JP2826072B2 - Armrest device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an armrest device, and more particularly to an armrest device mounted on an automobile seat, when an unexpected accident such as a collision occurs, a large load is momentarily applied. Is provided to prevent the main body of the armrest from protruding from the storage position due to a load on the armrest.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional armrest device for a vehicle seat, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 2-52643, a shaft lock system is adopted as a mechanism for adjusting the tilting / standing angle of the armrest. The axis lock method is
As a means for rotating and positioning the armrest, generally, a support shaft for rotating the armrest, which incorporates a coil spring having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter thereof, is incorporated.
The support shaft is fixed to the main body of the armrest with the coil spring fitted on the support shaft, and the other end of the coil spring is turned in the opposite direction to the winding direction while one end of the coil spring is fixed to the main body of the armrest. By rotating the armrest, the inner diameter of the coil spring is made larger than the outer diameter of the support shaft to loosen the tightening force, thereby holding the support shaft and the coil spring relatively rotatable, thereby swinging the armrest body. ing.

On the other hand, when the other end of the coil spring is rotated in the same direction as the winding direction, the diameter of the coil spring is reduced, and the tightening force acting on the support shaft is increased. The shaft and coil spring return to a state where relative rotation is impossible,
The main body of the armrest is positioned and fixed at a predetermined stop position.

[0004]

The shaft lock system is
When rotating the armrest body from a predetermined position to a new position, it is necessary to unlock the support shaft by the coil spring. For this reason, it is necessary to adjust the dimensional tolerance between the inner diameter of the coil spring and the outer diameter of the support shaft in the manufacturing process so that a predetermined tightening force and an unlocking force can be generated, and the manufacturing cost increases. I do. Further, in the shaft lock method, it is necessary to provide a lock release mechanism including a large number of components in the armrest device, and there are problems such as a complicated structure and an increase in weight. As a means for solving these problems associated with the shaft locking method, the applicant of the present invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. Hei.
JP-A-220778 proposes a mechanism for adjusting the falling / standing angle of the armrest body by combining a Y-shaped claw member and a ratchet. The problem peculiar to the shaft lock method has been solved by incorporating the mechanism for adjusting the tilting / standing angle into the armrest. However, recently, in an export specification vehicle for the European Union member countries (EU), an accident such as a collision has occurred. In order to protect occupants in the event of an accident, it is obligatory to incorporate projection prevention means into the armrest device. More specifically, when a load of 20 G is suddenly applied due to a collision or the like, the main body of the armrest jumps out of the storage position so that the occupant is not damaged.
It is mandatory to incorporate a lock and a projection prevention mechanism capable of withstanding an instantaneous impact load of 20 G into the armrest.

[0005] As a means for responding to this new law, the main object of the present invention is to incorporate a lock and projection prevention mechanism into an armrest device combining a Y-shaped claw member and a ratchet of the prior application. It is.

A second object of the present invention is to provide an armrest device which does not cause a problem such as a complicated structure, a reduction in operation stability or a rise in manufacturing costs even when the lock and projection prevention mechanism is incorporated. Is to provide.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a base plate assembly rotatably supported by a seat frame on a backrest side, a ratchet fixed to the base plate assembly, and the backrest. A Y-shaped plate having a stationary plate fixed to the side seat frame and a pawl that is swingably attached to and supported by the stationary plate via a biasing spring and that has at one end a tooth claw that engages with the sawtooth-shaped teeth of the ratchet. In the armrest which forms the adjustment mechanism of the falling and standing angles by the claw member,

The ratchet is extended in an arc shape along the rotation locus of the Y-shaped claw member at a portion below the end of the sawtooth-shaped tooth row, and a top dead center side meshing tooth is provided at the end of this extended portion. The Y-shaped claw member has a bottom dead center-side stopper fixed on a base plate structure near a start end of the sawtooth-shaped tooth row. On the base plate structure obliquely below the projection forming portion, the Y
It is an object of the present invention to provide an armrest device in which a top dead center stopper for locking a U-shaped claw member is fixed to form an armrest lock and projection prevention mechanism.

If necessary, a damper spring for preventing excessive rotation of the Y-shaped claw member is attached to the upper dead center side stopper of the base plate structure.

[0010]

When the main body of the armrest is stored between the seat frames on the backrest side, that is, at the top dead center side, the teeth formed at the second end of the Y-shaped claw member are formed into an arcuate shape of the ratchet. The main body of the armrest is locked in a predetermined storage position by engaging with the upper dead center side meshing tooth provided at the end portion of the extension portion, and thereby the storage position of the armrest main body caused by a sudden impact load. To prevent protrusion from When using the armrest, the main body of the armrest is rotated toward the use position from between the backrest-side seat frames, and the teeth formed at the second end of the Y-shaped claw member are sawtooth-shaped teeth of the ratchet. The armrest is fixed in a desired position by engaging with the armrest.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Prior to the description of the armrest lock and projection prevention mechanism, the structure and operation sequence of the mechanism for adjusting the tilting / standing angle of the armrest body will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the armrest device (20) has a base shaft (5) protruding laterally from a side end of the seat frame on the backrest side into a frame rotation shaft guide (4). A base plate assembly (2) having its part rotatably fitted thereto, and a stationary plate (6) having its base end fitted to the fixed shaft (5) and fixed to the seat frame with fixing pins (9A). , This stationary plate (6)
4) a Y-shaped claw member (7) attached so as to be swingable via one end (8) on the stationary plate (6).
A) is swingably inserted and supported, and the other end (8
B) is fixedly mounted on the torsion coil spring (8) swingably fitted into a support hole provided at a first tip portion of the Y-shaped claw member (7), and on the base plate assembly (2); A ratchet (3) in which serrated teeth (10) are arranged in an arc shape on a surface of the Y-shaped claw member (7) opposed to the teeth (13) formed at the second tip portion. The combination forms the mechanism for adjusting the inclination / raising angle of the armrest body.

The base plate assembly (2) to which the ratchet (3) is fixed is revolved around a stationary plate (6) about a fixed shaft (5) as a rotation center as shown by an arrow S in FIG. By engaging the tooth (10) with the pawl (13), the armrest device (20) is positioned and fixed at an arbitrary position between the maximum drawer fixing position A and the minimum drawer fixing position B.

On the other hand, the armrest device (20) is revolved around the fixed shaft (5) by revolving the base plate assembly (2) around the fixed shaft (5) while the meshing condition between the serrations (10) and the teeth (13) is released. ) Are stored between the seat frames on the backrest side.

Next, the structure and operation sequence of the armrest lock and protrusion prevention mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, components that are the same as the components shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals or reference numerals, and descriptions of overlapping items will be omitted.

In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the ratchet (3) is replaced with a saw-tooth tooth (10).
A smooth surface (41) having a predetermined radius of curvature is formed along a rotation locus of the Y-shaped claw member (7) at a portion below the terminal end (point B in FIGS. 1 and 3). At the end (point C) of this extended portion, the upper dead point side meshing tooth (42)
And a projection (43) for disengagement is arranged adjacently, and the Y-shaped claw member (7) is placed on the base plate structure (2) near the start end (point A) of the sawtooth tooth row (10). A bottom dead center side stopper (44) is fixed, and the Y-shaped claw member (7) is mounted on the base plate structure (2) obliquely below the formation site (point C) of the engagement release projection (43). By locking the top dead center side stopper (45), the armrest main body lock and projection prevention mechanism (40) is formed. The body of the armrest is between the seat frames on the back,
When stored at the top dead center (point C) side, (I) in FIG.
As shown in (1), the teeth (13) of the Y-shaped claw member (7) are engaged with the upper dead point side engaging teeth (42) provided at the end of the arc-shaped extension of the ratchet (3). The armrest body is positioned and fixed so as not to protrude between the backrest-side seat frames by generating a positioning fixing force between the U-shaped claw member (7) and the ratchet (3).

When the armrest is used, as shown in FIG. 3 (II), the Y-shaped claw member (7) is pushed in the direction of the arrow P inside the engagement release projection (43), and then the armrest body is moved. ) Is rotated from the space between the seat frames on the backrest side toward a use section (referred to as a section B to A), and the teeth (13) of the Y-shaped claw member (7) and the saw teeth of the ratchet (3) are rotated. The tooth row (10) is held in an engaged state.
With the armrest body (18) fully extended,
As shown in FIG. 3 (V), the side edge of the tooth (13) of the Y-shaped claw member (7) is brought into contact with the bottom dead center side stopper (44) to thereby form the Y-shaped claw member (7). ) Is further suppressed, and at the same time, the armrest is pulled out to the maximum by holding the pawl (13) at the innermost portion A in a meshing state with the saw-toothed tooth row (10) of the ratchet (3). Fix at position A.
The fixed position of the armrest can be set in a stepless manner by relatively changing the meshing position of the tooth claw (13) and the serrated tooth row (10) between the points A and B.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4, the components (41), (42), (4) shown in FIG.
3), (44) and (45) in addition to the top dead center side stopper (4
A leaf spring for preventing the Y-shaped claw member (7) from being excessively rotated, in other words, from being disengaged from the upper dead point side meshing tooth (42) and the tooth claw (13) due to excessive pushing, on the upper end surface of 5). Alternatively, a damper spring (46) composed of a pressing spring is fixed.

When the body of the armrest is pushed from the use position toward the storage position between the seat frames on the backrest side, the damper spring (46) needs to push the base plate assembly (2) more than necessary due to rough pushing action. As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 (II), the tooth claw (13) climbs over the engagement release projection (43), and the Y-shaped claw member (7) is pivotally supported. A positioning member for stopping the Y-shaped claw member (7) at a regular stop position C when the relative rotation amount of the ratchet (3) with respect to the stationary plate (6) is going to exceed a predetermined limit. It is.

In order to exhibit this positioning function, the damper spring (46) is provided at the regular stop position C shown in FIG. The dimensions are adjusted so as to maintain the meshing state, and the facing distance between the lower edge of the stationary plate (6) and the upper dead point stopper (45) is adjusted.

Except that a damper spring (46) is attached to the upper end surface of the top dead center side stopper (45), the structure and operation sequence of the lock and projection prevention mechanism (40) of the armrest body are shown in FIG. It is the same as the one.

[0022]

According to the present invention, the ratchet is extended in a circular arc shape along the rotation locus of the Y-shaped claw member at the lower portion from the end of the serrated tooth row, and formed at the end of this extended portion. The projected upper dead center side meshing teeth and the teeth formed at the distal end of the Y-shaped claw member are held in an engaged state, thereby preventing the armrest from projecting from the storage position of the main body.

This projection prevention function is further enhanced by providing a damper spring on the upper end surface of the top dead center side stopper to prevent excessive rotation of the ratchet.

According to the present invention, an accident such as a collision occurs,
Even when a large impact load is momentarily applied to the main body of the armrest, the protrusion of the armrest from the storage position is suppressed, and the safety for the occupant is ensured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lock and a protrusion prevention mechanism for an armrest device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an armrest device main body.

FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating a structure and an operation sequence of a first specific example of a lock and a protrusion prevention mechanism for an armrest device;

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the structure and operation sequence of a second specific example of the lock and the protrusion prevention mechanism for the armrest device.

[Description of Signs] 1 Rotating frame 2 Base plate assembly 3 Ratchet 4 Frame rotating shaft guide 5 Fixed shaft 6 Stationary plate 7 Y-shaped claw member 8 Torsion coil spring 8A One end of torsion coil spring 8B The other end of torsion coil spring 9 Tightening Nut 10 Serrated tooth row 13 Tooth pawl 14 Axis 40 Lock and protrusion prevention mechanism 41 Smooth surface 42 Top dead center side meshing teeth 43 Protrusion for releasing meshing 44 Lower dead center side stopper 45 Top dead center side stopper 46 Damper spring

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A base plate assembly rotatably supported by a seat frame on a backrest side, a ratchet fixed to the baseplate assembly, a stationary plate fixed to the seat frame on the backrest side, and a biasing force applied to the stationary plate. Armrest formed with a Y-shaped claw member which is swingably mounted and supported via a spring for use and has a claw formed at one end thereof with a claw engaging with the sawtooth-shaped tooth row of the ratchet, thereby forming a mechanism for adjusting the tilting / standing angle. In the above, the ratchet is extended in an arc shape along the rotation locus of the Y-shaped claw member at a portion below the end of the sawtooth tooth row,
At the end of this extension, a top dead center side meshing tooth and a projection for canceling meshing are arranged adjacent to each other, and the bottom dead center of the Y-shaped claw member is provided on a base plate structure near a starting end of the saw tooth-like tooth row. By locking the upper stopper at the upper dead center side for locking the Y-shaped claw member on the base plate assembly obliquely below the engagement disengaging projection forming portion, the armrest is locked and projected. An armrest device comprising a prevention mechanism. 2. The armrest device according to claim 1, wherein a damper spring for preventing excessive rotation of the Y-shaped claw member is provided at a top dead center side stopper of the base plate structure.