Seat apparatus

• US 7,918,302 B2
• Filed: 03/02/2009
• Issued: 04/05/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Sakai, Morio, Maeda, Toshiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson; Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Freedman; Laura
• Application Number:
  US12/395,858
• Publication Number:
  US 20090243353A1
• Time in Patent Office: 764 Days
• Field of Search: 180/274, 180/282, 297/216.1, 297/216.13, 297/216.15, 297/216.19, 297/216.14, 701/45
• US Class Current: 180/274
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0276 reaction to emergency situations, e.g. crash
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42727 involving substantially rigid displacement

Abstract

A seat apparatus includes a seat adapted to be arranged on a floor of a vehicle, a motor driving the seat to move, and a control unit supplying electric power to the motor by controlling a duty ratio with duty cycle control. The control unit determines an initial start-up time in which the duty ratio is defined as a first duty ratio over a period between the time the motor is started up after being powered by the control unit and the time before the seat driven by the motor starts moving. The control unit reduces the duty ratio when the initial start-up time elapses and sets the duty ratio to a second duty ratio smaller than the first duty ratio when the seat starts moving.

Claims

1. A seat apparatus, comprising:

a seat adapted to be arranged on a floor of a vehicle;

a motor that drives the seat to move; and

a control unit that supplies electric power to the motor by controlling a duty ratio with duty cycle control, wherein the control unit determines an initial start-up time in which the duty ratio is defined as a first duty ratio over a period between a time the motor is started up after being powered by the control unit and a time before the seat driven by the motor starts moving, and the control unit reduces the duty ratio when the initial start-up time elapses and sets the duty ratio to a second duty ratio smaller than the first duty ratio when the seat starts moving.

2. The seat apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit sets the duty ratio to the first duty ratio when starting supplying electric power to the motor.

3. The seat apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature detecting portion that detects an ambient temperature near the seat, wherein the control unit determines the initial start-up time in accordance with a detection result of the temperature detecting portion.

4. The seat apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seat includes a seat cushion and a seat back, and a tilt angle of the seat back relative to the seat cushion is adjusted when the control unit supplies electric power to the motor to be driven and then a driving force of the motor is transmitted to a seat actuating mechanism arranged between the seat cushion and the seat back and the driving force is transmitted to the seat.

5. The seat apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a seat position detecting portion, wherein the tilt angle of the seat back relative to the seat cushion is detected by the seat position detecting portion.

6. The seat apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the seat actuating mechanism includes a pair of gear portions that engage with each other, and grease is applied to the gear portions.

7. The seat apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the gear portions convert the driving force of the motor and transmit the converted driving force to the seat.

8. The seat apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the seat actuating mechanism includes a pair of gear portions that convert the driving force of the motor and that transmit the converted driving force to the seat, and grease is applied to the gear portions.

9. The seat apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the control unit transmits the driving force of the motor to the seat via the seat actuating mechanism only at a predetermined time.

10. The seat apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the predetermined time is a time when a collision of the vehicle with an obstacle is predicted by a collision predicting sensor.

11. A seat apparatus, comprising:

a seat adapted to be arranged on a floor of a vehicle;

a motor that drives the seat to move; and

a control unit that supplies electric power to the motor by controlling a duty ratio with duty cycle control to move the seat, wherein the control unit supplies electric power to the motor so that the duty ratio over a period of time between a time when the control unit starts supplying electric power to the motor and a time before the seat driven by the motor starts moving, is larger than the duty ratio after the seat starts moving.

12. The seat apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the seat includes a seat cushion and a seat back, and the control unit supplies electric power to the motor to be driven and the driving force of the motor is transmitted to a seat actuating mechanism arranged between the seat cushion and the seat back and transmits the driving force to the seat, thereby adjusting a tilt angle of the seat back relative to the seat cushion.