JP7728145B2 - Vehicle seat frame and vehicle seat - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat frame and a vehicle seat.

In the seatback frame described in Patent Document 1 below, a reinforcing patch extends from the point where the reclining device is connected to the right frame side (one of the two frame sides) to approximately the center height of the lower cross panel width and is welded to the inside surface of the right frame side. This is said to ensure the strength of the frame side and allow the plate thickness to be thinner, resulting in weight reduction.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-150996

In the above prior art, the reinforcing patch welded to one frame side increases the number of parts and mass. Also, a process is required to weld the reinforcing patch to one frame side.

In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle seat frame and a vehicle seat that can reduce the number of parts and mass and simplify the manufacturing process.

A first aspect of the vehicle seat frame comprises a seat cushion frame having cushion side frames, a seatback frame having backside frames, and a recliner that is disposed between the cushion side frames and the backside frames and fixed to both, and that allows the backside frames to rotate relative to the cushion side frames when unlocked. The recliner has a main body and at least one protrusion that protrudes from the main body, and at least one of the cushion side frames and the backside frames has a through hole into which the protrusion is inserted, and a cylindrical burring portion formed on the edge of the through hole is welded to the protrusion.

In a first aspect of the vehicle seat frame, a recliner is provided between a cushion side frame of the seat cushion frame and a back side frame of the seatback frame. The recliner is fixed to the cushion side frame and the back side frame, and when unlocked, allows the back side frame to rotate relative to the cushion side frame. The recliner has a main body and at least one protrusion protruding from the main body, and at least one of the cushion side frame and the back side frame has a through hole into which the protrusion of the recliner is inserted. A cylindrical burring portion is formed on the edge of the through hole, and this burring portion is welded to the protrusion of the recliner. This burring portion ensures the strength of the at least one frame. The burring portion can be formed, for example, when manufacturing the at least one frame by press molding. This reduces the number of parts and mass and simplifies the manufacturing process compared to a process of welding a reinforcing patch to the at least one frame.

The vehicle seat frame of the second aspect is the same as that of the first aspect, except that the tip of the protrusion protrudes from the tip of the burring portion, and the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the protrusion and the tip surface of the burring portion are welded together.

In the vehicle seat frame of the second aspect, the tip of the protrusion on the recliner protrudes from the tip of a burred portion formed on the edge of the through-hole in the cushion side frame, and the outer peripheral surface of the tip of the protrusion is welded to the tip surface of the burred portion. This makes it easier to ensure weld strength compared to a configuration in which, for example, the tip surface of the protrusion is welded to the tip surface of the burred portion.

A vehicle seat of the third aspect includes the vehicle seat frame of the first or second aspect, and the framework of the seat cushion and seat back is formed by the seat cushion frame and the seat back frame included in the vehicle seat frame.

In the vehicle seat of the third aspect, the framework of the seat cushion and seat back is formed by a seat cushion frame and a seat back frame provided in the vehicle seat frame. Because the above vehicle seat frame is of the first or second aspect, the same functions and effects as those of the first or second aspect can be obtained.

As described above, the vehicle seat frame and vehicle seat according to the present invention can reduce the number of parts and mass, and simplify the manufacturing process.

1 is a side view showing a partial configuration of a vehicle seat according to an embodiment; 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a cut surface taken along line F2-F2 in FIG. 1.

A vehicle seat 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 and 2. In Figure 1, the arrow FR indicates the front direction of the seat, and the arrow UP indicates the upward direction of the seat. As shown in Figure 1, the vehicle seat 10 according to this embodiment includes a vehicle seat frame 16 that forms the framework of the seat. The vehicle seat frame 16 includes a seat cushion frame 18, a seatback frame 28, and a recliner (reclining unit) 34.

The seat cushion frame 18 forms the framework of the seat cushion 12 on which the occupant sits, and the seat back frame 28 forms the framework of the seat back 14 that supports the occupant's back. The seat cushion 12 includes a seat cushion pad (not shown) attached to the seat cushion frame 18 and a seat cushion skin 22 that covers the seat cushion pad. The seat back 14 includes a seat back pad (not shown) attached to the seat back frame 28 and a seat back skin 32 that covers the seat back pad.

The seat cushion frame 18 includes a pair of left and right cushion side frames 20 extending in the front-to-rear direction of the seat on the left and right sides of the seat cushion 12, a front frame (not shown) that connects the front ends of the left and right cushion side frames 20 in the left-to-right direction of the seat, and a rear frame (not shown) that connects the rear ends of the left and right cushion side frames 20 in the left-to-right direction of the seat. The left and right cushion side frames 20 are connected to the vehicle floor via well-known lifter mechanisms and seat slide mechanisms (neither of which are shown).

The seatback frame 28 includes a pair of left and right backside frames 30 that extend in the vertical direction of the seat on the left and right sides of the seatback 14, an upper frame (not shown) that connects the upper ends of the left and right backside frames 30 in the left-right direction of the seat, and a lower frame (not shown) that connects the lower ends of the left and right backside frames 30 in the left-right direction of the seat.

The left and right cushion side frames 20 and the left and right back side frames 30 are manufactured, for example, by press-forming sheet metal, and are arranged with their thickness direction aligned in the left-right direction of the seat. Hinge portions 20A that protrude above the seat are provided at the rear ends of the left and right cushion side frames 20. The left and right hinge portions 20A face the lower ends of the left and right back side frames 30 from the outside in the left-right direction of the seat. Recliners 34 are respectively disposed between the left and right hinge portions 20A and the lower ends of the left and right back side frames 30. The left and right hinge portions 20A may also be manufactured separately from the main bodies of the left and right cushion side frames 20 and fixed to the main bodies of the left and right cushion side frames 20 by means of bolts or other means.

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the recliner 34. The recliner 34 has a main body 34A and a single protrusion 34B protruding from the main body 34A. The main body 34A has a configuration similar to that of conventional recliners and is disk-shaped with its axis aligned with the left-right direction of the seat. While detailed description is omitted, the main body includes a first disk member fixed to the hinge portion 20A, a second disk member fixed to the lower end of the backside frame 30, and an angle adjustment mechanism interposed between the first and second disk members. When the angle adjustment mechanism is unlocked, the second disk member can rotate relative to the first disk member, allowing the backside frame 30 to rotate relative to the cushion side frame 20.

The protrusion 34B of the recliner 34 is disc-shaped (a cylindrical shape with a short axial dimension) that is smaller in diameter than the main body 34A of the recliner 34 and coaxial with the main body 34A, and is formed integrally with the first disc member. A through-hole 24 is formed in the backside frame 30 corresponding to this protrusion 34B. This through-hole 24 is circular and its axis is aligned with the left-right direction of the seat. The protrusion 34B is inserted into this through-hole 24. A cylindrical burring portion 26 is formed on the edge of this through-hole 24.

The burring portion 26 is formed by burring the sheet metal material that constitutes the cushion side frame 20, and has a cylindrical shape with a short axial dimension. This burring portion 26 protrudes inward from the back side frame 30 in the left-right direction of the seat. The protruding portion 34B of the recliner 34 fits inside this burring portion 26. The tip of the protruding portion 34B protrudes from the tip of the burring portion 26, and the outer peripheral surface 35 of the tip of the protruding portion 34B is welded to the tip surface 27 of the burring portion 26 at the weld W shown in Figure 2. This welding is performed, for example, by arc welding.

(Action and effect)
Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

The vehicle seat frame 16 included in the vehicle seat 10 configured as described above has a recliner 34 provided between the cushion side frame 20 of the seat cushion frame 18 and the back side frame 30 of the seatback frame 28. The recliner 34 is fixed to the cushion side frame 20 and the back side frame 30, and allows the back side frame 30 to rotate relative to the cushion side frame 20 when the angle adjustment mechanism is unlocked.

The recliner 34 has a disk-shaped main body 34A and a disk-shaped protruding portion 34B that protrudes coaxially from the main body 34A. The backside frame 30 has a through-hole 24 into which the protruding portion 34B of the recliner 34 is inserted. A cylindrical burring portion 26 is formed on the edge of the through-hole 24, and this burring portion 26 is welded to the protruding portion 34B of the recliner 34. This burring portion 26 ensures the strength of the backside frame 30. This burring portion 26 is formed when the backside frame 30 is manufactured by press molding. Therefore, with this vehicle seat frame 16, the number of parts and mass can be reduced and the manufacturing process can be simplified compared to a process in which a reinforcing patch is welded to the backside frame 30.

In addition, in this embodiment, the tip of the protrusion 34B of the recliner 34 protrudes from the tip of the burred portion 26 of the backside frame 30, and the outer peripheral surface 35 of the tip of the protrusion 34B is welded to the tip surface 27 of the burred portion 26. This makes it easier to ensure weld strength compared to a configuration in which, for example, the tip surface 36 of the protrusion 34B is welded to the tip surface 27 of the burred portion 26.

In the above embodiment, the outer peripheral surface 35 of the tip of the protrusion 34B is welded to the tip surface 27 of the burring portion 26, but this is not limiting, and the tip surface 36 of the protrusion 34B may also be welded to the tip surface 27 of the burring portion 26.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the protrusion 34B is formed in a disk shape (a cylindrical shape with a short axis) and the burring portion 26 is formed in a cylindrical shape, but this is not limited to this, and the shapes of the protrusion 34B and the burring portion 26 can be changed as appropriate. For example, the protrusion 34B and the burring portion 26 may be formed in a polygonal shape when viewed from the left-right direction of the sheet.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the through-holes 24 and burring portions 26 are formed only in the back side frame 30, but this is not limiting; the cushion side frame 20 may also be configured to have through-holes and burring portions. In this case, the recliner will be configured to have additional protrusions that are inserted into the through-holes of the cushion side frame. Alternatively, the cushion side frame 20 may be configured to have through-holes and burring portions only.

The present invention can be modified and implemented in various ways without departing from its spirit. It goes without saying that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Vehicle seat 12 Seat cushion 14 Seat back 16 Vehicle seat frame 18 Seat cushion frame 20 Cushion side frame 24 Through hole 26 Burring portion 27 Tip surface 28 Seat back frame 30 Back side frame 34 Recliner 34A Main body portion 34B Protrusion 35 Outer circumferential surface

Claims (2)

a seat cushion frame having a cushion side frame;
a seat back frame having a back side frame;
a recliner that is provided between the cushion side frame and the back side frame and fixed to both, and that allows the back side frame to rotate relative to the cushion side frame when the lock is released;
Equipped with
The recliner has a main body and a protrusion protruding from the main body,
the main body portion is disk-shaped, and the protruding portion is disk-shaped and has a smaller diameter than the main body portion and is coaxial with the main body portion;
one of the cushion side frame and the back side frame has a through hole into which the protrusion is inserted and a cylindrical portion formed on an edge of the through hole,
The protruding portion and the cylindrical portion of the recliner protrude to the same side in the seat left-right direction,
A vehicle seat frame in which the tip of the protrusion protrudes from the tip of the tubular portion, the outer surface of the tip of the protrusion is welded to the tip surface of the tubular portion, and the one side and the recliner are welded only at the welded location . A vehicle seat comprising the vehicle seat frame according to claim 1, wherein the seat cushion frame and the seat back frame provided in the vehicle seat frame form frameworks for a seat cushion and a seat back.