Supports – Stand – Horizontally movable support surface
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-04
2001-09-11
Ramirez, Ramon O. (Department: 3632)
Supports
Stand
Horizontally movable support surface
Reexamination Certificate
active
06286799
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a slide device for a vehicle seat.
BACKGROUND ART
JP-A-H3-178835 discloses a slide mechanism for a vehicle seat having, as shown in
FIGS. 5 and 6
, a C-shaped lower rail
50
fixedly disposed on a vehicle body, an upper rail
51
fixed on the seat and slidably inserted in the lower rail
50
along the longitudinal direction of the lower rail
50
, and a slide lock member
60
operable to maintain the lower rail
50
and the upper rail
51
in a lock state or an unlock state.
The lower rail
50
has a bottom wall
53
, a pair of side walls
52
and
52
extending from respective opposite side edges of the bottom wall
53
in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall
53
, top walls
56
and
56
extending inwardly from respective top edges of the side walls
52
and
52
, and dependent walls
54
extending towards the bottom wall
53
from respective edges of the top walls
56
and
56
. The upper rail
51
is anchor-like shape in cross-section and has an upright wall
57
lying perpendicular to the lower rail
50
and a pair of U-shaped walls
55
and
55
branched from the upright wall
52
and received in the lower rail
50
.
The vertical wall
52
of the lower rail
50
is provided with a plurality of openings
61
arranged in the longitudinal direction. The U-shaped wall
55
of the upper rail
51
has a hook portion provided with a plurality of openings
62
. The lock member
60
has three claws
63
which are adapted to simultaneously engage with the openings
61
and
62
of the lower rail
50
and upper rail
51
, so that the longitudinal slide movement of the upper rail
51
relative to the lower rail
50
is locked.
With the above construction, when a tensile force, for example, from the seat belt, is applied to the upper rail
51
, the upper edge
55
a
of each of the paired U-shaped walls
55
and
55
is brought into engagement with an inside surface of the corresponding top wall
56
, so as to support the upward load applied to the upper rail
51
. Therefore, in order to ensure a sufficient supporting strength against such upward load, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the lower rail
50
and the upper rail
51
. Thus, the conventional seat slide mechanism has a problem that the weight is increased and the production cost is high. Additionally, since the lock member
60
is designed to rotate about an axis, it is necessary to ensure a space for the rotation thereof.
The present invention has been made to overcome the problems of the conventional technique.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention there is provided a slide device for a vehicle seat, comprising:
a C-shaped lower rail (
2
) including a bottom wall (
21
) extending widthwise of the lower rail (
2
), first and second side walls (
22
a
,
22
b
) extending from respective opposite side edges of the bottom wall (
21
) in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall (
21
), first and second top walls (
23
a
,
23
b
) extending inwardly from respective top edges of the first and second side walls (
22
a
,
22
b
) and terminating spaced a distance from each other, and first and second dependent walls (
24
a
,
24
b
) extending towards the bottom wall (
21
) from respective edges of the first and second top walls (
23
a
,
23
b
) and defining a space (
26
) therebetween;
an upper rail (
3
) mounted on the lower rail (
2
) for sliding movement relative to the lower rail (
2
) and including an upright wall (
3
a
,
31
a
,
32
a
) lying perpendicular to the lower rail (
2
), and a pair of first and second U-shaped walls (
31
b
,
32
b
) branched from the upright wall (
3
a
,
31
a
,
32
a
) and received in the lower rail (
2
),
the first U-shaped wall (
31
b
) including a vertical wall (
31
b
1
) extending from the upright wall (
3
a
,
31
a
,
32
a
), a bottom wall (
31
b
3
) extending laterally outwardly towards the first side wall (
22
a
) of the lower rail (
2
) from a lower edge of the vertical wall (
31
b
1
), and an upturned wall (
31
b
2
) extending in parallel with the vertical wall (
31
b
1
) from a side edge of the bottom wall (
31
b
3
),
the first and second U-shaped walls (
31
b
,
32
b
) being arranged so that the vertical wall (
31
b
1
) is located in said space (
26
) between the first and second dependent walls (
24
a
,
24
b
) with the upturned wall (
31
b
2
) being located between the first dependent wall (
24
a
) and the first side wall (
22
a
) and with the second dependent wall (
24
b
) being located within the second U-shaped wall (
32
b
),
the first dependent wall (
24
a
) having a lower edge provided with a plurality of downwardly extending teeth (
25
),
the vertical wall (
31
b
1
) having at least one aperture (
35
) shaped to define an upwardly extending inner tooth (
33
),
the upturned wall (
31
b
2
) having at least one upwardly extending outer tooth (
34
);
a slide lock means (
4
) having at least one plate (
44
) laterally extending through the aperture (
35
) in a direction perpendicular to the vertical wall (
31
b
1
) and provided with an opening (
5
) with which the inner and outer teeth (
33
,
34
) of the vertical wall (
31
b
1
) and the upturned wall (
31
b
2
) are fitted so that the lock means (
4
) is moveable together with the lower rail (
2
),
the lock means(
4
) being displaceable between a lower, unlock position at which the opening (
5
) of the plate (
44
) is disengaged with the teeth (
25
) of the first depending wall (
24
a
) of the lower rail (
2
) to permit the longitudinal movement of the upper rail (
3
) relative to the lower rail (
2
) and an upper, lock position at which the opening (
5
) of the plate (
44
) is engaged with one of the teeth (
25
) of the first depending wall (
24
a
) of the lower rail (
2
) to prevent the longitudinal movement of the upper rail (
3
) relative to the lower rail (
2
); and
means (
6
,
7
,
8
,
9
) for displacing the lock means (
4
) between the lock position and the unlock position.
The slide device for a vehicle seat according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
REFERENCES:
patent: 5524504 (1996-06-01), Brandoli et al.
patent: 5775662 (1998-07-01), Hoshihara et al.
patent: 6152415 (2000-11-01), Seki et al.
patent: 6193203 (2001-02-01), Ikegaya et al.
patent: 03178835 (1991-08-01), None
patent: 0195964 (1995-01-01), None
patent: 09267676 (1997-10-01), None
Lorusso & Loud
Ramirez Ramon O.
Toyo Seat Co., Ltd.
LandOfFree
Slide device for vehicle seat does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Slide device for vehicle seat, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Slide device for vehicle seat will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2470923