Vehicle seat sliding apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9327616-B2
Application number	US-201414182471-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 18, 2014
Priority date	Feb 19, 2013
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

A vehicle seat sliding apparatus includes: a first rail fixed to one of a vehicle floor and a seat and having first vertical wall portions, a first connection wall portion, and flanges; and a second rail fixed to the other one of the vehicle floor and the seat and having second vertical wall portions, a second connection wall portion, outward extending wall portions, and extending wall portions, wherein locking claws are aligned side by side at tip ends of the flanges of the first rail; the second rail is provided with through-holes; the vehicle seat sliding apparatus further includes, a locking member having locking portions, and a biasing member; and the outward extending wall portions are provided with flat portions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat sliding apparatus, comprising:
a first rail fixed to one of a vehicle floor and a seat and having a pair of first vertical wall portions aligned side by side in a width direction, a first connection wall portion connecting base ends of the first vertical wall portions, and a pair of flanges projecting from tip ends of the first vertical wall portions inwardly in the width direction in which the flanges face each other and further bending toward the base ends of the first vertical wall portions; and
a second rail fixed to the other one of the vehicle floor and the seat in a relatively movable manner with respect to the first rail and having a pair of second vertical wall portions aligned side by side in the width direction between the flanges, a second connection wall portion connecting base ends of the second vertical wall portions, a pair of outward extending wall portions projecting outward apart from each other in the width direction from tip ends of the second vertical wall portions while undergoing displacement to one side in a top-bottom direction, and a pair of extending wall portions extending in the top-bottom direction from tip ends of the outward extending wall portions so as to be surrounded by the first vertical wall portions and the flanges,
wherein
a plurality of locking claws are aligned side by side in the direction of the relative movement at tip ends of the flanges of the first rail;
the second rail is provided with a pair of through-holes penetrating the second vertical wall portions in the width direction and penetrating the outward extending wall portions in the top-bottom direction;
the vehicle seat sliding apparatus further comprises,
a locking member connected to the second rail in a rotationally movable manner about an axial line extending in the width direction on an inner side of the second vertical wall portions in the width direction, formed in an insertable manner into the through-holes in the second vertical wall portions, having locking portions capable of locking at least a part of the locking claws in side edge portions in the width direction, and selectively locking the relative movement of the first and second rails as the locking portions fit onto and come off the locking claws in association with a rotational movement in the top-bottom direction, and
a biasing member biasing and rotating the locking member to a side where the relative movement is locked;

the outward extending wall portions are provided with a pair of flat portions making a region between outer ends of the outward extending wall portions in the width direction and the through-holes horizontally in the width direction so that an abutment position of the outward extending wall portions and the locking member in association with a rotational movement of the locking member comes closer to the first connection wall portion in the top-bottom direction,
the respective outer extending wall portions are provided with a gradually changing portion that gradually conforms different sectional shapes to each other at least on one side of the flat portions in the direction of the relative movement, and
the gradually changing portion is inclined downward toward the flat portion from the outer ends of the outward extending wall portions.

2. The vehicle seat sliding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the outward extending wall portions project outward in the width direction while coming closer to the first connection wall portion in the top-bottom direction; and
a pair of balls is interposed in a rollable manner between a pair of second ball guides provided to the outward extending wall portions in inner portions in the width direction and a pair of first ball guides provided to the first connection wall portion so as to protrude in the top-bottom direction in a direction in which the first ball guides come closer to the second vertical wall portions on an inner side than the second ball guides in the width direction.

3. The vehicle seat sliding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
the outward extending wall portions project outward in the width direction while moving apart from the first connection wall portion in the top-bottom direction; and
a pair of balls are interposed in a rollable manner between a pair of first ball guides provided to connection regions of the first vertical wall portions and the first connection wall portion and a pair of second ball guides provided to connection regions of the outward extending wall portions and the extending wall portions.

Assignees

• Aisin Seiki

Inventors

• Hoshihara Naoaki
• Chiba Akihiro
• Fujishiro Shun

Classifications

• B60N2/085

  about a transversal axis · CPC title

• B60N2/0705

  omega-shaped · CPC title

• B60N2/0856 Primary

  about a vertical axis · CPC title

• B60N2/0818

  inside the rail · CPC title