Chairs and seats – Body or occupant restraint or confinement – Safety belt or harness; e.g. – lap belt or shoulder harness
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-30
2003-07-08
Cranmer, Laurie L. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Body or occupant restraint or confinement
Safety belt or harness; e.g., lap belt or shoulder harness
C297S463100, C297S344110
Reexamination Certificate
active
06588850
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to a construction of a slide rail for an automobile seat and, more particularly, to an attachment construction of a seat cushion to a slide rail.
In the case where a pair of slide rails are attached to a vehicle floor in such a manner as to be in parallel with each other, and an automobile seat is attached to the slide rails, there are available a method in which the side faces of cushion frame are attached to the slide rails, a method in which the bottom faces of cushion frame are attached to the slide rails, and other methods.
In the case where a buckle for a seat belt is attached to an inner-side slide rail, the inner-side slide rail is subjected to a tensile load applied to the buckle via the seat belt in addition to a load applied to a seat. Therefore, the inner-side slide rail requires a higher strength than an outer-side slide rail.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above situation, and accordingly an object thereof is to provide a construction of a slide rail for an automobile seat, which can realize an increase in strength against a tensile load.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a construction of a slide rail for an automobile seat, which is attached to a seat cushion of the automobile seat to hold the seat so as to be slidable with respect to a vehicle floor, wherein an attachment portion extending in two different directions is provided on a slide rail body, and a cushion frame of the seat cushion is fixed to the slide rail body via the attachment portion.
The attachment portion is made up of a first bracket which is erected upward from the slide rail body and is fixed to the side face of the cushion frame and a second bracket which extends in the substantially horizontal direction from the slide rail body and is fixed to the bottom face of the cushion frame.
A buckle for seat belt is attached to the slide rail body, and the buckle is located in front of the first and second brackets.
The slide rail body consists of an upper rail attached to the seat cushion side and a lower rail attached to the vehicle floor, and the first and second brackets are fixed to the upper rail by means of a common fixing element.
The first and second brackets are fixed with the upper rail being held therebetween.
The construction of a slide rail for an automobile seat in accordance with the present invention is characterized in that the attachment portion extending in two different directions is provided on the slide rail body, and the cushion frame of the seat cushion is fixed to the slide rail body via the attachment portion. Therefore, a load applied to the cushion frame can be transmitted surely from the attachment portion extending in two different directions to the slide rail body. Furthermore, a tensile load applied to one slide rail body can be transmitted to the cushion frame, and further from the cushion frame to the other slide rail body, so that the tensile load applied to the slide rail can be received by the whole of both slide rail bodies.
If the attachment portion is made up of the first bracket which is erected upward from the slide rail body and is fixed to the side face of the cushion frame and the second bracket which extends in the substantially horizontal direction from the slide rail body and is fixed to the bottom face of the cushion frame, since the cushion frame can be fixed surely by means of the first and second brackets, the attachment strength of the slide rail body and the seat cushion can be enhanced. Also, since the first and second brackets are formed into a so-called L shape, the attachment position in the vehicle width direction of the cushion frame can be regulated, so that the assembling ability can be improved.
If the configuration is such that the buckle for seat belt is attached to the slide rail body and the buckle is located in front of the first and second brackets, the strength can be enhanced effectively against the frontward and slantwise upward tensile load applied to the buckle.
If the slide rail body consists of an upper rail attached to the seat cushion side and a lower rail attached to the vehicle floor, and the first and second brackets are fixed to the upper rail by means of a common fixing element, the number of parts and the manpower for fabrication can be reduced as compared with the case where a separate member is used as the fixing element.
If the configuration is such that the first and second brackets are fixed with the upper rail being held therebetween, the attachment portion is in a state of a plurality of sheets being lapped on each other, so that the attachment strength of each of the first and second brackets can be improved.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4483504 (1984-11-01), Duwelshoft
patent: 4729602 (1988-03-01), Tokugawa
patent: 4804229 (1989-02-01), Nishino
patent: 5137244 (1992-08-01), Negi
patent: 5915660 (1999-06-01), Kanda
patent: 55-8957 (1980-01-01), None
patent: 62-18348 (1987-01-01), None
patent: 62-238136 (1987-10-01), None
Alston & Bird LLP
Cranmer Laurie L.
Suzuki Motor Corporation
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