Vehicle seat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11970091-B2
Application number	US-202017599607-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 25, 2020
Priority date	Mar 29, 2019
Publication date	Apr 30, 2024
Grant date	Apr 30, 2024

Abstract

To provide a vehicle seat in which the rotation device is disposed without compromising the passenger comfort in the cabin, a vehicle seat includes: a floor panel which has a sheet shape, constitutes a floor surface of a cabin, and has an elongated hole extending linearly; a slide device provided below the floor panel to be slidable along the elongated hole; a rotation device provided on the slide device to be rotatable about a rotation axis below the floor panel, the rotation axis extending vertically and overlapping with the elongated hole; a support leg which is columnar in shape, is provided on the rotation device along the rotation axis, and extends to above the floor panel by passing through the elongated hole; and a seat main body which is joined to an upper end of the support leg and on which an occupant can be seated.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a floor panel which has a sheet shape, constitutes a floor surface of a cabin, and has an elongated hole extending linearly;
a slide device provided below the floor panel to be slidable along the elongated hole;
a rotation device provided on the slide device to be rotatable about a rotation axis below the floor panel, the rotation axis extending vertically and overlapping with the elongated hole;
a support leg which is columnar in shape, is provided on the rotation device along the rotation axis, and extends to above the floor panel by passing through the elongated hole; and
a seat main body which is joined to an upper end of the support leg and on which an occupant can be seated.

2. The vehicle seat according to claim 1 , wherein the support leg is formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape or a substantially solid cylindrical shape.

3. The vehicle seat according to claim 2 , wherein the support leg has a diameter smaller than both a width of the seat main body in a fore and aft direction and a width of the seat main body in a lateral direction, and
the upper end of the support leg is provided with a flange joined to the seat main body and multiple upper ribs protruding radially outward from the support leg and joined to the flange.

4. The vehicle seat according to claim 3 , wherein a lower end of the support leg is provided with multiple lower ribs protruding radially outward and joined to the rotation device.

5. The vehicle seat according to claim 2 , wherein the support leg has a diameter smaller than both a width of the seat main body in a fore and aft direction and a width of the seat main body in a lateral direction, and
a lower end of the support leg is provided with multiple lower ribs protruding radially outward and joined to the rotation device.

6. The vehicle seat according to claim 4 , wherein the rotation device includes a lower member joined to the slide device, an upper member supported by the lower member to be rotatable about the rotation axis, and a rotation drive mechanism for causing the upper member to rotate relative to the lower member,
the lower end of the support leg and the lower ribs are joined to an upper surface of the upper member,
the rotation drive mechanism includes a drive unit for generating a driving force, and
the drive unit is mounted on the upper surface of the upper member between two adjoining ones of the lower ribs.

7. The vehicle seat according to claim 6 , wherein one of the lower member and the upper member has a support shaft extending along the rotation axis, and
another of the lower member and the upper member has a bearing hole rotatably receiving the support shaft.

8. The vehicle seat according to claim 7 , wherein the rotation drive mechanism includes an annular external tooth gear joined to the upper surface of the lower member coaxially with the rotation axis and a pinion rotatably supported on a lower surface of the upper member and meshing with the external tooth gear, and
the pinion rotates by receiving the driving force of the drive unit.

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 6 , wherein the multiple lower ribs extend radially from the support leg and are arranged at positions overlapping with the upper member as viewed from above.

10. The vehicle seat according to claim 8 , wherein the slide device includes a pair of lower rails extending in parallel with the elongated hole and a pair of upper rails respectively supported on the lower rails,
the lower member is joined to each of the pair of upper rails, and
the external tooth gear is positioned between the pair of lower rails as viewed from above.

11. The vehicle seat according to claim 2 , wherein the slide device includes a pair of lower rails extending in parallel with the elongated hole and a pair of upper rails respectively supported on the lower rails,
the rotation device includes a lower member joined to each of the pair of upper rails and an upper member supported by the lower member to be rotatable about the rotation axis, and
the support leg is positioned between the pair of lower rails as viewed from above.

12. The vehicle seat according to claim 11 , wherein the lower surface of the lower member is provided with multiple first reinforcement members extending along the lower surface of the lower member in parallel with the lower rails and multiple second reinforcement members extending along the lower surface of the lower member in a direction orthogonal to the lower rails and connecting the multiple first reinforcement members.

13. The vehicle seat according to claim 12 , wherein the multiple first reinforcement members are arranged between the pair of upper rails.

14. The vehicle seat according to claim 13 , further comprising a slide drive unit that connects the pair of upper rails and generates a driving force in each of the upper rails relative to the lower rails,
wherein the slide drive unit is positioned lower than the first reinforcement members and the second reinforcement members.

15. The vehicle seat according to claim 14 , wherein the seat main body has: a seat cushion including a seat cushion frame joined to the support leg, a seat cushion pad supported by the seat cushion frame, and a seat cushion skin member covering the seat cushion pad; a seat back including a seat back frame joined to the seat cushion frame, a seat back pad supported by the seat back frame, and a seat back skin member covering the seat back pad; and a headrest joined to the seat back.

Assignees

• Ts Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Numajiri Hiroyuki
• Tezuka Nobuyuki
• Kobayashi Akihito
• So Tadashi
• Miyoshi Akira
• Kurimoto Tomoyuki

Classifications

• B60N2/14 Primary

  rotatable, e.g. to permit easy access (B60N2/10 {, B60N2/2869} take precedence) · CPC title

• B60N2/06

  slidable (B60N2/12 {, B60N2/2209} take precedence) · CPC title

• B60N2/02253

  characterised by the transmission between the electric motor and the seat or seat parts · CPC title