VEHICLE SEAT

• US 20150203011A1
• Filed: 08/09/2013
• Published: 07/23/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Delta Tooling Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Delta Tooling Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Fujita, Etsunori, Ogura, Yumi, Kawasaki, Seiji, Inoue, Katsuhiro, Sugimoto, Eiji, Nakamura, Minoru, Kuwano, Ryuji, Kushiyama, Toshiya, Kuromoto, Masahiro, Kasama, Shuji
• Granted Patent: US 9,376,044 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0284 Adjustable seat-cushion length B60N2/0224 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/071 T-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0715 C or U-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0732 Attachment of seat frame to the slide, e.g. eyelets
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1615 Parallelogram-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/165 Gear wheel driven mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/22 the back-rest being adjustable B60N2/2878 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2356 with internal pawls
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/62 Thigh-rests B60N2/914 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/68 Seat frames
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/682 Joining means
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/812 characterised by their locking devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2205/30 Seat or seat parts characterised by comprising plural parts or pieces

Abstract

A vehicle seat suitable for weight reduction. A left and right side frames constituting a cushion frame unit are constituted of plate-shaped frames which are long in a forward and backward direction and formed of a thin material made of metal with a predetermined thickness or less, a plurality of beams are bridged across the side frames, and moreover, one or both of the side frames is or are supported on a seat slide device via a truss support part. In other words, the side frames disposed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the plurality of beams serve the role of stringers, and as a result, rigidity in the forward and backward direction of the side frames in particular is high rigidity of a predetermined value or more even if they are made of a thin material, and they can be reduced in weight.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising a seat cushion part and a seat back part, wherein

the seat cushion part has a cushion frame unit supporting a cushion member for the seat cushion part and the seat back part has a back frame unit supporting a cushion member for the seat back part,

a left and right side frames constituting the cushion frame unit are coupled to and supported by a left and right sliders, respectively, constituting a seat slide device, and are each constituted of one or a plurality of plate-shaped frames long in a forward and backward direction and formed of a thin material made of metal with a predetermined thickness or less,

a plurality of beams are bridged across the left and right side frames of the cushion frame unit, and

at least one of the left and right side frames is supported on the seat slide device via a truss support part receiving a force in the forward and backward direction, the truss support part being formed of a coupling support part with respect to the slider, the beams bridged across the left and right side frames, and an inter-node connecting part coupling the coupling support part and the beams in a direction substantially orthogonal to a disposition direction of the beams.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

the left and right side frames constituting the cushion frame unit are each constituted of a combination of the plurality of plate-shaped frames disposed in parallel on an outside and an inside, and

the beams bridged across a range in which the inner and outer plate-shaped frames are overlapped with each other when seen from a side are provided so that vicinities of their ends penetrate the inner and outer plate-shaped frames, so as to support the inner and outer plate-shaped frames by the both ends.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

coupling support parts for the left and right side frames and the left and right sliders are provided between a substantially center part and a rear edge in the forward and backward direction of the side frames, and the left and right coupling support parts are coupled by a shaft member, and

the truss support part is formed of

the shaft member,

two beams out of the plural beams disposed between the substantially center part and the rear edge in the forward and backward direction of the side frames, and

inter-node connecting parts respectively connecting vicinities of respective ends of the two beams, and vicinities of ends of the shaft member and the vicinities of respective ends of the two beams.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

the inter-node connecting parts constituting the truss support part are formed so that rigidity in the forward and backward direction is high compared to a material state of the plurality of plate-shaped frames constituting the one of the side frames.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 4, wherein

in the inter-node connecting part between the two beams, a reinforcing link is layered on one of the plate-shaped frames constituting the one of the side frames, forming the inter-node connecting part with relatively high rigidity by the reinforcing link.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 3, comprising rear links having one end pivotally supported on the shaft member disposed to be close to a rear side of the left and right sliders, and comprising a left and right front links having one end pivotally supported on a shaft member disposed to be closer to a front side than the shaft member, wherein

respective other ends of the left and right front links are pivotally supported on a front beam out of the beams, the front beam being bridged to be close to the front side across the left and right side frames of the cushion frame unit,

respective other ends of the left and right rear links are pivotally supported on a rear beam out of the two beams, the rear beam disposed to be closer to the rear side,

a sub-link is provided on a side of at least one of the side frames, the sub-link having one end pivotally supported on the shaft member on which one end of the rear beam is pivotally supported, and another end pivotally supported on the other beam out of the two beams, the other beam being located closer to the front side than the rear beam, and

the rear link and the sub-link are inter-node connecting parts respectively connecting vicinities of ends of the shaft member and the vicinities of respective ends of the two beams, thereby forming the truss support part.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 3, wherein

on a side of one of the left and right side frames, a belt anchor part of a seat belt is supported on an end of a rear beam out of the two beams, the rear beam disposed closer to the rear side.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 6, wherein

a side of one side frame out of the left and right side frames is supported on the seat slide device by the truss support part, and

a side of the other side frame is supported by a quadric crank chain mechanism constituted of the front link and the rear link, the slider on which respective one ends thereof are pivotally supported, and the other side frame on which respective other ends thereof which are rotating free ends thereof are pivotally supported.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 7, wherein

on a side of the other side frame facing the one of the side frames on which the belt anchor part is attached, a clutch part of a lifter mechanism part for transmitting an operating force of an operating unit to the links is disposed, and

a driving link with high rigidity compared to a material state of the plate-shaped frames constituting the side frames is disposed between the rear link and the clutch part which are disposed on the side of the other side frame.

10. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

the back frame unit is coupled via a reclining mechanism part to the respective pluralities of plate-shaped frames constituting the left and right side frames of the cushion frame unit.

11. The vehicle seat according to claim 10, wherein

the back frame unit is coupled via the reclining mechanism part to one of the respective pluralities of plate-shaped frames constituting the side frames of the cushion frame unit, and

the vehicle seat is structured such that a force applied to the seat cushion part and the seat back part is dispersed to a transmission path through which the force passes one of the respective pluralities of plate-shaped frames constituting the side frames of the cushion frame unit from the back frame unit via the reclining mechanism part to thereby reach the seat slide device, and to a transmission path through which the force passes the other of the respective pluralities of plate-shaped frames constituting the side frames of the cushion frame unit to thereby reach the seat slide device.

12. The vehicle seat according to claim 10, comprising a reclining unit having a cushion bracket retaining the reclining mechanism part and coupled to the plate-shaped frames constituting the side frames of the cushion frame unit and a back bracket coupled to side frames of the back frame unit.

13. The vehicle seat according to claim 12, wherein

the plate-shaped frames constituting each of the side frames of the cushion frame unit and the cushion bracket are partially overlapped and coupled by joining with bolts, and the side frames of the back frame unit and the back bracket are partially overlapped and coupled by joining with bolts.

16. The vehicle seat according to claim 10, wherein

in the side frames of the back frame unit, a portion higher than the reclining mechanism part is an easy deformation portion.

17. The vehicle seat according to claims 12, wherein

at least a portion of the side frames of the cushion frame unit, the side frames of the back frame unit, the cushion bracket of the reclining unit, and the back bracket of the reclining unit is formed to have a closed cross-sectional shape.

20. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

in an upper frame structure part located between upper parts of the side frames of the back frame unit, guide holes penetrating in an upward and downward direction are formed, and an adjusting mechanism for adjusting a height of head rest poles of a head rest inserted through the guide holes is provided,

the adjusting mechanism has a lock plate which is provided to project forward on a rear surface in an inner surface of the guide holes and engages with plural engaging trenches formed at predetermined intervals in a longitudinal direction in the head rest poles, and

an elastic member biasing the head rest poles in a direction to engage with the lock plate,

the guide holes are formed to have an inner diameter larger than a diameter of the head rest poles, and

the adjusting mechanism is structure such that when the head rest poles are displaced forward from a lock state in which the head rest poles are biased by the elastic member in a direction to the lock plate and the engaging trench is engaged with the lock plate, engagement of the lock plate and the engaging trench is released against elasticity of the elastic member, making it possible to perform a height adjustment.

21. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

the upper frame structure part located between upper portions of the side frames of the back frame unit has an upper pipe and an upper fitting frame to be engaged with the upper pipe,

the back frame unit has a back support member coupled to the upper fitting frame and located between the pair of side frames, and

when the back support member is pressed backward by pressing of the cushion member of the seat back part by a pressure of a predetermined value or more, the upper fitting frame has a structure to pivot forward about the upper pipe, displacing the head rest supported by the upper frame structure forward.

28. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

each of the sliders constituting the seat slide device is structured to have a lower rail, an upper rail which slides relative to the lower rail and to which the cushion frame unit is coupled, and a lock mechanism which locks the upper rail at an appropriate slide position with respect to the lower rail, and

the lock mechanism is structured such that it has an elastic lock member formed of an elastic member which is supported on each of the upper rails and has lock claws engaging with engaged parts formed in the lower rails, and the elastic lock member becomes an elastic fulcrum and elasticity of the elastic lock member operates on the lower rails and the upper rails.

29. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

each of the sliders constituting the seat slide device is structured to have a lower rail, an upper rail which slides relative to the lower rail and to which the cushion frame unit is coupled and a lock mechanism which locks the upper rail at an appropriate slide position with respect to the lower rail,

the lower rails and the upper rails are formed to be substantially symmetrical bilaterally with respect to a center in a cross-sectional shape orthogonal to a longitudinal direction, and

the lock mechanism is provided on both sides of the upper rails and structured to be capable of engaging with and locking the lower rails, respectively.

35. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein

the cushion member disposed in the seat cushion part is structured to have

an external cushion member having a pair of side support parts and a rear support part, and

an internal cushion member which is supported by a beam bridged across the side frames of the cushion frame unit, has a shape which is disposable in a range surrounded by the external cushion member, has a shape such that a front edge projects more forward than a beam disposed on a most front side, and is relatively movable with respect to the external cushion member.

14-15. -15. (canceled)

18-19. -19. (canceled)

22-27. -27. (canceled)

30-34. -34. (canceled)

36-39. -39. (canceled)