DE20008427U1 - Device for temporarily anchoring a seat to a vehicle floor - Google Patents

Description

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PATENT ATTORNEYS
EUROPEAN PATENT AND TRADEMARK ATTORNEYS

Application for registration of a utility model

(31) Priority Application Number:

(32) Priority Date:

(33) Priority Country I Priority Country:

Our reference: A231DE7 H/mu

(54) Title:

Device for temporarily anchoring a Seat on a vehicle floor

(71) Applicant I Applicant:

Ancra Jungfalk GmbH & Co. KG Richard-Stocker-Str.

78234 Engen Germany

(74) Representative/Agent:

Dipl.-Ing. Gerhard F. Hiebsch Dipl.-Ing. Dr. oec. Niels Behrmann M.B.A. (NY) Heinrich-Weber-Platz

78224 Singen

Oral agreements require written confirmation to be valid.
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Device for temporarily anchoring a seat to

a vehicle floor

The invention relates to a device for temporarily anchoring a seat to a vehicle floor in at least one retaining rail which is firmly connected to the vehicle floor and extends in a direction of movement or length, and which has an undercut longitudinal groove for slidingly guiding a slide-like insert element in its undercut region and, in shaped ribs which extend over this undercut region, a plurality of bores arranged at axial distances from one another, the diameter of which is greater than the distance between the shaped ribs and which are designed as locking elements for counter-elements assigned to the insert element.

A device of this type can be found in DE 198 51 392 A1 of the applicant. In this previously known device, clamping pins that can be inserted into these holes protrude from a locking device that can be placed on the holding rail. Each clamping pin is provided with a base plate that can be moved in the undercut area of the holding rail -- designed as a so-called airline profile. The clamping pins and the locking bolts that are mounted on the device at a distance from them are each axially movable and connected to an actuating unit for the joint control of their movement. A link plate of the actuating unit is provided with link slots or control curves in which link pins for the clamping pin(s) and the locking bolt are guided. The link plate can be rotated to a limited extent about a bearing rod of the device that passes through it, and the link slots are at least partially curved around this bearing rod.

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So-called airline profiles are generally known from the state of the art as rails for fastening seats, lashing or holding devices in vehicles of various types with an undercut groove extending lengthwise - typically in the direction of travel - and a plurality of openings or holes provided in the groove for anchoring purposes - usually arranged at regular intervals.

This flexible type of seat and cargo fastening is increasingly being used not only in aircraft, but also in land and sea vehicles; the fastening method described above requires little installation effort and allows loading and passenger compartments to be designed variably in an easily changeable manner, as well as simplifying the lashing process.

For example, seats -- or corresponding devices to be attached to a generic airline profile -- can be connected to a carriage which slides in the undercut groove of the airline profile and is provided with means by which the carriage -- and thus the seat or similar attached to it -- can be anchored in a predetermined position in the rail. Such known devices have a number of disadvantages which arise in particular in practical use and when the airline profile is subjected to greater loads; for example, the use of airline profiles in a longer vehicle floor leads to torsion, namely to a twisting of the floor -- and thus also of the airline profile embedded in it -- due to body movements occurring during travel. Such torsions -- or other static or dynamic forces acting on the vehicle floor -- then lead to a corresponding influence on the path determined by the rail groove, with the effect that a traditionally one-piece carriage -- which is supposed to slide in the groove -- is jammed, tilted or otherwise limited in its adjustment options.

A231DE7

Furthermore, fastening seats to such a known slide -- which is then secured in the sitting position by engaging in one of the holes in the rail -- has the disadvantage that -- due to the weakest element in the chain: locking element - slide - connection of the seat -- the maximum force input is limited by the mechanical stability of the slide, with the result that in practice a pair of airline profiles can often only withstand the forces associated with the assembly of a single seat if a plurality of seats (such as a bench or similar) are not secured to just one rail (or a pair of rails).

In addition, known slides intended for use on an airline profile have the disadvantage of being complicated and cumbersome to handle, particularly with regard to the attachment of mounting devices.

Knowing these facts, the inventor set himself the task of developing a generic anchoring device in such a way that the carriage can be moved properly even under torsion or other twisting of the vehicle floor that holds the airline rail. A solution should also be found to be able to increase the force that can be introduced into a rail by a structural unit, such as a seat, with the aim of making the present device suitable for a number of seats or the like that are to be attached in parallel, without a maximum moment of force exceeding the load-bearing capacity of the system being exceeded in the event of an impact.

The teaching of the independent claim leads to the solution of this problem; the subclaims indicate advantageous further developments. In addition, all combinations of at least two of the features disclosed in the description, the drawing and/or the claims fall within the scope of the invention.

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According to the invention, the insert element is designed as an insertion carriage that can be moved in the direction of movement in the undercut space of the holding rail, with at least one engagement device that can be changed in position transversely to the direction of movement as a counter-element for insertion into one of the holes in the holding rail. This insertion carriage should have a bracket made of dimensionally stable material that is approximately U-shaped in plan view, the longitudinal legs of which are connected by bolt-like cross elements. This creates an insert element with a simple structure.

According to a further feature of the invention, a plunger-like body is provided in the insertion carriage as an engagement device with at least one disk section on its surface which, in the insertion position, is directed towards the bores and is designed in accordance with their contours; this disk section rests in one of the bores or openings in the holding rail in the locking position.

At least two such disc sections are preferred, the center distance of which corresponds to that of the holes. These two -- or more -- disc sections of the plunger are connected by an intermediate web -- which fits into the surface groove -- for better stability and form the surface of the plunger.

It has also proven to be advantageous to use a block-like plunger body which is easy to guide and on which the disk sections are arranged; on its surface facing away from these, this plunger body is provided with at least one receiving groove for a clamping pin which extends between the longitudinal legs of the slide-in carriage and is fixed therein. The cross-section of the receiving groove should be longer than the cross-section of the clamping pin in order to be able to form a path of movement for the latter; the plunger body is guided on the clamping pin during its lifting movement. At least one

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Insert a threaded pin which can be placed on the clamping pin and with which the plunger is raised relative to the clamping pin when the threaded pin is turned -- in its threaded hole which runs through the plunger body -- in the screwing-in direction.

For this purpose, it is advantageous if the threaded pin runs in the cross-sectional axis of the receiving groove, i.e. in its apex.

It is also within the scope of the invention that the stroke or movement path for the plunger is limited by the longitudinal legs of the insertion carriage, by a bracket base forming the bracket with these, and by at least one stop rib connected to a longitudinal leg; for this purpose, a pair of stop ribs are preferred which are formed from the longitudinal legs and are opposite one another and should be inclined at an angle to one another; their end faces form part of the limitation for the movement path of the plunger.

The plunger has two settings; in the engaged position of the disc section(s), the deepest part of the receiving groove is at a distance from the clamping pin; in the sliding position of the slide, the deepest part of the receiving groove is approximately flush with the clamping pin.

To secure the chair, armchair or similar mentioned at the beginning, two bolt-like cross-elements are preferably secured to the longitudinal legs in the slide-in carriage near the upper edge. These bolts can have a circular or oval cross-section, but also a polygonal cross-section. According to the invention, the bolt can also be cranked longitudinally.

For a seat, for example, two slide-in slides can be used on each side, connected to each other by an intermediate element.

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The present invention has created a way to further increase the flexibility of the proven airline profiles in their application possibilities and, in particular, to make them accessible for conditions in which strong torsion and/or vehicle floor distortions have previously led to existing slides jamming and/or the mechanical limits of previous slides have set an upper limit for the maximum load of traditional airline fastening systems.

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Further advantages, features and details of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments and from the drawings, which show in

Fig. 1 to 3: sketchy side views of a vehicle seat anchored in a floor rail in different positions;

Fig. 4: an oblique view of a section of the floor rail with associated slide-in carriage;

Fig. 5: the enlarged plan view of the slide of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6: the longitudinal section through Fig. 5 along the line IV-IV.

According to Fig. 1, a vehicle seat 10 in a vehicle not shown consists of a floor-facing seat part or seat frame 12 with an approximately horizontally extending seat surface 14 and a backrest 18 -- connected thereto in a joint region 16 -- folded onto the seat surface 14, from the free end of which a headrest 20 protrudes.

The seat frame 12 of the vehicle seat 10 is detachably connected by two front foot profiles 22 and two rear feet 24 to two parallel holding or floor rails 26, of which only one can be seen in Fig. 1 to 3. Both the foot profiles 22 and the rear profiles 24 can each be pivoted to a limited extent about an axle bolt 23.

The holding or floor rail 26 is designed as a so-called airline profile according to Fig. 5 and has in its longitudinal rail axis A an undercut longitudinal groove 28 of a coin

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lation width b of, for example, 11 mm and a cross-sectional width e of the undercut area 30 of 20 mm. This is delimited by parallel side walls 34, from the lower edge of which a horizontal cantilever surface 37 protrudes. This longitudinal groove 28 is provided with holes 40 in the area of the rail surface 38 - formed by the shaped ribs that overlap the undercut area 30 and offer the groove edges - whose center lines M run at intervals f of 25 mm. The hole diameter d is somewhat shorter than the cross-sectional width e. The rail surface 38, which forms a plane, is bordered on both sides by downwardly inclined desk surface strips 39.

The floor rail 26 is assigned insertion slides 80 as seat holders, which can be inserted into its undercut longitudinal groove 28 in the direction of movement x. The insertion slide 80 contains a metal bracket 82 which is U-shaped in plan view and whose longitudinal legs 84 are connected by two welding bolts 86 which cross the longitudinal axis B of the insertion slide 80. In Fig. 6, these welding bolts 86 are attached to the metal bracket 82 of the insertion slide 80 near the upper edge 81 of the latter. Their cross-section is shown as circular here, but can also be oval or polygonal in shape - if necessary also cranked longitudinally.

Close to the partially circular curved bracket base 83 of the metal bracket 82, two stop ribs 90 running at an angle w to each other are provided on a clamping pin 88 parallel to the welding bolts 86 - each bent out from a longitudinal leg 84. A plunger 93 made of a block-like base body 94 with a correspondingly rounded front and two disk sections 96 protruding from it - connected by means of a molded-on intermediate web 95 - can be inserted between the rib end 91 and the bracket base 83. The center distance η of these corresponds to the distance f of the bore center lines M of the bo-

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the rail 26, the circumference of the disc sections 96 is matched to the shape of the bore contour of the floor rail 26.

A receiving groove 97 for the aforementioned clamping pin 80 is formed in the middle of the underside of the base body 94. A threaded pin 100 passes through the plunger 93 in the cross-sectional axis Q of the receiving groove 97. In a lower position of the plunger 93, the groove base 98 of the receiving groove 97 rests on the clamping pin 88, and the disk sections 96 run within the longitudinal legs 84, i.e. below the upper edge 81 of the insertion slide 80. If the threaded pin 100 runs onto the clamping pin 88 during the screwing process described, the plunger 93 is raised and the disk sections 96 are pressed into the holes 40 of its base rail _26a . If the insertion slide 80 is clamped in this, it sits rattle-proof.

The described slide-in carriage 80 can be introduced into the floor rail 26 as a single piece or as part of an insert element 50 -- optionally connected to this by connecting bolts 54 -- and advantageously enables the absorption of torsional forces or moments that inevitably occur when the arrangement is installed in a vehicle floor, particularly with longer lengths; due to the shape according to the invention, the arrangement of the insert element 50 remains movable in the airline rail 26 even when the floor is loaded by torsional stress or the like and does not lead to undesirable and disadvantageous clamping effects -- as is the case with devices according to the prior art.

The insertion carriage 80 is held in a predetermined longitudinal position in the floor or airline rail 26 -- when the vehicle seat 10 is placed approximately in the area of the front foot profile 22 --, whereby the structural realization of the described plunger 93 according to Fig. 4 to 6 in the direction of movement or travel x leads to a self-locking effect.

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so that movements of the arrangement along the direction of travel x, such as those that may be the result of a moment of inertia upon impact, in particular, reinforce the locking effect.

The described arrangement can now be used directly with a vehicle seat 10 according to Fig. 1 to 3 or independently of it.

In one embodiment, the vehicle seat 10 has locking knobs directed downwards on the already mentioned rear foot 24 of the seat part 12, which are secured to the underside of a profile element 70 having a slanted outer edge in Fig. 1. The rear foot 24 is also provided with two further profile elements 72, 73, each of which is provided at the free profile end with a receiving opening for one of the welding bolts 86 of the associated seat mount, which is engaged under by a latch 75 that can be pivoted to a limited extent. The front foot profiles 22, each consisting of a single profile, are also equipped with bolt receptacles that enclose the welding bolts 86 of the front seat mount in the insert element 50.

According to Fig. 2, the vehicle seat 10 is placed with its two front foot profiles 22 on front slide-in slides 80 - each forming a seat holder 48 - and is locked to these. The vehicle seat 10, in whose seat frame 12 the rear feet 24 are pivoted in, can be moved and positioned in the longitudinal direction of the rail.

If the seat frame 12 is now rotated backwards in the direction of arrow y around the axle bolts 23 of its front foot profiles 22 - as in Fig. 3 - the rear feet 24 swing out of the seat frame 12. In Fig. 1, the rear feet 24 sink into the floor rails 26 and lock onto the rear slides. The two locking knobs of the rear foot 24 mentioned engage in the floor rail 26 and then prevent

a displacement of the vehicle seat 10 in the longitudinal direction of the rail.

It is thus advantageously achieved that -- in contrast to the known prior art -- now for the first time a locking element in the form of the plunger 93 engages in the airline rail 26 to fix the seat position in the direction of travel &khgr;, that components fastened or hinged to the vehicle seat 10 directly, i.e. not with the interposition of the insert element 50 or another element guided in the airline rail 26, cause the force to be introduced into the airline rail 26 and thus considerably increase the load-bearing capacity of the connection in the direction of travel &khgr;. Due to the locking position shown in Fig. 6, the considerable force -- in the event of a vehicle impact -- is directed directly through the seat arrangement into the floor rail 26, which opens up completely new design possibilities when implementing a seat coupling of the present type. In particular, the arrangement shown now makes it possible for the first time to fix more than one individual seat in the manner described in a variable and easily movable manner, but nevertheless firmly in place in the event of an impact; previously, the coupling was always carried out via an insert element in the undercut of the airline rail 26 and thus already provided a structural limit for the maximum force input, which can be significantly exceeded by the procedure according to the invention.

This results in a variable seat attachment that is optimized both in terms of its operation and its mechanical-construction properties, which is ideally suited for use in a variable interior of a vehicle that is also intended for seating. The seat adjustment is possible without a lever on the vehicle seat 10.

Claims (19)

1. Device for temporarily anchoring a seat ( 10 ) to a vehicle floor in at least one holding rail ( 26 ) which is firmly connected to the latter and extends in a direction of movement (x), which has an undercut longitudinal groove ( 28 ) for slidingly guiding a slide-like insert element ( 80 ) in its undercut region ( 30 ) and, in the shaped ribs which overlap this undercut region, a plurality of bores ( 40 ) arranged at axial distances (f) from one another, the diameter (d) of which is greater than the distance (b) between the shaped ribs and which are designed as locking elements for counter-elements ( 96 ) which can be inserted into them and are assigned to the insert element, characterized in that the insert element is designed as an insertion slide ( 80 ) which can be displaced in the direction of movement (x) in the undercut space ( 30 ) of the holding rail ( 26 ) with at least one transverse to the direction of movement position-variable engagement device ( 93 , 96 ) is designed as a counter-organ for insertion into one of the bores ( 40 ) of the retaining rail ( 26 ). 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the insertion carriage ( 80 ) has a bracket ( 82 ) made of dimensionally stable material which is approximately U-shaped in plan view and whose longitudinal legs ( 84 ) are connected by bolt-like transverse elements ( 86 ). 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a plunger-like body ( 93 ) is provided as an engagement device in the insertion carriage ( 80 ) with at least one disk section ( 96 ) on its surface which, in the insert position, is directed towards the bores ( 40 ) and is designed in accordance with their contours. 4. Device according to claim 1 and 3, characterized in that the center distance (f) of the bores ( 40 ) of the holding rail ( 26 ) corresponds to the center distance (n) of the disc sections ( 96 ). 5. Device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by at least two disc sections ( 96 ) which are connected by an intermediate web ( 95 ) and form the surface of the plunger ( 93 ). 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a block-like plunger body ( 94 ) on which disc sections ( 96 ) are arranged is provided on its surface facing away from these with at least one receiving groove ( 97 ) for a clamping pin ( 88 ) extending between the longitudinal legs ( 84 ) of the insertion carriage ( 80 ) and fixed therein. 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the cross section of the receiving groove ( 97 ) is longer than the cross section of the clamping pin ( 98 ) and forms a movement path for the latter. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one threaded pin ( 100 ) passes through the plunger ( 93 ) transversely to the clamping pin ( 88 ) of the insertion slide ( 80 ), wherein the threaded pin can be placed on the clamping pin and the plunger with the threaded pin can be adjusted in height relative to the clamping pin. 9. Device according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the threaded pin ( 100 ) runs in the cross-sectional axis (Q) of the receiving groove ( 97 ). 10. Device according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the movement path for the plunger ( 93 ) is limited by the longitudinal legs ( 84 ) of the insertion carriage ( 80 ), a bracket base ( 83 ) forming the bracket ( 82 ) with these legs and at least one stop rib ( 90 ) connected to a longitudinal leg. 11. Device according to claim 10, characterized by a pair of stop ribs ( 90 ) which are formed on the longitudinal legs ( 84 ) and opposite one another. 12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that the stop ribs ( 90 ) are inclined to each other at an angle (w) and their end face ( 91 ) form part of the limitation for the plunger ( 93 ). 13. Device according to one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the deepest part ( 98 ) of the receiving groove ( 97 ) is at a distance from the clamping pin ( 88 ) in the engaged position of the disc section ( 96 ). 14. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the deepest part ( 98 ) of the receiving groove ( 97 ) rests approximately on the clamping pin ( 88 ) in the sliding position of the insertion slide ( 80 ). 15. Device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that two bolt-like transverse elements ( 86 ) are fixed to the longitudinal legs ( 84 ) near the upper edge ( 81 ) of these. 16. Device according to claim 2 or 15, characterized by a bolt of circular or oval cross-section as a transverse element ( 86 ). 17. Device according to claim 2 or 15, characterized by a bolt of polygonal cross-section as a transverse element ( 86 ). 18. Device according to one of claims 15 to 17, characterized in that the bolt ( 86 ) is cranked. 19. Device according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that two slide-in carriages ( 80 ) of a holding rail ( 26 ) are connected to one another by an intermediate element ( 50 ).