Patent ID: 7819471

Claim:
A reclining device, comprising: a base plate fixed to either one of a seat cushion or a seat back; a gear plate having inner teeth, the gear plate being rotatably assembled with the base plate and fixed to the other one of the seat cushion or the seat back; two pairs of fixed guides formed on the base plate; a pair of lock gears each having outer teeth capable of being engaged with the inner teeth of the gear plate, each of the lock gears being disposed between the respective pair of fixed guides so as to slide along one of the fixed guides; a cam that controls the movement of the pair of lock gears to engage the pair of lock gears with the inner teeth of the gear plate; a pair of springs that imparts a rotational force to the cam to keep the lock gears being engaged with the inner teeth of the gear plate; and a center shaft capable of driving the cam to rotate to thereby disengage the pair of lock gears from the gear plate, wherein a mechanical strength of the fixed guides is set to be lower than that of the gear plate and the lock gears, when a large load is applied to the reclining device, the lock gears push the fixed guides to deform the same and cause an outer end portion of the fixed guides to come into contact with the inner teeth of the gear plate to thereby prohibit an inclination movement of the seat back.