Vehicle Structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle structure which can prevent rattling during normal use and prevent separation between a recessed groove and a hook for locking rotation of a seat back while omitting a separation prevention member.SOLUTION: In a vehicle structure, a lower part of a seat back 2 may rotate. Further, a lock mechanism 3 which locks rotation of the seat back 2 is provided. The lock mechanism 3 is provided with a seat back rotation part 5 formed with a recessed groove 4. The lock mechanism 3 is provided with a hook 7 which engages with the seat back rotation part 5. The hook 7 is provided with a claw part 6 which enters the recessed groove 4. The claw part 6 is formed in a shape that its width increases toward a tip, and a contact surface 8 which contacts with a recessed groove inner wall 4a widens toward the claw part tip side. The claw part 6 is set so as to have a claw width such that a gap 9 occurs in a state that the claw part 6 enters the recessed groove 4. A tapered claw 10 located adjacent to the recessed groove 4 is formed at the seat back rotation part 5. An auxiliary recessed groove 11 located adjacent to the claw part 6 is formed at the hook 7. The tapered claw 10 is fitted in the auxiliary recessed groove 11 in the state that the claw part 6 enters the recessed groove 4.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle structure equipped with a seat back rotation portion and a locking mechanism that locks the rotation of the seat back by inserting the claw portion of a hook into a groove in the seat back rotation portion. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, the seat back of a vehicle seat is designed to be rotatable around the lower part so that it can be reclined or tilted forward, and the rotation of the seat back is locked by the interlocking of protrusions and recesses, while anti-slip members are used to prevent the protrusions from coming loose (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-144738 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the vehicle seat of Patent Document 1 uses a slip-out prevention member to prevent the recessed grooves and hooks (convex and concave portions) from slipping out, which makes the seat structure more complicated and tends to increase the cost.

[0005] As a countermeasure against this, it is possible to simply omit the anti-slip member, but the claw portion of the hook is tapered so that it can fit snugly into the groove to suppress rattling during normal use, and there is a risk that the hook may come out of the groove if a large load is applied to the seat back.

[0006] The present invention aims to provide a vehicle structure that can prevent rattling during normal use while omitting a slip-out prevention member, and can prevent the grooves and hooks that lock the rotation of the seat back from coming loose. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the vehicle structure of the present invention has a seat back that is rotatable around its lower part and is equipped with a locking mechanism that locks the rotation of the seat back, the locking mechanism comprising: a seat back rotation part that is set on the lower part of the seat back and has a groove formed on its outer surface; and a hook that is rotatably provided so as to engage with the seat back rotation part to lock the rotation of the seat back and has a claw portion formed thereon that enters into the groove, the claw portion having a tapered shape whose abutment surface against the inner wall of the groove on one side widens radially outwardly of the rotation circle of the hook toward the tip of the claw portion and is set to a claw width that creates a gap on the one side when inserted into the groove, a tapered claw is formed on the outer surface of the seat back rotation part at a position adjacent to the other side of the groove, and an auxiliary groove is formed on the hook at a position adjacent to the other side of the claw portion into which the tapered claw fits when the claw portion is inserted into the groove. Effect of the Invention

[0008] As described above, according to the present invention, the abutment surface on one side of the claw portion of the hook is set to a tapered shape that widens toward the tip of the claw portion. Therefore, for example, when the seat back under heavy load attempts to rotate strongly and the inner wall of the groove strongly abuts against the claw portion, a force can be applied to the claw portion in a direction that guides it into the groove, thereby preventing the hook from coming loose due to the heavy load.

[0009] Furthermore, since the claw width is set to create a gap in one direction when the claw is inserted into the groove, even a thick-tipped claw can be easily inserted and removed from the groove. Moreover, a tapered claw is formed on the outer surface of the seat back rotation part, and the auxiliary groove into which this tapered claw fits is formed on the hook, so that a gap is provided between the claw and the inner wall of the groove while preventing rattling due to the gap.

[0010] In this way, while eliminating the need for a dedicated anti-slip member, it is possible to prevent rattling during normal use and prevent the grooves and hooks that lock the rotation of the seat back from coming loose, which is beneficial in terms of cost, weight, and productivity. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1A is a perspective view of a vehicle seat equipped with a locking mechanism, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the locking mechanism, showing a main part of a vehicle structure according to the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 1(a) is a diagram showing the engagement between the seat back rotation part and the hook, and FIG. 1(b) is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the engagement between a seat back rotation portion and a hook in a conventional vehicle structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a vehicle structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the vehicle structure of the present invention allows a seat back 2 of a vehicle seat 1 to rotate around its lower part so that the seat back 2 can be reclined or tilted forward, and is equipped with a locking mechanism 3 that locks the rotation of the seat back 2. The locking mechanism 3 includes a seat back rotation part 5 set on the lower part of the seat back 2 and having a groove 4 formed on its outer surface, and a hook 7 that is rotatably provided and has a claw part 6 that fits into the groove 4 so as to engage with the seat back rotation part 5 to lock the rotation of the seat back 2.

[0014] Furthermore, for example, when the rear and front sides in the direction of travel of the groove 4 associated with strong rotation of the seat back 2 in the direction of tilting backward are defined as the one direction side and the other direction side, respectively, the claw portion 6 is set to a tapered shape in which the abutment surface 8 with the inner wall 4a of the groove on the one direction side widens radially outward of the rotation circle of the hook 7 toward the tip of the claw portion, and the claw width is set to create a gap 9 between the inner wall 4a of the groove on the one direction side when inserted into the groove 4, and a tapered claw 10 is formed on the outer surface of the seat back rotation portion 5 at a position adjacent to the other direction side of the groove 4, and an auxiliary groove 11 is formed on the hook 7 at a position adjacent to the other direction side of the claw portion 6, into which the tapered claw 10 fits when the claw portion 6 is inserted into the groove 4.

[0015] The vehicle seat 1 has a structure in which a seat back rotation section 5 formed on the lower part of a side frame 15 of the seat back 2 is rotatably supported via a rotation shaft 14 by a retaining bracket 13 provided at the rear end of the side of the seat section 12, and the rotation is locked by a locking mechanism 3, so that the seat back 2 is rotatably erected at the rear end of the seat section 12.

[0016] The seat back rotation part 5 of the locking mechanism 3 is formed by forming the lower end of the side frame 15 of the seat back 2 into an approximately semicircular shape, and three grooves 4 are formed on its outer surface. In addition, a small recess 16 is formed at a position away from each groove 4 in the other direction, so that a tapered claw 10 is formed adjacent to the other side of the groove 4.

[0017] The hook 7 of the locking mechanism 3 has a claw portion 6 formed at its tip end and an auxiliary groove 11 formed adjacent to this claw portion 6, and its rear end is rotatably supported by a retaining bracket 13 via a pivot shaft 17.

[0018] According to the above configuration, the claw portion 6 is set to a tapered shape, thereby preventing the claw portion 6 from falling out of the groove 4 when the seat back 2 is subjected to a heavy load. Moreover, by setting the claw portion 6 to a claw width that creates a gap 9 to facilitate insertion and removal from the groove 4, the tapered claw 10 can be fitted into the auxiliary groove 11, thereby preventing rattling caused by the provision of the gap 9.

[0019] To specifically explain the function of preventing the claw portion 6 from coming off, in a conventional vehicle structure, the claw portion 21 of the hook 20 is fitted into the groove 19 of the seat back rotation portion 18 to prevent rattling, and the claw portion 21 is formed in a tapered shape to facilitate insertion and removal, as shown in Fig. 3. In this case, the contact force 22 from the groove 19 to the claw portion 21 due to impact input acts inclined toward the tip side of the claw portion so as to form an angle (θ2) of 90 degrees or more with respect to the tangent 24 of the abutment surface 23 of the claw portion 21. Therefore, applying a large load to the seat back 2 toward the rear of the vehicle to rotate it strongly (arrow 25) may rotate the hook 20 in a direction in which the claw portion 21 comes off.

[0020] In contrast, as can be seen from a comparison with the contact surface 23 of the conventional claw portion 21 shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 2, in the vehicle structure of this embodiment, the claw portion 6 is made to have a tapered shape, and the contact surface 8 is made to expand radially outward of the rotation circle of the hook 7 toward the tip side of the claw portion. As a result, the contact force 26 acting on the claw portion 6 from the inner wall 4a of the recessed groove due to impact input is inclined toward the base end side of the claw portion so as to form an angle (θ1) of less than 90 degrees with respect to the tangent 27 of the contact surface 8. Therefore, even if a large load is applied to the seat back 2 toward the rear of the vehicle and it is rotated strongly (arrow 28), the hook 7 will not rotate in the direction in which the claw portion 6 comes out.

[0021] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and appropriate modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. For example, although a large load on the seat back 2 often acts on the rear side of the vehicle, it can also be adapted to accommodate a large load acting on the front side of the vehicle. In addition, the above-mentioned vehicle seat 1 has an inexpensive rear seat configuration that is compatible with only three patterns, the normal state, the forward-folded state, and the backward-folded state, but a large number of recessed grooves 4 can be formed to accommodate even more patterns. In addition, the vehicle seat 1 may be a rear seat or a front seat. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1 Vehicle seat 2 Seat back 3 Locking mechanism 4 Groove 4a Groove inner wall 5 Seat back rotation part 6 Claw part 7. Hook 8 Contact surface 9 Gap 10 Tapered Nails 11 Auxiliary groove 12 Seat section 13 Retaining bracket 14 Rotating Axis 15 Side frame 16 Small recess 17 Rotating shaft 18 Seat back rotation part (conventional technology) 19 Groove (conventional technology) 20 Hook (conventional technology) 21 Claw section (conventional technology) 22 Contact Force (Conventional Technology) 23 Contact surface (conventional technology) 24 Tangent (prior art) 25 Arrow indicating the direction of strong rotation (prior art) 26 Contact force 27 tangent 28 Arrow indicating strong rotation direction θ1: Angle between the contact force and the tangent of the contact surface (present invention) θ2: Angle between the contact force and the tangent of the contact surface (conventional technology)

Claims

[Claim 1] A vehicle structure in which a seat back is rotatable around a lower portion thereof and a locking mechanism is provided for locking the rotation of the seat back, the locking mechanism comprising: a seat back rotation part that is set on the lower portion of the seat back and has a groove formed on its outer surface; and a hook that is rotatably provided so as to engage with the seat back rotation part to lock the rotation of the seat back and has a claw part that enters the groove, The claw portion is set to have a tapered shape in which a contact surface against the inner wall of the groove on one side spreads radially outward of the rotation circle of the hook toward the tip side of the claw portion, and a claw width is set to create a gap on the one side when the claw portion is inserted into the groove, A vehicle structure characterized in that a tapered claw is formed on the outer surface of the seat back rotating part at a position adjacent to the other side of the groove, and an auxiliary groove is formed on the hook at a position adjacent to the other side of the claw portion, into which the tapered claw fits when the claw portion is inserted into the groove.

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