JP3910362B2 - End protector for upper track of seat track equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
【Technical field】
The present invention relates to a seat track device for a vehicle seat, and more particularly to an end protector (end cover) for the upper rail.
[0002]
[Prior art and its problems]
Generally, a seat track device for a vehicle seat includes a pair of left and right lower rails fixed to a vehicle floor, and an upper rail slidably engaged with the lower rail and fixed to the seat. The end protector is attached so as not to injure the occupant at the edge portion. Conventionally, this end protector has a problem that even if it has an upper rail having the same cross-sectional shape, when its end portion shape is different, a dedicated shape must be manufactured and the versatility is poor. The difference in the shape of the end portion of the upper rail is mainly caused by providing a notch in the end portion in order to improve the material yield, and the size of the notch varies depending on the vehicle type (seat track device).
[0003]
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to obtain an end protector that can be used in common for a plurality of upper rails having the same cross-sectional shape and different notch shapes at the end portions.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a lower rail fixed to a vehicle floor surface in the front-rear direction, and an end of the upper rail of a seat track device having an upper rail slidably engaged with the lower rail and fixed to a seat are covered. In the end protector to be attached, the upper rail has a notch in a part of the protector attached end portion having a uniform cross-sectional shape, while the end protector has an end engaging portion that engages with a portion where the notch exists, And a rear engaging portion that engages with a uniform cross section having no notch, and the length of the inner engaging portion is set to a length that can cope with the difference in the length of the upper rail notch. It is characterized by having.
[0005]
That is, the present invention is characterized in that the end protector is commonly used for the plurality of types of upper rails when there are a plurality of types of upper rails having different notch lengths at the ends.
[0006]
The shape of the upper rail has a degree of freedom. Specifically, for example, in the cross-sectional shape, the vertical wall, the left and right bottom walls extending from the lower end of the vertical wall to the left and right, and the both ends of the left and right bottom walls upward. The left and right wing walls extend, and the notch is formed by removing all of the left and right wing walls and part of the left and right bottom walls.
[0007]
A plurality of types of upper rails are provided with a fixing hole at the same distance from the end regardless of the cutout length of the end, and a common end protector has a locking leg that engages with this fixing hole. It is desirable to form.
[0008]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
8 and 9 show a cross-sectional shape example of the seat track apparatus having the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20 and a shape example of the end protector attached end portion of the upper rail 10. The upper rail 10 has a symmetric uniform cross-sectional shape formed by joining two plate materials, a vertical wall 11 joined to each other, a left and right bottom wall 12 extending left and right from the lower end portion of the vertical wall 11, Left and right wing walls 13 extending obliquely upward from both ends of the left and right bottom walls 12 are provided, and are slidably fitted to the lower rail 20. A well-known roller 21 and a ball 22 (FIG. 9) that reduce sliding resistance are located between the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20, and the roller 21 and the ball 22 are held by a retainer 23.
[0009]
A cutout 15 is formed at the end of the upper rail 10 (end protector attachment end) by removing the entire left and right wing walls 13 and a part of the left and right bottom walls 12 (substantially half of the left and right wing walls 13). Has been. The length S1 (Sn) of the notch 15 varies depending on the upper rail 10. That is, in another seat track apparatus using the upper rail 10 having the same cross-sectional shape, the length of the notch 15 may be varied depending on the vehicle type, and the material yield when the material of the upper rail 10 is punched from a plate material is improved. In addition, the length of the notch 15 may be different. An end cover fixing hole 16 is formed in the upper rail 10 at the same distance from the end regardless of the length of the notch 15.
[0010]
The end protector 30 attached to the end portion of the upper rail 10 in order to prevent the end portion (generally the front end portion) edge portion of the upper rail 10 on the notch 15 side from damaging the occupant is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the end portion engaging portion 31 that engages with the portion where the notch 15 exists and the back portion engaging portion 32 that engages with the uniform cross-section portion where the notch 15 does not exist are provided. The portion of the upper rail 10 where the notch 15 does not exist has an inverted T shape composed of the vertical wall 11 and the incomplete bottom wall 12 ′, and the end engaging portion 31 corresponds to the inverted T shape. An inverted T-shaped fitting groove is provided. That is, the fitting groove portion includes a vertical groove 31a for fitting the vertical wall 11 of the upper rail 10 and a horizontal groove 31b (fitting the left and right incomplete bottom walls 12 'extending from the lower end portion of the vertical groove 31a to the left and right. 3 and 5). The end of the inverted T-shaped fitting groove of the end engaging portion 31 is closed by a closing wall 31e.
[0011]
Further, on both wall surfaces 31c forming the vertical groove 31a, a locking arm 31f that can be elastically deformed by the cut groove 31d is formed, and an end cover fixing hole of the upper rail 10 is formed at the tip of the locking arm 31f. A locking claw 31g that fits into 16 is formed. On the other hand, the rear engaging portion 32 has an outer shape having a bottom outer surface wall 32 a that covers the outer surfaces (lower surfaces) of the left and right bottom walls 12 of the upper rail 10, and a blade wall outer surface wall 32 b that covers the outer surfaces of the left and right blade walls 13. It does not have an engaging part with the vertical wall 11. Further, the rear engaging portion 32 has an end wall 32 c that covers the left and right blade walls 13 exposed by the notch 15 and the end portions of the left and right bottom walls 12.
[0012]
The lengths of the end engaging portion 31 and the back engaging portion 32 of the end protector 30 are set as follows. That is, for the upper rail 10 having the shortest notch 15, even if the end protector 30 is slid until the blocking wall 31 e comes into contact with the end of the vertical wall 11, the end wall 32 c of the back engaging portion 32 is On the other hand, with respect to the upper rail 10 having the longest notch 15, it is not in contact with the ends of the left and right blade walls 13 and the left and right bottom walls 12 exposed by the notch 15. The end on the side reaches a portion not having the notch 15, and the bottom outer wall 32 a and the wing wall outer wall 32 b prevent the notch 15 from being exposed.
[0013]
Since the lengths of the notches 15 of the plurality of types of upper rails 10 targeted by the end protector 30 of the present embodiment can be known in advance, the lengths of the end engaging portion 31 and the back engaging portion 32 are thus obtained. 2 and 6, for example, the notch 15 shown in FIGS. 2 and 6 can be commonly used from the upper rail 10 having the length S1 to the upper rail 10 having the notch 15 having the length S2. When the end protector 30 is attached to the end of the upper rail 10, the end protector 30 is inserted into the end cover fixing hole 16 of the upper rail 10 regardless of the length of the notch 15 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6. The locking arm 31f fits and stops.
[0014]
FIG. 7 shows a use state as a seat track apparatus. The upper rail 10 having the end protector 30 attached to the end is fixed to the lower surface of the seat S, and the lower rail 20 having the upper rail 10 slidably fitted thereto is fixed to the vehicle floor F. Depending on the sliding position of the upper rail 10 with respect to the lower rail 20, the position of the end protector 30 changes to a position where it enters the gap between the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20 and a position where it protrudes from the tip of the lower rail 20 as shown in FIG. Even if the upper rail 10 protrudes from the lower rail 20, the end protector 30 prevents the edge portion of the upper rail 10 from being exposed.
[0015]
Between the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20, there is provided a lock mechanism that locks the sliding of both, but since there is no relation to the gist of the present invention, only the lock hole 24 is drawn in FIG. And illustration is abbreviate | omitted.
[0016]
Many cross-sectional shapes of the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20 are known, and the illustrated shape is merely an example. The present invention can be generally applied to a seat track apparatus in which the end protector 30 is attached to the end of the upper rail 10 having the notch 15 regardless of the cross-sectional shapes of the upper rail 10 and the lower rail 20.
[0017]
【The invention's effect】
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the end protector which can be used in common with respect to several upper rail from which the notch length of an edge part differs can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exploded state of an upper rail and an end protector of a seat track device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled (attached) state.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view in which a part of the end protector of FIG. 1 is sectioned.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the end protector.
FIG. 5 is a front view of the end protector.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the upper rail and the end protector in a mounted state.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the entire seat track device and seat.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an engagement state between an upper rail and a lower rail of the seat track device.
FIG. 9 is a front view of the same.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Upper rail 11 Vertical wall 12 Left and right bottom wall 12 'Incomplete bottom wall 13 Left and right blade wall 15 Notch 16 End cover fixing hole 20 Lower rail 21 Roller 22 Ball 23 Retainer 24 Lock hole 30 End protector 31 End engaging part 31a Vertical groove 31b Horizontal groove 31c Both wall surfaces 31d Cut groove 31e Closed wall 31f Locking arm 31g Locking claw 32 Back engaging part 32a Bottom outer surface wall 32b Wing wall outer surface wall 32c End wall

Claims (3)

An end to be attached to an end of the upper rail of a seat track device having a lower rail fixed to the vehicle floor surface in the front-rear direction, and an upper rail slidably engaged with the lower rail and fixed to the seat A protector,
The upper rail has a notch in a part of the protector-attached end portion having a uniform cross-sectional shape, and there are a plurality of types having different lengths of the notch,
The end protector includes an end engaging portion that engages with a portion where the notch exists, and a back portion engaging portion that engages with a uniform cross-sectional portion where the notch does not exist,
The length of the rear engaging portion is set to a length that can cope with the difference in the length of the notches of the plurality of types of upper rails, and is an end protector for the upper rail of the seat track apparatus that is common to the plurality of types of upper rails. . The end protector for an upper rail according to claim 1,
In the cross-sectional shape, the upper rail has a vertical wall, left and right bottom walls extending left and right from the lower end of the vertical wall, and left and right wing walls extending upward from both ends of the left and right bottom walls,
The notches of the multiple types of upper rails are all formed by removing all of the left and right wing walls and part of the left and right bottom walls,
The end engaging portion of the end protector has an inverted T-shaped fitting groove that fits to all of the vertical wall of the upper rail and a part of the left and right bottom walls, and the rear engaging portion is the left and right of the upper rail. An end protector for an upper rail of a sea track device that covers an outer surface of a bottom wall and left and right wing walls and has an outer shape that does not have an engaging portion with a vertical wall. 3. The upper rail end protector according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of upper rail have a fixing hole at the same distance from the end regardless of the cutout length of the end, and the end protector is fixed to the end protector. An end protector for an upper rail of a seat track device in which a locking leg that engages with a hole is formed.

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