Vehicle Seat Guide Chamfer for Quiet Unlocking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vehicle seat adjusting mechanisms often produce undesirable noise, particularly during the unlocking process, due to high frictional resistance between levers and carrier rails.
Innovation Solution
The adjusting device incorporates a guide element with a profiled chamfer, specifically a wave-shaped profile, that reduces the bearing surface between the guide element and the carrier rail, made from thermoplastic elastomers, to minimize friction and noise, while allowing for simpler unlocking and increased manufacturing tolerance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a guide element with large bearing surface is used to guide the lever element, then the guiding stability is improved, but the frictional resistance increases causing noise during unlocking
Solution Approach 1:
The guide element is equipped with a profiled chamfer featuring a wave-shaped profile that creates curved, undulating contact surfaces. This curvature reduces the bearing surface area between the guide element and carrier rail, thereby reducing frictional resistance and noise during lever element movement while maintaining guiding functionality through the contoured surface geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The profiled chamfer introduces localized variations in the contact surface geometry of the guide element. By creating specific wave-shaped regions with altered surface properties, the invention locally modifies friction characteristics at the contact zones while preserving the overall guiding structure and stability of the guide element.
2Reliability
If a guide element with large bearing surface is used to guide the lever element, then the guiding stability is improved, but the material consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wave-shaped profiled chamfer creates a three-dimensional curved surface that provides adequate guiding contact while occupying less material volume than a flat, large-bearing surface design. The undulating geometry achieves the required guiding function with reduced material consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The profiled chamfer divides the contact surface into multiple wave-shaped segments rather than using a continuous large bearing surface. This segmentation reduces the total material required while maintaining sufficient contact points for stable guiding of the lever element.
3Reliability
If a guide element with large bearing surface is used to guide the lever element, then the guiding stability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The profiled chamfer changes the geometric parameters of the guide element by introducing wave-shaped contours with specific profiles. These parameter modifications allow for greater manufacturing tolerances in the overall component dimensions while the controlled wave geometry maintains consistent guiding performance through its self-aligning contoured surfaces.
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
This solution significantly reduces noise and friction, enabling quieter operation and easier adjustment of vehicle seats, while conserving material and maintaining advantageous properties.
Implementation Method 1
The adjusting device according to the invention not only saves material during manufacture by reducing the bearing surface on the carrier rail, but also permits particularly simple unlocking due to the associated reduction of frictional resistance
Implementation Method 2
the profiled chamfer is provided with a wave-shaped profile. Such a chamfer profiled in a wave-shaped manner is able to be produced in a simple manner and serves for the further reduction of the bearing surface between the guide element and the carrier rail
Data Source
AI summary
An adjusting device for a vehicle seat includes a guide element for guiding a lever element. The guide element is in contact with a carrier rail. At least one contact region of the guide element includes a profiled chamfer in at least some sections.