Vehicle seat

• US 9,216,667 B1
• Filed: 09/09/2014
• Issued: 12/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/09/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company), TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Izawa, Hiroshi, Takeuchi, Makoto, Kurihara, Akimitsu, Shimazu, Masaki, Nguyen, Paul D., Ellison, Terrie, Cozzo, Ronald C.
• Primary Examiner(s): MINTZ, RODNEY K
• Application Number:
  US14/480,824
• Time in Patent Office: 469 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/167 Ratchet mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/6009 covering more than only the seat

Abstract

In a vehicle seat, a positional deviation of a height device for moving a seat main body up and down is suppressed. The vehicle seat includes a cushion frame serving as a frame of a seating portion; the height device for moving the cushion frame up and down; and a side cover that covers the cushion frame and the height device from outside in a seat width direction. An operation lever is positioned in a state of being engaged with a positioning member contained in an outer side surface of the side cover, and an engagement protrusion of the operation lever moves in an engagement hole of the positioning member and abuts on a first stepped portion and a second stepped portion provided around the engagement hole when the operation lever rotates.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat comprising:

a cushion frame serving as a frame of a seating portion;

a seat adjustment device for adjusting a state of the cushion frame; and

a side cover that covers the cushion frame and the seat adjustment device from outside in a seat width direction,

wherein;

the seat adjustment device comprises an operation lever that;

is attached to an outer side surface of the cushion frame in the seat width direction to be rotatable through a support shaft,

is arranged to project outward of the side cover, and

operates the cushion frame,

a positioning member for positioning the operation lever is attached to an outer side surface of the side cover,

the operation lever is arranged to rotate relative to the positioning member in a state in which an engagement portion provided on an inner side surface of the operation lever is engaged with an engagement portion provided on the positioning member,

one of the engagement portions of the operation lever and the engagement portion of the positioning member is an engagement hole extending along a circular arc around the support shaft, and an other of the engagement portions is an engagement protrusion protruding toward the engagement hole and arranged to move in the engagement hole to correspond to rotation of the operation lever,

a first stepped portion and a second stepped portion are formed around the engagement hole, the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion being provided such that a part of the engagement hole is formed narrower in a radial direction of the support shaft, the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion being arranged at different positions in an extension direction of the engagement hole, and

a surface of at least one of the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion that abuts on the engagement protrusion is a substantially flat surface.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion are provided around a central portion of the engagement hole in the extension direction of the engagement hole, and surfaces of the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion that abut on the engagement protrusion are substantially flat surfaces.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

the engagement portion of the operation lever is the engagement protrusion, and

the engagement protrusion is provided to rotate about the support shaft in a rotation range to correspond to the rotation of the operation lever, and positioned between the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion when being located at an intermediate position in the rotation range.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein surfaces of the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion that abut on the engagement protrusion are flat surfaces generally orthogonal to the radial direction of the support shaft.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion are longer than portions of the engagement protrusion that abut on the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion in the extension direction of the engagement hole.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the positioning member is fan-shaped.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

the seat adjustment device is a height device that couples the cushion frame to the vehicle body floor side so that the cushion frame is movable up and down,

the support shaft is a lever support shaft,

the height device comprises a brake unit that is attached to a side surface of the cushion frame to be rotatable through a brake rotational shaft, and that applies a resistance force against an up/down movement of the cushion frame,

the lever support shaft and the brake rotational shaft are arranged at different positions in the seat front to back direction, and

the operation lever and the brake unit are coupled to operate in a corresponding manner.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein:

the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion are provided such that the part of the engagement hole is narrower than the engagement protrusion in the radial direction of the support shaft, and

the engagement hole;

is provided continuously between the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion,

is provided such that the part of the engagement hole is formed wider than portions in which the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion are located, and

comprises a central positioning portion positioning the engagement protrusion.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein the portions of the positioning member in which the first stepped portion and the second stepped portion are formed are thinner as being closer to the central positioning portion side in the extension direction of the engagement hole.