JPH09295531A - Air suspension seat - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: An air suspension seat for a vehicle, in which the height of the seat is always kept constant, makes it easy to get on and off. An automatic leveling air suspension (2) for a vehicle seat (1) includes links (6, 7) and an air suspension (12) crossing each other, and a seat cushion (3).
The height of the seat cushion 3 is set by appropriately opening and closing the intake valve 22 and the exhaust valve 24 by rotating the cam 21 in accordance with the vertical direction of the seat and adjusting the supply and discharge of air to and from the air chamber 29 of the air suspension 12. When the handle 36 is operated while holding the value, the control valve 32
The intake port 33 is closed, the air supply port 34 and the exhaust port 35 are communicated with each other, and the air in the air chamber 29 is released to the atmosphere.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air suspension seat capable of holding a seat at a constant height even if the weight of a seated person changes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional air suspension seat, a change in seat height based on a change in weight of a seated person is detected by a potentiometer and the detected value is set, as illustrated in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-46934. By opening and closing the solenoid valve according to the difference from the value, air is introduced from the air tank to the air spring or discharged from the air spring to the outside so that the seat is always kept at a constant height. Have control. However, in the driver's seat of the vehicle, the steering wheel is arranged close to it, so if the height of the seat is always kept constant, the steering wheel becomes an obstacle when the driver gets on and off the vehicle. hand,
There was a risk that the boarding and alighting properties would be significantly impaired.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of improving the entry / exitability even in an air suspension seat of a vehicle or the like in which the seat height is always kept constant.

[0004]

Therefore, in the air suspension seat according to the present invention, the height of the seat is set to a set value by controlling the supply and discharge of air to and from the air chamber of the air suspension according to the weight of the seated person. It has an auto-leveling valve that holds it, and a control valve installed in the air supply path to the air chamber, and the operation of the control valve stops the supply of air to the air chamber and at the same time discharges the air from the air chamber. It is configured to be.

Therefore, when the control valve is operated, the supply of air to the air chamber is stopped, and at the same time, the air is discharged from the air chamber, so that the height of the seat supported by the air suspension is automatically lowered. Further, the seating on the seat and the detachment from the seat are surely facilitated, and the use of the seat can be made more convenient.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention shown in the drawings will be described below. The automatic leveling air suspension 2 in the vehicle seat 1 has links 6 and 7 that cross each other between an upper frame 4 attached to each of the left and right lower surfaces of a seat cushion 3 and a left and right lower frame 5 on the floor. Upper frame 4
Also, a long hole 8 in the vehicle front-rear direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1) is formed at the front end of the lower frame 5, and shafts 9 and 10 connecting the front end portions of the left and right links 6 and 7 respectively form the long hole 8. Insert and insert left and right links 6, 7
Shafts 11 that connect the rear end portions of the upper frame 4 and the lower frame 5 are pivotally attached to the rear ends of the upper frame 4 and the lower frame 5, respectively, and the upper frame 4 and the lower frame 5 are connected by links 6 and 7. An air suspension 12 is installed between the lower frames 5, and the upper frame 4 is elastically supported with respect to the lower frame 5.

On the other hand, below the lower frame 5, a cam 21 is pivoted substantially horizontally by a vertical shaft 20, and an operating arm 23 of an intake valve 22 and an operating arm 25 of an exhaust valve 24 are connected to each other by a cam of the cam 21. A cam plate 26 elastically abutting against the surface and fixed to the shaft 9 of the link 6 and extending downward is engaged with the window 27 of the cam 21 in the front-rear direction.

The intake valve 22 is disposed in the middle of an air supply path 30 connecting the air tank 28 and the air chamber 29 of the air suspension 12, and the exhaust valve 24 is also provided.
Is arranged in the middle of an air discharge path 31 that connects the air chamber 29 and an exhaust port (not shown), and a control valve 32 is installed in the air supply path 30 between the intake valve 22 and the air chamber 29. The valve 32 is provided with an intake port 33, an air supply port 34, and an exhaust port 35, and a handle 36 attached to the lower front end of the seat 1 is connected to a control lever 38 of the control valve 32 by a wire 37.

In the state where the seat cushion 3 of the vehicle seat 1 is at the set height, the intake port 33 and the air supply port 34 of the control valve 32 communicate with each other, the exhaust port 35 is closed, and the intake air The operating arm 23 of the valve 22 and the operating arm 25 of the exhaust valve 24 are connected to the cam 21.
Since it is not pressed by, the intake valve 22 and the exhaust valve 24 are closed.

However, when the air suspension 12 contracts and the upper frame 4 descends from this state, the links 6 and 7 incline about the shaft 11, respectively, so that the shafts fixed to the front ends of the links 6 and 7 are rotated. The cam plate 26 fixed to the shaft 9 is fixed because the shafts 9 and 10 move forward (to the left in the drawing) in the elongated hole 8 and the lower shaft 9 rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing. As a result, the cam plate 26 pushes the side wall of the window 27 of the cam 21 at the same time that the cam 21 rotates in the direction of the arrow A around the shaft 20. When the cam 21 rotates by a predetermined amount or more and the actuating arm 23 is pressed, the intake valve 22 is opened, so that the air tank 28 passes through the air supply passage 30 and the air chamber. Air is fed to the bus 29, operates in a direction in which the air suspension 12 is extended. In this case, since the operating arm 25 of the exhaust valve 24 is not pressed by the cam 21, the exhaust valve 24 remains closed.

When the air suspension 12 extends from the state shown in the drawing and the upper frame 4 rises, the links 6 and 7 are tilted about the shaft 11, respectively, and are fixed to the front ends of the links 6 and 7. Since the shafts 9 and 10 move backward (to the right in the drawing) in the long hole 8 and the lower shaft 9 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing, the cam fixed to the shaft 9 is rotated. The plate 26 also moves rearward and at the same time rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the figure. As a result, the cam plate 26 pushes the side wall of the window 27 in the cam 21, so that the cam 21 rotates in the direction of arrow B about the shaft 20. When the cam 21 is moved, the cam 21 is rotated by a predetermined amount or more and the operating arm 25 is pressed, the exhaust valve 24
Is opened, the air in the air chamber 29 is discharged from the exhaust port to the atmosphere through the exhaust passage 31, and the air suspension 12 operates in a contracting direction. In this case, since the actuating arm 23 of the intake valve 22 is not pressed by the cam 21, the intake valve 22 remains closed, and due to these actions, the air suspension 2
Is automatically leveled, and the height of the seat cushion 3 is held at the set value.

On the other hand, when the driver sitting on the seat 1 gets off or when the driver sits on the seat 1 and the handle 36 is operated as indicated by an arrow C, the control lever of the control valve 32 is connected via the wire 37. 38 is rotated as shown by an arrow D to close the intake port 33, communicate the air supply port 34 and the exhaust port 35, and to handle the handle 36.
Is locked in its pivot position, so that the air chamber 29
As a result of the air inside being released to the atmosphere through the control valve 32, the auto-leveling function of the air suspension 2 is forcibly disabled and the air suspension 12 contracts,
The seat cushion 3 descends greatly as indicated by the chain double-dashed line.

When the handle 36 is unlocked and the handle 36 is returned to the original position shown in the drawing, the wire 37
The control lever 38 of the control valve 32 is rotated in the opposite direction to the arrow D to return to the position shown in the drawing, the exhaust port 35 is closed, and the intake port 33 and the air supply port 34 are made to communicate with each other. The auto-leveling function in is restored.

That is, even if the seat 1 is equipped with the automatic leveling air suspension 2, the handle 36
The seat cushion 3 can be greatly lowered when the driver gets on and off the vehicle by a simple operation, and the distance between the seat cushion 3 and the steering wheel of the vehicle arranged close to the seat cushion 3 can be greatly increased. Moreover,
Since the air is released from the air chamber 29 by the control valve 32 quickly, the seat cushion 3 also quickly descends due to the contraction of the air suspension 12, so that the ease of getting on and off the driver can be easily improved. Very convenient for practical use.

As a method for detecting the position when the seat cushion is lowered or raised due to the contraction or extension of the air suspension, the cam plate is moved back and forth and rotated as in the above-described embodiment, and in addition to the above-described embodiment. It goes without saying that various kinds of mechanisms can be adopted, such as detecting the movement of the seat cushion support link back and forth and the tilt thereof with a potentiometer, etc.

Further, by changing the control valve of each of the above-mentioned embodiments to an electromagnetic type and operating a control button arranged near the driver's seat, the control valve is the same as that of each of the above-mentioned embodiments. The air in the air chamber of the air suspension may be discharged to the atmosphere, and further, the electromagnetic control valves may be respectively released in response to attachment / detachment of an engine key in the vehicle or connection / disconnection of the key switch. By disabling or making it operate, when the engine key is removed or the key switch is turned off, the electromagnetic control valve operates,
If the air in the air chamber of the air suspension is released to the atmosphere, the seat can be quickly and significantly lowered without any special operation when the driver gets on or off the vehicle. It is more convenient than it is.

[0017]

The air suspension seat according to the present invention is equipped with an auto-leveling valve for maintaining the seat height at a set value, but at the same time the air supply to the air chamber is stopped by the operation of the control valve,
Since air is discharged from the air chamber and the height of the seat supported by the air suspension is automatically lowered, it becomes easy to sit on and detach from the seat, which is very convenient.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic layout diagram in an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 seat 2 auto leveling air suspension 3 seat cushion 6 and 7 link 12 air suspension 21 cam 22 intake valve 24 exhaust valve 26 cam plate 28 air tank 30 air supply path 31 air exhaust path 32 control valve 33 intake port 34 air supply port 35 exhaust Port 36 Handle 37 Wire 38 Control lever

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Katsuaki Urahama 5-3-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (72) Inventor Renri Ikegame 5-33-8 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo No. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An auto-leveling valve for controlling the supply and discharge of air to and from the air chamber of an air suspension according to the weight of a seated person to maintain a seat height at a set value.
And a control valve installed in an air supply path to the air chamber, wherein the operation of the control valve stops the supply of air to the air chamber and at the same time the air is discharged from the air chamber. Air suspension seat. 2. The air suspension seat according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the control valve is electromagnetic, and the control valve operates when a vehicle engine key is pulled out or the key switch is turned off.