JPH0511077Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a suspension device for a seat used as a vehicle seat or the like.

[Prior Art] In order to obtain cushioning properties commensurate with the weight of the seated occupant, recent vehicle seats have been proposed in which a suspension device is interposed between the cushion portion of the seat and the floor of the vehicle body. has been done.

FIG. 2 shows an example of such a seat with a suspension device, in which a link mechanism is provided between the cushion part 2 of the seat 1 and the vehicle floor 4 to support the cushion part 2 in a vertically movable manner. 11 and a suspension body 12 are arranged.

More specifically, the suspension body 12 is
As shown in FIG. 3, it is provided with an upper housing 18a and a lower housing 18b, and is connected by a flexible rubber body 19 between the two housings 18a and 18b, and is formed into an approximately cup shape as a whole. There is. In addition, due to the bending deformation of the rubber body 19,
The upper housing 18a and the lower housing 18b are movable up and down relative to each other. Furthermore, a cap 18d is placed over the top of the upper housing 18a, and the top surface of the upper housing 18a is closed by the cap 18d. When the upper housing 18a is closed, a movable membrane 15 is stretched over the entire upper surface of the upper housing 18a, and an air-filled chamber 16 is formed between the movable membrane 15 and the cap 18d. Further, an air tank 17 is connected to this air filling chamber 16 through a pipe 5. This air tank 17 includes a cylinder 17a, a piston 1
7b, an adjustment screw member 17c, and a gauge 17d. And adjustment screw member 17
c, rotate the piston 17b to the cylinder 17.
By moving it vertically within a, a predetermined air pressure can be introduced from the air tank 17 into the air filling chamber 16. Note that the air pressure in the air enclosure chamber 16 at this time can be confirmed with the gauge 17d. On the other hand, below the movable membrane 15,
A liquid sealing portion 14 is formed in which a liquid such as oil is sealed. The inside of this liquid enclosure 14 is
The upper housing 18a is partitioned into two upper and lower chambers by a partition plate 18c disposed in the middle portion thereof.
An upper liquid chamber 14a is formed between the partition plate 18c and the movable membrane 15, and a lower liquid chamber 14b is formed below the partition plate 18c. Also,
A hole 3 is formed in the center of the partition plate 18c, and a movable plate 13 with an orifice 13a is attached to the hole 3, and liquid is passed between the upper liquid chamber 14a and the lower liquid chamber 14b through the orifice 13a. It is now available for distribution.

In the seat 1 configured in this way, the upper housing 18a is fixed to the frame 20 side of the cushion portion 2 via the cap 18d, and
The lower housing 18b side is attached to the vehicle body floor surface 4 side via the seat rail 21. When an impact is applied between the cushion portion 2 and the vehicle floor surface 4, the liquid passes through the orifice 13a and enters the upper liquid chamber 14.
Liquid moves back and forth between a and the lower liquid chamber 14b, and at this time, shocks and the like are alleviated and absorbed. This operation will be explained next.

First, between the cushion part 2 and the vehicle floor surface 4,
When no impact load W (see Fig. 3) is applied, the upper housing 18a and the lower housing 18
b are vertically separated until the pressure in the upper liquid chamber 14a and the pressure in the lower liquid chamber 14b are balanced. As a result, link mechanism 1
1 is also extended between the frame 20 and the seat rail 21, and supports the cushion portion 2 in a largely lifted state. Further, the liquid pressure in the upper liquid chamber 14a and the air pressure in the air chamber 16 are balanced, and the movable membrane 15 is maintained in a simply floating state.

Next, in this state, the cushion part 2 and the vehicle floor surface 4 are
When an impact load W is applied between the upper housing 18a and the lower housing 18b, a compressive force is applied between the upper housing 18a and the lower housing 18b. Then, a force is generated that causes the liquid in the lower liquid chamber 14b to flow into the upper liquid chamber 14a through the orifice 13a. Then, when the liquid flows into the upper liquid chamber 14a side, the upper liquid chamber 14
The pressure on the a side increases, this pressure compresses the air in the air enclosure chamber 16, and the movable membrane 15 moves into the air enclosure chamber 16.
Inflated to the side. Furthermore, the liquid in the lower liquid chamber 14b side escapes to the upper liquid chamber 14a side, thereby reducing the distance between the upper housing 18a and the lower housing 18b, and at the same time, the link mechanism 11 is also compressed. As a result, the cushion portion 2 is displaced downward and the impact force is absorbed. On the other hand, when the movable membrane 15 receives a repulsive force from the air-filled chamber 16 side that displaces the cushion part 2 upward after the cushion part 2 is displaced downward, the liquid in the upper liquid chamber 14a is compressed, and the liquid in the upper liquid chamber 14a is compressed. flows into the lower liquid chamber 14b through the orifice 13a again. Then, while bending the rubber body 19, the upper housing 18a
is displaced upward with respect to the lower housing 18b,
The cushion part 2 is displaced upward while extending the link mechanism 11. This absorbs the impact force received from the vehicle floor surface 4 side. That is, the upper liquid chamber 14a and the lower liquid chamber 1 pass through the orifice 13a.
4b, the impact force generated between the cushion portion 2 and the vehicle floor surface 4 is absorbed, thereby providing cushioning properties. At this time, the cushioning property can be adjusted by the air pressure in the air chamber 16, and this adjustment can be achieved by changing the position of the piston 17b in the cylinder 17a by rotating the adjusting screw member 17c. It can be adjusted according to the weight and preferences of the seated occupant.

Further, in the suspension body 12 of the seat 1, the initial load and minute vibrations are absorbed by the movement of the movable plate 13 disposed within the hole 3 of the partition plate 18c. This movable plate 13 is supported in the hole 3 so as to be movable up and down, and flanges 13 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the movable plate 13.
c and 13d are provided, respectively. Further, the amount of vertical movement of the movable plate 13 is determined by
d is regulated by colliding with the upper or lower surface of the partition plate 18c. And the upper liquid chamber 14
a. When pressure is generated in the lower liquid chamber 14b and the liquid moves through the orifice 13a, this movable plate 13 instantly moves upward or downward, respectively;
This movement absorbs the initial load and minute pressure fluctuations.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in this conventional seat suspension device, the air pressure inside the air filling chamber 16 for changing the cushioning property is adjusted by the adjustment screw member 17c.
This operation is done manually. For this reason, the air pressure must be adjusted each time depending on the weight of the person sitting on the seat, which is troublesome, and there is a problem in that the person may force himself to sit down without adjusting it, making it uncomfortable to sit. In addition, the cylinder 17a and the piston 17
Since air adjustment is carried out using the air tank 17 having the air tank 17, there are problems such as air leakage and breakdowns, and problems such as the structure itself becoming complicated and large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a seat suspension device that can improve sitting comfort, has a simple structure, and can be downsized.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a suspension device for a seat according to the present invention includes a suspension body interposed between a cushion portion of a seat and a floor surface, and The housing body is divided into two upper and lower chambers by a partition plate, and the upper and lower chambers are connected to each other by an orifice, and have a liquid-sealed section, and an air-sealed chamber formed in one chamber of the liquid-sealed section via a movable membrane. The seat suspension device comprises a heater provided in the air chamber and a control circuit for controlling energization of the heater.

[Function] According to this configuration, when the air in the air-filled chamber is heated by the heater, it expands and the air pressure in the air-filled chamber is increased, and cushioning properties suitable for the seated person can be easily obtained by this change in air pressure. Therefore, sitting comfort is improved and practicality is improved, and the air tank used in the conventional structure is not required, and the structure can be simplified. Furthermore, it becomes possible to downsize the entire device.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail using the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a seat suspension device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicate the same components as in FIGS. 2 and 3. The suspension body 112 includes an upper housing 18a and a lower housing 18b, and is connected to the housings 18a and 18b by a flexible rubber body 19, so that the suspension body 112 has an approximately cup shape as a whole. and that an air chamber 16 is formed in the upper part of the upper housing 18a, and the middle part of the upper housing 18a is partitioned by a partition plate 18c to form an upper liquid chamber 14a and a lower liquid chamber 14b, respectively. The basic structure is the same as the conventional suspension body 12 shown in FIG. This suspension device eliminates the air tank used in conventional suspension devices and is equipped with a heater 30 disposed within the air filling chamber 16, a heat insulating material 31 attached to cover the cap 18d, etc. They are different.

To explain further, the heat insulating material 31 is attached to cover the entire outside of the cap 18d in order to isolate the temperature between the inside of the air chamber 16 and the outside of the suspension body 112.

Next, the heater 3 disposed within the air enclosure chamber 16
0 is attached to the inner surface of the cap 18d, for example, and is controlled to be energized via a control circuit 32 from the outside. A power source 33 and a pressure sensor 34 are connected to the control circuit 32. Further, this pressure sensor 34 is disposed within the cushion portion 2 of the seat 1, for example,
The control circuit 3 outputs a signal according to the weight of the seated person.
2 can now be entered. On the other hand, the control circuit 32 is mainly configured with a microprocessor, and is capable of inputting information from a temperature sensor or pressure sensor (not shown) disposed within the air chamber 16. .

Suspension body 112 configured in this way
The seat suspension device is equipped with
When a load variation occurs between the cushion portion 2 and the vehicle floor surface 4 due to an impact or the like, a difference occurs between the pressure in the upper liquid chamber 14a and the pressure in the lower liquid chamber 14b due to the load variation at this time. At this time, the movable plate 13 instantly moves to the side of the chamber where the pressure is lower, and the initial load is absorbed. In addition, even slight vibrations can be absorbed by moving only the movable plate 13, but if the load fluctuation is even larger, it can be absorbed by the liquid entering the chamber on the opposite side through the orifice 13a. Ru. Further, in this suspension device, when a seated person or the like sits on the cushion portion 2, the pressure sensor 34 detects the body weight and the like and inputs the detected information to the control circuit 32.
Then, the control circuit 32 determines whether the currently set cushioning properties are suitable for the newly seated person. If it is determined that the cushioning properties are not suitable, the control circuit 32 uses information from the temperature or pressure sensor in the air chamber 16 to automatically switches the control range based on the and,
When the temperature in the air chamber 16 or the signal from the pressure sensor falls below a set range, the heater 30 is energized to generate heat. Then, the air in the air chamber 16 expands, the air pressure increases, and the cushioning properties in the suspension body 112 change. Further, when the temperature in the air chamber 16 or the signal from the pressure sensor exceeds a set range, the heater 30 is turned off, and when it falls below the set range, it is turned on again, and this operation is repeated. In addition, cushioning properties suitable for the seated person can be obtained.

Therefore, in this seat suspension device, the pressure within the air chamber 16 can be automatically switched depending on the seated person. That is, unlike conventional devices, the seated person does not have to manually adjust the cushion each time, which eliminates troublesomeness and allows optimum cushioning performance to be obtained at all times. Moreover, unlike conventional structures, it does not use an air tank with a cylinder and piston.
Air leakage and malfunctions will no longer occur.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the power supply to the heater 30 is
Although a structure has been described in which the control is automatically controlled according to the weight of the seated person via the control circuit 32, a structure in which the control is performed using a heater equipped with a thermostat may also be adopted. Further, in the above embodiment, the structure applied to a vehicle has been described, but it can also be applied to a general seat.

[Effects of the invention] As explained above, according to the seat suspension device according to the invention, when the air in the air chamber is heated by the heater, it expands and the pressure inside the air chamber is increased, and this pressure change causes the seat to sit on the seat. You can easily obtain cushioning properties that suit the user. This not only improves seating comfort and practicality, but also eliminates the need for the air tank used in conventional structures.
The structure can be simplified. Furthermore, it becomes possible to downsize the entire device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the main parts of a seat suspension device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing an example of a seat to which a general suspension device is applied. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conventional suspension device. 1... Seat, 2... Cushion part, 4... Floor surface, 12, 112... Suspension body, 13a
...Orifice, 14...Liquid sealing part, 14a...
...Upper liquid chamber, 14b...Lower liquid chamber, 15...Movable membrane, 16...Air enclosure chamber, 30...Heater, 32
...control circuit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] a liquid containing part comprising a suspension body interposed between a cushion part of a seat and a floor surface, said suspension body being partitioned into two upper and lower chambers by a partition plate, and said upper and lower two chambers being connected by an orifice; A seat suspension device comprising an air chamber formed through a movable membrane in one chamber of the liquid chamber, wherein a heater is provided in the air chamber, and the heater is not energized. A suspension device for a seat, characterized by comprising a control circuit for controlling the seat.