Vehicle seat

• US 9,073,456 B2
• Filed: 04/01/2011
• Issued: 07/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Imasen Electric Industrial Company Limited, TS Tech Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Imasen Electric Industrial Company Limited, TS Tech Company Limited
• Inventors: Hoshi, Masayuki, Furuta, Masaya, Nishioka, Mitsunobu, Esaki, Takuto
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Jose V
• Application Number:
  US13/877,877
• Publication Number:
  US 20130214576A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 297/321, 297/311, 297/338, 297/344.12, 297/344.1, 297/344.15, 248/421
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/16 height-adjustable
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1615 Parallelogram-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/165 Gear wheel driven mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2205/50 Interlocking shaft arrangements transmitting movement between hinge mechanisms on both sides of a seat

Abstract

A vehicle seat with a height adjustable seat bottom, comprises side frames (30) which constitute the seat bottom, front links (5) and rear links (6) pivotally connected to the side frames (30), slide rails (4) disposed under the side frames (30) to form a four-bar linkage with the side frames (30), the front links (5) and the rear links (6), and an operation unit (7) including an operation knob (71 B) configured to be operated to make a rotational motion which actuates the four-bar linkage for adjustment of a height of the seat bottom. The operation unit (7) includes a pinion gear (73) configured to be rotatable coaxially with the operation knob (71B) provided at one of the pair of side frames (30), and the front links (5) include a sector gear portion (51) configured to engage with the pinion gear (73), such that rotation of the pinion gear (73) causes the front links (5) to pivot.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat with a height adjustable seat bottom, comprising:

a pair of side frames which constitutes left and right frames of the seat bottom;

a link support member disposed under the pair of side frames;

left and right rear links having upper-end portions pivotally connected to rear portions of the side frames, respectively, and lower-end portions pivotally connected to rear portions of the link support member, respectively;

left and right front links disposed frontwardly of the rear links, the left and right front links having upper-end portions pivotally connected to front portions of the side frames, respectively, and lower-end portions pivotally connected to front portions of the link support member, respectively; and

an operation unit including an operation member configured to be operated to make a rotational motion which actuates a four-bar linkage formed with the side frames, the link support member, the rear links and the front links, configured for adjustment of a height of the seat bottom,

wherein the operation unit includes an output gear configured to be rotatable coaxially with the operation member provided at one of the pair of side frames,

wherein the front links include an input gear configured to engage with the output gear, such that rotation of the output gear causes the front links to pivot,

wherein the output gear is disposed rearwardly of a pin by which an upper-end portion of each front link is pivotally connected to a corresponding side frame, and

wherein the input gear is formed along a rear side of at least one of the front links.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein each of the left and right front links includes the input gear, and

wherein the operation unit includes a pair of left and right output gears each configured to engage with the input gear, and a connecting member elongated in a lateral direction and configured to connect the pair of output gears to render the output gears rotatable together.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the side frames include link support walls configured to support the front links in a manner that renders the front links pivotable, and gear support walls each provided in a position shifted laterally from a corresponding link support wall and configured to support the output gears in a manner that renders the output gears rotatable, and

wherein a region in which each output gear and the corresponding input gear engage with each other is located adjacent to the corresponding gear support wall and covered with the corresponding gear support wall when viewed from a lateral direction.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the side frames include link support walls configured to support the front links in a manner that renders the front links pivotable, and a gear support wall provided in a position shifted laterally from the link support wall and configured to support the output gear in a manner that renders the output gear rotatable, and

wherein a region in which the output gear and the input gear engage with each other is located adjacent to the gear support wall and covered with the gear support wall when viewed from a lateral direction.