Vehicle seat device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9321376-B2
Application number	US-201214119116-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 17, 2012
Priority date	May 25, 2011
Publication date	Apr 26, 2016
Grant date	Apr 26, 2016

Abstract

A vehicle seat device includes a lock mechanism, which restricts sliding movement of a seat, a drive source, which drives the lock mechanism to restrict and cancel restriction on the basis of operation of an operation switch, and a control portion, which controls the drive source. The control portion performs at least one of cancellation limitation control, restriction limitation control, and forced restriction control.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat device comprising
a lock mechanism, which restricts sliding movement of a seat;
a drive source, which drives the lock mechanism to restrict the sliding movement of the seat and cancel the restriction thereof based on operation of an operation switch; and
a control portion, which performs cancellation limitation control, restriction limitation control, and forced restriction control, wherein
in the cancellation limitation control, the control portion controls the drive source such that when cancelling the restriction by the lock mechanism based on the operation of the operation switch, a state in which the restriction by the lock mechanism is performed is maintained until preset cancellation conditions, other than the operation of the operation switch, are satisfied,
in the restriction limitation control, the control portion controls the drive source such that when performing the restriction by the lock mechanism based on the operation of the operation switch, a state in which cancellation of the restriction by the lock mechanism is maintained until preset restriction conditions, other than the operation of the operation switch, are satisfied, and
in the forced restriction control, the control portion controls the drive source such that when the restriction by the lock mechanism is cancelled based on the operation of the operation switch, when forced restriction conditions, other than the operation of the operation switch, are satisfied, the seat is restricted by the lock mechanism regardless of the operation of the operation switch.

2. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein the cancellation conditions include vehicle speed cancellation conditions, which are satisfied if vehicle speed is zero when the operation switch is operated.

3. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein the operation switch includes a rear switch arranged on a rear surface of a seat back.

4. The vehicle seat device according to claim 3 , wherein the cancellation conditions include seating cancellation conditions, which are satisfied if no occupant is seated on the seat when the rear switch is operated.

5. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein
the operation switch is one of a plurality of operation switches provided for the lock mechanism, and
when the control portion performs the cancellation limitation control, the control portion controls the drive source based on the operation of the first operated one of the operation switches and thereafter disables other operation switches until priority termination conditions are satisfied.

6. The vehicle seat device according to claim 5 , the priority termination conditions include time termination conditions, which are satisfied if a preset time has elapsed.

7. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein
the lock mechanism includes a front back direction lock mechanism for restricting the sliding movement of the seat in a vehicle front back direction, and a width direction lock mechanism for restricting the sliding movement of the seat in a vehicle width direction,
the operation switch includes a front back direction operation switch corresponding to the front back direction lock mechanism, and a width direction operation switch corresponding to the width direction lock mechanism, and
the control portion controls the drive source based on operation of first operated one of the front back direction operation switch and the width direction operation switch, and thereafter disables operation of the other operation switch until direction priority termination conditions are satisfied.

8. The vehicle seat device according to claim 7 , wherein
the drive source includes an output portion, which can be driven in two directions, namely a forward direction and a reverse direction, and
the drive source is configured to cancel restriction by the front back direction lock mechanism when the output portion is driven in a forward direction from a neutral position, the drive source cancels and the drive source is configured to cancel restriction by the width direction lock mechanism when the output portion is driven in a reverse direction from the neutral position.

9. The vehicle seat device according to claim 8 , further comprising:
a front back direction cancellation detection portion, which detects that the restriction by the front back direction lock mechanism is cancelled; and
a width direction cancellation detection portion, which detects that the restriction by the width direction lock mechanism is cancelled, wherein
when the front back direction cancellation detection portion and the width direction cancellation detection portion simultaneously detect that the restrictions are cancelled, the control portion, thereafter, performs at least one of disablement control and a notification control,
in the disablement control, the control portion disables operations of the front back direction operation switch and the width direction operation switch, and
in the notification control, the control portion operates a notifier to be in a notifying mode so that the notifier notifies of a fact that the front back direction cancellation detection portion and the width direction cancellation detection portion simultaneously detect that the restrictions are cancelled.

10. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein the operation switch corresponds to an automatic restoration type operation switch configured to maintain the cancellation of the restriction by the lock mechanism when the operation switch is in a biased state, and be automatically restored to its original position when the operation switch is in a non-biased state to cause a state in which the seat is restricted by the lock mechanism.

11. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein the restriction conditions include at least any of
a time lapse restriction condition, which is satisfied if a preset time elapses after the operation switch is operated,
an ignition restriction condition, which is satisfied if an ignition switch is turned ON in a case where the ignition switch is OFF when the operation switch is operated,
a vehicle speed restriction condition, which is satisfied if the vehicle speed is not zero in a case where the vehicle speed was zero when the operation switch was operated,
a door restriction condition, which is satisfied if a vehicle door is brought into a closed state in a case where the vehicle door was in an opened state when the operation switch was operated, and
a post collision restriction condition, which is satisfied if a flag of a vehicle collision detection is reset in a case where a vehicle collision has been detected when the operation switch was operated.

12. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein the forced restriction conditions include an emergency condition, which is satisfied if a vehicle collision is detected or if it is determined that the vehicle collision is likely to occur.

13. The vehicle seat device according to claim 12 , wherein when the emergency condition is satisfied, the control portion controls the drive source such that the restriction by the lock mechanism is performed faster than in a case where the emergency condition is not satisfied.

14. The vehicle seat device according to claim 1 , wherein the forced restriction conditions include a time lapse forced restriction condition, which is satisfied if a preset time has elapsed after the restriction by the lock mechanism was cancelled when vehicle speed is not zero.

Assignees

• Hozumi Soichiro
• Maeda Toshiro
• Aisin Seiki

Inventors

• Hozumi Soichiro
• Maeda Toshiro

Classifications

• B60N2/0881 Primary

  Activation of the latches by the control mechanism · CPC title

• B60N2/08

  characterised by the locking device · CPC title

• B60N2/002

  Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon (detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266) · CPC title

• B60N2/0244 Primary

  with logic circuits · CPC title

• B60N2002/4455

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic