The present invention relates to a swinging apparatus.
An elevating and lowering apparatus has been proposed which is installed in an uneven place or in a van type vehicle to perform a loading or unloading operation (for example, Patent Document 1). As shown in
In this structure, the swinging arm 5 is connected to the suspension arm 1A of the pallet 1. Accordingly, even while out of use, the swinging arm 5 extends upward far from the pallet 1. This increases the size of the apparatus even in a vertical direction, thus degrading the aesthetic aspect of the apparatus. This apparatus thus leaves room for improvement.
An elevating and lowering apparatus different from the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 comprises a pivoting support mechanism and an elevating and lowering mechanism (for example, Patent Document 2). The pivoting support mechanism supports a seat so that the seat can be pivoted between a forward position where it is directed in a vehicle advancing direction and a pivoted position where it is directed toward a door opening. The elevating and lowering mechanism elevates and lowers the seat in the pivoted position, outside the vehicle through the door opening. These mechanisms comprise dedicated driving sources (driving motors). A control device switches the driving to allow the mechanisms to perform predetermined operations.
However, the elevating and lowering apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 has an increased size because the pivoting support mechanism and the elevating and lowering mechanism have the dedicated driving source. This apparatus thus leaves room for improvement. Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-67173 Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-47898
A problem to be solved by the present invention is the difficulty in reducing the size of the swinging apparatus.
The present invention is mainly characterized in that amount is rotatively moved around a connection portion in a direction opposite to that in which a swing arm be rotatively moved, so as to be held in a horizontal posture even during a swinging operation.
The swinging apparatus in accordance with the present invention is configured so that when a swing arm is in a set position, a mount and a base member are diagonally positioned. This prevents the swing arm from extending upward from the mount. Consequently, the size of the apparatus can be reduced across the height.
Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the swing arm is swung, a movable sprocket rotatively moves in a direction opposite to a swinging direction. This allows the mount to be held in a horizontal posture with respect to the base member regardless of the swinging operation of the swing arm. Further, some such posture holding portions operate via a four-node link, that is, four supporting points. However, the sprocket operates via two supporting points, and thus has a simple structure and operates smoothly.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, when a driving portion rotatively moves a horizontal rotating shaft, the mount is swung (elevated or lowered and moved forward or backward) via the swing arm. As the horizontal rotating shaft rotates, its rotating operation is directionally converted into a rotating operation around a vertical rotating shaft, with the converted rotating operation transmitted to a rotatively moving portion. This rotatively moves the base member and thus the mount. Thus, both swinging operation and rotatively moving operation can be performed using the same driving source. This makes it possible to reduce the number of parts required and thus the size of the whole apparatus.
Moreover, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a converting portion comprises such a pair of gears as allows the rotating shafts to cross at right angles. The converting portion thus has a simple structure.
Furthermore, according to another embodiment of the present invention, a transmitting portion joins two sprockets together via a belt. Consequently, even if the two sprockets are spaced from each other, their power can be easily transmitted.
Further, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the swing arm is inverted, that is, rotatively moved through about 180° around the horizontal rotating shaft. This ensures a sufficient stroke for a seat portion when it swings to the exterior or interior of the vehicle (for a swinging angle of 180°, a stroke is ensured which is almost double the length of the swing arm).
An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16.
The passenger seat 20 is composed of a seat portion 30 consisting of a seat cushion 31, a seat back 32, and a headrest 33, and a rotatively moving and swinging apparatus M. The apparatus M causes the seat portion 30 to perform an internal slide operation for adjusting the seat position in the compartment and an external projecting operation and retracting operation for allowing a passenger to get in or out smoothly. The projecting and retracting operation causes the seat portion 30 to perform a combination of a rotatively moving operation and a swinging operation to displace the seat portion 30 between a forward position (position shown in
The rotatively moving and swinging apparatus M comprises a slide portion 35 that causes the seat portion 30 to perform an internal slide operation, a rotatively moving portion 40 that causes the seat portion 30 to perform a rotatively moving operation, and a swinging portion 50 that causes the seat portion 30 to perform a swinging operation.
As shown in
As shown in
Further, upward sidewalls 46 are provided at a left and right side edge of the rotatively moving pedestal 45 along its length. The front (hereinafter referred to an attaching wall 47) of each of the sidewalls 46 is extended upward from the remaining part of the sidewall 46. A swing arm 55 described later is installed on the attaching wall 47.
Subsequently, the swinging portion 50 will be described.
Reference numeral 51 shown in
Specifically, axial holes 56A and 47A are drilled in the inner periphery of the sprocket 56 and the attaching wall 47, respectively. The sprocket 56 is welded to the outer surface of the attaching wall 47 with both axial holes 56A and 47A aligned with each other. A driving shaft (corresponding to a connection portion of the base member in accordance with the present invention) 60 penetrates the axial holes 56A and 47A. The swing arms 55 are relatively fixed at the laterally opposite axial ends of the driving shaft 60 (horizontal rotating shaft) penetrating the axial holes. An electric motor 67 described later drives the driving shaft 60, which is thus rotatively moved. This rotatively moves the swing arms 55 integrally with the driving shaft 60. The sprocket 56 is hereinafter referred to as a fixed sprocket.
On the other hand, axial holes 52A are formed in the rear of the left and right connection frame 52 at opposite positions. A connection shaft (corresponding to a connection portion of the mount in accordance with the present invention) 63 penetrates the axial holes 52A. The sprockets 57 are idly inserted around the respective ends of the connection shaft 63. Moreover, a free end of the swing arm 55 is fixed to the connection shaft 63 outside each of the sprockets 57 (sprocket 57 is hereinafter referred to as the movable sprocket). Further, the movable sprockets 57 are screwed (clamped) to the connection frame 52 via a pair of bolts. Consequently, when the movable sprockets 57 rotate around the connection shaft 63, the connection frames 52 rotate integrally with the movable sprockets 57. Gear portions 56B and 57B are formed all along the outer peripheries of the fixed and movable sprockets 56 and 57, respectively. A chain (corresponding to a belt in accordance with the present invention) 65 is passed around the tooth portions 56B and 57B. As shown in
Now, description will be given of the electric motor 67 (driving portion) that drives the swinging portion 50. The electric motor 67 is installed on the sidewall 46 of the rotatively moving pedestal 45 via a joint bracket (not shown). A rotating shaft of the electric motor 67 is connected to the axial end of the driving shaft 60 for the swing arms 55 via a speed reduction gear 69. This allows the rotary motion of the electric motor 67 to be transmitted to the driving shaft 60 while the speed reduction gear 69 is decelerating the rotary motion. Further, in the present embodiment, a start switch is provided in, for example, the seat cushion 31 to operate a driving circuit for the electric motor 67. Thus, the switch is operated to drive or stop the electric motor 67.
As described above, as shown in
In the present embodiment, a link mechanism is interposed between the swinging portion 50 and the rotatively moving portion 40 to combine the rotatively moving operation with the swinging operation.
In the present embodiment, the link mechanism is composed of a transmitting portion 71 and a converting portion 91. First, the converting portion 91 will be described.
As shown in
A relay pin 86 (vertical rotating shaft) is rotatively movably supported in the lower chamber 81B so that its axial end projects into the upper chamber 81A. A bevel gear 93 (vertical gear) is fixed to the part of the relay pin 86 which projects into the upper chamber 81A; the bevel gear 93 is provided with a tooth portion 93A on its top surface. On the other hand, a pair of bypass ports 85A is formed in a left and right lateral wall 85 of the upper chamber 81A of the gear box 81. The driving shaft 60 for the swing arms 55 is inserted through the bypass ports 85A. Moreover, a change gear 95 (horizontal gear) is installed on the driving shaft 60 so as to be rotatively movable integrally with the driving shaft 60; the change gear 95 is engageable with the bevel gear 93. The gears 93 and 95 engage with each other in the upper chamber 81A of the gearbox 81.
Thus, once the driving shaft 60 for the swing arms 55 rotatively moves, the engagement between the change gear 95 and the bevel gear 93 converts rotary motion around the driving shaft 60 (rotary motion around a horizontal axis) into rotary motion around the relay pin 86 (rotary motion around a vertical axis) (converting portion).
Further, as shown in
On the other hand, a small-diameter sprocket 87 (rotating sprocket) is fitted around the outer periphery of the relay pin 86; the small-diameter sprocket 87 is rotatively movable integrally with the relay pin 86. Further, as shown in
Thus, the rotatively moving operation of the rotatively moving pedestal 45 is combined with the swinging operation of the swing arm 55. In the loading and unloading position shown in
Reference numeral 105 shown in
Now, description will be given of a procedure for projecting the seat portion 30 out of the car.
First, the passenger first gets out of the car, while leaving the passenger 20 side door 14 open. The passenger subsequently turns on the switch to project the seat portion 30 out of the car. In other words, the switch is turned on to start driving the electric motor 67. This allows the rotary motion of the electric motor 67 to be transmitted to the driving shaft 60 while being decelerated via the speed reduction gear 69. The swing arms 55 are then rotatively moved integrally with the driving shaft 60. This causes the seat portion 30 to rise gradually from the forward position (position shown in
When the driving shaft 60 rotatively moves, the engagement between the change gear 95 and the bevel gear 93 allows the rotating motion around the driving shaft 60 to be transmitted to the relay pin 86. This causes the small-diameter sprocket 87 to rotate around the relay pin 86. When the small-diameter sprocket 87 rotates, the rotative motion is converted into a revolution around the main pin 72 via the chain 89 and large-diameter sprocket 73. This causes the outer ring 44, and thus the rotatively moving pedestal, 45 to rotatively move around the main pin 72. The seat portion 30 is thus turned toward the exterior of the car as shown in
Thus, once the switch is turned on to drive the electric motor 67, the seat portion 30 performs a combination of the swinging operation (vertical movement involving an operation of moving into or out of the car). The seat portion 30 continues to rise until the swing arms 55 are brought into an upright position as shown in
The swing arms 55 pass through a horizontal posture shown in
Under these conditions, the swing arms 55 are hanging as shown in
Further, as shown in
Thus, according to the present embodiment, the rotatively moving pedestal 45 is provided in the area sandwiched between the opposite swing arms 55. This prevents the rotatively moving pedestal 45 from extending sideward. Further, in the frontward position, the swing arms 55 diagonally position the rotatively moving pedestal 45 and cushion base 51. This prevents the swing arms 55 from extending upward from the cushion base 51. Therefore, the size of the apparatus can be reduced across the width and height.
Further, a 4-node link consisting of four supporting points is used by a well-known configuration (posture holding portion) for holding the posture of the cushion base 51 during the swinging operation of the swing arm 55. However, the sprockets operate via two supporting points and thus have a simple configuration and operate smoothly.
Moreover, the link mechanism is interposed between the rotatively moving portion 40 and the swinging portion 50. A swinging operation of the swing arm 55 via the electric motor 67 rotatively moves the rotatively moving pedestal 45 in unison with the swinging operation. Thus, both swinging and rotatively moving operation can be achieved using the same driving source. This makes it possible to reduce the number of parts required and the size of the whole apparatus.
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above with reference to the drawings. For example, embodiments described below are also included within the scope of the present invention. Many other variations may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
(1) The present embodiment interposes the link portion between the rotatively moving portion and the swinging portion. However, the link portion may be omitted and a dedicated driving source may be used for the rotatively moving portion.
When the rotatively moving portion and swinging portion are thus independent of each other, only the swinging portion can be used to adjust the height of the seat (lifter function). To project the seat portion out of the car or retract it into the car, the pivoting operation of the rotatively moving portion may be combined with the projecting or retracting operation.
(2) The present embodiment applies the rotatively moving and swinging apparatus M to the passenger seat 20 in the vehicle. However, the rotatively moving and swinging apparatus M may be used for other applications, for example, a loading or unloading operation in an uneven place.
(3) The present embodiment fixes the sprockets 56 on the rotatively moving pedestal 45, while rotatively moving the sprockets 57 on the cushion base 51. However, this arrangement may be reversed.
(4) The present embodiment sets the swinging angle of the swing arms 55 at about 180°. However, the swing arms 55 may swing through a larger angle.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2003-388406 | Nov 2003 | JP | national |
2003-388407 | Nov 2003 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/JP04/16604 | 11/9/2004 | WO | 4/3/2007 |