JPH0227809Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention makes it possible to freely and steplessly adjust the rotation of the lumbar support body, which is movably incorporated in the seat bag, by skillfully utilizing a planetary gear mechanism. This invention relates to a lumbar support device that can be easily and reliably locked in the adjusted position.

In general, this type of vehicle seat holds the seated person stably while the vehicle is in motion, provides appropriate sitting comfort, and reduces fatigue as much as possible even when seated for long periods of time. This is desired, and for this purpose support devices are attached to various parts of the seat. The most commonly known type of support device is a lumbar support that supports the lower back of a seated person.

Incidentally, such lumbar supports have been known in the past in various configurations, such as left and right lumbar supports that are rotatably supported on the frame side and support an elastic body such as a spring on the free end side. Many devices are used in which a pair of arms are configured to be rotated and adjusted by various cam members or the like. Then, by the adjustment operation described above, the amount of bulge of the lumbar support portion outward from the seat is adjusted,
It is adapted to accommodate the body shape or preferences of the occupant. In other words, by adjusting the amount of outward bulge of the seat, the seated person can obtain a sitting posture according to his or her preference, thereby providing a sense of stability and eliminating fatigue. At the same time, it is possible for the driver and the like to exhibit an effect in improving operability.

However, in such a configuration, the lumbar support body is moved by rotating the cam during the adjustment operation, so an abnormal noise is generated during the adjustment operation, which is not only unfavorable in terms of operability. There was a lot of backlash between the two, and there were also problems where fine adjustments could not be made. Furthermore, the above-mentioned conventional structure not only has a complicated configuration and a large number of parts, but also has problems in that its rotation adjustment operation is troublesome and requires a large amount of operating force due to the weight of each part. In particular, in order to fix the lumbar support body at the desired adjustment position, it can only be locked in stages, so it cannot be said that it can be properly and reliably locked, and furthermore, the operation is troublesome. There were some shortcomings.

In addition, in order to ensure the function and safety of this type of lumbar support device, it is necessary to have a certain degree of robustness and be able to reliably maintain its locked state against the load of the seated person.
Although such points must be taken into consideration, the conventional configuration has advantages and disadvantages, and it is desired that some kind of countermeasure be taken.

The present invention was developed in view of these circumstances, and by skillfully utilizing a planetary gear mechanism, it is possible to achieve a simple configuration and overall miniaturization, light weight, and compactness. To provide a lumbar support device that is equipped with an inexpensive locking mechanism that allows a support body to be easily and appropriately rotated freely and with a small operating force, and that can be reliably locked at a desired adjustment position. It is something to do.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail using embodiments shown in the drawings.

Figures 1 and 2 show an embodiment in which the lumbar support device according to the present invention is applied to a vehicle seat, and show a lumbar support body and a lock mechanism as the main parts, and a seat to which these are attached. Only the back frame is shown, and other configurations are omitted.

In these figures, reference numeral 1 is a seat cushion frame (not shown) constituting a seat back, 2 is a seat spring 2 thereof, and below both sides of the seat back frame 1 are left and right sections toward the front of the seat. A pair of side plates 3, 3 are provided. Note that 4 and 4 in the figure are supporting members that support a headless frame (not shown).

Now, according to the present invention, in the above-described configuration, a pair of arms 5, 5 rotatably supported by both side plates 3, 3, a shaft 6 connecting the free ends thereof, and a shaft 6, ,5
A lumbar support body 8 consisting of an S-shaped lumbar support spring 7 interposed therebetween.
The locking mechanism 10 is equipped with a planetary gear mechanism that allows the locking mechanism to be freely rotated steplessly with a simple operation and to maintain a secure locked state at the desired adjustment position. It has the following characteristics.

In the figure, 9 is a support pin that supports the above-mentioned one arm 5, 9a is a fixing nut thereof, and 11 is an operation shaft that supports the other arm 5 and is attached with the above-mentioned lock mechanism 10. 11a is a nut for fixing the same.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lock mechanism 10 is provided on the side of the lumbar support body 8, which is rotatably supported within the seat bag and moves forward and backward toward the outside of the seat. A first internal gear part (arm 5) having an internal tooth part 12 on the circular mouth periphery formed on the outer surface of the arm 5 at its shaft support part, and a first internal gear part (arm 5) coaxial with the first internal gear part 5. A second internal toothed portion 13 is provided on the seat cushion frame 1 side so as to be arranged in parallel with the first internal toothed portion 12 and has an internal toothed portion 13 having the same number of teeth as the first internal toothed portion 12 on the circular mouth periphery thereof.
internal gear portion (fixed plate 14), and internal tooth portions 1 of these first and second internal gear portions 5, 14.
A plurality of planetary gears 17 have first and second toothed portions 15 and 16 that mesh with teeth 2 and 13, respectively, and mesh with one of the toothed portions (15 in this embodiment) of these planetary gears 17. The control gear 18 is a sun gear disposed coaxially with the internal gear parts 5 and 14 and rotated in response to a rotation adjustment operation. This control gear 18 is
an operating shaft 11 rotatably supported by the fixed plate 14 and having an operating knob 19 at its outer end;
It is fixed on the top and rotated according to the amount of operation.

In the figure, 20 is a stabilizer that holds the planetary gear 17 at its rotating position, and 21 is a set screw that fixes the fixing plate 14 to the seatback frame 1 side. Further, according to this embodiment, the planetary gear 17 is connected to the first tooth portion 15 and the second tooth portion 1.
6 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that each tooth portion may be constructed separately and connected with a pin or the like.

According to such a configuration, the control gear 1
8 in a desired direction with the operating knob 19, each planetary gear 17 is thereby rotated, and the arm 5 having the internal toothed part 12 that meshes with the first toothed part 15 is rotated, and the lumbar is rotated. A lumbar support spring 7 serving as a support is moved forward and backward in the front and rear directions of the seat. Here, the relative rotation angle of the lumbar support 8 with respect to the seat back is determined by the rotation angle of the first and second tooth portions 1 of the planetary gear 17.
5, 16, the control gear 18, and the difference in the number of teeth of the internal gear portions 12, 13 of both internal gear portions, and may be appropriately determined as necessary. That is, since the numbers of teeth of the first and second tooth portions 15 and 16 of the planetary gear 17 are different, the planetary gear 1
The first and second tooth portions 15, 1
A difference in rotation angle occurs between the arm 5 and the fixed plate 14, which have the internal toothed portions 12 and 13 having the same number of teeth, by a difference in the number of teeth of 6, which acts as a deceleration mechanism.
Therefore, the first and second tooth portions 15, 1 having different numbers of teeth
A reduction mechanism is established by rotating the planetary gear 17 having the gear 6, and since the control gear 18 rotates the planetary gear 17, the first and second tooth portions 1 of the planetary gear 17
It is clear that it is sufficient to mesh with either one of Nos. 5 and 16.

Further, when the control gear 18 is stopped, the arm 5 on the lumbar support body 8 side is
First and second tooth portions 15 and 16 of planetary gear 17
The internal gear part 13 of the internal gear part 14 on the fixed part side via
This results in a locking in that position.

The rotation operation described above requires only a small operating force due to the deceleration effect of the planetary gear mechanism, and since the plurality of planetary gears 17 are meshed, rattling in each part can be minimized to the necessary minimum. is also possible. Furthermore, the above-described structure has the advantage that each part is simple in structure, easy to manufacture and assemble, and the overall thickness can be reduced.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the structure of the embodiments described above, and the shape and structure of each part may be modified or changed as necessary. For example, the number of teeth of each tooth part or the tip circle You can select the size, number of planetary gears, etc. as necessary, or select the control gear 18.
The first and second tooth portions 15, 1 of the planetary gear 17
It will also be obvious that it may be made to mesh with either one of 6.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the lumbar support device according to the present invention is not limited to the vehicle seat in the embodiment.

As explained above, the lumbar support device according to the present invention uses a locking mechanism that skillfully utilizes a planetary gear mechanism, so it is simple, has a small number of parts, and has a small, lightweight, and compact structure. Despite this, the lumbar support body can be adjusted by moving it forward and backward steplessly in the forward and backward directions of the seat with a simple rotation operation using a small operating force within the seat bag, and this lumbar support body can be adjusted in the adjusted position. It is possible to easily and reliably lock the body without rattling, and there are no problems such as noise, and it is possible to achieve a smaller, lighter, and more compact overall structure, and it is also cost-effective. It also has various excellent effects such as being inexpensive.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a locking mechanism showing an embodiment in which a seat support device according to the present invention is applied to a lumbar support, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part thereof. In the figure, 1... Seat back frame, 2... Seat spring, 3... Side frame, 5...
Arm, 6... Connection shaft, 7... Lumbar support spring, 8... Lumbar support body,
10...Lock mechanism, 11...Operation shaft, 1
2... Internal gear part, 13... Internal gear part, 14... Fixed plate (internal gear part), 15, 16... First and second tooth part, 17... Planetary gear, 18... Control Gear, 19...operation knob.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a lumbar support device comprising a lumbar support body that is rotatably supported within a seat back and moves forward and backward toward the outside of the seat, the lumbar support bodies include a pair of lumbar support bodies that are rotatably supported by side plates of a seat back frame. and a first internal gear portion having an internal gear portion on a circular mouth periphery provided on a part of the arm and having a shaft connecting the pair of arms. , is provided on one side plate side so as to be coaxially parallel to the first internal gear part, and has an internal gear part having the same number of teeth as the first internal gear part on the circular mouth periphery thereof. a fixed plate having a second internal gear portion; and a plurality of planets having first and second tooth portions having different numbers of teeth that mesh with the internal tooth portions of the first and second internal gear portions, respectively. A locking mechanism comprising a gear and a control gear disposed coaxially with both internal gears so as to mesh with the teeth of either one of the planetary gears,
The control gear is fixed to an operating shaft that is rotatably supported by the fixed plate and has an operating knob at its outer end, and the lumbar support body moves forward and backward in response to rotation adjustment operations of the operating shaft. A lumbar support device characterized by: