Vehicle Seat Longitudinal Adjuster with Roller and Projection Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing longitudinal adjusters in vehicles face issues with complex adaptation steps and noise during operation due to production tolerances and friction, which affect the smooth adjustment of vehicle seats.
Innovation Solution
A longitudinal adjuster with upper and lower rails featuring projections that form local contact points and roller members to reduce friction and accommodate production tolerances, where the projections are integrally formed with the rails and can be resiliently deformed to secure the seat in the desired position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If roller members are provided between upper and lower rails to reduce friction, then ease of operation is improved, but production tolerances cause complex adaptation steps and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces projections on the rails that create localized contact points with specific geometric properties. These projections have rounded contact surfaces that locally modify the interaction between rails, reducing sensitivity to production tolerances and eliminating noise while maintaining the friction-reducing roller members.
Solution Approach 2:
The projections are designed with rounded contact surfaces that beforehand cushion the impact and misalignment caused by production tolerances. This pre-cushioning effect prevents the complex adaptation steps and noise that would otherwise occur during seat adjustment operation.
2Manufacturing precision
If projections are added to form local contact points, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The projections are integrally formed with the rails, merging the contact point feature into the existing rail structure. This combining approach achieves precise local contact points without adding separate components, thereby improving manufacturing precision while minimizing increases in device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables smooth, noise-reduced longitudinal adjustment of vehicle seats by minimizing friction and compensating for production tolerances, ensuring precise positioning and reduced noise through the use of roller members and resilient projections.
Implementation Method 1
roller members, in particular balls, which reduce the friction during the adjustment operation
Implementation Method 2
the projection is provided so as to be resilient and, in a quite particularly preferred manner, it is clamped between the two rails, that is to say resiliently deformed
Data Source
AI summary
A longitudinal adjuster in the interior of a motor vehicle, has an upper and a lower rail, between which at least one rolling body is provided. A projection is provided on the upper and/or lower rail, the projection forming a local contact point between the two rails.