Power seat control device and power seat

Abstract

To ease a shock felt by an operator without decreasing a slide speed of a seat cushion when a power seat is returned to an operation seat position.SOLUTION: A power seat control device 30 has: a slide mechanism 16 which slides a seat cushion 12 in an anteroposterior direction relative to a vehicle body floor part F; and a reclining mechanism 18 which rotates a seat back 14 in the anteroposterior direction relative to the seat cushion 12. The power seat control device 30 controls a power seat 10 which enables change of a seat position and includes a memory function for automatically returning the power seat 10 to an operation seat position registered in advance. When the power seat 10 is returned to the operation seat position along with sliding of the seat cushion 12 and rotation of the seat back 14, the seat back 14 is rotated to the opposite side of a slide direction of the seat cushion 12 immediately before the sliding of the seat cushion 12 is stopped.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a power seat and a control device thereof. [Background technology]

[0002] In the vehicle occupant posture control device described in the following Patent Document 1, the control unit adjusts the angle of the vehicle seat by outputting a control signal to drive the RY axis direction actuator. The control unit rotates the vehicle seat so that a force acts in a direction that cancels the force that the occupant receives due to the acceleration in the front-rear direction of the vehicle under normal conditions. In addition, the control unit predicts the occurrence of a swing back of the vehicle based on signals input from the vehicle speed sensor and the X-axis acceleration sensor. When the control unit predicts a swing back, it quickly rotates the vehicle seat in the opposite direction before rotating it in the direction returning it to the reference angle. After that, the control unit slowly rotates the vehicle seat in the direction returning it to the reference angle. In this way, the posture of the occupant is appropriately adjusted when the vehicle swings back. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2009-173232 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a vehicle capable of autonomous driving, the driver can stretch his / her legs and take a relaxed posture by, for example, sliding the seat cushion of the power seat far backward and reclining the seat back far backward. However, in level 3 autonomous driving, for example, the driver needs to respond appropriately to a request from the autonomous driving system to switch to manual driving. In that case, it is required to quickly return the power seat from the above-mentioned seat position for relaxation to the seat position for driving. In that case, if the seat cushion is slid at high speed, the driver will feel a shock when the slide stops. In order to reduce this shock, for example, if the slide speed is reduced just before the slide stops, the quick return to the seat position for driving is prevented.

[0005] In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a power seat operating device and a power seat that can reduce the shock felt by the driver when returning to the driver's seat position without reducing the sliding speed of the seat cushion. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The power seat control device of the first aspect is a power seat control device that controls a power seat whose seat position can be changed, and has a slide mechanism that slides the seat cushion back and forth relative to the vehicle floor and a reclining mechanism that rotates the seat back back and forth relative to the seat cushion, and is equipped with a memory function that automatically returns the power seat to a pre-registered driver's seat position, and when returning the power seat to the driver's seat position by sliding the seat cushion and rotating the seat back, the seat back is rotated in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion just before the sliding of the seat cushion is stopped.

[0007] According to a first aspect, a power seat that has a sliding mechanism that slides a seat cushion back and forth relative to a vehicle body floor and a reclining mechanism that rotates a seat back back and forth relative to the seat cushion and that can change the seat position is controlled by a power seat control device. This power seat control device has a memory function that automatically returns the power seat to a preregistered driver's seat position, and when returning the power seat to the driver's seat position by sliding the seat cushion and rotating the seat back, the seat back is rotated in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion. This makes it possible to reduce the shock felt by the upper body of the driver without reducing the sliding speed of the seat cushion.

[0008] In the power seat control device of the second aspect, in the first aspect, when the power seat is returned to the driver's seat position, if the seat cushion and the seat back are positioned rearward of the driver's seat position, the seat cushion is slid forward while the seat back is once rotated forward of the driver's seat position.

[0009] According to the second aspect, when the power seat is returned to the driver's seat position, if the seat cushion and the seat back are located rearward of the driver's seat position, the power seat control device rotates the seat back once forward of the driver's seat position while sliding the seat cushion forward. Then, just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion, the seat back is rotated in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion, i.e., rearward. This makes it possible to reduce the shock felt by the driver's upper body when the forward sliding of the seat cushion stops.

[0010] The power seat of the third aspect has a slide mechanism that slides the seat cushion back and forth relative to the vehicle floor, a reclining mechanism that rotates the seat back back and forth relative to the seat cushion, and the power seat control device described in the first or second aspect.

[0011] According to the third aspect, the power seat has a slide mechanism that slides the seat cushion back and forth relative to the vehicle body floor and a reclining mechanism that rotates the seat back back and forth relative to the seat cushion, making it possible to change the seat position. The power seat control device of this power seat is the one of the first or second aspect, and therefore the above-mentioned effects can be obtained. Effect of the Invention

[0012] As described above, the power seat control device and power seat of the present invention can reduce the shock felt by the driver when returning to the driver's seat position without reducing the sliding speed of the seat cushion. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the power seat according to the embodiment is located in a driver's seat position. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the power seat according to the embodiment is located in a relaxation seat position. [Diagram 3] 1 is a block diagram showing a control system for a power seat according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a side view corresponding to FIG. 2, illustrating an operation of the power seat according to the embodiment when returning to a driver's seat position. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the power seat control device according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] A power seat 10 and a power seat control device 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 3. The arrows FR and UP shown in Fig. 2 indicate the front and the top of the power seat 10, respectively. The front-rear direction, the left-right direction (width direction), and the up-down direction of the power seat 10 coincide with the front-rear direction, the left-right direction (width direction), and the up-down direction of the vehicle (automobile) in which the power seat 10 is mounted. In the following description, when the front-rear, left-right, up-down directions are simply used, they refer to the directions relative to the power seat 10, unless otherwise specified.

[0015] 1 and 2 show a side view of a power seat 10 according to this embodiment. The power seat 10 is a driver's seat of a vehicle capable of level 3 automatic driving, and includes a seat cushion 12 on which the driver sits and a seat back 14 against which the driver rests. The power seat 10 is an 8-way power seat, for example, and includes a slide mechanism 16 for sliding the seat cushion 12 back and forth relative to the vehicle body floor F, a reclining mechanism 18 for rotating the seat back 14 back and forth relative to the seat cushion 12, a lifter mechanism 20 for moving the seat cushion 12 up and down relative to the vehicle body floor F, and a tilt mechanism 22 for changing the inclination of the seat surface of the seat cushion 12, so that the seat position can be changed in various ways. The power seat 10 includes a power seat control device 30 shown in FIG. 3, and the operation is controlled by the power seat control device 30.

[0016] The power seat control device 30 has a seat ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 32, which is a control unit, an 8-way power seat switch 34, and a memory switch 36. The seat ECU 32 is composed of a microcomputer in which a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and an input / output I / F (Interface) are connected to a bus. The input / output I / F of the seat ECU 32 is electrically connected to various vehicle ECUs and vehicle-side electrical equipment 38 such as a battery mounted on the vehicle. The vehicle ECU includes an automatic driving ECU that controls automatic driving of the vehicle.

[0017] The input / output I / F of the seat ECU 32 is electrically connected to the high-speed slide motor 16A, which is the drive source of the slide mechanism 16, the high-speed reclining motor 18A, which is the drive source of the reclining mechanism 18, the lifter motor 20A, which is the drive source of the lifter mechanism 20, and the tilt motor 22A, which is the drive source of the tilt mechanism 22. The high-speed slide motor 16A, the high-speed reclining motor 18A, the lifter motor 20A, and the tilt motor 22A each have a hall sensor that outputs a pulse signal according to the rotational position of the output shaft of each motor. The seat ECU 32 detects the rotational position of the output shaft of each motor 16A, 18A, 20A, and 22A based on the pulse signal from the hall sensor of each motor 16A, 18A, 20A, and 22A, and detects the position of the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14 based on the detection result.

[0018] The 8-way power seat switch 34 is electrically connected to the input / output I / F of the seat ECU 32. The 8-way power seat switch 34 has, for example, two operation knobs. The seat ECU 32 activates the high-speed slide motor 16A, the high-speed reclining motor 18A, the lifter motor 20A, or the tilt motor 22A in response to the operation of the two operation knobs. This causes the slide mechanism 16, the reclining mechanism 18, the lifter mechanism 20, or the tilt mechanism 22 to operate.

[0019] The memory switch 36 is electrically connected to the input / output I / F of the seat ECU 32. This memory switch 36 is used when using the memory function of the seat ECU 32. This memory function is a function of automatically moving the power seat 10 to a seat position that has been registered (stored) in advance. This memory switch 36 has, for example, a "SET" switch, a "Memory 1" switch, and a "Memory 2" switch, and is capable of registering two seat positions. When registering a seat position, for example, with the power seat 10 moved to a seat position to be registered, the "SET" switch is pressed and the "Memory 1" or "Memory 2" switch is pressed. This causes the seat position to be registered to be stored in the seat ECU 32. When the "Memory 1" or "Memory 2" switch is pressed thereafter, the seat ECU 32 moves (returns) the power seat 10 to the registered seat position.

[0020] In this embodiment, the driver's seat position (hereinafter referred to as the "driving position") shown in FIG. 1 is registered in the "memory 1" switch, and the relaxation seat position (hereinafter referred to as the "relaxation position") shown in FIG. 2 is registered in the "memory 2" switch. The driving position is a seat position that makes it easy for the driver to drive, and the relaxation position is a seat position where the driver can stretch his / her legs and relax. In the relaxation position, the seat cushion 12 is slid rearward from the driving position, and the seat back 14 is rotated (reclined) rearward from the driving position. In addition, in the relaxation position, the up-down position of the seat cushion 12 and the inclination of the seat surface are adjusted to the previously registered states.

[0021] When the automatic driving ECU requests a switch to manual driving while the power seat 10 is in the relaxed position, the seat ECU 32 controls the operation of the slide mechanism 16, the reclining mechanism 18, the lifter mechanism 20, and the tilt mechanism 22 to automatically return the power seat 10 to the driving position. When returning from the relaxed position to the driving position, the seat cushion 12 slides forward and the seat back 14 rotates forward. At this time, the seat ECU 32 controls the slide mechanism 16 and the reclining mechanism 18 so that the seat back 14 rotates in the direction opposite to the sliding direction of the seat cushion 12 immediately before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion 12.

[0022] The above control will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14 are positioned at the relax position. The position indicated by the two-dot chain line SL0 in FIG. 4 indicates the position of the front of the seat cushion 12 when the seat cushion 12 is positioned at the driving position. The position indicated by the two-dot chain line RC0 in FIG. 4 indicates the position (angle) of the front of the seat back 14 when the seat back 14 is positioned at the driving position. The position indicated by the one-dot chain line SL1 in FIG. 4 indicates the position of the front of the seat cushion 12 when the seat cushion 12 is positioned midway between the driving position and the relax position. The position indicated by the one-dot chain line RC1 in FIG. 4 indicates the position of the front of the seat back 14 when the seat back 14 is rotated slightly forward from the driving position.

[0023] When the seat cushion 12 is slid from the relax position to the position of the dashed line SL1 in FIG. 4, the seat ECU 32 rotates the seat back 14 from the relax position to the position of the dashed line RC1 in FIG. 4. When the seat cushion 12 is slid from the position of the dashed line SL1 in FIG. 4 to the position of the dashed line SL0 in FIG. 4, the seat ECU 32 rotates the seat back 14 from the position of the dashed line RC1 in FIG. 4 to the position of the dashed line RC0 in FIG. 4. That is, when the power seat 10 is returned from the relax position to the driving position, the seat ECU 32 slides the seat cushion 12 forward and rotates the seat back 14 once forward of the position (angle) of the driving position. Then, just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion 12, the seat back 14 is rotated in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion 12, that is, backward.

[0024] Next, the flow of the above control of the seat ECU 32 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, the slide is described as "SLIDE", the reclining is described as "RCL", the lifter is described as "LIFT", and the tilt is described as "TILT". As shown in FIG. 5, the seat ECU 32 first determines whether or not the "Memory 1" switch is turned ON in step S1. The "Memory 1" switch is turned ON not only when the switch is operated by the occupant, but also when there is a request for changing the posture from the automatic driving ECU. If the determination in step S1 is negative, the process proceeds to step S2, and if the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step S4.

[0025] When the process proceeds to step S2, the seat ECU 32 determines whether the "Memory 2" switch is turned ON. When the determination is negative, the process returns to step S1 and the above-described process is repeated. When the determination is positive, the process proceeds to step S3. When the process proceeds to step S3, the seat ECU 32 appropriately operates the motors 16A, 18A, 20A, and 22A of the mechanisms 16, 18, 20, and 22 to move the power seat 10 to the relaxed position.

[0026] On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step S4, the seat ECU 32 starts counting the pulse signals output from the motors 16A, 18A, 20A, and 22A, and proceeds to the next steps S5 and S8.

[0027] In step S5, the seat ECU 32 activates the reclining high-speed motor 18A of the reclining mechanism 18 to rotate the seat back 14 forward (recline), and proceeds to the next step S6. In step S6, the seat ECU 32 judges whether the seat back 14 has reached the position of the dashed line RC1 in FIG. 4. Specifically, the seat ECU 32 judges whether the difference between the position of the seat back 14 registered in the "memory 1" switch (i.e., the driving position) and the current position of the seat back 14 has reached B (the distance from the position of the two-dot dashed line RC0 to the position of the dashed line RC1 in FIG. 4) based on the pulse signal from the reclining high-speed motor 18A. If this judgment is negative, the process returns to step S5 and repeats the above-mentioned process. If this judgment is positive, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the seat ECU 32 stops the rotation of the seat back 14 forward.

[0028] On the other hand, in step S8, the seat ECU 32 activates the high-speed slide motor 16A of the slide mechanism 16 to slide (advance) the seat cushion 12 forward, and proceeds to the next step S9. In step S9, the seat ECU 32 judges whether the seat cushion 12 has reached the position of the dashed line SL1 in FIG. 4. Specifically, the seat ECU 32 judges whether the difference between the position of the seat cushion 12 registered in the "memory 1" switch (i.e., the driving position) and the current position of the seat cushion 12 has reached A (the distance from the position of the dashed two-dot line SL0 to the position of the dashed two-dot line SL1 in FIG. 4) based on the pulse signal from the high-speed slide motor 16A. If this judgment is negative, the process returns to step S8 and the above-mentioned process is repeated. If this judgment is positive, the process proceeds to step S10. In step S10, the seat ECU 32 activates the high-speed reclining motor 18A of the reclining mechanism 18 to rotate the seat back 14 rearward to the driving position (the position of the two-dot chain line RC0 in FIG. 4), and then proceeds to step S11. The movement distance of the seat back 14 in step S10 is the distance indicated by the symbol B in FIG.

[0029] When the process proceeds to step S11, the seat ECU 32 judges whether or not the seat cushion 12 has reached the position indicated by the two-dot chain line SL0 in FIG. 4. Specifically, the seat ECU 32 judges whether or not the difference between the position of the seat back 14 registered in the "Memory 1" switch (i.e., the driving position) and the current position of the seat back 14 has become 0, based on a pulse signal from the reclining high-speed motor 18A of the reclining mechanism 18. When the judgment is negative, the process returns to step S11 and repeats the above process. When the judgment is positive, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the seat ECU 32 stops the sliding motion (forward movement) of the seat cushion 12. When the process in step S12 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S13.

[0030] In step S13, the seat ECU 32 activates the lifter motor 20A of the lifter mechanism 20 to move the seat cushion 12 to the up / down position of the seat cushion 12 registered in the switch of "Memory 1". When the process in step S13 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S14. In step S14, the seat ECU 32 activates the tilt motor 22A of the tilt mechanism 22 to move the seat cushion 12 to the seat surface angle of the seat cushion 12 registered in the switch of "Memory 1". When the process in step S14 is completed, the process proceeds to the next step S15. In step S15, the seat ECU 32 stops counting the pulse signals output from the motors 16A, 18A, 20A, and 22A. When the process in step S15 is completed, the seat ECU 32 ends the control process for returning the power seat 10 to the driving position.

[0031] The above describes the control when the seat ECU 32 returns the power seat 10 from the relaxing position to the driving position (i.e., when the seat ECU 32 returns the power seat 10 to the driving position, the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14 are located rearward of the driving position), but the control by the seat ECU 32 is not limited to this. For example, when the seat ECU 32 returns the power seat 10 to the driving position, if the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14 are located forward of the driving position, the seat ECU 32 slides the seat cushion 12 rearward while rotating the seat back 14 rearward of the driving position. Then, just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion 12, the seat back is rotated in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion 12, i.e., forward.

[0032] According to this embodiment, the power seat 10, which has a slide mechanism 16 for sliding the seat cushion 12 back and forth relative to the vehicle body floor F and a reclining mechanism 18 for rotating the seat back 14 back and forth relative to the seat cushion 12, and is capable of changing the seat position, is controlled by a power seat control device 30. This power seat control device 30 has a memory function for automatically returning the power seat 10 to a driving position registered in advance, and when returning the power seat to the driving position by sliding the seat cushion 12 and rotating the seat back 14, the seat back 14 is rotated in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion 12 just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion. This reduces the inertia acting on the upper body of the driver, and therefore the shock felt by the upper body of the driver can be reduced without reducing the sliding speed of the seat cushion 12.

[0033] According to this embodiment, when the power seat 10 is returned to the driving position, if the seat cushion 12 and the seat back 14 are located rearward of the driving position, the power seat control device 30 rotates the seat back 14 once forward of the driving position while sliding the seat cushion 12 forward. Then, just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion 12, the power seat control device 30 rotates the seat back in the opposite direction to the sliding direction of the seat cushion 12, i.e., rearward. This makes it possible to reduce the shock felt by the upper half of the driver when the forward sliding of the seat cushion stops.

[0034] In the above embodiment, the power seat 10 has been described as having a lifter mechanism 20 and a tilt mechanism 22, but this is not limited thereto, and the power seat 10 may be configured to have other mechanisms such as a lumbar support mechanism, a tilt mechanism, an ottoman mechanism, and a thigh support mechanism.

[0035] In addition, the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10 Power seats 12 Seat cushion 14 Seat back 16 Slide mechanism 18 Reclining mechanism 30 Power seat control device F. Body floor

Claims

1. A power seat control device that controls a power seat capable of changing a seat position, the power seat control device having a slide mechanism that slides a seat cushion back and forth relative to a vehicle body floor and a reclining mechanism that rotates a seat back back and forth relative to the seat cushion, A memory function is provided to automatically return the power seat to a pre-registered driver's seat position. A power seat control device that, when returning the power seat to the driving seat position by sliding the seat cushion and rotating the seat back, rotates the seat back in the direction opposite to the sliding direction of the seat cushion just before stopping the sliding of the seat cushion.

2. 2. The power seat control device according to claim 1, wherein, when the power seat is returned to the driver's seat position, if the seat cushion and the seat back are positioned rearward of the driver's seat position, the seat cushion is slid forward while the seat back is once rotated forward of the driver's seat position.

3. a slide mechanism that slides the seat cushion back and forth relative to a vehicle body floor; a reclining mechanism for rotating a seat back forward and backward relative to the seat cushion; The power seat control device according to claim 1 or 2, Power seat with

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