JP4525407B2 - Support structure and storage sheet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improved support structure and a storage sheet having the support structure.

The object is supported from the four (4) link mechanism, and the object is moved from the A position to the B position while the four link mechanism is operated by the electric motor. A typical example will be described below.
Folding the seat back of the vehicle seat on the seat cushion and storing the folded seat back and seat cushion in a space provided on the vehicle floor in front of or behind the seat, expanding the space in the vehicle interior and securing luggage storage space Or giving a space to the occupant's living space.
Such a retractable vehicle seat has a front leg pivotally supported at the front of the seat cushion frame and a rear leg pivotally supported at the rear, and normally latches both legs. A locking device comprising a pole is used to engage the striker on the vehicle floor to ensure the seating posture of the vehicle seat.

  The front leg of the retractable vehicle seat described above is connected to the rear leg using a lever, and the rotating shaft or shaft of the rear leg is connected to the electric motor. Thus, when the electric motor is operated, the rotating shaft rotates and the rear leg swings in one direction around the rotating shaft, and the lock device composed of the latch and the pole is unlocked by the actuator with respect to the striker on the floor. The front leg is swung around its pivot point through a lever that connects both legs, and the locking device consisting of a latch and a pole is unlocked with respect to the striker on the floor. The ends are moved in directions approaching each other. As a result, both legs are folded and the seat cushion supporter can store the seat in a predetermined position.

The seat cushion supporter consists of a four link consisting of a pair of four-point supported first and second links, that is, one end on both sides of the seat cushion frame and the other end on the vehicle floor (often storage space It consists of a pair of left and right first and second links pivoted on the floors on both sides, and the second link is pivotally supported on the seat cushion frame via the rear leg.
Therefore, the swinging of the rear leg by the electric motor causes the front leg to follow the lever and moves one link of the supporter along a predetermined locus. At this time, the other link follows a movement of the one link and the sheet while following a certain locus.
The movement of both legs and the supporter allows the vehicle seat to be stored in a predetermined space, and to return to the normal state (sitting posture during use).

JP 2003-118451 A JP 11-488405 A

As described above, in the prior art, the load on the electric motor fluctuates with the movement of the center of gravity of the object or the seat in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction during the movement of the object or the seating / storing operation of the seat. There may be a sense of incongruity in smoothness due to gear backlash.
Furthermore, when the object or seat is finally stopped or before the seating lock state is set, the user may feel a sense of discomfort due to rapid action.

  Therefore, this invention makes it the subject which should be solved to eliminate the malfunction of the prior art mentioned above.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention basically winds a spring that reverses the direction of the urging force around a shaft that moves an object or a sheet, and partially overlaps the operating range of both springs. Use technical means.

According to the present invention, there is provided a shaft that is rotated by the torque of the motor and a pair of rear legs for the seat that are fixed to the shaft and spaced apart from each other , and the seat is moved by the rotation of the shaft and the rear leg. A retractable seat that is movable between a seating posture position and a retracted posture position, between one pair of rear legs, with one end locked to a shaft and the other end abutting against the seat frame . A pair of springs that are locked to each other are arranged so that the direction of the torque applied by the pair of springs is opposite to each other, and the shaft and rear leg of the shaft that is the movement range of the seating posture position and the storage posture position of the seat A storage seat is provided in which a region in which torque acts together from the pair of springs is set within an operating angle range .

  More preferably, the seat is supported on the vehicle floor via the four link mechanism, the first link constituting the four link mechanism is pivotally supported by the seat and the vehicle floor, and one end of the second link is pivotally supported by the seat. The other end is fixed to the rear leg and the other end is pivotally supported on the vehicle floor, and the rear leg is rotated to the seat by the rotation of the shaft, thereby enabling the movement of the seat.

Oscillation of the object or seat due to a change in the center of gravity during the movement of the object or seat from the A position to the B position or from the retracted posture position to the sitting posture position (or vice versa), intermittent to the electric motor The backlash of the load, the backlash of the speed reduction mechanism of the electric motor, and the like are prevented, and the smooth movement of the object or the sheet is ensured.
Furthermore, the motion before entering the final position of the object or the seating posture position is smoothed by the acting force of the spring, and the uncomfortable feeling to the user is reduced.

Please refer to FIG. The vehicle seat 1 includes a seat cushion 2 and a seat back 3, and the seat cushion 2 includes a front leg 9 and a rear leg 10 that include locking devices 7 and 8 that can be engaged with strikers 5 and 6 of a vehicle floor 4. And is supported by the floor 4.
The supporter 11 of the seat cushion 2 has a four link mechanism, that is, a pair of links 12 and 13 arranged on the left and right sides of the seat cushion 2, that is, a four parallel link. One end of the first link 12 is supported by a pivot point 14 of the frame 2 ′ of the seat cushion 2, and the other end of the first link 12 is supported by a pivot point 16 in the seat storage space 15. One end of the second link 13 is fixed to the rear leg 10, and the other end of the second link 13 is supported by a pivot point 17 in the seat storage space 15.

  The shaft 18 for swingably supporting the rear leg 10 on the seat cushion frame 2 'is rotated by an electric motor 19 held by the seat cushion frame 2' (see FIG. 3). The operation of the electric motor 19 rotates the shaft 18 to swing the rear leg 10 fixed to the shaft 18 and the second link 13 fixed to the rear leg 10 with respect to the seat cushion 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the bracket 20 is fixed to the end of the shaft 18. A lower part of a pivot point 21 (see FIG. 2) of the front leg 9 with respect to the seat cushion frame 2 ′ and the bracket 20 are connected using a stranded cable 22. The front leg 9 is urged clockwise by the spring 23 as viewed in FIG. 2, but its movement is restricted by the stopper 24.

The locking device 7 of the front leg 9 includes a hook member 25 pivotally supported by the front leg 9, a lever 26 pivotally supported by the hook member 25, and a switch 27 having a contact point facing the free end of the lever 26. The hook member 25 and the lever 26 are biased so as to take the lock position shown in FIG. 2 by a spring (not shown). The rotation center of the hook member 25 and the rotation center of the lever 26 are offset.
The striker 5 of the vehicle floor 4 enters the groove 28 at the free end of the front leg 9 along the taper surface 29. The striker 5 contacts the taper surface 30 of the hook member 25. The striker 5 moves the hook member 25 clockwise. Then, it is rotated against the urging force of a spring (not shown) and enters the groove 28. The striker 5 rotates the lever 26 counterclockwise, operates the switch 27 by the free end of the lever 26, and outputs that the locked state shown in FIG. 1 has been secured.

  The locking device 8 provided on the rear leg 10 includes a latch 31 and a pawl 32, and is urged in one direction by a spring (not shown) when the pawl 32 and the latch 31 are not engaged. The pole 32 is engaged with the latch 31 by receiving the biasing force of the spring at the time of locking shown in FIG. Reference numeral 33 denotes a groove.

Next, the basic operation of the storing operation will be described. When the operation switch for storing the seat 1 is turned on, the seat back 3 tilts forward. While the seat back 3 is tilted forward, an actuator (not shown) is turned on, the pawl 32 of the locking device 8 rotates counterclockwise and the latch 31 rotates counterclockwise, and the engagement between the striker 6 and the latch 31 is released. . At the same time, the electric motor 19 is operated to operate the shaft 18. As a result, the rear leg 10 rotates clockwise about the shaft 18 and the bracket 20 rotates in the same direction.
To rotate the bracket 20 in the clockwise direction, the stranded wire 22 is pulled in the direction of arrow A (see FIG. 2), and the front leg 9 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction around the pivot point 21. The movement of the front leg 9 is such that the striker 5 pushes the tapered surface 34 of the hook member 25, rotates the hook member 25 in the clockwise direction, and pulls out the striker 5 from the groove 28. Of course, the hook member 25 may be forcibly moved to the unlock position using an actuator.

  The electric motor 19 is actuated by moving the free ends of the legs 9 and 10 closer to each other, and the rear leg 10 and the first link 12 integral with the rear leg 10 rotate clockwise about the pivot point 16. Then, the vehicle seat 1 is stored in the space 15 as shown by the phantom line in FIG.

  Although the example which applied the locking device 7 to the front leg 9 of the foldable sheet | seat was demonstrated using FIG. 1 thru | or 3, the locking device 7 is applicable not only to the front leg 9, but a sliding door and another field | area.

With reference to FIG. 4 thru | or 6, the 1st and 2nd springs 35 and 36 which are a pair of torsion springs wound by the shaft 18 are demonstrated. One end of the first spring 35 is locked to a bracket 37 fixed to the shaft 18, and the other end is brought into contact with the seat cushion frame 2 ′ (see FIG. 5). The first spring 35 provides a brake spring torque indicated by a dotted line in FIG.
The second spring 36, whose urging direction is opposite to that of the first spring 35, is wound around the shaft 18, one end of the second spring 36 is locked to the bracket 38 fixed to the shaft 18, and the other end is seat cushion frame 2 ′. Abut. The second spring 36 provides an assist spring torque indicated by a long dotted line in FIG.
The first and second springs 35 and 36 prevent the escape in the vehicle width direction by the other brackets 39 and 40 fixed to the shaft 18 and can provide the necessary torque.

The first spring 35 is in a neutral position (see FIG. 11, the center of gravity of the seat and the center of rotation of the supporter 11) when the seat is moved from the seat storage posture position (see FIGS. 1 and 10) toward the seat seating posture position. Starts to work from the front), brakes the electric motor 19 (see FIG. 3), reduces the rotational speed, prevents acceleration due to the seat's own weight, and ensures an appropriate motor speed. The first spring 35 assists the initial operation force of the electric motor to the neutral position when the seat is moved from the seat seating posture position to the seat storage posture position.
The second spring 36 having an urging force opposite to the urging force of the first spring 35 performs the reverse operation of the first spring 35 described above. The operating force (also referred to as the operating force) of the electric motor refers to a force that can move the sheet against the rotational moment of the sheet due to its own weight (mainly in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction).

FIG. 11 shows the relationship between the operating angle of the supporter 11 and the required torque. In FIG. 11, the “required torque” line indicated by a straight line is a theoretical calculation value when a four link is used and the seat's own weight is taken into consideration. The “total torque diagram” indicated by the alternate long and short dash line indicates the actual required torque of the present embodiment using the first and second springs 35, 36.
As is apparent from FIG. 11, the first spring 35 acts up to an operating angle of 60 degrees, and the second spring 36 begins to work from an operating angle of 20 degrees. Brake force or assist force is applied to 18. As a result, the seat swings due to the change in the center of gravity during the movement of the seat from the retracted position to the sitting position (or vice versa), the intermittent load on the electric motor, the backlash of the speed reduction mechanism of the electric motor. As a result, the seats are prevented from rattling and the smooth movement of the seat is guaranteed.

Further, the operation before entering the seat seating posture position is smoothed by the acting force of the first spring 35, and the sense of harm to the user is reduced.
The selection of the operating range of both springs 35 and 36 is set by the contact of both springs 35 and 36 to the seat cushion frame 2 '.
FIG. 7 to FIG. 10 show sheet positions corresponding to the positions indicated by “a”, “b”, “c”, and “d” in FIG. The seat 1 shown in FIG. 7 (corresponding to the position of A in FIG. 11) transmits its own weight to the floor 4 via both legs 9 and 10, and the urging force of the first spring 35 acts on the shaft 18. .
The rotation of the shaft 18 by the operation of the electric motor 19 causes the links 12 and 13 of the four link mechanism of the supporter 11 to be in the neutral position shown in FIG. 8 (the center of gravity of the seat and the supporter while folding both the legs 9 and 10 as described above. Is moved to the position of B in FIG. 11, and the seat 1 is moved backward.

Further rotation of the shaft 18 moves the seat 1 to the position shown in FIG. 9, that is, the position C in FIG. Both legs 9 and 10 are folded, and the sheet 1 is positioned above the space 15. Further rotation of the shaft 18 stores the seat 1 in the space 15. That is, the sheet 1 is stored in the position shown in FIG. 10, which corresponds to the position D in FIG.
The movement from the seat storage posture position shown in FIG. 10 to the seat seating posture position shown in FIG. 7 is an operation opposite to the above-described operation. In any case, both springs 35 and 36 act, and in a part during the operation, the actions of both springs 35 and 36 are overlapped to ensure smooth movement of the seat 1.

It is a front view of an example of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the usage example of a twisted line cable. It is a top view which shows a front leg, a rear leg, and a stranded wire cable. It is a top view which shows the attachment state of a rear leg, a shaft, and a pair of spring. It is a front view which shows one spring. It is a front view which shows the other spring. It is a front view which shows the state which folded the seat back on the seat cushion. It is a front view which shows the state which moved the sheet | seat back. It is a front view which shows the state which moved the sheet | seat upwards of the storage space. It is a front view which shows the state which stored the sheet | seat. It is a graph which shows the relationship between an operating angle and a torque.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle seat 2 Seat cushion 3 Seat back 4 Floor 5, 6 Striker 7, 8 Locking device 9 Front leg (base member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rear leg 11 Supporter 12, 13 Link 14, 16, 17 Pivoting point 18 Shaft 19 Electric motor 20 Bracket 22 Wire cable 25 Hook member 26 Lever 27 Switch 28, 33 Groove 29, 30, 34 Tapered surface 31 Latch 32 Pole 35, 36 Spring 37, 38 Spring locking bracket 39, 40 Bracket

Claims (2)

A shaft that is rotated by the torque of the motor, and a pair of rear legs for the seat that are fixed to the shaft and spaced apart from each other , and the seat and the seating posture position of the seat by the rotation of the shaft and the rear leg. A storage sheet that is movable between positions,
A pair of springs disposed between the pair of rear legs, one end locked to the shaft and the other end locked to the seat frame by contact with the seat frame ;
From the pair of springs , the operating directions of the shaft and the rear leg, which are ranges of movement between the seating posture position and the retracted posture position of the seat, are opposite to each other. A storage sheet in which a region where torque acts is set . The seat is supported on the vehicle floor via the four-link mechanism, the first link constituting the four-link mechanism is pivotally supported by the seat and the vehicle floor, and one end of the second link is fixed to the rear leg pivotally supported by the seat is and the other end is pivotally supported on the vehicle floor, the rear leg is rotated in the sheet by the rotation of the shaft, retractable seat according to claim 1, wherein to allow movement of the seat.

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