JP5214926B2 - Power seat - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power seat, and more particularly to a power seat in which a seat is raised and lowered by a lifter mechanism having a power source.

  Power seats of vehicles and the like can be adjusted in height according to passenger preference. The seat is raised and lowered by a lifter mechanism using a motor or the like as a power source (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As schematically shown in FIG. 9, this type of power seat is configured such that the seat 1 is supported by the lifter mechanism 3 so as to be movable up and down. In the lifter mechanism 3, the lower arm 301 and the upper rail 303 are coupled by parallel links 305 a and 305 b, and the links 305 a and 305 b are driven by the motor 5.

The lower arm 301 is a part of the seat 1, and the links 305 a and 305 b are jointly connected to the lower arm 301 at the upper end side, jointed to the brackets 307 a and 307 b at the lower end side, and the brackets 307 a and 307 b are fixed to the upper rail 303, respectively. Has been. The upper rail 303 is supported by a lower rail 309, and the lower rail 309 is fixed to the floor via legs 311.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-120609 (paragraph numbers 0008, 0009, FIG. 1)

  When the seat 1 is lowered, the power seat as described above may pinch the occupant's limbs with the link 305a and the bracket 307a, for example. Although this portion is covered with a cover 101 that hangs down from the seat 1, the cover 4 is a flexible curtain-like shape and cannot completely block the entry of limbs, etc. Is insufficient.

  Then, the subject of this invention is implement | achieving the power seat provided with the pinching prevention function.

The invention according to claim 1 for solving the problem is a power seat in which a seat is moved up and down by a lifter mechanism having a power source, and a flexible detection electrode and a ground electrode facing the detection electrode with a gap therebetween And a detection signal of the touch sensor when the capacitance of the detection electrode is increased , and a touch sensor provided on one of the two members whose distance increases or decreases as the seat moves up and down Based on the detection signal of the touch sensor when the detection electrode is in contact with the ground electrode, the operation of the lifter mechanism in the direction in which the seat descends is prohibited . power Sea, characterized in that it comprises a pre-distance defined by control means Ru is inverted raised the seat through the lifter mechanism as well as prohibiting the operation of the lifter mechanism It is.

The invention according to claim 2 for solving the problems is the electrostatic capacity is the power seat according to claim 1, wherein the input to the control unit is converted into a frequency.
According to a third aspect of the present invention for solving the problem, the lifter mechanism has a parallel link in which an upper end side is jointly connected to a seat and a lower end side is jointly connected to a bracket, and the touch sensor is provided in the bracket. The power seat according to claim 1.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a power seat whose seat is raised and lowered by a lifter mechanism having a power source has a flexible detection electrode and a ground electrode facing the detection electrode with a gap, and the seat Based on a touch sensor provided on one of the two members whose distance between the members increases or decreases as the elevator moves up and down, and a detection signal of the touch sensor when the capacitance of the detection electrode increases , the seat The operation of the lifter mechanism in the direction of lowering is prohibited, and the operation of the lifter mechanism in the direction of lowering of the seat is performed based on the detection signal of the touch sensor when the detection electrode contacts the ground electrode. since comprises a pre-distance defined by control means Ru is inverted raised the seat through the lifter mechanism together with the prohibited, in addition to "state foreign matter is in contact with the detection electrode" Further detected by distinguishing "detection electrode state in contact with the ground electrode", to distinguish the contact of the contact and non-exposed portion of the body of the exposed portion, having a function of performing an appropriate catch prevention each power A sheet can be realized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the capacitance is converted into a frequency and inputted to the control means, detection is easy.
According to the invention of claim 3 , since the lifter mechanism has a parallel link in which the upper end side is jointly connected to the seat and the lower end side is jointly connected to the bracket, and the touch sensor is provided on the bracket, it is most sandwiched It is possible to detect the contact of a human body or the like at a location where the occurrence of a rash is likely.

  The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the best mode for carrying out the invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a power sheet. This power seat is an example of the best mode for carrying out the invention. An example of the best mode for carrying out the invention relating to the power seat is shown by the configuration of the power seat.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the power seat 200 is configured to support the seat 300 so that the lifter mechanism 400 can move up and down. In the lifter mechanism 400, the lower arm 401 and the upper rail 403 are coupled by parallel links 405a and 405b, and the links 405a and 405b are driven by the motor 500. The lifter mechanism 400 is covered with a cover 301 that hangs down from the seat 300.

  The power source that drives the links 405a and 405b is not limited to a motor, and may be an appropriate power source such as a hydraulic, pneumatic, or electric cylinder. Hereinafter, an example of a motor will be described, but the same applies to other power sources.

  The lower arm 401 forms a part of the seat 300, and the links 405a and 405b are jointly coupled to the lower arm 401 at the upper end side, and jointed to the brackets 407a and 407b, respectively, and the brackets 407a and 407b are fixed to the upper rail 403, respectively. Has been. The upper rail 403 is supported by a lower rail 409, and the lower rail 409 is fixed to the floor via a leg 411.

  The seat 300 is an example of a seat in the present invention. The lifter mechanism 400 is an example of a lifter mechanism in the present invention. The motor 500 is an example of a power source in the present invention. The links 405a and 405b are an example of parallel links in the present invention. The brackets 407a and 407b are examples of brackets in the present invention.

  A touch sensor 600 is provided along the upper edge of the bracket 407a. The touch sensor 600 is provided at a location where the distance from the lower arm 401 or the link 405a increases or decreases as the seat 300 moves up and down. Such a location is a location where pinching is likely to occur when the seat is lowered.

When the links 405 a and 405 b are directly jointed to the upper rail 403, the touch sensor 600 is provided on the upper rail 403. Alternatively, the touch sensor 600 may be provided to link 405a or the lower arm 4 01.

  The touch sensor 600 is an example of a touch sensor in the present invention. The lower arm 401, the link 405a, the bracket 407a, and the upper rail 403 are an example of one of two members whose distance from each other increases or decreases as the seat moves up and down.

  FIG. 2 shows an AA cross-sectional view of a portion where the touch sensor 600 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the touch sensor 600 includes a detection electrode 601 and a ground electrode 603 that faces the detection electrode with a gap. The detection electrode 601 and the ground electrode 603 are attached to the bracket 407a via the coupling member 605. The coupling member 605 is made of an insulating material.

  The detection electrode 601 is an example of the detection electrode in the present invention. The ground electrode 603 is an example of the ground electrode in the present invention. The coupling member 605 is an example of the coupling member in the present invention.

  The detection electrode 601 is an electrode floating from the ground, and is configured to surround the ground electrode 603 in a semi-cylindrical shape. The ground electrode 603 is an electrode connected to the ground, and extends in parallel inside the detection electrode 601.

  The detection electrode 601 is made of a flexible conductive material. As the flexible conductive material, for example, conductive rubber or conductive plastics is used. The ground electrode 603 is made of a conductive material. The material of the ground electrode 603 may be either a flexible conductive material or a non-flexible conductive material. For example, the same material as that of the detection electrode 601 or a metal conductor is used.

  The detection electrode 601 and the ground electrode 603 constitute a capacitor. As a result, the touch sensor becomes a capacitive touch sensor. When the exposed portion of the human body such as bare hands or bare feet comes into contact with the detection electrode 601, the capacitance of the detection electrode 601 increases because the capacitance of the human body is connected in parallel. Such an increase in capacitance is used for contact detection of a human body.

  On the other hand, when a non-exposed portion of a human body such as a gloved hand or a foot wearing a shoe comes into contact with the detection electrode 601, no increase in capacitance occurs. However, when the detection electrode 601 that has been crushed by an object that has been sandwiched contacts the ground electrode 603, the detection electrode 601 and the ground electrode 603 are short-circuited. Such a short-circuit state is used for detecting pinching of an unexposed human body.

  Note that the touch sensor is not limited to the capacitance method, and may be a method using an appropriate physical quantity such as pressure or electric resistance of gas or liquid. Hereinafter, an example of the capacitance method will be described, but the same applies to other methods.

  In FIG. 3, the block diagram of the raising / lowering control system of the power seat 200 is shown. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the output signal of the touch sensor 600 is input to the contact detection unit 703 through the preprocessing unit 701, and the output signal of the contact detection unit 703 is input to the control unit 705.

  The control unit 705 also receives a user lift command through the lifter switch 707. The control unit 705 controls the motor 500 based on the user's elevation command and the output signal of the contact detection unit 703. A portion including the contact detection unit 703 and the control unit 705 is an example of a control unit in the present invention. These are constituted by, for example, a microcomputer.

  FIG. 4 shows an electrical configuration of a part including the touch sensor 600 and the preprocessing unit 701. As shown in FIG. 4, the touch sensor 600 is electrically formed by connecting an inductor L and a resistor R in parallel to a capacitor C including a detection electrode 601 and a ground electrode 603. The preprocessing unit 701 includes an oscillation circuit 701a and a waveform shaping circuit 701b, and an LCR parallel circuit is commonly connected to the oscillation circuit 701a and the waveform shaping circuit 701b.

  The oscillation frequency of the oscillation circuit 701a is given by the following equation.

here,
C ′: a combined value of the capacitance of the capacitor C and the capacitance of the oscillation circuit L ′: a combined value of the inductance of the inductor L and the inductance of the oscillation circuit. Thereby, the capacitance C of the detection electrode 601 is converted into the frequency f. The frequency f decreases and increases corresponding to the increase and decrease of the capacitance C, respectively.

  The waveform shaping circuit 701b uses the voltage across the LCR parallel circuit as an input signal, shapes the waveform into a rectangular wave, and outputs it. 5A and 5B show the input signal waveform and the output signal waveform of the waveform shaping circuit 701b, respectively.

  The waveform shaping circuit 701b shapes a sine wave AC voltage having a DC bias as shown in (a) into a rectangular wave signal as shown in (b) using the waveform shaping threshold Vp. The frequency of the rectangular wave signal matches the frequency of the sine wave AC voltage. The frequency of the sine wave AC voltage is the oscillation frequency f of the oscillation circuit 701a.

  As a result, a rectangular wave signal having a frequency corresponding to the capacitance C is obtained. The frequency of the rectangular wave signal decreases and increases corresponding to the increase and decrease of the capacitance C, respectively. FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B respectively show the decrease in the oscillation frequency accompanying the increase in the capacitance C and the corresponding decrease in the frequency of the rectangular wave signal.

  When the detection electrode 601 contacts the ground electrode 603, the LCR parallel circuit is in a short circuit state. For this reason, the input signal of the waveform shaping circuit 701b disappears and becomes 0 as shown in FIG. 7A, and the output signal of the waveform shaping circuit 701b correspondingly becomes as shown in FIG. 7B. 0.

  The contact detection unit 703 measures the frequency of the rectangular wave signal input from the waveform shaping circuit 701b. Frequency measurement is performed by measuring the number of rising edges of a rectangular wave within a measurement period (for example, 1 mS).

  The contact detection unit 703 also compares the frequency measurement value with a predetermined threshold value to detect the presence or absence of contact or pinching. Threshold values are prepared for contact detection and pinching detection, respectively. Hereinafter, the threshold for contact detection is referred to as a stop threshold, and the threshold for pinching detection is referred to as an inversion threshold. The inversion threshold is smaller than the stop threshold.

  Based on these two types of threshold values, contact between the exposed portion of the human body and pinching of the non-exposed portion of the human body are detected separately. The control unit 705 controls the motor 500 based on these detection signals and the user's elevation command.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of the control operation. This operation is substantially the operation of the control unit 705. As shown in FIG. 8, it is determined in step 801 whether or not there is a DOWN operation. The DOWN operation is an operation of the lifter switch 707 by the user in the direction in which the seat 300 is lowered.

  While there is no DOWN operation, looping is performed at step 801. When the DOWN operation is performed, lifter DOWN is started at step 802. Thereby, the lowering of the seat 300 is started.

  While the seat 300 is being lowered, it is determined in step 803 whether or not the DOWN operation is stopped. The DOWN operation stop means that the user stops the operation of the lifter switch 707 in the direction in which the seat 300 is lowered. When the DOWN operation is stopped, a motor stop process is performed in step 811. As a result, the lowering of the seat 300 stops.

  If it is determined in step 803 that the DOWN operation has not been canceled, it is determined in step 804 whether there is an UP operation. The UP operation is an operation of the lifter switch 707 by the user in the direction in which the seat 300 is raised.

  When there is an UP operation, in step 805, motor reversal processing is performed. As a result, the seat 300 starts to rise. While the seat 300 is being raised, it is determined in step 806 whether or not the UP operation has been stopped.

  The UP operation stop means that the user stops operating the lifter switch 707 in the direction of raising the seat 300. Looping is performed in step 801 while the UP operation is not stopped, and motor stop processing is performed in step 811 when the UP operation is stopped. As a result, the seat 300 stops rising.

  If it is determined in step 804 that there is no UP operation, it is determined in step 807 whether the frequency is smaller than the stop threshold. This determination is performed by the contact detection unit 703. If the frequency is not less than the stop threshold, the process returns to step 803. As long as the DOWN operation is not stopped, the UP operation is not performed, and the frequency is not lower than the stop threshold value, the operations of Steps 803, 804, and 807 are repeated, and the seat 300 continues to descend.

  When the exposed portion of the human body such as the occupant's bare hands or bare feet contacts the detection electrode 601 while the seat 300 is descending, the capacitance of the detection electrode 601 increases and the frequency becomes smaller than the stop threshold. At this time, it is determined in step 807 that the frequency is smaller than the stop threshold.

  Next, in step 808, it is determined whether the frequency is smaller than the inversion threshold. If the frequency is not less than the reversal threshold value, motor stop processing is performed in step 811. As a result, the lowering of the seat 300 is stopped and pinching is prevented.

  When the object that has contacted the detection electrode 601 while the seat 300 is descending is a non-exposed part of a human body such as a gloved hand or a foot wearing a shoe, for example, the frequency does not become smaller than the stop threshold. For this reason, the seat 300 continues to descend, and eventually the object is caught.

  When an object is sandwiched, the flexible detection electrode 601 collapses and contacts the ground electrode 603, and the LCR parallel circuit is short-circuited. As a result, the frequency becomes 0 and is smaller than the inversion threshold. This is determined at step 808.

  If it is determined in step 808 that the frequency is smaller than the reversal threshold value, in step 809, a motor reversal process is performed, and the seat 300 is reversed and raised. The reversal rise of the seat 300 is performed while determining whether or not the set amount has increased in step 810. When the increase reaches the set amount, in step 811, a motor stop process is performed.

  The reversal lift amount of the seat 300 is set to the minimum lift amount necessary to release the object that has been caught. For this reason, the seat 300 does not rise as high as unexpected. Therefore, the situation which makes a passenger panic is not produced.

  As mentioned above, although the power seat for vehicles was illustrated as the best mode for carrying out the invention, the power seat of the present invention is not limited to vehicles, but is used for power seats for ships, aircrafts, etc., or indoors and outdoors. It may be a power sheet for an appropriate use such as a power sheet to be used.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of an example of the power seat of an example of the best form for implementing invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the touch sensor provided in the power sheet of an example of the best form for implementing invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the power seat of an example of the best form for implementing invention. It is a block diagram which shows the partial structure of the control system of the power seat of an example of the best form for implementing invention. It is a figure which shows each the input signal waveform and output signal waveform of a waveform shaping circuit. It is a figure which shows each the input signal waveform and output signal waveform of a waveform shaping circuit. It is a figure which shows each the input signal waveform and output signal waveform of a waveform shaping circuit. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the control system of the power seat of an example of the best form for implementing invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the conventional power seat.

Explanation of symbols

200: Power seat 300: Seat 400: Lifter mechanism 401: Lower arm 403: Upper rail 405a, 405b: Link 407a, 407b: Bracket 409: Lower rail 411: Leg 500: Motor 600: Touch sensor 601: Detection electrode 603: Detection electrode 603: Connecting member 701: Pre-processing unit 701a: Oscillation circuit 701b: Waveform shaping circuit 703: Contact detection unit 705: Control unit 707: Lifter switch

Claims (3)

A power seat in which a seat is raised and lowered by a lifter mechanism having a power source,
A touch sensor provided on one of two members having a flexible detection electrode and a ground electrode opposed to the detection electrode with a gap, and the distance between the seats increases and decreases as the seat is raised and lowered;
Based on the detection signal of the touch sensor when the capacitance of the detection electrode increases , the operation of the lifter mechanism in the direction in which the seat descends is prohibited, and the detection electrode comes into contact with the ground electrode based on the detection signal of the touch sensor, the seat comprises a pre-distance defined by control means Ru is inverted raised the seat through the lifter mechanism as well as prohibiting the operation of the lifter mechanism in the direction of descending A power seat characterized by that. The power seat according to claim 1, wherein the capacitance is converted into a frequency and input to the control means . The lifter mechanism has a parallel link in which the upper end side is jointly connected to the seat and the lower end side is jointly connected to the bracket,
The power seat according to claim 1 , wherein the touch sensor is provided on the bracket .

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