The present invention relates to a vehicle seat detachably attached to a floor of a vehicle.
Conventionally, there is a vehicle seat detachably attached to a floor of a vehicle. For example, there is a vehicle seat that includes a lock mechanism detachably attached to a striker provided on a floor of a vehicle so as to lock the vehicle seat to the floor (see, JP2006-69499A).
In such a conventional vehicle seat, if an object other than the striker abuts against a particular part of the lock mechanism by accident, the lock mechanism may be activated by mistake in a state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor.
In view of such a problem of the prior art, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle seat that can prevent a lock mechanism from being activated by mistake in a state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor.
To achieve such an object, one embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle seat (1) detachably attached to a floor (F) of a vehicle (V), including: a seat body (3) configured to support an occupant; and a lock mechanism (6) disposed below the seat body, detachably attached to a first striker (S1) provided on the floor, and including a first lock part (34) that has a first lock groove (35) configured to be engaged with the first striker, and a cover (23) configured to be displaced between an exposing position to expose the first lock groove and a covering position to cover at least a part of the first lock groove.
According to this arrangement, by displacing the cover to the covering position, it is possible to prevent an object other than the first striker from abutting against a particular part of the lock mechanism by accident. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lock mechanism from being activated by mistake in a state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor.
Preferably, the lock mechanism further includes a second lock part (38) that has a second lock groove (39) configured to be engaged with a second striker (S2) provided on the floor, a lever (25) disposed at the second lock part and configured to be displaced between an activated position and an inactivated position, and a connecting member (26) connecting the cover and the lever, and when the second striker is engaged with the second lock groove, the second striker pushes the lever to displace the lever from the inactivated position to the activated position, and thereby, the lever pulls the cover via the connecting member to displace the cover from the covering position to the exposing position.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to displace the cover from the covering position to the exposing position by an attachment operation of the vehicle seat. Therefore, it is possible to more securely prevent the lock mechanism from being activated by mistake in the state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor.
Preferably, the lock mechanism further includes an urging member (24) configured to urge the cover to the covering position, and when engagement of the first striker with the first lock groove and engagement of the second striker with the second lock groove are released, the cover is displaced from the exposing position to the covering position by an urging force of the urging member.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to displace the cover from the exposing position to the covering position by a detachment operation of the vehicle seat. Therefore, it is possible to more securely prevent the lock mechanism from being activated by mistake in the state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor.
Preferably, the cover is configured to rotate between the exposing position and the covering position, and the lever is configured to rotate between the activated position and the inactivated position.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to displace the first and levers in small spaces.
Preferably, a rotational direction of the cover from the covering position to the exposing position is the same as a rotational direction of the lever from the inactivated position to the activated position.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to efficiently transmit rotation from the lever to the cover by a simple action.
Preferably, the cover includes a first upper arm (44) extending upward from a rotational center of the cover, the lever includes a second upper arm (48) extending upward from a rotational center of the lever, a first end in a longitudinal direction of the connecting member is connected to the first upper arm, and a second end in the longitudinal direction of the connecting member is connected to the second upper arm.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to stably activate the first and levers.
Preferably, the lever is disposed in front of the cover, and the connecting member is composed of a cable extending in a fore and aft direction.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to displace the connecting member in a small space and to make the configuration of the connecting member simple.
Preferably, in a state where the lever is disposed in the inactivated position, the lever extends in a direction crossing a direction along which the second striker engages with the second lock groove.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to more securely prevent the lock mechanism from being activated by mistake in the state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor and to more securely displace the lever from the inactivated position to the activated position when the second striker is engaged with the second lock groove.
Preferably, the vehicle seat further includes a slide rail (4) configured to slidably support the seat body, wherein the connecting member is disposed below the slide rail.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to protect the connecting member by the slide rail, and thereby to prevent the connecting member from being damaged or deformed by an outside force.
Preferably, the vehicle seat further includes: a slide rail (4) configured to slidably support the seat body; and a rail cover (5) configured to cover at least a part of the slide rail, wherein the connecting member is disposed inside the rail cover.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to protect the connecting member by the rail cover, and thereby to prevent the connecting member from being damaged or deformed by an outside force.
Preferably, the cover is formed in a bag shape and configured to cover an entirety of the first lock groove in a state where the cover is disposed in the covering position.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to securely prevent the object other than the first striker from abutting against the particular part of the lock mechanism by accident in the state where the cover is disposed in the covering position.
Preferably, the cover is formed in a plate shape and configured to cover only a part of the first lock groove in a state where the cover is disposed in the covering position.
According to this arrangement, it is possible to make the configuration of the cover simple.
Thus, the present invention provides a vehicle seat that can prevent a lock mechanism from being activated by mistake in a state where the vehicle seat is detached from the floor.
In the following, a vehicle seat 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
As shown in
The vehicle seat 1 includes a seat body 3 configured to support the occupant, a pair of left and right slide rails 4 (only the right slide rail 4 is shown in the drawings) configured to slidably support the seat body 3, a pair of left and right rail covers 5 (only the right rail cover 5 is shown in the drawings) configured to cover a rear part of each slide rail 4, and a pair of left and right lock mechanisms 6 (only the right lock mechanism 6 is shown in the drawings) disposed below the seat body 3 and detachably attached to each of the front and rear strikers S1, S2. Hereinafter, the above components of the vehicle seat 1 will be described in order.
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In a rear part of the base member 21, a first lock part 34 is formed by both of the inner plate 31 and the outer plate 32. The first lock part 34 has a first lock groove 35 configured to be engaged with each first striker S1. The first lock groove 35 extends vertically and is opened downward. The first lock part 34 is provided with a stopper 36 disposed at a front edge of the first lock groove 35. In a front part of the base member 21, a second lock part 38 is formed by the inner plate 31. The second lock part 38 has a second lock groove 39 configured to be engaged with each second striker S2. Arrows X shown in
As shown in
The cover 23 of each lock mechanism 6 is made of steel and formed in a plate shape, for example. The cover 23 is disposed at the first lock part 34. The cover 23 is attached to the outer face of the base member 21 via a first rotation axis 43 so as to rotate around the first rotation axis 43. The cover 23 includes a first upper arm 44 extending upward from the first rotation axis 43 (namely, the rotational center of the cover 23) and a first lower arm 45 extending downward from the first rotation axis 43. The cover 23 is configured to rotate between an exposing position (see
The urging member 24 of each lock mechanism 6 is composed of a coil spring, for example. A first axial end of the urging member 24 is attached to the base member 21 and a second axial end of the urging member 24 is attached to the first upper arm 44 of the cover 23. The urging member 24 is configured to urge the cover 23 to the covering position (see
The lever 25 of each lock mechanism 6 is made of steel and formed in a plate shape, for example. The lever 25 is disposed at the second lock part 38. The lever 25 is attached to the outer face of the base member 21 via a second rotation axis 47 so as to rotate around the second rotation axis 47. The lever 25 includes a second upper arm 48 extending upward from the second rotation axis 47 (namely, the rotational center of the lever 25) and a second lower arm 49 extending downward from the second rotation axis 47. The lever 25 is configured to rotate between an activated position (see
The connecting member 26 of each lock mechanism 6 is composed of a cable, for example. The connecting member 26 extends in the fore and aft direction along the outer face of the base member 21. The connecting member 26 is disposed below each slide rail 4. A rear end (a first end in the longitudinal direction) of the connecting member 26 is connected to the first upper arm 44 of the cover 23 via a first attachment 51. A front end (a second end in the longitudinal direction) of the connecting member 26 is connected to the second upper arm 48 of the lever 25 via a second attachment 52. A center part in the longitudinal direction of the connecting member 26 is inserted into a tube 53 extending in the fore and aft direction.
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The lock member 28 of each lock mechanism 6 is attached to the inner face of the base member 21 via a third rotation axis 59 so as to rotate around the third rotation axis 59. A protrusion 60 is provided on a rear face of the lock member 28 so as to be engaged with the recess 57 of the latch member 27. The lock member 28 is connected to an operation member (not shown) such as a lever or a button via a wire cable 61.
The spring member 29 of each lock mechanism 6 is composed of a coil spring, for example. The spring member 29 urges the latch member 27 to the release position (see
In the following, attachment/detachment operation of the vehicle seat 1 will be described in detail. Incidentally, the actions of the pair of left and right lock mechanisms 6 during the attachment/detachment operation of the vehicle seat 1 are similar to each other. Hereinafter, the action of only one lock mechanism 6 will be described.
As shown in
When a worker such as an occupant performs the attachment operation of the vehicle seat 1, as shown in
Next, the worker lowers the rear part of the vehicle seat 1. Thereby, as shown in
Next, as shown in
When the worker performs the detachment operation of the vehicle seat 1, the worker first rotates the seat back 9 from the upright position to the folded position.
Next, the worker operates the operation member (not shown) connected to the lock member 28 via the wire cable 61. When the operation member is operated in this way, the operation member pulls the lock member 28 via the wire cable 61. Thereby, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Next, as shown in
In the present embodiment, the cover 23 is configured to rotate between the exposing position to expose the first lock groove 35 and the covering position to cover the lower part of the first lock groove 35. Accordingly, by rotating the cover 23 to the covering position, it is possible to prevent an object other than the first striker S1 from abutting against the abutting face 56 of the latch member 27 by accident. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lock mechanism 6 from being activated by mistake in the state where the vehicle seat 1 is detached from the floor F. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a situation where the first striker S1 abuts against the latch member 27 that has already rotated from the release position to the engagement position when the vehicle seat 1 is attached to the floor F. Also, it is possible to protect the first lock groove 35 by the cover 23 and thereby to prevent the first lock groove 35 from being damaged or broken.
Also, the first striker S1 cannot be appropriately engaged with the first lock groove 35 unless the second striker S2 is engaged with the second lock groove 39. Thereby, it is possible to urge the worker to engage the first striker S1 to the first lock groove 35 after engaging the second striker S2 to the second lock groove 39. That is, it is possible to urge the worker to attach the vehicle seat 1 to the floor F with a correct procedure.
Also, when the second striker S2 is engaged with the second lock groove 39, the second striker S2 pushes the lever 25 to rotate the lever 25 from the inactivated position to the activated position, and thereby, the lever 25 pulls the cover 23 via the connecting member 26 to rotate the cover 23 from the covering position to the exposing position. Accordingly, it is possible to displace the cover 23 from the covering position to the exposing position by the attachment operation of the vehicle seat 1. Therefore, it is possible to more securely prevent the lock mechanism 6 from being activated by mistake in the state where the vehicle seat 1 is detached from the floor F.
Also, when the engagement of the first striker S1 with the first lock groove 35 and the engagement of the second striker S2 with the second lock groove 39 are released, the cover 23 rotates from the exposing position to the covering position by the urging force of the urging member 24. Accordingly, it is possible to rotate the cover 23 from the exposing position to the covering position by the detachment operation of the vehicle seat 1. Therefore, it is possible to more securely prevent the lock mechanism 6 from being activated by mistake in the state where the vehicle seat 1 is detached from the floor F.
Also, the connecting member 26 is disposed below each slide rail 4. Accordingly, it is possible to protect the connecting member 26 by each slide rail 4, and thereby to prevent the connecting member 26 from being damaged or deformed by an outside force.
Also, the cover 23 is formed in a plate shape and configured to cover only a part of the first lock groove 35 in the state where the cover 23 is disposed in the covering position. Accordingly, it is possible to make the configuration of the cover 23 simple.
In the present embodiment, the connecting member 26 is disposed below each slide rail 4. In another embodiment, as shown in
In the present embodiment, the cover 23 is formed in a plate shape and configured to cover only a part of the first lock groove 35 in the state where the cover 23 is disposed in the covering position. In another embodiment, as shown in
In the present embodiment, the connecting member 26 is composed of a cable. In another embodiment, the connecting member 26 may be composed of a member other than a cable (for, example, the connecting member 26 may be composed of a bent wire made of steel or a rod). In this case, the lever 25 may push the cover 23 via the connecting member 26 to displace the cover 23 from the covering position to the exposing position.
In the present embodiment, the first and levers 23, 25 rotate. In another embodiment, the first and levers 23, 25 may slide in the fore and aft direction.
In the present embodiment, the cover 23 exposes the entirety of the first lock groove 35 in the state where the cover 23 is disposed in the exposing position (see
Concrete embodiments of the present invention have been described in the foregoing, but the present invention should not be limited by the foregoing embodiments and various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the present invention.
This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/951,525, filed on Dec. 20, 2019. The contents of the provisional application are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62951525 | Dec 2019 | US |