Seat front / rear position adjustment device

Abstract

To enable a transmission member of a drive device and a slider for retaining the electric wire, which slides within a fixed rail, to be arranged in proximity to each other within the fixed rail while avoiding interference therebetween, thus enabling simplification and a reduction in the size of a rail structure.SOLUTION: In an arrangement which includes: a seat support body U slidably supported on a fixed rail L fixed to a floor; a power supply device supplying power to an electrical component on a seat side; and a drive device driving the seat support body U in a front-and-rear direction and having a motor and a transmission member 41 disposed so as to pass longitudinally through an interior of the fixed rail, the power supply device includes: a housing that houses an electric wire 80 for power supply; and a slider 50 linked to the seat support body U and slidable within the fixed rail L. The electric wire 80 is drawn out from the housing, retained by the slider and slidable within the fixed rail L. The slider 50 has an interference-avoiding portion 50c for avoiding interference with the transmission member 41 disposed so as to pass longitudinally through the interior of the fixed rail L of the drive device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a seat front-rear position adjustment device, and more particularly to a seat front-rear position adjustment device including a fixed rail fixed to a floor and extending in the front-rear direction, a seat support body fixed to a seat and supported on the fixed rail so as to be slidable forward and backward, and a drive device capable of driving the seat support body forward and backward relative to the fixed rail. Note that in this specification, front-rear and left-right refer to front-rear and left-right with respect to the seat set in the vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] In the above-mentioned seat fore-aft position adjustment device, a drive device that drives the seat support fore-aft has a motor provided on the seat side and a transmission member arranged vertically within a fixed rail and involved in transmitting the driving force from the motor to the seat support (more specifically, a fixed screw shaft supported by the seat support and screwed into a nut that rotates in conjunction with the motor), which is conventionally known, as shown in Patent Document 1, for example. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-28954 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 5-330367 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] <First issue> In the seat of Patent Document 1, a power supply device that supplies power to electrical equipment on the seat side is equipped with a power supply rail formed in the shape of a long duct in the front-to-rear direction to store a power supply wire, and a slider that is slidably supported on the power supply rail and supports the movable end of the wire in the power supply rail, and the slider is connected to the seat support body so as to be able to move back and forth together with the seat support body.

[0005] However, with this seat structure , Re The overall structure is large. molding vinegar And One Department There is a problem.

[0006] <Second issue> In the seat of Patent Document 2, the forward or backward limit of the movable rail (and therefore the seat) relative to the fixed rail is determined by abutting a stopper provided on the screw shaft against a nut member, which is a rigid body. However, since the stopper is a flange-like member that is flat in the front-rear direction, the stopper needs to be thick in the axial direction in order to increase the support rigidity, which is a second problem in that it is disadvantageous in terms of reducing the weight of the stopper.

[0007] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and has an object to provide a seat front-rear position adjustment device capable of solving the first problem. The eyes The target is. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] <Means for solving the first problem> In order to achieve the first object, the present invention provides , solid Fixed rail ,before The above fixed rail Movable rails that can be moved And the above A motor for moving the movable rail relative to the fixed rail. and, A screw shaft driven by the motor to move the movable rail; Sea To A power supply device that supplies power to the attached electrical equipment Placement In a seat front-rear position adjustment device equipped with ,before Power supply equipment Place , power supply The movable rail Connected to And The fixed rail Moves together with the movable rail relative to Sly Da Preparation picture, The slide A part of the screw shaft and the screw shaft are disposed within the vertical width or the horizontal width of the fixed rail. This is the first characteristic.

[0009] In addition to the first feature, the present invention further provides the slider. Part of The fixed rail Part of the body exposed to the outside The second feature is that

[0010] The present invention also provides 1st or In addition to the second feature, In the height direction of the fixed rail, the screw shaft is provided at a position lower than the upper end of the slider. The third characteristic is that

[0011] The present invention also relates to 1~ Third Either In addition to the above features, In the height direction of the fixed rail, the screw shaft is provided at the same position as the electric wire supported by the slider. The fourth feature is that

[0012] The present invention also relates to 1~ No. Any of 4 In addition to the above features, A support plate is provided for supporting the screw shaft with respect to the movable rail, and the length of the support plate is longer than the length of the slider in the longitudinal direction of the movable rail. This is the fifth characteristic.

[0013] The present invention also relates to 1 In addition to any one of the features of the first to fifth aspects, The fixed rail comprises a bottom wall, a pair of standing walls rising upward from both ends of the bottom wall in the width direction, a pair of upper walls connected to the upper ends of the standing walls, and a pair of hanging walls bent downward from the upper walls and facing the standing walls. The slider has a pair of electric wire holding parts that hold the electric wires and are arranged between the standing walls and the hanging walls. The electric wire holding parts are connected by a connecting part having a pair of lower connecting parts that are arranged below the screw shaft in the height direction of the fixed rail and a top wall part that connects the pair of lower connecting parts above the screw shaft. The sixth characteristic is that

[0014] In addition to any one of the first to sixth features, the present invention further provides the above-mentioned The fixed rail and the movable rail are provided in pairs, Power supply equipment The device includes a storage housing that stores the electric wire, the storage housing is disposed between the pair of fixed rails, the pair of fixed rails have a first fixing portion and a second fixing portion that fix the pair of fixed rails to a vehicle body floor, the first fixing portion is disposed at a position that overlaps with the storage housing in the vertical direction, and the second fixing portion is disposed at a position that does not overlap with the storage housing in the vertical direction. The seventh characteristic is that

[0015] The present invention also provides No. 1~ Seventh Either In addition to the above features, In the width direction of the fixed rail, the width of the screw shaft is smaller than the width of the slider. This is the eighth characteristic.

[0016] In addition, the fixed rail L, movable rail U, motor M, screw shaft 41, seat S, power supply device E, electric wire 80, support plate 70, slider 50, bottom wall portion 12 of the fixed rail L, side wall portion 13 of the fixed rail L, inward base portion of the flange portion 13f of the fixed rail L, downward tip portion of the flange portion 13f of the fixed rail L, lower connecting portion 51u of the slider 50, top wall portion 51t of the connecting portion 51 of the fixed rail L, electric wire holding portions 52, 53 of the fixed rail L, storage housing H, support frame 9, and support frame 8 of the fixed rail L, movable rail U, motor M, screw shaft, seat, power supply device E, electric wire, support plate, slider, bottom wall, vertical wall, upper wall, hanging wall, lower connecting portion, top wall portion, connecting portion, electric wire holding portion, storage housing, first fixed portion, and second fixed portion of the fixed rail L, respectively.

[0017] And also The "fixed rail" of the present invention particularly refers to the fixed rail on which the slider 50 is slidably mounted (the left fixed rail L in this embodiment) out of the pair of left and right fixed rails L, L in the embodiment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an example of a vehicle seat front-rear position adjustment device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an overall plan view showing the fore-aft position adjusting device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 2 (cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6). [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. [Figure 7] 7(A) and 7(B) are cross-sectional views corresponding to FIG. 5, showing first and second modified examples of the bearing member, respectively. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view (corresponding to FIG. 2) showing a main part of a longitudinal position adjusting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 6, showing a main part of a longitudinal position adjusting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a main part of a longitudinal position adjusting device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 2, showing a main part of a longitudinal position adjusting device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 in FIG. [Explanation of symbols]

[0019] A...Front-back position adjustment device Place E Power supply equipment Place H .....storage housing G L Fixed rail R M Motor Automobile seats as S... seats U... Movable rail as seat support 8 Second fixed part (support frame) 9. First fixed part (support frame) 12... Bottom wall ( Bottom wall of fixed rail ) 13... Vertical wall (side wall) 13f: Upper wall, hanging wall (flange part of side wall) 4 1. ·hey character shaft 5 0...slider 51 u ... downward Concatenation Department 51t...Top wall part 52, 53: A pair of electric wire holding parts 80...Electric wire DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the present invention and this specification, the terms "front / rear", "left / right" and "up / down" refer to the front / rear, left / right and up / down directions as seen by a passenger sitting in a seat.

[0021] First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 6. An automobile seat S is supported on a floor frame F, which is a part of a vehicle body, so that the front-rear position can be adjusted via a front-rear position adjustment device A. The floor frame F is an example of a floor.

[0022] The longitudinal position adjustment device A includes left and right fixed rails L that are placed and fixed (e.g., bolted) to a floor frame F via a plurality of support frames 7-9, extend in the longitudinal direction, and are parallel to each other, left and right movable rails U as seat supports supported on each fixed rail L so as to be slidable forward and backward, a drive device D that can drive the movable rails U (and therefore the seat S) forward and backward relative to the fixed rails L, and a power supply device E that supplies power to electrical equipment (not shown) that is equipped on the seat S. The electrical equipment here includes, for example, an electric reclining mechanism for adjusting the tilt angle of the seat back, a seating sensor that detects whether or not an occupant is seated in the seat S, a seat belt sensor that detects whether or not an occupant on the seat is wearing a seat belt, etc.

[0023] A downwardly extending vertical wall portion 100 is fixed to the bottom plate of the seat portion of the seat S, and the upper portion of the movable rail U is detachably connected to the vertical wall portion 100 via, for example, a plurality of sets of bolts and nuts 101.

[0024] The support frames 7-9 are arranged at intervals in the front and rear on the floor frame F, and some of them (for example, the front and rear support frames 7, 9) extend long in the left-right direction and function as cross members connecting the left and right fixed rails L, while the others (for example, the support frame 8 in the middle of the front and rear) are formed short in the left-right direction and connected to the left and right fixed rails L individually. In this embodiment, weld nuts and bolts are used as the connecting means, but other connecting means (for example, welding) are also possible. The combination of long and short shapes of the support frames 7-9 is arbitrary and is not limited to the embodiment. Furthermore, all of the support frames 7-9 may be formed short like the support frame 8 in the embodiment, or may be formed long like the support frames 7, 9 in the embodiment.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 5, each of the left and right fixed rails L is made up of a strip-shaped bottom wall portion 12 extending in the front-rear direction and left and right side wall portions 12 each standing upright integrally above the left and right ends of the bottom wall portion 12. 3a and The bottom wall portion 12 has a recess 12h that is recessed downward in the left-right center, and left and right horizontal flat portions connected to both sides of the recess 12h respectively form running guide surfaces 12a for rollers 24 described later.

[0026] Meanwhile, each of the left and right movable rails U is divided into left and right movable rail halves 22, and the upper halves of both movable rail halves 22 are butted together and integrally joined (for example, riveted together 23). The lower halves of the left and right movable rail halves 22 integrally include a top wall 22t that is connected to the upper halves and protrudes substantially horizontally to opposite sides, and a side wall 22s that extends substantially vertically downward from the outer end of the top wall 22t. An upward flange-shaped roller support 22f extends integrally from the lower end of each side wall 22s, and a pair of front and rear rollers 24 arranged at a distance from each other in the front and rear directions are rotatably supported by each roller support 22f.

[0027] The left and right side walls 1 of each fixed rail L 3a At the top is a flange 13 f The flange portion 13 is integrally connected. f isEach flange portion 13 has an inward base portion that covers the upper part of the roller 24 and a downward tip portion that extends substantially vertically downward from the inner end of the inward base portion, and is formed in an L-shaped cross section. f The downward tip is loosely inserted into the gap between the side wall portion 22s and the roller support portion 22f of the movable rail U. Thus, the rollers 24 of each movable rail U roll on the running guide surface 12a of each fixed rail, so that each movable rail U can slide smoothly back and forth on each fixed rail L via the rollers 24.

[0028] Next, an example of the drive device D that drives the movable rail U (seat S) back and forth will be described.

[0029] The drive device D includes a screw shaft 41 arranged to pass vertically through the left and right fixed rails L, front and rear bearing members 60 which support the front and rear ends of the screw shaft 41 so as to be freely rotatable on the fixed rails L, a nut member 42 which is screwed onto the screw shaft 41 between the front and rear bearing members 60 and fixed to the movable rail U, a motor M which outputs a rotational force which rotates the screw shaft 41 and the nut member 42 relative to one another, and a transmission mechanism 30 which transmits the output of the motor M to the screw shaft 41 to rotate the screw shaft 41.

[0030] The nut member 42 is coupled (e.g., welded) to the inner surface of the lower half (more specifically, the top wall portion 22t) of the movable rail U. The screw shaft 41 and the nut member 42 cooperate with each other to function as a transmission member related to the transmission of driving force from the motor M to the movable rail U.

[0031] A drive unit Du that rotates and drives the screw shaft 41 is attached to the front end portions Lf of the left and right fixed rails L. This drive unit Du includes a motor M, left and right gear boxes 31 that respectively house the transmission mechanisms 30, and a base frame 38 to which the motor M and the gear boxes 31 are coupled (for example, bolted), and the base frame 38 is formed in the shape of a channel frame extending in the left-right direction. The left and right gear boxes 31 are detachably coupled to the front end portions Lf of the left and right fixed rails L, respectively, whereby the drive unit Du is attached to the fixed rails L. The gear boxes 31 are an example of a transmission case.

[0032] The gear box 31 is divided into, for example, a gear box body 311 and a cover body 312 that is detachably coupled (for example, press-fitted) to an open end of the gear box body 311, and is formed into a box shape from a synthetic resin material. A side wall 31w of the gear box 31 on the fixed rail L side abuts against the outer surface of a cover 35 that detachably closes an opening at the front end Lf of the fixed rail L, and in this abutting state is detachably engaged and fixed to the fixed rail L via a leaf spring member 90.

[0033] That is, the base of the leaf spring member 90 is fastened (for example, bolted) to the support frame 7 at the front end Lf of the fixed rail L, and a locking claw 90a is provided at the tip of the leaf spring member 90 by cutting out a part of the leaf spring member 90. Meanwhile, the gear box 31 has a slit hole 31s that opens on the outer surface of the side wall 31w and into which the leaf spring member 90 is removably inserted, and a locking hole 31h that opens on the inner surface of the slit hole 31s and can be locked by the locking claw 90a.

[0034] Therefore, by inserting the tip of the leaf spring member 90 into the slit hole 31s in a pushing manner, the locking claw 90a can be automatically locked into the locking hole 31h, so that the gear box 31 and therefore the drive unit Du can be quickly and easily locked and fixed to the left and right fixed rails L with a single touch, and the workability of mounting the gear box 31 (drive unit Du) to the fixed rails L is good. Moreover, the elastic deformation of the leaf spring member 90 can effectively reduce the amount of vibration transmitted from the motor M and the transmission mechanism 30 to the floor frame F and the seat S.

[0035] A motor shaft 37 extends in two directions from the motor M, to the left and right, and protrudes into the left and right gear boxes 31, respectively, with a worm gear 37g fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the protruding end. A transmission shaft 36 coaxially connected to the front end of a screw shaft 41 via a joint J is rotatably supported in the gear box 31, and a worm wheel gear 36g that meshes with the worm gear 37g to transmit the rotation of the motor shaft 37 to the transmission shaft 36 (and therefore the screw shaft 41) is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the middle part of the transmission shaft 36.

[0036] Next, an example of the bearing member 60 will be described with reference mainly to Figures 3 to 5. The bearing member 60 is made of a strip plate material with a bent intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction, and includes, for example, first and second standing walls 61, 62 arranged at a distance in the front-rear direction and each having through holes 61a, 62a into which the screw shaft 41 is inserted, and a connecting wall portion 63 that integrally connects the tips (upper ends) of the standing walls 61, 62 to each other.

[0037] Extension walls 61w, 62w extending in opposite directions in the front-to-rear direction are integrally connected to the base ends (lower ends) of the first and second vertical walls 61, 62, respectively, and the bearing member 60 is connected (e.g., bolted) to the bottom wall portion 12 of the fixed rail L by both extension walls 61w, 62w.

[0038] The cross-sectional shape of the connecting wall 63 across the screw shaft 41 is formed in an arch shape. The cross-sectional shape of the connecting wall 63 is not limited to the illustrated example, and may be a bent shape that protrudes toward or away from the screw shaft 41 so that at least the central part is the apex, and may be, for example, a mountain shape in which only the central part protrudes toward the side away from the screw shaft 41 as shown in Fig. 7(A), or a U-shape with an opening facing downward as shown in Fig. 7(B). Although not illustrated, the cross-sectional shape of the connecting wall 63 may be a mountain shape in which only the central part protrudes toward the side approaching the screw shaft 41, as opposed to Fig. 7, or a U-shape with an opening facing upward.

[0039] The screw shaft 41 is fitted and supported without play in the through hole 61a of the first standing wall 61 (the axially outer side in the illustrated example) of the first and second standing walls 61, 62 via a bearing bush 65, and the screw shaft 41 is fitted with play in the through hole 62a of the other standing wall 62 (the axially inner side in the illustrated example). It is also possible to implement a modified example in which the bearing bush 65 is omitted and the screw shaft 41 is directly fitted and supported rotatably in the through hole 61a.

[0040] The screw shaft 41 has integrally therewith a large-diameter first male threaded portion 41a for screwing the nut member 42, a bush support portion 41b adjacent to both the front and rear ends of the first male threaded portion 41a via a flange portion 41f and for fitting a bearing bush 65, and a small-diameter second male threaded portion 41c adjacent to the outer end of the bush support portion 41b via a step portion.

[0041] Nuts 45 are screwed into the left and right second male threaded portions 41c adjacent to and facing the outer ends of the bearing bushes 65, and the nuts 45 engage with the first standing wall 61 of the bearing member 60, thereby restricting the axial movement of the screw shaft 41. A small-diameter extension shaft portion 41d is further connected to the second male threaded portion 41c, particularly on the front side, of the screw shaft 41, and the extension shaft portion 41d is connected to the transmission shaft 36 on the gear box 31 side via a joint J.

[0042] The second standing wall 62 has a stopper surface 62s that indirectly engages with the nut member 42 (that is, via a support plate 70 described next) to regulate the forward or backward limit of the movable rail U.

[0043] The support plate 70 includes front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72 arranged in parallel at a distance from each other in the front-rear direction and each having a through hole through which the screw shaft 41 passes slightly loosely, and an intermediate wall portion 73 extending long in the front-rear direction so as to integrally connect both the stopper wall portions 71, 72 to both ends. The support plate 70 is disposed within the movable rail U between the front and rear bearing members 60, and the intermediate wall portion 73 has an intermediate bent portion 73m that embraces the nut member 42 fixed to the movable rail U. The intermediate bent portion 73m may or may not be fixed to the nut member 42 (for example, by welding).

[0044] The intermediate wall portion 73 is joined (for example, welded) to the inner surface of one of the left and right side wall portions 22s of the lower half of the movable rail U. As a result, the support plate 70 is fixed to the movable rail U, and the base ends of the front and rear stopper walls 71, 72 are fixed to the movable rail U (more specifically, the side wall portion 22s) via the intermediate wall portion 73, i.e., are supported in a cantilever manner.

[0045] Thus, the front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72 of the support plate 70 are brought into contact with and releasably contact with the stopper surfaces 62s of the front and rear bearing members 60, thereby restricting the forward and backward limits of the movable rail U. Note that the support plate 70 may be omitted, and the nut member 42 may be brought into direct contact with the stopper surfaces 62s of the front and rear bearing members 60.

[0046] Further, the movable rail U, particularly the upper half of each movable rail half 22, is provided with a reinforcing portion 22b at a position at which at least a portion of the upper half 22 axially overlaps with the support plate 70. The reinforcing portion 22b is formed by plastically deforming a portion of the upper half 22 into a rib shape that protrudes outward in the left-right direction. By providing the reinforcing portion 22b in this manner, the area of ​​the movable rail U where the load is increased due to the fixation of the support plate 70 can be effectively reinforced by the reinforcing portion 22b.

[0047] Next, an example of the power supply device E will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.

[0048] The power supply device E includes an electric wire 80 for power supply, a storage housing H for storing the electric wire 80, and a slider 50 connected to one of the left and right movable rails U (the left side in the illustrated example) and slidable within the fixed rail L on the same side. The electric wire 80 is loosely inserted over substantially its entire length into a flexible bellows-shaped protective tube 81 made of synthetic resin, and the covering and protective effect of this protective tube 81 protects the electric wire 80 from being forcibly bent.

[0049] In the slider 50, a portion of an electric wire 80, i.e., a movable end 80a, which is pulled out from the storage housing H and can slide within the fixed rail L as described below, is embedded and held together with the movable end of a protective tube 81 surrounding it.

[0050] In the present invention and this specification, an "electric wire" may refer to a single lead wire or a bundle of multiple lead wires called a wire harness, but in the illustrated example, the wire harness is simply called an electric wire.

[0051] The storage housing H is formed in a box shape that extends linearly in a predetermined direction and is flat from top to bottom so that it can be comfortably installed in a small space immediately below the seat S. A pair of electric wires 80, each surrounded by a bellows-shaped protective tube 81, is stored inside the storage housing H. The ends of the pair of electric wires 80 on the vehicle body side are converged to each other, and the converged part is connected to a coupler 82 fixed to an appropriate position on the outer surface of the storage housing H. The coupler 82 is removably connected to a coupler 84 connected to an electric wire 83 extending from an electronic control device (not shown) on the vehicle body side. The base end Ha of the storage housing H is detachably connected to the rear end Lr of one of the left and right fixed rails L. The base end Ha is provided with an opening facing the internal space of the fixed rail L, and this opening functions as an outlet for the pair of electric wires 80, each surrounded by a protective tube 81. Therefore, a pair of electric wires 80 stored in the storage housing H and each surrounded by a protective tube 81 are pulled out into the fixed rail L through the opening at the base end Ha of the storage housing H, and can slide within the fixed rail L (more specifically, on the running guide surface 12a) in response to the back and forth sliding of the slider 50.

[0052] In particular, the storage housing H of this embodiment is disposed so as to be inclined toward the center in the left-right direction of the seat toward the front end Lf of the fixed rail L in a plan view with respect to the fixed rail L. With this arrangement, the storage housing H can be stored compactly in the front-rear direction in the dead space between the left and right fixed rails L, L directly below the seat S. Furthermore, by inclining the storage housing H with respect to the fixed rail L in a plan view, the curvature of the electric wire 80 that is pulled out from the opening of the base end Ha of the storage housing H and reversed toward the fixed rail L can be made smaller than when the storage housing H is provided along the fixed rail L. Therefore, the electric wire 80 can be bent smoothly and effortlessly within the storage housing H, and the durability of the electric wire 80 is improved.

[0053] Next, an example of the slider 50 will be described. The slider 50 has a slider base 50B, most of which is disposed within the fixed rail L, and a slider tip 50A, which is integrally connected to the upper part of the slider base 50B via a constricted portion 50m and projects higher above the fixed rail L, and is made of a synthetic resin material. The slider base 50B has a pair of electric wire holding portions 52, 53 spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction within the fixed rail L, and a connecting portion 51 that connects the electric wire holding portions 52, 53 together.

[0054] Both electric wire holding parts 52, 53 are placed and supported on the travel guide surface 12a of the bottom wall part 12 of the fixed rail L so as to be slidable back and forth. In addition, both electric wire holding parts 52, 53 integrally cover and hold the tip part of a bellows-shaped protective tube 81 drawn into the fixed rail L through the opening of the base end part Ha of the storage housing H and a part of an electric wire 80 extending from the tip part of the protective tube 81, i.e., a movable end part 80a. The movable end part 80a of the electric wire 80 extends upward in the slider tip part 50A and is converged, and the converged part is connected to a coupler 86 fixed to the slider tip part 50A. This coupler 86 is removably connected to a coupler 88 connected to an electric wire 87 extending from the electric equipment on the seat S side.

[0055] The connecting portion 51 includes a top wall portion 51t capable of covering the screw shaft 41 and the bearing member 60 from above, and left and right side wall portions 51s extending vertically downward from the left and right ends of the top wall portion 51t. The lower connecting portions 51u extend from the left and right side wall portions 51s to the electric wire holding portions 52, 53. The inner surfaces of the top wall portion 51t and the left and right side wall portions 51s form an interference avoidance portion 50c having a U-shaped cross section that avoids interference with the screw shaft 41 and the bearing member 60. That is, a first recess 51h formed by recessing the inner surface of the connecting portion 51 (i.e., the surface facing the screw shaft 41) upward is configured as the interference avoidance portion 50c that avoids interference with the screw shaft 41 and the bearing member 60.

[0056] A wide space is secured between the first recess 51h (interference avoidance portion 50c) and a second recess 12h formed by recessing the bottom wall portion 12 of the fixed rail L downward so as to face the first recess 51h, and the screw shaft 41 passes vertically through this space and the bearing member 60 can pass relatively through it. That is, the first and second recesses 51h, 12h make it possible to secure a sufficiently wide arrangement space for the screw shaft 41 and peripheral parts (e.g., the bearing member 60), and furthermore, the portion of the bottom wall portion 12 of the fixed rail L corresponding to the second recess 12h can exhibit a reinforcing rib effect, thereby increasing the bending rigidity of the fixed rail L.

[0057] The slider 50 is disposed such that at least a portion of the electric wire holding portions 52, 53 overlaps with the screw shaft 41 in a side view of the seat. This arrangement makes it possible to prevent the fixed rail L from becoming large in the vertical direction due to the arrangement of both the slider 50 (particularly the electric wire holding portions 52, 53) and the screw shaft 41 therein.

[0058] The slider 50 is detachably coupled to the movable rail U via a coupling means to be described below. That is, the coupling means includes an elastic locking claw 51a that is protruded from the front end of the coupling portion 51 (more specifically, the side wall portion 51s) of the slider 50 and extends forward, and a locking hole 22h formed in the side wall portion 22s of the lower half of the movable rail half 22 corresponding to the elastic locking claw 51a. A locking projection 51at is provided at the tip of the locking claw 51a, and this locking projection 51at is detachably locked to the locking hole 22h. By this locking, the slider base portion 50B can be detachably coupled to the lower half of the movable rail U while maintaining the slider tip portion 50A in abutment against the rear end of the upper half of the movable rail U, and thus the slider 50 can be moved forward and backward following the movable rail U.

[0059] Incidentally, the connecting means between the slider 50 and the movable rail U is not limited to the structure of the above embodiment, and various connecting means (for example, bolt connection, crimping connection, etc.) can be adopted.

[0060] The fixed rail L is also nicely covered with a floor carpet (not shown) that covers the upper surface of the floor frame F. In this case, the floor carpet is appropriately provided with slits that allow the movable rail U and the slider 50 to move back and forth, that is, the gaps of the slits allow the narrow upper half of the movable rail U and the narrow portion 50m of the slider 50 to move back and forth on the left and right sides of the movable rail U.

[0061] Next, the operation of the first embodiment described above will be described. For example, when an occupant operates an operation switch (not shown) on the inner surface of the door to rotate the motor M forward or backward, the rotational force rotates the screw shaft 41 forward or backward via the motor shaft 37, the left and right transmission mechanisms 30, the transmission shaft 36, and the joint J, and in conjunction with this, the nut member 42 (and therefore the movable rail U and therefore the seat S) slides forward or backward on the fixed rail L. This sliding is performed via the rollers 24 that roll on the travel guide surface 12a on the inner surface of the fixed rail L, so that the sliding resistance can be made extremely small.

[0062] When the seat S reaches the desired longitudinal position, the motor M is stopped by stopping the operation of the operation switch, and the seat S can be adjusted to the desired longitudinal position at any time. Note that the control of the current supply to the motor M may be automated by an electronic control device so that the seat S can be automatically adjusted to a preset longitudinal position.

[0063] The slider 50 slides back and forth within the fixed rail L in response to the back and forth sliding of the sheet S described above, and in response to this, a portion of the electric wire 80 pulled out from the storage housing H slides back and forth within the fixed rail L (more specifically, on the running guide surface 12a) together with the protective tube 81.

[0064] In this embodiment, the drive unit Du including the output motor M for driving the movable rail U (seat S) back and forth and the gear box 31 of the transmission mechanism 30 for transmitting the output of the motor M to the screw shaft 41 is attached to the front end Lf of the fixed rail L, and the power supply device E (e.g., the storage housing H, the slider 50, etc.) for supplying power to the electrical equipment on the seat S side is disposed closer to the rear end Lr of the fixed rail L than the drive unit Du (e.g., the motor M, the gear box 31, the transmission mechanism 30). This makes it possible to naturally avoid mutual interference between the drive unit Du (the motor M, the gear box 31, the transmission mechanism 30) and the power supply device E (the storage housing H, the slider 50), and to increase the degree of freedom in their arrangement. Moreover, the vibration generated by the motor M and the transmission mechanism 30 can be effectively suppressed from being transmitted to the seat S side, improving the riding comfort of the seat S.

[0065] In this embodiment, the drive device E has a motor M and a screw shaft 41 as a transmission member arranged vertically within the fixed rail L, while the power supply device E that supplies power to the electrical equipment on the seat S side has a slider 50 connected to the movable rail U and capable of sliding within the fixed rail L, and this slider 50 holds the movable end 80a of the power supply cable 80 that is capable of sliding within the fixed rail L, and the slider 50 has an interference avoidance portion 50c that avoids interference with the screw shaft 41 within the fixed rail L.

[0066] This allows the screw shaft 41 and bearing member 60 of the drive device D, which run vertically through the fixed rail L, and the slider 50 for holding the electric wires, which slides within the fixed rail L, to be disposed close to each other within the fixed rail L while avoiding mutual interference, which contributes to simplifying and miniaturizing the rail structure as a whole. Also, even if the screw shaft 41 runs vertically through the fixed rail L, there is no need to provide a sliding support means for the slider 50 (for example, the power supply rail in Patent Document 1) separately on the outside of the fixed rail L, so that such a sliding support means does not overlap vertically with, for example, the support frames 7 to 9, increasing the degree of freedom in designing the mounting structure of the fixed rail L onto the floor frame F.

[0067] Moreover, the slider 50 of this embodiment has a pair of electric wire holding portions 52, 53 spaced apart in the left-right direction within the fixed rail L, and a connecting portion 51 connecting the two electric wire holding portions 52, 53, and the interference avoidance portion 50c is provided at a portion of the connecting portion 51 facing the screw shaft 41. As a result, the interference avoidance portion 50c can be reasonably formed compactly by utilizing the connecting portion 51 connecting the left and right electric wire holding portions 52, 53, so that it is possible to effectively prevent the fixed rail L from becoming large in the left-right direction due to the provision of the screw shaft 41, the bearing member 60, and the slider 50 therein.

[0068] Moreover, the connecting portion 51 has a top wall portion 51t covering the upper side of the screw shaft 41, and left and right side wall portions 51s extending vertically downward from both left and right ends of the top wall portion 51t, and the inner surfaces of the top wall portion 51t and the left and right side wall portions 51s form an interference avoiding portion 50c having a U-shaped cross section. In this case, by making the left and right side wall portions 51s of the interference avoiding portion 50c vertical walls, the interference avoiding portion 50c is prevented from becoming wide in the left and right direction as much as possible, which is advantageous in reducing the size of the connecting portion 51 and therefore the slider 50 in the left and right direction.

[0069] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the bearing member 60, which is fixed to the fixed rail L and supports the screw shaft 41, includes a plurality of standing walls 61, 62 arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction, each having a through hole 61a, 62a into which the screw shaft 41 is inserted, and a connecting wall portion 63 that integrally connects the tips of the standing walls 61, 62. This allows the bearing member 60 to be stably supported on the fixed rail L with a long support span in the front-rear direction, even if it is not formed to be thick in the front-rear direction.

[0070] Moreover, the connecting wall portion 63 connecting the multiple standing walls 61, 62 has a cross section crossing the screw shaft 41 that is arched (see FIG. 5) or curved (see FIG. 7) with at least the central portion as the apex, so that the bending rigidity of the connecting wall portion 63 itself is effectively increased. As a result, the bearing member 60 can ensure sufficient supporting rigidity for the screw shaft 41 while being lightweight.

[0071] Furthermore, the screw shaft 41 is fitted and supported without play in the through hole 61a of the first vertical wall 61 of the multiple vertical walls 61, 62, and the screw shaft 41 is fitted with play in the through hole 62a of the second vertical wall 62. Therefore, even if there are multiple vertical walls 61, 62 (and therefore through holes 61a, 62a), it is only necessary to form the through hole 61a (bearing hole) that supports the screw shaft 41 without play in only some of the vertical walls 61. As a result, there is no need to strictly regulate the coaxiality of the multiple through holes 61a, 62a, and processing costs can be reduced.

[0072] The bearing member 60 is made of a bent strip material, and the screw shaft 41 is fitted into and supported by the through hole 61a of a part of the (first) standing wall 61 via a bearing bush 65. This minimizes the decrease in the supporting rigidity for the screw shaft 41 even if the standing wall 61 having the through hole 61a serving as the bearing hole is plate-shaped and thin-walled.

[0073] Moreover, since the first standing wall 61 is disposed further outward in the axial direction of the screw shaft 41 than the second standing wall 62, and the second standing wall 62 has a stopper surface 62s that engages directly or indirectly (i.e., via the support plate 70) with the nut member 42 to regulate the forward or backward limit of the movable rail U, the bearing member 60 that supports the screw shaft 41 also serves as a stopper member that regulates the forward or backward limit of the movable rail U, thus simplifying the structure accordingly. Moreover, by dividing the functions of the multiple standing walls 61, 62 of the bearing member 60, the axially outer standing wall 61 as a bearing wall and the axially inner standing wall 62 as a stopper means, the load burden of each of the standing walls 61, 62 is reduced, thereby achieving further weight reduction.

[0074] Furthermore, extension walls 61w, 62w extending in opposite directions in the front-rear direction are integrally provided at the base ends of the first and second standing walls 61, 62 arranged at an interval in the front-rear direction, and the bearing member 60 is connected to the fixed rail L by both extension walls 61w, 62w. This makes it possible to extend the support span of the fixed rail L with respect to the bearing member 60 by providing the extension walls, and the support rigidity with respect to the bearing member 60 is further increased.

[0075] Furthermore, in this embodiment, plate-shaped stopper wall portions 71, 72 through which the screw shaft 41 penetrates at a position spaced apart from the nut member 42 in at least one of the front and rear directions (in this embodiment, both directions) are fixedly supported in a cantilever manner on the movable rail U, and the stopper wall portions 71, 72 come into contact with and separate from the stopper surface 62s of the bearing member 60, thereby restricting the forward or backward limit of the movable rail U. As a result, the plate-shaped stopper wall portions 71, 72 elastically deform to some extent when they come into contact with the stopper surface 62s, and therefore the impact absorption effect during engagement is enhanced compared to a structure in which the nut member 42 directly engages with the stopper surface 62s.

[0076] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a pair of front and rear bearing members 60 are fixed to the fixed rail L at a distance from each other in the front and rear direction so as to sandwich the nut member 42 between them, and front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72 through which the screw shaft 41 penetrates at positions spaced apart from the nut member 42 in one front and the other front-rear direction are fixed to the movable rail U, and the pair of front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72 are respectively abutted against the stopper surfaces 62s of the pair of front and rear bearing members 60 in a manner that allows them to approach and separate from each other, thereby restricting the forward and backward limits of the movable rail U. As a result, by providing the pair of front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72 through which the screw shaft 41 penetrates at positions spaced apart from the nut member 42 in one front and the other front and rear directions, the intermediate region of the screw shaft 41 that is free in the core runout direction can be reduced, which is effective in suppressing core runout of the screw shaft 41.

[0077] The support plate 70 of this embodiment has front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72, and an intermediate wall portion 73 that connects the stopper wall portions 71, 72 to both ends, extends in the front-rear direction, and is fixed (for example, welded) to the movable rail U. The support plate 70 is disposed in the movable rail U between the front and rear bearing members 60, and the intermediate wall portion 73 has an intermediate bent portion 73m that embraces the nut member 42 fixed to the movable rail U. This makes it possible to easily and inexpensively form a single support plate 70 that has the front and rear stopper wall portions 71, 72 and exhibits a stopper function in both the front and rear directions by press molding a strip material. Moreover, the support plate 70 can increase the support strength for the nut member 42 by utilizing the intermediate bent portion 73m.

[0078] 8 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. That is, in the first embodiment, the storage housing H is inclined toward the center in the left-right direction of the seat relative to the fixed rail L in a plan view toward the front end Lf of the fixed rail L, but in the second embodiment, the storage housing H is disposed so as to extend toward the center in the left-right direction of the seat substantially perpendicular to the fixed rail L in a plan view. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference characters as those of the corresponding components in the first embodiment are used for the respective components, and further description will be omitted.

[0079] Therefore, the second embodiment can also achieve basically the same effects as the first embodiment, but further, in the second embodiment, by making the storage housing H approximately perpendicular to the fixed rail L, there is no need to worry about the fixed portion of the fixed rail L to the floor frame F (e.g., support frames 7-9) and the storage housing H overlapping vertically, further improving design freedom. Furthermore, by making the storage housing H approximately perpendicular to the fixed rail L in a plan view, the curvature of the electric wires 80 that are pulled out of the storage housing H and curved toward the fixed rail L can be further reduced compared to the case where the storage housing H is provided along the fixed rail L, and there is an advantage that the electric wires 80 can be bent even more smoothly.

[0080] 9 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a connecting portion 51 of a slider 50 has a top wall portion 51t that covers the upper part of the screw shaft 41, and left and right side wall portions 51s that extend obliquely downward from both left and right ends of the top wall portion 51t in a tapered shape, and the inner surfaces of the top wall portion 51 and the left and right side wall portions 51s form an interference avoidance portion 50c having a mountain-shaped cross section. Since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference characters as those of the corresponding components in the first embodiment are used for the respective components, and further description will be omitted.

[0081] Therefore, the third embodiment can also achieve the same basically similar effects as the first embodiment, but furthermore, in the third embodiment, the slider 50 can easily avoid interference with the screw shaft 41 by having the lower half of its connecting portion 51 flared downward. Moreover, since the top wall portion 51t of the connecting portion 51 is relatively narrowed, the exposed overhanging portion of the slider 50 from the upper end of the fixed rail L can be made smaller in the left-right direction, which is effective in avoiding interference with other objects.

[0082] 10 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the gear box 31 (drive unit Du) is detachably engaged with the fixed rail L via the leaf spring member 90, but in the fourth embodiment, the outer end of the transmission shaft 36, which is connected to the extension shaft portion 41d of the screw shaft 41 via the joint J, is protruded outward from the outer wall (cover body 312) of the gear box 31, and the head of the bolt 200 screwed from the outside is engaged with the protruding end surface, thereby fixing the gear box 31 to the front end portion Lf of the fixed rail L. The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so that the same reference symbols as those of the corresponding components of the first embodiment are used for the respective components, and further description will be omitted.

[0083] Therefore, the fourth embodiment can also achieve basically the same effects as the first embodiment, but furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, the transmission shaft 36 can also be used as a retaining means for the gear box 31 in cooperation with the bolt 200, thus simplifying the fixing structure of the gear box 31. As a modification of the fourth embodiment, for example, a structure in which the extension shaft portion 41d of the screw shaft 41 and the transmission shaft 36 are integrally formed can be implemented.

[0084] 11 and 12 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the upper end opening of the fixed rail L is covered only by a floor carpet and not by a molding, but in the fifth embodiment, at least one of the upper end openings of the left and right fixed rails L (the right one in the illustrated example) is configured to be closed by a pair of left and right moldings 14, 15. The upper parts of the moldings 14, 15 are covered with a floor carpet (not shown) as necessary.

[0085] In the movable rail U of the fifth embodiment, the pair of movable rail halves 22, 22' are formed asymmetrically, and the upper half of the movable rail U and the joint between it and the vertical wall portion 100 of the seat bottom plate are offset toward the inside of the seat (left side in FIG. 12). That is, the second movable rail half 22' on the inside of the seat has a continuous vertical wall in most of its upper and lower halves, whereas the lower half of the first movable rail half 22 on the outside of the seat (right side in FIG. 12) has a wide top wall portion 22t in the left-right direction and a side wall portion 22s that vertically descends from the outer end of the top wall portion 22t, and the wide top wall portion 22t covers not only the nut 45 and the support plate 70 but also a part of the screw shaft 41 and the bearing member 60. Furthermore, according to the offset arrangement toward the inside of the seat as described above, the upper half of the movable rail U and the joint between it and the vertical wall portion 100 of the seat bottom plate can be moved as far as possible toward the inside of the seat, which has the advantage of making them less visible from the outside of the seat.

[0086] Further, a groove-shaped mounting recess Fa extending in the fore-aft direction to receive the fixed rail L is formed in the floor frame F of the vehicle body, and a bottom wall portion 12 of the fixed rail L is joined (e.g., bolted) to the bottom of the mounting recess Fa. A concave or convex (concave in the illustrated example) locking portion 16 extending in the fore-aft direction is formed on the left and right opening edges of the mounting recess Fa, and a pair of left and right first and second moldings 14, 15 which cooperate to cover the upper end opening of the fixed rail L are locked to both locking portions 16.

[0087] Each molding 14, 15 is formed of a molding body 14m, 15m formed in a strip shape and extending over the entire length of the fixed rail L in a substantially horizontal position, and a lip portion 14l, 15l integrally connected to the inner edge of the molding body 14m, 15m and elastically pressed against the upper half of the corresponding movable rail half 22 so as to be slidable. The lip portion 14l, 15l may be formed of a material different from the molding body 14m, 15m and joined to the molding body 14m, 15m later, or may be integrally formed with the molding body 14m, 15m using an elastic material. If necessary, a protective film may be applied to the sliding surface of the lip portion 14l, 15l that comes into contact with the movable rail half 22 in order to reduce sliding resistance.

[0088] In particular, the molding body 14m of the first molding 14 on the outer side of the seat is formed wide in both the left and right directions so as to cover the top wall portion 22t of the lower half of the movable rail half 22 on that side and the upper end flange portion 13f on that side of the fixed rail L. A downward first engaging protrusion 14mo is provided along the outer edge of the molding body 14m for engaging with and pressing against the upper surface of the floor frame F outside the mounting recess Fa, and a downward second engaging protrusion 14mi is provided along the inner edge of the molding body 14m for slidably engaging with and pressing against the upper surface of the top wall portion 22t of the first movable rail half 22. In addition, at least one downward locking piece 14mk (in this embodiment, multiple locking pieces spaced apart in the front and rear) is integrally formed on the underside of the molding main body 14m, which protrudes into the opposing gap between the outer surface of the fixed rail L and the inner surface of the mounting recess Fa, and a locking claw portion 14mka provided at the tip of this locking piece 14mk is releasably engaged with the locking portion 16 on the inner surface of the mounting recess Fa.

[0089] On the other hand, the molding body 15m of the second molding 15 on the inside of the seat mainly covers the upper end flange portion 13f on the same side of the fixed rail L and is formed relatively narrow in width from left to right. A downward first engagement protrusion 15mo is provided along the outer edge of the molding body 15m, which engages with and presses against the upper surface of the floor frame F outside the mounting recess Fa, and a downward second engagement protrusion 15mi is provided along the inner edge of the molding body 15m, which engages with and presses against the upper surface of the upper end flange portion 13f on the same side of the fixed rail L. At least one downward locking piece 15mk (in this embodiment, multiple pieces spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions) is integrally provided on the lower surface of the molding body 15m, which protrudes into the opposing gap between the outer surface of the fixed rail L and the inner surface of the mounting recess Fa, and a locking claw portion 15mka provided at the tip of this locking piece 15mk is releasably locked to a locking portion 16 on the inner surface of the mounting recess Fa.

[0090] Thus, the first molding 14 is engaged and fixed to the mounting recess Fa while pressing the lip portion 14l against the upper half of the first movable rail half 22 by elastically engaging the locking piece 14mk with the locking portion 16 with the first and second engagement protrusions 14mo, 14mi abutting against the upper surfaces of the floor frame F and the top wall portion 22t, respectively. The second molding 15 is engaged and fixed to the mounting recess Fa while pressing the lip portion 15l against the upper half of the second movable rail half 22 by elastically engaging the locking piece 15mk with the locking portion 16 with the first and second engagement protrusions 15mo, 15mi abutting against the upper surfaces of the floor frame F and the fixed rail L, respectively.

[0091] In the above-mentioned locked and fixed state, the first and second moldings 14, 15 cooperate with each other (mainly the first molding 14) to cover the upper end opening of the fixed rail L (and therefore also the screw shaft 41, bearing member 60, slider 50 in the fixed rail L, and gaps between the fixed rail L and the upper halves of the first and second movable rail halves 22, 22'), and can also cover the gap between the fixed rail L and the mounting recess Fa. This effectively prevents dust and other foreign matter from adhering to fixtures such as the screw shaft 41, bearing member 60, slider 50, etc. in the fixed rail L, and to the engaging parts between the fixtures, and also improves marketability by concealing the inside of the fixed rail L in an attractive manner.

[0092] The shape of the lip portions 14l, 15l of the first and second moldings 14, 15 may be set so that in the area where the lip portions 14l, 15l do not face the upper half of the movable rail U, they return to approach each other by their own elasticity and come into direct contact with each other, or they may be set so that the gap between them is narrowed even if they do not come into contact.

[0093] The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, so that the components are simply given the same reference numerals as the corresponding components of the first embodiment, and further explanations are omitted.

[0094] Therefore, the fifth embodiment can also provide basically the same effect as the first embodiment, but in addition, the fifth embodiment provides the effect of covering the upper end opening of the fixed rail L by specially providing the first and second moldings 14, 15 as described above.

[0095] In the fifth embodiment, the molding structure covering the upper end opening of the fixed rail L is provided on one of the left and right fixed rails L (the right side in the illustrated example), but a similar molding structure may be provided on the other left and right fixed rail L (the left side in the illustrated example). In this case, particularly when the molding structure of the fifth embodiment is applied to a fixed rail L on the left side in which the slider 50 for holding the power supply cable 80 is slidably provided, as in the left fixed rail L of the first embodiment, the lip portions 14l and 15l of the first and second moldings 14 and 15 are slidably pressed against not only the upper half of the movable rail U but also the inner surface of the narrowed portion 50m of the slider 50. In addition, when the upper half of the movable rail halves 22 and 22' is offset toward the inside of the seat as in the movable rail U of the fifth embodiment, it is desirable to offset the narrowed portion 50m of the slider 50 toward the inside of the seat as well.

[0096] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment, and various design modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0097] For example, in the above embodiment, an automobile seat S is exemplified as a seat, but the present invention can be applied to seats used in vehicles other than automobiles (e.g., railroad cars) and vehicles other than vehicles (e.g., ships and aircraft), or can be applied to seats used in vehicles other than vehicles. When used as an automobile seat, the seat may be a front seat or a rear seat.

[0098] In the above embodiment, the electric wires 80 (wire harness) for power supply are protected by being inserted into the bellows-shaped protective tube 81, but the protective tube 81 does not necessarily have to be formed in a bellows shape as long as it is at least flexible and has the strength to protect the electric wires 80. Alternatively, another embodiment in which the protective tube 81 is omitted can also be implemented.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the screw shaft 41 is rotatably supported on a fixed rail L on the floor side via the bearing member 60, while the nut member 42 screwed with the screw shaft 41 is fixed to a movable rail U on the seat side, and the motor M and the transmission mechanism 30 for rotating the screw shaft 41 are attached to the fixed rail L (car body side). However, either the screw shaft 41 or the nut member 42 may be the rotating side or the fixed side. For example, the screw shaft 41 may be fixed and supported on the fixed rail L via the bearing member 60, while the nut member 42 may be rotatably supported on the movable rail U, and the motor M and the transmission mechanism 30 for rotating the nut member 42 may be attached to the seat S side.

[0100] Furthermore, the vertical positional relationship between the screw shaft 41 and the nut member 42 is not limited to that in the embodiment, and for example, the screw shaft 41 may be rotatably supported on the upper movable rail U via a bearing member, while the nut member 42 may be fixed to the lower fixed rail L, and a motor and a transmission mechanism for rotating the screw shaft 41 may be attached to the seat side. Note that even in this case, the arrangement of the rotating side and the fixed side may be reversed, and for example, the screw shaft 41 may be fixed and supported on the movable rail U via a bearing member, while the nut member 42 may be rotatably supported on the fixed rail L, and a motor and a transmission mechanism for rotating the nut member 42 may be attached to the vehicle body side.

Claims

1. A seat front-rear position adjustment device including a fixed rail, a movable rail movable relative to the fixed rail, a motor for moving the movable rail relative to the fixed rail, a screw shaft driven by the motor to move the movable rail, and a power supply device for supplying power to electrical equipment attached to the seat, the power supply device includes a slider that connects an electric wire for power supply to the movable rail and moves together with the movable rail with respect to the fixed rail; A portion of the slider and the screw shaft are disposed within the vertical width or the horizontal width of the fixed rail, a pair of the fixed rails and a pair of the movable rails are provided, the power supply device includes a storage housing for storing the electric wires, the storage housing is disposed between the pair of fixed rails, the pair of fixed rails have a first fixing portion and a second fixing portion for fixing the pair of fixed rails to a vehicle body floor, the first fixing portion is disposed at a position overlapping the storage housing in the vertical direction, and the second fixing portion is disposed at a position not overlapping the storage housing in the vertical direction, A seat front-rear position adjustment device, characterized in that the first fixed portion and the second fixed portion are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction on the vehicle floor, extend in the left-right direction and are connected to each of the left and right fixed rails, function as cross members, and the storage housing passes above the first fixed portion.

2. 2. The seat front-rear position adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the width of the screw shaft in the width direction of the fixed rail is smaller than the width of the slider.

3. A seat front-rear position adjustment device including a fixed rail, a movable rail movable relative to the fixed rail, a motor for moving the movable rail relative to the fixed rail, a screw shaft driven by the motor to move the movable rail, and a power supply device for supplying power to electrical equipment attached to the seat, the power supply device includes a slider that connects an electric wire for power supply to the movable rail and moves together with the movable rail with respect to the fixed rail; A portion of the slider and the screw shaft are disposed within the vertical width or the horizontal width of the fixed rail, 2. A seat front-rear position adjustment device, wherein the width of the screw shaft in the width direction of the fixed rail is smaller than the width of the slider.

4. 4. The seat front-rear position adjustment device according to claim 3, wherein the fixed rails and the movable rails are each provided in pairs, the power supply device includes a storage housing that stores the electric wires, the storage housing is disposed between the pair of fixed rails, the pair of fixed rails have first and second fixing portions that fix the pair of fixed rails to a vehicle floor, the first fixing portion is disposed at a position that overlaps with the storage housing in the vertical direction, and the second fixing portion is disposed at a position that does not overlap with the storage housing in the vertical direction.

5. 5. The seat front-rear position adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the screw shaft is provided at a position lower than an upper end of the slider in a height direction of the fixed rail.

Images