 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 substantially parallel to the lower side walls 111L and 111R.

[0022] The lower rail 11 further includes through holes 60L provided in a row in the lower flange portion 113L as an engagement portion for locking teeth of one locking member included in the locking mechanism 300, and through holes 60R provided in a row in the lower flange portion 113R as an engagement portion for locking teeth of the other locking member included in the locking mechanism 300. The distance (pitch) in the front-rear direction between the through holes 60L and 60R is the same as the distance (pitch) between the locking teeth of the locking members included 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] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the configuration of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the configuration of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a side view showing the configuration of the lock mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that in FIGS. 4 to 6, a bracket 301 for holding the lock mechanism 300 and a caulking rivet 301K for fixing the bracket 301 to the upper rail 10 are shown, and in FIGS. 7 to 9, the bracket 301 for holding the lock mechanism 300 and the caulking rivet 301K for fixing the bracket 301 to the upper rail 10 are omitted.

[0025] The lock mechanism 300 includes two lock members, a main lock member 400 and a sub-lock member 500, as lock members. Note that in the present embodiment, the main lock member 400 and the sub-lock member 500 are biased in the locking direction by separate biasing members.

[0026] The main lock member 400 is pivotally supported and fixed about a main lock shaft 450 that is fixed in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction) to the upper rail 10 via a bracket 301. The main lock member 400 has a main lock tooth 401 at its tip that is inserted into a through hole 60L as an engagement portion for locking, and also has an operation portion at a position indicated by reference numeral 402, for example, where an operating force on the lock mechanism acts. Note that the position and shape of the operation portion are not limited to the position and shape indicated by reference numeral 402, and are not particularly limited as long as they are positions and shapes that allow the main lock member 400 to be rotated in the unlocking direction by an operating force. The number of main lock teeth 401 is four in this embodiment, but the number of main lock teeth 401 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately increased or decreased according to the required locking strength and the like. The main lock member 400 is biased in the locking direction by a biasing member indicated by reference numeral 302. The biasing member indicated by reference numeral 302 is a torsion coil spring, one end of which is hooked on the bracket 301 and the other end of which is hooked on the back side (lower side) of the operation portion 402. Thereby, the main lock member 400 is biased counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 5. Note that the biasing member of the main lock member 400 is not limited to a torsion coil spring, and may be appropriately selected from existing biasing members.

[0027] The sub-block member 500 is pivotally supported and fixed about a sub-block shaft 550 that is fixed in the front-rear direction (longitudinal direction) with respect to the main lock member 400. Note that the sub-block shaft 550 itself and / or the holding bracket of the sub-block shaft 550 may be integrally formed with the main lock member 400, and by doing so, the number of parts can be reduced. The sub-block member 500 has a sub-block tooth 501 at its tip that is inserted into a through-hole 60R as an engagement portion for locking. The number of sub-block teeth 501 is three in this embodiment, but the number of sub-block teeth 501 is not limited to this, and may be appropriately increased or decreased according to the required locking strength and the like. The sub-block member 500 is biased in the locking direction by a biasing member indicated by reference numeral 303. The biasing member indicated by reference numeral 303 is a torsion coil spring, one end of which is hooked on the main lock member 400, and the other end of which is hooked on the hooking portion 502. Thereby, the sub-block member 500 is biased clockwise as shown in FIG. 5. Note that the biasing member of the sub-block member 500 is not limited to a torsion coil spring, and may be appropriately selected from existing biasing members.

[0028] As shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, the sub-block member 500 is pivotally supported and fixed back-to-back with respect to the main lock member 400. Therefore, as the main lock member 400 rotates by an operating force, the sub-block member 500 moves in the vertical direction or the diagonal vertical direction.

[0029] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration and operation of the lock mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as an operation, it shows a locked state. Further, FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration and operation of the lock mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as an operation, it shows an unlocked state (lock-off state). Further, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration and operation of the lock mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention, and as an operation, it shows a state in which the lock member is rotated maximally in the unlocking (lock-off) direction (full stroke state).

[0030] The locking mechanism 300 operates as follows. That is, in the locked state shown in FIG. 10, when an operating force is applied to the operating portion 402 of the main lock member 400, the main lock member 400 rotates about the axis of the main lock shaft 450. When the main lock member 400 rotates about the axis of the main lock shaft 450, the main lock teeth 401 escape from the through hole 60L, and the lock by the main lock member 400 is released. Further, when the main lock member 400 rotates about the axis of the main lock shaft 450, the sub-lock member 500 moves in the vertical direction or the diagonally up-and-down direction accordingly. As a result, the sub-lock 501 escapes from the through hole 60R, and the unlocked state (lock-off state) shown in FIG. 11 is achieved. When the main lock member 400 rotates to the maximum in the unlocking (lock-off) direction, a full-stroke state as shown in FIG. 12 is achieved. When the operating force is no longer applied to the operating portion 402, the locking mechanism 300 returns to the locked state shown in FIG. 10.

[0031] The timing at which the main lock teeth 401 are inserted into and removed from the through hole 60L and the timing at which the sub-lock teeth 501 are inserted into and removed from the through hole 60R can be the same or different as required. For example, at the time of locking, the main lock teeth 401 are inserted into the through hole 60L prior to the insertion of the sub-lock teeth 501 into the through hole 60R, and at the time of unlocking, the sub-lock teeth 501 escape from the through hole 60R prior to the escape of the main lock teeth 401 from the through hole 60L. When set in this way, the adjustment of the position of the upper rail 10 relative to the lower rail 11 is directly borne by the main lock member 400, and the sub-lock member 500 functions as a member for increasing the locking strength.

[0032] According to the lock mechanism 300 and the seat slide device 200 according to the present embodiment described above, one lock member (sub-lock member 500) can be pivotally supported and fixed to the other lock member (main lock member 400) that is pivotally supported and fixed to the upper rail (upper rail 10) so as to be rotatable in its front-rear direction (longitudinal direction). That is, the function of the holding member of one lock member (sub-lock member 500) can be configured to be borne by the other lock member (main lock member 400). Thereby, a complicated structure and a large space for pivotally supporting and fixing two lock members by one shaft member can be made unnecessary. In addition, it is not necessary to prepare a holding member for the lock member, that is, a shaft member and a shaft member holding bracket for each of the two lock members. Therefore, the number of parts of the lock mechanism is reduced, and the entire lock mechanism can be reduced in weight and size.

[0033] Also, according to the lock mechanism 300 and the seat slide device 200 according to the present embodiment described above, one lock member (sub-lock member 500) can be pivotally supported and fixed to the other lock member (main lock member 400) that is pivotally supported and fixed to the upper rail (upper rail 10) so as to be rotatable in its front-rear direction (longitudinal direction). That is, one lock member (sub-lock member 500) only needs to be sized such that it can be pivotally supported and fixed to the other lock member (main lock member 400) so as to be rotatable back to back, and thus can be significantly reduced in size compared to the other lock member (main lock member 400). Thereby, although it is a lock mechanism that engages two lock members on the left and right of the lower rail, the entire lock mechanism can be reduced in weight and size.

Explanation of Signs

[0034] 10 Upper rail 11 Lower rail 12 Mounting member 13 Operation lever 14 Floor 15 Seat frame 20 Retainer 50L Through-hole 50R Through-hole 51L Through-hole 51R Through-hole 60L Through-hole (Lock Engagement Part) 60R Through-hole (Lock Engagement Part) 100 Upper Wall 101L Upper Side Wall 101R Upper Side Wall 102L Upper Bottom Wall 102R Upper Bottom Wall 103L Upper Flange Part 103R Upper Flange Part 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 301 Bracket 301K Crimp Rivet 302 Biasing Member 303 Biasing Member 400 Main Lock Member 401 Main Lock Teeth 402 Operation Part 450 Main Lock Shaft 500 Sub-lock Member 501 Sub-lock Teeth 502 Hook Part 550 Sub-lock Shaft

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 locking member pivotally supported and fixed so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail with respect to the upper rail, having main locking teeth at its tip which are 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; and a sub-locking member pivotally supported and fixed so as to be rotatable about the longitudinal axis of the upper rail with respect to the main locking member, having sub-locking teeth at its tip which are inserted into and removed from the other row of the locking engagement portions provided on the lower rail by the rotation. A locking mechanism.

2. The locking mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the sub-locking member is pivotally supported and fixed back-to-back with respect to the main locking member. The locking mechanism according to claim 1.

3. During locking, the main locking teeth are inserted into the locking engagement portion ahead of the sub-locking teeth, and during unlocking, the sub-locking teeth escape from the locking engagement portion ahead of the main locking teeth. 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, which performs locking and unlocking by inserting and removing locking teeth with respect to the locking engagement portion, wherein the locking mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is used as the locking mechanism.

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