Seat apparatus

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-220195 filed with the Japan Patent Office on Oct. 28, 2009, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a seat apparatus in which a seat back can be inclined with respect to a seat cushion.

2. Related Art

As a conventional seat apparatus in which a seat back can be inclined with respect to a seat cushion, a vehicle seat disclosed in Patent Document 1 listed below is known. This vehicle seat includes two manipulating units, i.e., a webbing manipulated for reclining adjustment and a manipulation knob manipulated to incline the seat back forward and fold it over the seat cushion. This seat apparatus is provided with a lock lever having a hook projection engaged with a step portion of a base plate on a free hinge side. Accordingly, the seat back is not inclined forward more than necessary when the webbing is manipulated. This prevents an occupant from feeling cramped between the seat back and the seat cushion when he/she does reclining adjustment while seated.

The document that describes the related art is listed below.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent No. 3578905

The above seat apparatus is configured to allow the occupant to manually fold the seat back. Thus, when the seat back in a forward inclined state is moved back to an upright state, the occupant needs to use his/her energy, which bothers the occupant. However, if a motor or the like is merely adopted to motorize (automate) the inclination of the seat back, a complicated configuration including a control unit, and the like is required, which will increase the production cost.

An object of an aspect according to the present invention is to provide a seat apparatus capable of automating inclination of a seat back by a simple configuration.

To achieve the above object, a seat apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a seat apparatus having a seat cushion supported on a floor surface and a seat back attached to, and inclinable relative to, the seat cushion and moved between an upright position and a forward inclined position, including: a biasing member which biases the seat back in a forward inclined direction; a lock mechanism which can lock the seat back not to be relatively inclinable at the upright position; a lock lever which is supported on the seat cushion and switches the lock mechanism between a lock state and a lock release state, and causes the lock mechanism to be in the lock release state by being moved in a lock release direction and causes the lock mechanism to be in the lock state by being moved in a lock direction along with movement of the seat back in the lock release state to the upright position; a gear which is pivotally supported on the seat back, is configured to be turned in a first turning direction corresponding to the forward inclined direction and in a second turning direction, and has a first abutting portion and a second abutting portion, wherein the first abutting portion is set to abut on a stopper fixed in the seat cushion by turning of the gear in the first turning direction while the second abutting portion is set to abut on the lock lever by turning of the gear in the second turning direction thereby to move the lock lever in the lock release direction; a motor which has a motor shaft meshed with the gear and is attached to the seat back, and causes the gear to be turned in the first turning direction by rotating the motor shaft in a first rotating direction and causes the gear to be turned in the second turning direction by rotating the motor shaft in a second rotating direction; a motor controlling unit which controls driving of the motor; a detecting unit which detects whether or not the seat back is in the upright position; and a manipulating unit which is manipulated when the seat back is to be moved to either the upright position or the forward inclined position, wherein, in a case where the manipulating unit is manipulated when the detecting unit detects the fact that the seat back is in the upright position, the motor controlling unit controls driving of the motor and rotates the motor shaft in the second rotating direction until the gear turned in the second turning direction moves the lock lever in the lock release direction at the second abutting portion thereby to cause the lock mechanism to be in the lock release state, and in a case where the manipulating unit is manipulated when the detecting unit detects the fact that the seat back is not in the upright position, the motor controlling unit controls driving of the motor and rotates the motor shaft in the first rotating direction until the detecting unit detects the fact that the seat back is in the upright position.

A seat apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the seat apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the detecting unit is in contact with a part of the seat back in the upright position, and this contact state is set to be released by inclination of the seat back from the upright position to the forward inclined position, and the detecting unit detects whether or not the seat back is in the upright position based on the contact state.

In the seat apparatus according to the first aspect, in a case where the manipulating unit is manipulated when the detecting unit detects the fact that the seat back is in the upright position, the motor controlling unit controls driving of the motor and rotates the motor shaft in the second rotating direction until the gear turned in the second turning direction moves the lock lever in the lock release direction at the second abutting portion thereby to cause the lock mechanism to be in the lock release state.

When the manipulating unit is manipulated to incline the seat back in the upright position in the forward inclined direction in this manner, the motor shaft is rotated in the second rotating direction. Since this causes the gear to be turned in the second turning direction, the second abutting portion moves the lock lever in the lock release direction. Consequently, the lock mechanism goes into the lock release state. Accordingly, the seat back in the upright position can automatically be inclined in the forward inclined direction by the biasing force of the biasing member.

Also, in a case where the manipulating unit is manipulated when the detecting unit detects the fact that the seat back is not in the upright position, the motor controlling unit controls driving of the motor and rotates the motor shaft in the first rotating direction until the detecting unit detects the fact that the seat back is in the upright position.

When the manipulating unit is manipulated to move back the seat back in the forward inclined position in the upright direction in this manner, the motor shaft is rotated in the first rotating direction. This causes the gear to be turned in the first turning direction to abut on the stopper at the first abutting portion. Thus, even when the motor shaft is further rotated in the first rotating direction, the gear cannot be turned since it is abutting on the stopper. Accordingly, the motor is moved in a direction corresponding to the second turning direction while meshed with the gear. This movement of the motor causes the seat back, to which the motor is attached, to be moved in a direction corresponding to the second turning direction, that is, the upright direction, with respect to the gear. Thus, the seat back in the forward inclined position can automatically be moved in the upright direction against the biasing force of the biasing member.

In particular, the seat apparatus according to the first aspect can be obtained by adding the aforementioned gear, motor, motor controlling unit, and the like to a conventional seat apparatus in which the seat back is manually inclined. Accordingly, inclination of the seat back can be automated by a simple configuration.

In the seat apparatus according to the second aspect, the detecting unit is in contact with a part of the seat back in the upright position. This contact state is set to be released by inclination of the seat back from the upright position to the forward inclined position. That is, the detecting unit is configured to detect whether or not the seat back is in the upright position based on the contact state. Thus, it is possible to detect whether or not the seat back is in the upright position by a simple configuration.

The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing an example of a seat apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a connecting portion of a seat cushion frame and a seat back frame seen from a sector gear side;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the connecting portion of the seat cushion frame and the seat back frame seen from a limit switch side;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electric configuration of the seat apparatus;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are enlarged views for explaining a function of the limit switch, wherein FIG. 5A shows a contact state between a lever and a moving piece, and FIG. 5B shows a state where the contact is released;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of sheet inclination processing by an ECU;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are side views for explaining inclination of a seat back, seen from the sector gear side, in a forward inclined direction, wherein FIG. 7A shows an upright position of the seat back, FIG. 7B shows a state where the seat back is being inclined, and FIG. 7C shows a forward inclined position of the seat back;

FIGS. 8A to 8C are side views for explaining inclination of the seat back, seen from the limit switch side, in the forward inclined direction, wherein FIG. 8A shows the upright position of the seat back, FIG. 8B shows a state where the seat back is being inclined, and FIG. 8C shows the forward inclined position of the seat back; and

FIGS. 9A to 9C are side views for explaining inclination of the seat back, seen from the sector gear side, in an upright direction, wherein FIG. 9A shows the forward inclined position of the seat back, FIG. 9B shows a state where the seat back is being moved in the upright direction, and FIG. 9C shows the upright position of the seat back.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate similar or identical parts throughout the several views thereof.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a seat apparatus 10 according to an aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The seat apparatus 10 is mounted to be inclinable in a vehicle as a backseat of the vehicle, for example. The seat apparatus 10 includes a seat cushion 11 receiving an occupant's hip and a seat back 12 receiving the occupant's back as shown in FIG. 1 . The seat cushion 11 is supported on a floor surface. The seat back 12 is attached to, and inclinable relative to, the seat cushion 11 and is moved between an upright position and a forward inclined position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , a seat cushion frame 11 a is a framework of the seat cushion 11 . Also, a seat back frame 12 a is a framework of the seat back 12 . These frames 11 a and 12 a are connected to each other via a connecting shaft 21 and a lock member 22 . The lock member 22 has a function of locking the seat back frame 12 a , which is in the upright position (position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 ), so that the seat back frame 12 a cannot be inclined relative to the seat cushion frame 11 a . Note that the lock member 22 corresponds to an example of a “lock mechanism” described in the appended claims.

The seat back frame 12 a is biased in a forward inclined direction (α 2 direction in FIGS. 2 and 3 ) by a spiral spring 23 arranged around the connecting shaft 21 . When the lock member 22 is in a lock release state, the seat back frame 12 a is inclined in the forward inclined direction by the biasing force of the spiral spring 23 . Due to this inclination, the seat back 12 is inclined forward to the seat cushion 11 . Note that the spiral spring 23 corresponds to an example of a “biasing member” described in the appended claims.

The lock member 22 is provided with a lock lever 24 to switch the lock member 22 between a lock state and a lock release state. This lock lever 24 is supported on the seat cushion frame 11 a and is turnable around the connecting shaft 21 . The lock lever 24 is biased to a lock position by a biasing member (not shown) such as a coil spring. The lock lever 24 is configured to cause the lock member 22 to be in the lock release state by being moved in a lock release direction against the biasing force. The lock lever 24 is also configured to cause the lock member 22 to be in the lock state by being moved in a lock direction by the aforementioned biasing force when the seat back 12 is moved to the upright position during the lock release state.

Also, the seat apparatus 10 includes a sector gear 25 and a motor 26 for turning this sector gear 25 . The sector gear 25 is pivotally supported on the seat back frame 12 a , around the connecting shaft 21 as a turning center. This sector gear 25 is formed to be meshed at its external gear 25 a with a pinion gear 26 a provided at a motor shaft of the motor 26 at all times. This external gear 25 a is formed at an approximately semicircular portion of the sector gear 25 . At a portion opposite the approximately semicircular portion of the sector gear 25 are formed a first abutting portion 25 b and a second abutting portion 25 c each having a planar portion.

The motor 26 is attached to the seat back frame 12 a . Rotation of the pinion gear 26 a in a first rotating direction (β 1 direction in FIG. 2 ) causes the sector gear 25 meshed with the pinion gear 26 a to be turned in a first turning direction (γ 1 direction in FIG. 2 ). When the sector gear 25 is turned in the first turning direction in this manner, its first abutting portion 25 b abuts on a cylindrical stopper 27 fixed in the seat cushion frame 11 a.

Also, rotation of the pinion gear 26 a in a second rotating direction (β 2 direction in FIG. 2 ) causes the sector gear 25 to be turned in a second turning direction (γ 2 direction in FIG. 2 ). When the sector gear 25 is turned in the second turning direction in this manner, its second abutting portion 25 c abuts on the lock lever 24 . As a result, the lock lever 24 is thrust in the lock release direction. Note that the sector gear 25 corresponds to an example of a “gear” described in the appended claims.

Also, as shown in FIG. 4 , the seat apparatus 10 includes an ECU 31 , a limit switch 32 , and a manipulation switch 33 . The ECU 31 is an electronic control unit controlling driving of the motor 26 by executing after-mentioned inclination processing. The limit switch 32 is attached to the seat cushion frame 11 a . As shown in FIG. 5A , when the seat back frame 12 a is in the upright position, the limit switch 32 is in contact with, by a lever 32 a , a moving piece 12 b which is a part of the seat back frame 12 a . On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B , when the seat back frame 12 a is inclined in the forward inclined direction, the aforementioned contact state between the lever 32 a and the moving piece 12 b is released. Thus, the limit switch 32 plays a role of detecting whether or not the seat back 12 is in the upright position based on the aforementioned contact state. When the lever 32 a and the moving piece 12 b are in the contact state, that is, when the seat back 12 is in the upright position, the limit switch 32 outputs a contact signal to the ECU 31 . Note that the spiral spring 23 is not shown in FIG. 5B and after-mentioned FIGS. 8B and 8C for convenience. Also note that the ECU 31 corresponds to an example of a “motor controlling unit” described in the appended claims, and that the limit switch 32 corresponds to an example of a “detecting unit” described in the appended claims.

Also, the manipulation switch 33 is a single button-type switch manipulated when the seat back 12 is to be moved to either the upright position or the forward inclined position. This manipulation switch 33 is arranged at a driver's side door, for example. When pressed by an occupant, the manipulation switch 33 outputs a manipulation signal to the ECU 31 . Note that the manipulation switch 33 corresponds to an example of a “manipulating unit” described in the appended claims.

The ECU 31 includes a driving circuit to control driving of the motor 26 . In a case where a manipulation signal is input from the manipulation switch 33 while a contact signal is input from the limit switch 32 , the ECU 31 controls driving of the motor 26 to rotate the pinion gear 26 a in the second rotating direction. As a result, the seat back 12 is inclined to the forward inclined position. In contrast, in a case where the manipulation signal is input from the manipulation switch 33 when no contact signal is input from the limit switch 32 , the ECU 31 controls driving of the motor 26 to rotate the pinion gear 26 a in the first rotating direction. As a result, the seat back 12 is moved to the upright position.

Next, seat inclination processing by the ECU 31 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 9 .

In a case where an occupant wishes to incline the seat back 12 to the forward inclined position when the seat back 12 is in the upright position shown in FIGS. 7A and 8A for the purpose of baggage loading or the like, he/she presses the manipulation switch 33 . Accordingly, the ECU 31 makes a determination of Yes at Step 5101 in FIG. 6 . Subsequently, whether or not a contact signal has been input from the limit switch 32 is determined at Step S 103 .

At this stage, the lever 32 a of the limit switch 32 and the moving piece 12 b are in the contact state. Thus, the contact signal has been input from the limit switch 32 to the ECU 31 . Accordingly, the ECU 31 makes a determination of Yes at Step S 103 . Subsequently, driving processing is performed at Step S 105 . In this manner, the control of driving of the motor 26 causes the pinion gear 26 a to be rotated in the second rotating direction (β 2 direction in FIG. 7A ).

Accordingly, the sector gear 25 meshed with the pinion gear 26 a is turned in the second turning direction (γ 2 direction in FIG. 7A ), and its second abutting portion 25 c abuts on the lock lever 24 . Then, when the pinion gear 26 a is further rotated in the second rotating direction, along with which the sector gear 25 is further turned in the second turning direction, the lock lever 24 is thrust in the lock release direction by the second abutting portion 25 c . Consequently, the lock member 22 goes into the lock release state.

Next, whether or not the lock member 22 is in the lock release state is determined at Step S 107 . When the lock member 22 is in the lock release state as described above (Yes in S 107 ), processing to stop rotation of the motor is performed at Step S 113 . Processing from Step S 101 to Step S 113 is repeated until the power is turned off (until the ECU 31 makes a determination of Yes at Step S 115 ). Note that, in the determination processing at Step S 107 , whether or not the lock member 22 is in the lock release state is determined by estimation of the turning position of the sector gear 25 based on the rotating position of the pinion gear 26 a calculated in accordance with pulses output from the motor 26 . In addition to this, however, whether or not the lock member 22 is in the lock release state may also be determined in accordance with a lapse of estimated time considered necessary for the lock member 22 to be in the lock release state, for example. Also, whether or not the lock member 22 is in the lock release state may be determined based on the shutoff of input of the contact signal from the limit switch 32 .

When the lock member 22 is in the lock release state as described above, the seat back 12 as well as the seat back frame 12 a is automatically inclined in the forward inclined direction (α 2 direction in FIGS. 7B and 8B ) by the biasing force of the spiral spring 23 . Since the limit switch 32 is attached to the seat cushion frame 11 a , the contact between the lever 32 a of the limit switch 32 and the moving piece 12 b of the seat back frame 12 a is released. As a result, input of the contact signal from the limit switch 32 to the ECU 31 is shut off.

When the seat back 12 is inclined to the forward inclined position, the seat back frame 12 a abuts on a frame stopper 11 b . Accordingly, the aforementioned inclination is stopped (refer to FIGS. 7C and 8C ).

On the other hand, in a case where the occupant wishes to move back the seat back 12 in the forward inclined position shown in FIG. 9A to the upright position, he/she presses the manipulation switch 33 . Accordingly, the ECU 31 makes a determination of Yes at Step S 101 in FIG. 6 . Subsequently, whether or not the contact signal has been input from the limit switch 32 is determined at Step S 103 .

At this stage, the contact signal from the limit switch 32 is shut off. Accordingly, the ECU 31 makes a determination of No at Step S 103 . Subsequently, driving processing is performed at Step S 109 . In this manner, the control of driving of the motor 26 causes the pinion gear 26 a to be rotated in the first rotating direction (β 1 direction in FIG. 9A ).

Accordingly, the sector gear 25 meshed with the pinion gear 26 a is turned in the first turning direction (γ 1 direction in FIG. 9A ), and its first abutting portion 25 b abuts on the stopper 27 . Then, when the pinion gear 26 a is further rotated in the first rotating direction, the sector gear 25 is to be further turned in the first turning direction along with the further rotation. However, the sector gear 25 cannot be turned since it is abutting on the stopper 27 . Instead, therefore, the motor 26 moves in a direction corresponding to the second turning direction while meshed with the sector gear 25 .

This movement of the motor 26 causes the seat back frame 12 a , to which the motor 26 is attached, to be moved in a direction corresponding to the second turning direction, that is, the upright direction (α 1 direction in FIG. 9B ), with respect to the sector gear 25 . Thus, the seat back 12 in the forward inclined position can automatically be moved toward the upright position against the biasing force of the spiral spring 23 by the driving force of the motor 26 , as shown in FIG. 9B .

Then, when the seat back 12 is moved to the upright position as shown in FIG. 9C , the lever 32 a of the limit switch 32 and the moving piece 12 b of the seat back frame 12 a are in the contact state. Thus, the contact signal is input from the limit switch 32 to the ECU 31 . Accordingly, the ECU 31 makes a determination of Yes at Step S 111 . Subsequently, processing to stop rotation of the motor is performed at Step S 113 .

As described above, in the seat apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, in a case where the manipulation switch 33 is manipulated when the limit switch 32 detects the fact that the seat back 12 is in the upright position, the ECU 31 controls driving of the motor 26 and rotates the pinion gear 26 a in the second rotating direction until the sector gear 25 turned in the second turning direction moves the lock lever 24 in the lock release direction at the second abutting portion 25 c thereby to cause the lock member 22 to be in the lock release state.

When the manipulation switch 33 is manipulated to incline the seat back 12 in the upright position in the forward inclined direction in this manner, the pinion gear 26 a is rotated in the second rotating direction. Since this causes the sector gear 25 to be turned in the second turning direction, the second abutting portion 25 c moves the lock lever 24 in the lock release direction. Consequently, the lock member 22 goes into the lock release state. Accordingly, the seat back 12 in the upright position can automatically be inclined in the forward inclined direction by the biasing force of the spiral spring 23 .

Also, in a case where the manipulation switch 33 is manipulated when the limit switch 32 detects the fact that the seat back 12 is not in the upright position, the ECU 31 controls driving of the motor 26 and rotates the pinion gear 26 a in the first rotating direction until the limit switch 32 detects the fact that the seat back 12 is in the upright position.

When the manipulation switch 33 is manipulated to move back the seat back 12 in the forward inclined position in the upright direction in this manner, the pinion gear 26 a is rotated in the first rotating direction. This causes the sector gear 25 turned in the first turning direction to abut on the stopper 27 at the first abutting portion 25 b . Thus, the motor 26 is moved in a direction corresponding to the second turning direction while meshed with the sector gear 25 . This causes the seat back 12 , to which the motor 26 is attached, to be moved in a direction corresponding to the second turning direction, that is, the upright direction, with respect to the sector gear 25 . Thus, the seat back 12 in the forward inclined position can automatically be moved in the upright direction against the biasing force of the spiral spring 23 .

In particular, the seat apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention can be obtained by adding the aforementioned sector gear 25 , motor 26 , ECU 31 , and the like to a conventional seat apparatus in which the seat back 12 is manually inclined. Accordingly, inclination of the seat back can be automated by a simple configuration.

Also, the seat apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes the limit switch 32 for detecting whether or not the seat back 12 is in the upright position. This limit switch 32 is in contact with, by its lever 32 a , the moving piece 12 b of the seat back 12 in the upright position. The contact state is set to be released by inclination of the seat back 12 from the upright position to the forward inclined position. In other words, the limit switch 32 is configured to detect whether or not the seat back 12 is in the upright position based on the contact state. Accordingly, in this seat apparatus 10 , whether or not the seat back 12 is in the upright position can be detected by a simple configuration.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment but may be embodied in the following manner. In this case as well, similar effects to those of the above embodiment can be obtained.

(1) In the above embodiment, a gear such as an external gear or an internal gear may be adopted instead of the sector gear 25 . In this case, such a gear is provided with abutting portions corresponding to the first abutting portion 25 b and the second abutting portion 25 c at portions other than tooth portions. In this case as well, similar effects to those in the case of adopting the sector gear 25 can be obtained. (2) The seat apparatus 10 may also be adopted as a seat mounted in a vehicle or the like, not only as a backseat of a vehicle.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It is therefore understood that numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.