Operating lever structure for vehicle seat, and method of manufacturing operating lever structure

In an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat in which an opening through which a seat belt extends is provided adjacent to a seat cushion lifting and lowering mechanism and a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a seat cushion frame, a lifter lever includes a plate-like extending portion that is coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism and a protrusion portion. The plate-like extending portion extends toward a front of the seat. The protrusion portion extends from the front end of the plate-like extending portion toward the outside in the seat width direction. The protrusion portion protrudes from an outer shield through a first exposing port of the outer shield, installed to a side portion of the seat cushion.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-264049 filed on Oct. 10, 2008 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat installed in a vehicle, the operating lever structure being operated by an occupant when the position of a seat cushion or the position of a seat back is changed. More specifically, the invention relates to an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat, in which an opening through which a seat belt extends is provided adjacent to a lifting and lowering mechanism that changes the vertical position of the seat cushion, and a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a frame of the seat cushion.

2. Description of the Related Art

A vehicle seat installed in a vehicle includes components, such as a seat cushion and a seat back. An occupant is seated on the seat cushion. The seat back serves as a back rest for the seated occupant. The vehicle seat includes a seat belt that holds the body of the occupant in the seat to improve safety in the event of a crash, or the like. In addition, there is known a seat belt in which a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a frame of a seat cushion so as to reduce a variation in withdrawal length of the belt even when the seat cushion is slid in the longitudinal direction (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-278736 (JP-A-10-278736)).

Incidentally, some known vehicle seats allow the positions of the above described components to be selectively changed by an occupant. That is, some known vehicle seats allow the vertical position of the seat cushion to be changed by lifting and lowering operation and also allow the back rest position of the seat back to be changed by reclining operation. Note that these operations for changing the positions are carried out by a seat cushion lifting and lowering lever (hereinafter, referred to as lifter lever) and a seat back reclining lever (hereinafter, referred to as reclining lever), and these lifter lever and reclining lever are arranged at a side portion of the seat cushion. In addition, in terms of appearance, or the like, a synthetic resin shielder (hereinafter, referred to as outer shield) is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion, at which the lifter lever and the reclining lever are arranged. Portions of the lifter lever and reclining lever are exposed outside from the outer shield so that the lifter lever and the reclining lever are operable.

If the lifting and lowering mechanism for lifting and lowering the seat cushion is installed onto the frame to which the fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure space for arranging the lifter lever because the opening through which the seat belt extends and the lifting and lowering mechanism are located adjacent to each other. In addition, installing the outer shield to the side portion of the seat cushion is carried out while checking whether the lifter lever and reclining lever attached beforehand are exposed through two exposing ports formed in the outer shield. Thus, when the outer shield is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion while checking whether the lifter lever is exposed through the exposing port of the outer shield and whether the reclining lever is exposed through the exposing port of the outer shield at the same time, high installation accuracy is required for this installation work. As a result, installation work becomes complicated, and it is inconvenient in terms of workability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention ensures space for arranging a lifter lever (seat cushion lifting and lowering lever) for carrying out lifting and lowering operation of a lifting and lowering mechanism, which changes the vertical position of a seat cushion, in an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat in which an opening through which a seat belt extends is provided adjacent to the lifting and lowering mechanism and a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a frame of the seat cushion. In addition, the invention improves workability for installing an outer shield (shielder).

A first aspect of the invention provides an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat in which an opening through which a seat belt extends is provided adjacent to a lifting and lowering mechanism that changes a vertical position of a seat cushion by lifting or lowering the seat cushion, and a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a frame of the seat cushion. The operating lever structure includes: a lifting and lowering lever that is used for lifting and lowering operation of the lifting and lowering mechanism; a reclining lever that is used for reclining operation so as to change a back rest position of a seat back by reclining the seat back; and a shielder that is installed so as to cover a side portion of the seat cushion in a state where the reclining lever and the lifting and lowering lever are operably exposed outside. The shielder has a first exposing port that is opened toward an outer side in a seat width direction of the vehicle seat to allow the lifting and lowering lever to be inserted and a second exposing port that is opened toward a front of the vehicle seat to allow the reclining lever to be inserted. The lifting and lowering lever includes a plate-like extending portion, of which one end portion is coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism and the other end portion extends toward the front of the vehicle seat, and a protrusion portion that extends from the other end portion of the plate-like extending portion toward the outer side in the seat width direction and is inserted and exposed through the first exposing port.

In the above aspect, the opening through which the seat belt extends is provided adjacent to the lifting and lowering mechanism, and the fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to the frame of the seat cushion. Thus, even when it is difficult to ensure space for arranging the lifting and lowering lever, it is possible to arrange the lifting and lowering lever so that the lifting and lowering lever is operably exposed outside.

A second aspect of the invention provides a method of manufacturing an operating lever structure for a vehicle seat in which an opening through which a seat belt extends is provided adjacent to a lifting and lowering mechanism that changes a vertical position of a seat cushion by lifting or lowering the seat cushion, and a fixed end portion of the seat belt is connected to a frame of the seat cushion. The operating lever structure includes: a lifting and lowering lever that is used for lifting and lowering operation of the lifting and lowering mechanism; a reclining lever that is used for reclining operation so as to change a back rest position of a seat back by reclining the seat back; and a shielder that is installed so as to cover a side portion of the seat cushion. The shielder has a first exposing port that is opened toward an outer side in a seat width direction of the vehicle seat and through which the lifting and lowering lever protrudes from the shielder, and a second exposing port that is opened toward a front of the vehicle seat and through which the reclining lever protrudes from the shielder. The method according to the second aspect includes: inserting the reclining lever through the second exposing port and installing a first portion of the shielder to the side portion of the seat cushion; and inserting the lifting and lowering lever through the first exposing port and installing a second portion of the shielder to the side portion of the seat cushion.

According to the operating lever structure for a vehicle seat, when the shielder is installed, an installation worker initially may only pay attention to insertion of the reclining lever through the second exposing port while installing the first portion of the shielder to the side portion of the seat cushion, and, subsequently, the installation worker may only pay attention to insertion of the lifting and lowering lever through the first exposing port while installing the second portion of the shielder to the side portion of the seat cushion.

Thus, when the lifting and lowering lever and the reclining lever are operably exposed outside while the shielder is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion, the installation worker is not required to check whether both the lifting and lowering lever and the reclining lever protrude from the shielder at the same time. This can reduce the workload of the installation worker. Thus, it is possible to improve workability for installing the shielder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.FIG. 1is a perspective view that shows an operating lever structure20for a vehicle seat1, which is installed at a side portion of a seat cushion, according to the embodiment.FIG. 2is a cross-sectional view of the operating lever structure20for the vehicle seat1, taken along the line II-II inFIG. 1.FIG. 3is a cross-sectional view of the operating lever structure for the vehicle seat, taken along the line III-III inFIG. 1. The vehicle seat1is installed in a vehicle, such as an automobile, and, although not specifically shown in the drawings, the vehicle seat1includes a seat cushion2, a seat back, a head rest, an arm rest, and the like. The vehicle seat1is able to change the position of the seat cushion2and the position of the seat back. That is, as shown inFIG. 2andFIG. 3, the seat cushion2includes a lifting and lowering mechanism10that lifts or lowers the seat cushion2to change the vertical position of the seat cushion2. In addition, the seat back includes a reclining mechanism18that reclines the seat back to change the back rest position of the seat back.

The lifting and lowering mechanism10and the reclining mechanism18are installed at the side portion of the seat cushion2as shown inFIG. 1toFIG. 3. Specifically, the lifting and lowering mechanism10is installed onto a lower arm11via a bracket12. In addition, although not specifically shown in the drawing, the reclining mechanism18is also installed onto the lower arm11via an appropriate bracket. In addition, as shown inFIG. 2, the vehicle seat1is formed so that, in a state where an opening17through which a seat belt15extends is located adjacent to the lifting and lowering mechanism10, a fixed end portion16of the seat belt15is connected to a frame5of the seat cushion2. Specifically, the fixed end portion16of the seat belt15is connected to the frame5via a connecting member6(6a,6b). The frame5is located below a position at which the lifting and lowering mechanism10is installed, and is fixed to an upper rail3. Note that the upper rail3is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to a lower rail4fixed to a vehicle body, and the fixed end portion16of the seat belt15is slidable in the longitudinal direction accordingly. That is, the fixed end portion16of the seat belt15slides in the longitudinal direction as the seat cushion2slides in the longitudinal direction.

Incidentally, in the vehicle seat1, in order to operate the above described lifting and lowering mechanism10and reclining mechanism18, the operating lever structure20is provided at the side portion of the seat cushion2. That is, as shown inFIG. 1toFIG. 3, the operating lever structure20includes a lifter lever30, a reclining lever40and an outer shield50. The lifter lever30serves as a seat cushion lifting and lowering lever used for lifting and lowering operation of the lifting and lowering mechanism10. The reclining lever40serves as a seat back reclining lever used for reclining operation of the reclining mechanism18. The outer shield50serves as a shielder that is installed so as to cover the side portion of the seat cushion2. Here, the operating lever structure20is installed at the side portion of the seat cushion20after the lifting and lowering mechanism10and the reclining mechanism18are installed at the side portion of the seat cushion2. Installation is conducted in order that the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40are respectively attached to the corresponding lifting and lowering mechanism10and reclining mechanism18, and then the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2so as to cover the side portion of the seat cushion2in a state where the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40are operably exposed outside. That is, the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40protrude from the outer shield50. In addition, the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2through at least two installation steps. That is, the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2through the first installation step in which the outer shield50is installed in a first installation direction (−X direction) from the front of the vehicle seat1toward the rear of the vehicle seat1and the second installation step in which the outer shield50is installed in a second installation direction (−Y direction) from the outer side of the vehicle seat1toward the inner side of the vehicle seat1. Note that the second installation direction (direction from the outer side toward the inner side (−Y direction)) in which the outer shield50is installed in the second installation step is substantially perpendicular to the first installation direction (direction from the front toward the rear (−X direction)) in which the outer shield50is installed in the first installation step.

The lifter lever30is used for lifting and lowering operation of the lifting and lowering mechanism10. One end of the lifter lever30is coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism10, and the other end thereof is operably exposed outside. That is, as shown inFIG. 3, the lifter lever30schematically includes a plate-like extending portion31and a protrusion portion35. The plate-like extending portion31is coupled to a rotary shaft13of the lifting and lowering mechanism10. The protrusion portion35is operably exposed outside. The plate-like extending portion31is formed into a thin-plate rod. One end portion32of the plate-like extending portion31is coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism10, and the other end portion33thereof extends in a direction (+X direction) opposite to the first installation direction (−X direction). That is, the plate-like extending portion31extends toward the front of the vehicle seat. The protrusion portion35is formed by bending an end portion of the plate-like extending portion31, opposite to the one end portion31. The protrusion portion35extends in a direction (+Y direction) opposite to the second installation direction (−Y direction). That is, the protrusion portion35extends toward an outer side in the seat width direction. The protrusion portion35is inserted through a first exposing port55of the outer shield50, which will be described later, and is operably exposed outside. Note that, after the protrusion portion35is inserted through the first exposing port55of the outer shield50and is operably exposed outside, a synthetic resin operating knob39is attached to the protrusion portion35so that it is easy for the seated occupant to grip the operating knob39.

The reclining lever40is used for reclining operation of the reclining mechanism18. Although the description of a coupling structure with the reclining mechanism18is omitted, one end of the reclining lever40is coupled to the reclining mechanism18, and the other end thereof is operably exposed outside. The other end of the reclining lever40is formed into a thin-plate rod that extends in a direction (+X direction) opposite to the first installation direction (−X direction). That is, the other end of the reclining lever40extends toward the front of the seat. In addition, after the other end of the reclining lever40is inserted through the second exposing port51of the outer shield50and is operably exposed outside, a synthetic resin operating knob49is attached to the other end of the reclining lever40so that it is easy for the seated occupant to grip the operating knob49.

FIG. 4is a perspective view that only shows the outer shield50of the operating lever structure20of the vehicle seat1shown inFIG. 1. The outer shield50is a molded product made of synthetic resin and is formed so as to cover the side portion of the seat cushion2. As shown inFIG. 4, the outer shield50has the first exposing port55and the second exposing port51. The first exposing port55is opened in the second installation direction (−Y direction). The second exposing port51is opened in the first installation direction (−X direction). Specifically, as shown inFIG. 3andFIG. 4, the second exposing port51is formed to have an open shape that allows insertion in the longitudinal direction (±X direction) with respect to the vehicle seat1at the rear (−X direction) position of the outer shield50, and the open shape is substantially rectangular. Here, a rear portion of the outer shield50is a rear installation portion52that is a first portion of the outer shield50and is a portion installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2in the first installation step when the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2. In addition, as shown inFIG. 4, the first exposing port55is formed to have an open shape that allows insertion in the lateral direction (±Y direction) with respect to the vehicle seat1at a middle position of the outer shield50. The open shape is substantially vertically long, and, more accurately, is formed into a circular arc shape having the rotary shaft13of the lifter lever30as a rotation center. Here, a front portion of the outer shield50is a front installation portion56that is a second portion of the outer shield50and is a portion installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2in the second installation step when the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2. Note that the opening17through which the seat belt15extends is located adjacent to the second exposing port51.

Installation work for installing the thus configured operating lever structure20of the vehicle seat1to the side portion of the seat cushion2is conducted as follows. That is, an installation worker initially attaches the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40respectively to the corresponding lifting and lowering mechanism10and reclining mechanism18. After that, the process proceeds to the first installation step and second installation step in which the outer shield50is installed. In the first installation step, the installation worker moves the outer shield50in the first installation direction (−X direction) to insert the reclining lever40through the second exposing port51and installs the rear installation portion52, located at the rear portion of the outer shield50, to the side portion of the seat cushion2. In the second installation step subsequent to the first installation step, the installation worker moves the outer shield50in the second installation direction (−Y direction) to insert the lifter lever30through the first exposing port55and installs the front installation portion56, located at the front portion of the outer shield50, to the side portion of the seat cushion2. In this way, the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2and, after that, the operating knobs39and49are attached to the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40that are operably exposed outside, thus completing the installation work.

According to the thus configured operating lever structure20for the vehicle seat1, the following operations and advantageous effects may be obtained. That is, with the operating lever structure20for the vehicle seat1according to the embodiment, the outer shield50includes the second exposing port51that is opened in the first installation direction and the first exposing port55that is opened in the second installation direction substantially perpendicular to the first installation direction. In the first installation step, the reclining lever40is inserted through the second exposing port51and the rear installation portion52of the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2. In the second installation step, the lifter lever30is inserted through the first exposing port55and the front installation portion56of the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2. Thus, for installing the outer shield50, in the first installation step, the installation worker may only pay attention to insertion of the reclining lever40through the second exposing port51while installing the rear installation portion52of the outer shield50to the side portion of the seat cushion2, and, in the second installation step, the installation worker may only pay attention to insertion of the lifter lever30through the first exposing port55while installing the front installation portion56of the outer shield50to the side portion of the seat cushion2.

Thus, when the outer shield50is installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2so that the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40are operably exposed outside, the installation worker is not required to check whether both the lifter lever30and the reclining lever40protrude from the outer shield50at the same time. This can reduce the workload of the installation worker. Thus, it is possible to improve workability for installing the outer shield50.

In addition, the lifter lever30includes the plate-like extending portion31, of which the one end portion32is coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism10and the other end portion33extends in the direction opposite to the first installation direction, and the protrusion portion35that extends from the other end portion33of the plate-like extending portion31in the direction opposite to the second installation direction and is then inserted and exposed through the first exposing port55. Thus, the one end portion32of the plate-like extending portion31may be coupled to the lifting and lowering mechanism10while the other end portion33thereof may be extended in the direction opposite to the first installation direction. Therefore, the protrusion portion35may be extended from the other end portion33of the plate-like extending portion31in the direction opposite to the second installation direction so as to be exposed through the first exposing port55. In this embodiment, the opening17through which the seat belt15extends is located adjacent to the lifting and lowering mechanism10and the fixed end portion16of the seat belt15is connected to the frame of the seat cushion2. Hence, even when it is difficult to ensure space for arranging the lifter lever30, the lifter lever30may be arranged so as to be operably exposed outside.

Note that the operating lever structure of the vehicle seat according to the aspect of the invention is not limited to the above embodiment; it may be appropriately modified without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the operating lever structure20of the vehicle seat1according to the embodiment includes the lifter lever30used for lifting and lowering operation of the lifting and lowering mechanism10, the reclining lever40used for reclining operation of the reclining mechanism18, and the outer shield50installed so as to cover the side portion of the seat cushion2. However, the operating lever structure of the vehicle seat according to the aspect of the invention is not limited to this configuration. In addition to these lifter lever30, reclining lever40and outer shield50, another operating lever used to operate a mechanism for changing the position of an appropriate structural component may be provided.

In addition, the shape of the lifter lever30, the shape of the outer shield50and the method of installing the outer shield50are not limited to the above embodiment. As shown inFIG. 5, it is also applicable that the plate-like extending portion31of the lifter lever30directly protrudes from the outer shield50on the front side with respect to the seat belt opening17, and the operating knob39may be attached to the other end portion33. According to this alternative embodiment, even when no protrusion portion35is formed, it is possible to ensure space for arranging the lifter lever30. In addition, in the case of the present alternative embodiment, only by moving the outer shield50in the first installation direction, the outer shield50may be installed to the side portion of the seat cushion2in position.

In addition, as described in the above embodiment, even when the protrusion portion35is provided for the lifter lever30, the installation procedure of the outer shield50is not limited to the method described in the embodiment.