Vehicle seat device

The vehicle seat apparatus addresses the challenge of drive motor size by using a horizontally rotatable base and contact portion to minimize the drive unit while ensuring ease of entry and exit through shared load and movement, achieving both miniaturization and performance.

JP2025115602APending Publication Date: 2025-08-07TOYOTA SHATAI KK
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2024010149
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-01-26
Publication Date
2025-08-07

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

The challenge in vehicle seat devices is to minimize the size of the drive motor while ensuring ease of entry and exit, as the size of the drive motor increases with the swing amount of the seat body, making it difficult to achieve both miniaturization and ease of ingress/egress.

Method used

A vehicle seat apparatus with a horizontally rotatable base portion, a support portion, and a drive portion that allows the seat body to move between states, utilizing a contact portion that intersects the forward and backward movement direction to facilitate relative movement, reducing reliance on the drive portion's size.

Benefits of technology

This configuration enables the drive unit to be minimized while maintaining excellent ingress/egress performance by sharing the load and movement between the drive portion and an abutment portion, thus achieving both miniaturization and ease of entry and exit.

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Abstract

To provide a vehicle seat device which enables a size of a drive part to be minimized while securing ease of getting in / out of a vehicle.SOLUTION: In a vehicle seat device, a seat body 60 in a getting in / off position is relatively moved forward or backward between a first state in which the seat body 60 is disposed on a base part 30 and a second state in which the seat body 60 is spaced apart from a position on the base part 30 by driving a support part 40. Between the seat body 60 in the second state and the base part 30, a contact part 80 which contacts the seat body 60 from a direction intersecting with a forward or backward movement direction so that the seat body 60 is relatively moved forward or backward between the states.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6
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Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat device including a horizontally rotatable base portion, a support portion that supports a seat body so that the seat body can move back and forth relative to the base portion, and a drive portion that drives the support portion. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology related to this type of device. The seat moving device in this document has a slide member (corresponding to a support unit) that supports a seat body on a base member so that the seat body can move back and forth, and the slide member can be driven by a drive motor (corresponding to a drive unit). In the seat moving device described above, the base member is first rotated horizontally to displace the seat body, which faces forward of the vehicle, to a boarding / alighting position facing the side of the vehicle and toward the door opening. Then, by driving the drive motor, the seat body in the boarding / alighting position can be moved forward and backward inward and outward of the vehicle while supported by the slide member. In the above configuration, the seat body in the boarding / alighting position moves forward toward the outside of the vehicle together with the slide member driven by the drive motor. This causes the seat body in the boarding / alighting position to be swung outward of the vehicle, thereby ensuring ease of boarding and alighting. Then, the slide member is moved backward toward the inside of the vehicle, returning the seat body with the occupant seated to its original position on the base member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-126692 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the field of vehicle seat devices, there is a demand for miniaturizing the components thereof, particularly the drive motor (drive unit). In the above-described configuration, a slide member supporting the seat body is driven by a drive motor to move the seat body inward and outward from the vehicle. The amount of forward and backward movement (swing amount) of the seat body at the entry / exit position is set from the perspective of ensuring ease of entry and exit. The greater the swing amount, the better the configuration contributes to ensuring ease of entry and exit. In the above-described configuration, the size of the drive motor tends to increase in accordance with the swing amount of the seat body, making it difficult to miniaturize the drive motor while ensuring ease of entry and exit. The present invention was devised in light of the above-described problems, and the problem to be solved by the present invention is to minimize the size of the drive unit while ensuring ease of entry and exit from a vehicle seat device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] As a means for solving the above problems, a vehicle seat apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a horizontally rotatable base portion, a support portion supporting a seat body relative to the base portion so that the seat body can move forward and backward, and a drive portion driving the support portion. The seat body is displaced between a seating position facing forward of the vehicle and a boarding / exiting position facing sideways of the vehicle by horizontal rotation of the base portion. The seat body in the boarding / exiting position is driven by the support portion to move forward and backward between a first state in which the seat body is disposed on the base portion and a second state in which the seat body is displaced from the base portion. With the above configuration, it is desirable to minimize the size of the drive portion while ensuring the boarding / exiting performance of the vehicle seat apparatus. Therefore, in the present invention, a contact portion is provided between the seat body and the base portion in the second state. The contact portion contacts the seat body in a direction intersecting the direction of the forward and backward movement so that the seat body can move forward and backward relative to the base portion. In the present invention, even if a gap is provided between the seat body and the base portion in the second state from the viewpoint of ensuring boarding / exiting performance, the contact portion provided in the gap contacts the seat body so as to allow the seat body to move forward and backward (relative movement). According to the above-described configuration, the contact portion functions to move the seat body forward and backward at appropriate positions without relying solely on the drive portion, and the drive portion can be made as small as possible.

[0006] The vehicle seat device of the second invention is the vehicle seat device of the first invention, in which the abutment portion is disposed at a position where the seat body moving back and forth between states can be received from the underside of the vehicle, which intersects with the direction of the forward and backward movement. In this invention, the load of the seat body moving back and forth between states can be received by the abutment portion, which further contributes to the miniaturization of the drive unit.

[0007] A vehicle seat device according to a third aspect of the present invention is the vehicle seat device according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, in which the seat body at the entry / exit position moves forward and backward in the vehicle interior and exterior directions between states. In this invention, the seat body at the entry / exit position can be moved forward and backward in the vehicle interior and exterior directions by the action of the abutment portion.

[0008] The vehicle seat device of the fourth invention is the vehicle seat device of the third invention, in which the seat body is moved backward from the second state toward the inside and upper side of the vehicle to become the first state. In this invention, the seat body in the second state can be moved backward toward the inside and upper side of the vehicle by the action of the abutment portion to become the first state. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to miniaturize the drive unit as much as possible while ensuring the ingress / egress performance of the vehicle seat device. According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to more reliably miniaturize the drive unit. According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to more appropriately ensure the ingress / egress performance of the seat body. And according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to more reliably miniaturize the drive unit while more appropriately ensuring the ingress / egress performance of the seat body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective top view of a vehicle showing a vehicle seat; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic perspective rear view showing the basic configuration of a vehicle seat. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic perspective side view of a vehicle seat device in a getting-in and getting-out position. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic perspective side view of a vehicle seat device in a first state; [Figure 5] 4 is a schematic perspective side view of the vehicle seat device in a second state. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle seat device in a second state. [Figure 7] 4 is a schematic perspective side view of the vehicle seat device showing a contact portion when moving between states. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 7. In each figure, arrows indicating the front-rear direction, left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and up-down direction (height direction) of the vehicle are appropriately shown. In each figure, the main components of the vehicle seat device are shown with solid lines, and other components may be omitted. For convenience, in Figs. 2 to 5, the reference numeral 80 is used to indicate the position of the contact portion, and the size of the contact portion may differ from the actual size.

[0012] [Outline of vehicle seat device] First, a basic configuration of a vehicle seat apparatus 2 provided in a vehicle 1 will be described. The vehicle seat apparatus 2 shown in Fig. 1 is installed on a vehicle floor 3 and is provided with a seat body 60 on which an occupant can be seated. A door opening 4 is provided on the outer side in the vehicle width direction (the left side, which is the outer side of the vehicle) of the vehicle seat apparatus 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the vehicle seat apparatus 2 has a fixed part 10 fixed on the vehicle floor 3, a sliding part 20 provided on the fixed part 10 so as to be slidable back and forth, and a base part 30 provided on the sliding part 20 so as to be horizontally rotatable. A support part 40 having a lifting base 50 and a drive part 52 is provided on the base part 30, and the seat body 60 is provided on the lifting base 50 of the support part 40 via an outer slide mechanism 55.

[0013] Next, a brief description will be given of the behavior of the vehicle seat apparatus 2 when an occupant gets in and out of the vehicle. With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 , in this vehicle seat apparatus 2, when an occupant gets in and out of the vehicle, the slide portion 20 is slid back and forth relative to the fixed portion 10, thereby positioning the seat body 60 at a horizontally rotatable position. Next, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 , the base portion 30 is horizontally rotated relative to the slide portion 20, thereby displacing the seat body 60 from a seating position facing forward of the vehicle to a boarding / exit position facing sideways toward the door opening 4. With reference to FIG. 4 , the seat body 60 in the boarding / exit position is moved forward on the lift base 50 toward the outside of the vehicle (left side), which is the door opening 4 side, by the operation of the outer slide mechanism 55. This places the seat body 60 in a first state in which it protrudes outward from the base portion 30. In this first state, the rear end of the seat body 60 is positioned at the end of the base portion 30 facing outward of the vehicle, i.e., at the forward limit position on the base portion 30.

[0014] Then, as shown in Fig. 5, the support portion 40 is driven by the drive portion 52. As a result, the seat body 60 supported by the support portion 40 moves further forward from on the base portion 30 toward the outside of the vehicle, while gradually descending (rotating) toward the bottom of the vehicle. In the above-described configuration, the seat body 60 in the entry / exit position is in the second state in which it is swung outward and downward from the base portion 30, which contributes to ensuring excellent entry / exit performance. After the occupant sits on the seat body 60, the support portion 40 causes the seat body 60 to move backward toward the inside and upward of the vehicle, and it is positioned on the base portion 30 (see Figs. 3 and 4).

[0015] 4 and 5, in the vehicle seat apparatus 2 described above, the seat body 60 moves back and forth between a first state on the base portion 30 and a second state in which the seat body 60 is positioned outside the vehicle, driven by the support portion 40 driven by the drive portion 52. In this type of configuration, it is desirable to minimize the size of the drive portion 52 while ensuring ease of entry and exit. In the configuration described above, the seat body 60 in the second state shown in FIG. 5 is swung out significantly from above the base portion 30 to ensure ease of entry and exit, creating a gap 100 between the seat body 60 and the base portion 30 in the vehicle's interior and exterior directions. The size of the drive portion 52 in the configuration described above is selected based on the thrust force required to move the seat body 60 backward between the states (within the range of the gap 100) when an occupant is seated. Therefore, in this embodiment, the abutment portion 80 shown in FIG. 6 enables the drive portion 52 to be minimized while ensuring ease of entry and exit of the vehicle seat apparatus 2. Below, we will explain the basic configuration of the vehicle seat device 2 shown in Figure 2 etc. (fixed portion 10, slide portion 20, base portion 30, support portion 40, outer slide mechanism 55, seat body 60), and then we will explain in detail the configuration of the abutment portion 80 shown in Figure 6 etc.

[0016] [Fixed and sliding parts] First, the fixed part 10 shown in FIG. 2 is fixed to the vehicle floor 3 and supports the sliding part 20 so that it can slide back and forth. Here, the sliding part 20 is a table-like (plate-like) part configured to be slidable in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. A pair of front and rear sliders 14s fixed to the sliding part 20 are slidably fitted onto left and right slide rails 14 fixed to the fixed part 10 (for convenience, only the members on the left side are designated by corresponding reference numerals in FIG. 2). In addition, a slide drive mechanism 16 that slides the sliding part 20 back and forth is provided between the fixed part 10 and the sliding part 20. This slide drive mechanism 16 can slide the sliding part 20 back and forth by utilizing the threaded engagement between a trapezoidal screw 16w and a nut 16n. In addition, a slide lock mechanism 22 that locks the sliding part 20 from sliding back and forth is provided between the sliding part 20 and the seat main body 60 (a frame side wall part 62w described below).

[0017] [Base] Next, the base unit 30 shown in FIG. 2 is a table-like portion that supports the support unit 40 (described later), and is disposed on the slide unit 20 via the rotation mechanism 23. The rotation mechanism 23 includes an inner ring 23e and an outer ring 23r that are configured to rotate relative to each other, with the inner ring 23e fixed to the slide unit 20 and the outer ring 23r fixed to the base unit 30. The slide unit 20 is also provided with a motor and a gear mechanism (not shown) that serve as a drive source for the rotation mechanism 23, and a gear of this gear mechanism is engaged with the outer ring 23r. The rotation of the outer ring 23r relative to the inner ring 23e fixed to the slide unit 20 allows the base unit 30, to which the outer ring 23r is fixed, to rotate horizontally by approximately 90° between the seating position and the boarding / disembarking position (see FIGS. 1 and 3).

[0018] [Support part] Next, the support portion 40 shown in FIG. 2 is a portion that supports the seat body 60 while being supported by the base portion 30 so that the seat body 60 can move back and forth between a first state and a second state. The support portion 40 includes a slide member 41, a lifting and lowering slide mechanism 43, a pair of left and right four-bar link mechanisms (hereinafter referred to as four-bar link mechanisms 45), a lifting and lowering base 50, and a drive unit 52. The slide member 41 is installed on the base portion 30 so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction of the seat, and can slide in the front-rear direction of the seat in response to the operation of the lifting and lowering slide mechanism 43. The lifting and lowering slide mechanism 43 is a drive mechanism that utilizes the threaded engagement between a trapezoidal screw portion 43w and a nut portion 43n, with the trapezoidal screw portion 43w supported on the base portion 30 and the nut portion 43n fixed to the slide member 41. The base portion 30 is also provided with the drive unit 52 that serves as a drive source for the lifting and lowering slide mechanism 43. The driving force of this drive unit 52 moves the nut portion 43n relative to the trapezoidal screw portion 43w in the seat fore-and-aft direction, causing the slide member 41 provided with this nut portion 43n to move forward and backward relative to the base portion 30 (see Figs. 4 and 5). With reference to Figs. 2 and 5, a base end portion (the end portion on the inside of the vehicle when in the boarding / exiting position) of a four-bar linkage mechanism 45 is axially connected to the slide member 41 so as to be able to rotate up and down (for convenience in each drawing, the reference numeral 45 corresponding to the four-bar linkage mechanism on the left side is used, and the reference numeral corresponding to the four-bar linkage mechanism on the right side is used in parentheses).

[0019] 2 and 5, a table-shaped lift base 50 is pivotally connected to the tip end of the four-bar linkage mechanism 45 (the end on the outer side of the vehicle when in the boarding / exiting position). Here, in the first state, the lift base 50 is disposed on the base unit 30, which is located on the outer side of the vehicle than the slide member 41. A seat body 60 is provided on the lift base 50 via an outer slide mechanism 55 (described in detail later). In the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, when the slide member 41 in the first state moves forward toward the front of the seat by the operation of the lift slide mechanism 43 (driven by the drive unit 52), the four-bar linkage mechanism 45 rotates downward due to the weight of the seat body 60 and the like. As a result, the lift base 50 and the seat body 60 move forward toward the outer side of the vehicle relative to the base unit 30 and descend toward the lower side of the vehicle, thereby reaching a second state in which they are disengaged from the base unit 30. Furthermore, when the slide member 41 moves backward toward the rear of the seat from the state shown in FIG. 5, the four-bar linkage mechanism 45 rotates upward toward the upper side of the vehicle while moving backward. As a result, the lift-up base 50 and the seat body 60 move backward toward the inside of the vehicle and rise upward toward the vehicle, to reach the first state in which they are disposed on the base portion 30 (see FIG. 4).

[0020] [Seat body and outer sliding mechanism] Next, a seat body 60 shown in FIG. 2 is provided on the lift-up base 50 of the support part 40 via an outer slide mechanism 55. Here, the seat body 60 includes a seat cushion 64 and a seat back 66. A pair of left and right frame side walls 62w are provided on a seat frame 62 of the seat cushion 64 (for convenience, in FIG. 2, the reference numeral 62w corresponding to the left frame side wall is attached, and the reference numeral corresponding to the right frame side wall is attached in parentheses). An outer slide mechanism 55 is provided on the underside of the seat frame 62. This outer slide mechanism 55 is a mechanism for sliding the seat body 60 in the front-rear direction of the seat relative to the lift-up base 50 of the support part 40. The outer slide mechanism 55 includes a motor 55m (drive source) provided on the lift-up base 50 and a roller unit 70 (described later) whose shaft is fixed to the motor 55m.

[0021] 2 and 6, the roller portion 70 is formed in a horizontally oriented cylindrical shape extending in the seat width direction (the vehicle front-rear direction in the boarding / exiting position). The outer peripheral surface of the roller portion 70, which serves as the sliding surface, is in contact with the underside of the seat body 60. One end (the rear end in the boarding / exiting position) of the roller portion 70 is axially fixed to the motor 55m of the outer slide mechanism 55, and the other end of the roller portion 70 opposite the one end is axially supported on the lifting base 50 via a bracket (not shown). The driving force of the motor 55m of the outer slide mechanism 55 causes the roller portion 70 to rotate about its axis while in contact with the seat body 60. As a result, the seat body 60 moves forward and backward in the seat front-rear direction on the lifting base 50 due to the rotational force of the roller portion 70 in contact with its underside.

[0022] [Contact part] 6, the vehicle seat apparatus 2 has an abutment portion 80 disposed so as to contact the seat body 60 that moves back and forth between the first state and the second state. The abutment portion 80 is disposed so as to protrude outward from the base portion 30, and is disposed between the seat body 60 in the second state and the base portion 30 (within the range of the gap 100). The abutment portion 80 is formed in a triangular prism shape extending in the seat width direction, and an upper surface 81 of the abutment portion 80 extends gradually obliquely upward (inward and upward) of the vehicle as it moves toward the inside of the vehicle with respect to the boarding and disembarking position. That is, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper surface 81 of the abutment portion 80 is formed in a sloped shape that extends upward and inward of the vehicle so as to follow the movement direction of the seat body 60 that moves back and forth between the states. The upper surface 81 of the contact portion 80 is disposed in a position where it can receive the seat body 60 moving back and forth between the states from under the vehicle, and furthermore, the upper end of the upper surface 81 of the contact portion 80 is disposed at the same height as the base portion 30 or higher in the vehicle. As a result, the seat body 60 moving backward between the states moves toward the base portion 30 while contacting the inclined upper surface 81 of the contact portion 80. The upper surface 81 of the contact portion 80 comes into contact with the underside of the seat body 60 in the vehicle, i.e., in a direction intersecting the direction of the forward and backward movement, so that the load of the seat body 60 moving back and forth between the states can be received by the contact portion 80.

[0023] [Behavior of vehicle seat device when position is changed] 3 and 4, the seat body 60 at the entry / exit position moves forward relative to the lift base 50 as described above. As a result, the seat body 60 assumes a first state in which it is positioned at the outer end of the base portion 30 on the vehicle (the forward limit position on the base portion 30). Referring to FIG. 5, the support portion 40 is driven by the drive unit 52, so that the seat body 60 supported by the support portion 40 moves to a second state in which it is disengaged from the base portion 30. At this time, the seat body 60 in the second state is swung downward and outward relative to the base portion 30 from the viewpoint of ensuring entry / exit performance, thereby creating a gap 100 between the seat body 60 and the base portion 30 in the vehicle's inward / outward direction. In this type of configuration, it is desirable to ensure entry / exit performance by, for example, swinging the seat body 60 outward so as to create the gap 100, while minimizing the drive unit 52 as much as possible. 6, a contact portion 80 that contacts the seat main body 60 in a direction intersecting the direction of the forward / backward movement is provided between the seat main body 60 in the second position and the base portion 30 so that the seat main body 60 can be moved forward / backward relatively between the states. According to the above-described configuration, the function of the contact portion 80 makes it possible to move the seat main body 60 forward / backward (relative movement) at an appropriate position without relying solely on the drive unit 52, and it is possible to miniaturize the drive unit 52 as much as possible. Therefore, the function of the contact portion 80 will be described in more detail below, along with the displacement of the seat main body 60 between the states.

[0024] First, the seat body 60 in the first state described above is disposed at the forward limit position on the base portion 30 as shown in Fig. 4. Next, referring to Fig. 5, the operation of the lifting and sliding mechanism 43 (driven by the drive unit 52) causes the lifting base 50 and the seat body 60 to move forward toward the outside of the vehicle relative to the base portion 30 and lower toward the bottom of the vehicle, thereby reaching a second state in which they are removed from the base portion 30. As the seat body 60 moves forward toward the front and bottom of the vehicle in this manner, the abutment portion 80 is disposed in the gap 100 (at an appropriate position) between the seat body 60 and the base portion 30 in the second state as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

[0025] [Function of the contact part] 4 and 5, in the vehicle seat apparatus 2, the seat body 60 in the second state, in which an occupant (not shown) is seated, is normally moved backward by the operation of the support portion 40. At this time, in the vehicle seat apparatus 2, the abutment portion 80 is disposed between the seat body 60 in the second state and the base portion 30 (gap 100), as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Prior to driving the support portion 40, the outer slide mechanism 55 is operated to rotate the roller portion 70, so that the seat body 60 on the roller portion 70 moves backward toward the base portion 30 to close the gap 100. Next, the inclined upper surface 81 of the abutment portion 80 comes into contact with the rearwardly moving seat body 60 from the vehicle lower side, i.e., the vehicle lower side intersecting the direction of forward and backward movement. As a result, the load of the seat body 60 is borne by the abutment portion 80. The seat body 60 then moves upward (relatively moves) toward the inside and upper side of the vehicle along the inclined upper surface 81 of the abutment portion 80 due to the action of the external slide mechanism 55, thereby allowing the seat body 60 to be moved backward at an appropriate position between states.

[0026] 7, the support unit 40 is actuated by the drive unit 52 with the seat body 60 having been moved backward to a certain extent by the action of the abutment unit 80. At this time, in the vehicle seat apparatus 2, the seat body 60 has been moved backward in advance, so that the center of gravity 101 of the seat body 60 and the occupant has moved toward the inside of the vehicle prior to the actuation of the support unit 40. This reduces the amount of movement of the center of gravity 101 (the amount of sliding of the center of gravity in the vehicle's outward and inward directions) caused by the support unit 40. In this state, the support unit 40 moves the lift base 50 and the seat body 60 backward toward the inside of the vehicle while raising them toward the upper side of the vehicle, thereby achieving the first state in which the seat is disposed on the base unit 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). The timing of the operation of the outer slide mechanism 55 (the seat body moving up) and the timing of the operation of the support unit 40 (the seat body lifting) can be controlled by the vehicle seat apparatus 2 or a control unit (e.g., ECU) of the vehicle.

[0027] In the above-described configuration, the seat body 60 is moved backward on the abutment portions 80 provided in the gaps 100 (at appropriate locations) by utilizing the rotational force of the roller portions 70 of the outer slide mechanism 55 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (a slope rolling structure). This allows the thrust force generated when the seat body 60 moves backward between positions to be shared between the support portion 40 (drive portion 52) and the outer slide mechanism 55 (motor 55m). By first operating the outer slide mechanism 55 to reduce the amount of movement (slide amount) of the center of gravity 101 caused by the support portion 40, the overall thrust force required by the drive portion 52 can be reduced. In this way, in the vehicle seat apparatus 2, the abutment portions 80 function to move the seat body 60 forward and backward at appropriate locations without relying solely on the drive portion 52, which contributes to reducing the thrust force (maximum output) of the drive portion 52.

[0028] As described above, in this embodiment, even if a gap 100 is provided between the seat body 60 and the base portion 30 in the second state to ensure ingress / egress performance, the abutment portion 80 provided in this gap 100 (at an appropriate location) contacts the seat body 60 so as to allow the seat body 60 to move forward and backward (relative movement). According to the above-described configuration, the abutment portion 80 functions to move the seat body 60 forward and backward at an appropriate location without relying solely on the drive unit 52, thereby enabling the drive unit 52 to be minimized. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the ingress / egress performance of the seat body 60 can be ensured while minimizing the size of the drive unit 52. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the load of the seat body 60 moving forward and backward between the states can be received by the abutment portion 80, which further contributes to the miniaturization of the drive unit 52. In addition, in this embodiment, the seat body 60 in the ingress / egress position can be moved forward and backward inward and outward from the vehicle due to the abutment portion 80. In this embodiment, the seat body 60 in the second state can be moved backward toward the inside and upper side of the vehicle by the action of the abutting portion 80 to return to the first state.

[0029] The vehicle seat device of this embodiment is not limited to the above-described embodiment and may be embodied in various other ways. While the configuration of the contact portion is illustrated in this embodiment, the configuration of the contact portion is not intended to be limited. The shape and dimensions of the contact portion can be modified as appropriate, and a single or multiple contact portions can be provided. For example, the contact portion may be sized to cover substantially the entire gap between the seat body and the base portion, or may be provided only in a portion of the gap as long as it can support the seat body as it moves backward. The upper surface of the contact portion may be inclined or curved, or may be stepped as long as it allows forward and backward movement. At least a portion of the upper surface of the contact portion may be formed substantially parallel to the forward and backward movement direction of the seat body (the left-right direction, i.e., the inward and outward direction of the vehicle in each drawing). In this case, too, the center of gravity of the seat body, etc., can be shifted toward the base portion prior to the activation of the support portion. A pair of left and right contact portions may be provided on the base portion to support the seat body by contacting only the right end and the left end of the roller portion. The seat body may be configured to directly contact the abutment portion, or to contact the abutment portion via a tire-shaped member rotatably mounted on the seat body. The abutment portion may be provided on the base portion or on the slide member of the support portion. For example, the abutment portion may be connected to the outer end of the slide member on the vehicle's exterior side so as to be vertically rotatable. When the slide member moves forward, the abutment portion provided on the slide member protrudes from the base portion and rotates downward under its own weight, tilting slightly downward toward the vehicle, and is positioned between the seat body and the base portion in the second state. Even with this configuration, the seat body can be moved backward by the outer slide mechanism while still in contact with the abutment portion.

[0030] The contact portion may be a trapezoidal screw-shaped member (rack), and a pinion that meshes with the trapezoidal screw may be provided at the rear end of the seat body. By providing the rack in a direction intersecting the direction of the seat body's forward / backward movement (at least one of up, down, left, and right in Figure 6), the seat body can be moved forward / backward as long as the rack and pinion mesh. Alternatively, the contact portion may be a rotatable horizontal roller-shaped member provided at the tip of the base, and the seat body may be moved forward / backward between positions using the rotational force of this roller-shaped contact portion. In this case, the seat body may be provided with a triangular contact portion in a side view, and the underside of this contact portion may be gradually inclined toward the vehicle's upper side as it moves toward the vehicle's interior. The contact portion may also be provided with a horizontal roller portion and a drive mechanism that rotates this roller portion. In this case, the seat body can be moved forward / backward using the rotational force of the roller portion of the contact portion, and this can be used as a supplement to or alternative to the external sliding mechanism.

[0031] Furthermore, when the seat body at the boarding / exiting position moves back and forth between positions, it can move not only inward and outward directions of the vehicle, but also in other directions (for example, the front-rear direction when viewed from above the vehicle). The basic configuration of the vehicle seat device can also be modified as appropriate and is not necessarily limited to the configuration described above. For example, the outer slide mechanism can have multiple or a single roller portion or a member (rolling structure) that can rotate around a tire-shaped or spherical axis, or the seat body can also be moved back and forth using a caterpillar-shaped member. Note that the outer slide mechanism may be configured as a rack-and-pinion mechanism if the seat body only moves back and forth (left and right). [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1 vehicle 2. Vehicle seat device 3 Vehicle floor 4 Door opening 10 Fixed part 14 Slide rail 14s slider 16 Slide drive mechanism 16n nut 16w trapezoidal screw 20 Slide section 22 Slide lock mechanism 23 Rotation mechanism 23r outer ring 23e Inner circle 30 Base 40 Support part 41 Slide member 43n Nut part 43 Lifting slide mechanism 43w trapezoidal screw part 45 Four-bar link mechanism 50 Lifting base 52 Drive unit 55m motor 55 External slide mechanism 60 seat body 62 seat frame 62w frame side wall 64 seat cushion 66 Seatback 70 Roller part 80 Contact part 81 Top surface 100 gaps 101 Center of gravity

Claims

1. A vehicle seat device comprising: a horizontally rotatable base portion; a support portion that supports a seat body so that the seat body can move back and forth relative to the base portion; and a drive portion that drives the support portion, wherein the seat body is displaced between a seating position facing forward of the vehicle and a boarding / exiting position facing sideways of the vehicle by horizontal rotation of the base portion, The seat body at the boarding / exiting position moves back and forth between a first state where the seat body is disposed on a base portion and a second state where the seat body is displaced from the base portion by driving the support portion, and A vehicle seat device in which an abutment portion is provided between the seat body in the second state and the base portion, the abutment portion contacting the seat body from a direction intersecting the forward / backward movement direction so that the seat body can be moved forward / backward relatively between the states.

2. The vehicle seat apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion is disposed at a position where the seat body, which moves back and forth between states, can be received from a lower side of the vehicle that intersects with the direction of the seat body's forward and backward movement.

3. The vehicle seat apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seat body at the entry / exit position moves forward and backward in an inward / outward direction of the vehicle between the entry / exit positions.

4. The vehicle seat apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the seat body is moved backward from the second state toward the inside and the upper side of the vehicle to the first state.

Citation Information

Patent Citations

  • Seat moving device of vehicle

    JP2008126692A