Patents by Inventor Shinya Isobe

Shinya Isobe has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20140225409
    Abstract: A vehicle seat reclining device is provided with a first bracket having internal teeth, a plurality of pawls each having external teeth capable of engaging with and disengaging from the internal teeth, a second bracket having a guide portion that movably holds the pawls in a radial direction, and a cam mechanism, which moves each pawl in the radial direction. Among the external teeth in each pawl, at least one external tooth including an end tooth located at one end in the circumferential direction of the pawl is displaced inward in the radial direction with respect to a reference position corresponding to the pitch circle of the internal teeth along a center line that divides the external tooth into two parts in the circumferential direction without changing the shape of an effective engagement portion for the internal tooth and the pitch circle radius of the external tooth.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2013
    Publication date: August 14, 2014
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Mikihito Nagura, Naoaki Hoshihara, Shinya Isobe
  • Patent number: 8651578
    Abstract: A seat reclining apparatus for a vehicle, includes a first arm, a second arm rotatably supported by the first arm, a pawl including external teeth engageable with internal teeth, a cam portion and plural pawl-side cam surfaces arranged at the cam portion, a cam including a cam surface engaging with the cam portion formed at the pawl, and a biasing member biasing the cam to rotate and causing the cam surface to press the cam portion in a radial direction. The plural pawl-side cam surfaces or the cam surface is configured in a manner that the plural pawl-side cam surfaces and the cam surface are in contact with each other when the external teeth and the internal teeth are in an engaged state and in a manner that clearances generated between each of the plural pawl-side cam surfaces and the cam surface in the radial direction are all uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2014
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoaki Hoshihara, Hiroyuki Okazaki, Mikihito Nagura, Shinya Isobe
  • Publication number: 20140021322
    Abstract: A seat slide apparatus for a vehicle includes a second unlock mechanism rotating an unlock lever in a direction that unlocks a lock mechanism by pushing the unlock lever in accordance with a predetermined seat operation, an unlocked state retaining lever retaining the lock mechanism in an unlocked state cooperating with the second unlock mechanism by operating in conjunction with the second unlock mechanism, a first unlocked state release mechanism moving the unlocked state retaining lever to a position where the lock mechanism is released from the unlocked state by making contact with an operation body in accordance with movement of an upper rail relative to an lower rail, and a second unlocked state release mechanism moving the unlocked state retaining lever to a position where the lock mechanism is released from the unlocked state by pushing the unlocked state retaining lever in accordance with the operational input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2013
    Publication date: January 23, 2014
    Inventors: Mikihito NAGURA, Naoaki Hoshihara, Shinya Isobe
  • Patent number: 8602498
    Abstract: A seat reclining apparatus includes a lower arm, an upper arm, plural pawls being movable in a radial direction along guide walls of the lower arm therewithin and including external teeth being engageable with and disengageable from internal teeth of the upper arm, a cam contacting and pressing the pawls in a direction of meshing the external teeth with the internal teeth when the cam is rotated in a locking direction, a biasing member, whose first and second end portions are engaged with an accommodating portion and the cam, respectively, biasing the cam in the locking direction, a restricting protrusion portion formed on a surface of the cam facing the lower arm and slidably contacting an inner surface of the accommodating portion in order to avoid an eccentricity of the cam, and an engagement protruding portion provided on the surface at a position radially inwardly of the restricting protrusion portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2013
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Kazuhide Ishikawa, Shinya Isobe
  • Patent number: 8556222
    Abstract: A plurality of rolling members, which are retained by retainers between sidewall-portion inside operating surfaces formed on inside surfaces of sidewall portions of a lower rail and sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces formed on outside surfaces of sidewall portions of a first upper rail, roll in contact on the sidewall-portion inside operating surfaces and the sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces. Sidewall portions of a second upper rail are cut and raised at parts of only a predetermined length in a vehicle front-rear direction to be formed as rolling-element rolling portions having sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces. Rolling element circulation units each incorporating a plurality of rolling elements are fitted on the rolling-element rolling portions, so that the plurality of rolling elements roll and circulate in contact with the sidewall-portion inside operating surfaces and the sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces of rolling-element rolling portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2013
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Shinya Isobe
  • Publication number: 20120217782
    Abstract: A seat reclining apparatus for a vehicle, includes a first arm, a second arm rotatably supported by the first arm, a pawl including external teeth engageable with internal teeth, a cam portion and plural pawl-side cam surfaces arranged at the cam portion, a cam including a cam surface engaging with the cam portion formed at the pawl, and a biasing member biasing the cam to rotate and causing the cam surface to press the cam portion in a radial direction. The plural pawl-side cam surfaces or the cam surface is configured in a manner that the plural pawl-side cam surfaces and the cam surface are in contact with each other when the external teeth and the internal teeth are in an engaged state and in a manner that clearances generated between each of the plural pawl-side cam surfaces and the cam surface in the radial direction are all uniform.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 24, 2012
    Publication date: August 30, 2012
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukifumi YAMADA, Naoaki HOSHIHARA, Hiroyuki OKAZAKI, Mikihito NAGURA, Shinya ISOBE
  • Patent number: 8251428
    Abstract: A seat slide apparatus for a vehicle includes a lower rail, formed into a longitudinal shape and adapted to be fixed to a vehicle floor, an upper rail adapted to be fixed to a seat frame, and assembled to the lower rail to be relatively movable in a longitudinal direction of the lower rail, and a detachment prevention mechanism including an elongated hole, which is formed at the bottom wall portion to open therethrough and which extends in the longitudinal direction, and a load receiving member whose upper end portion is fixed to the upper wall portion and whose lower end portion is inserted downwardly through the elongated hole so as to be movable in an extending direction of the elongated hole, and is engageable with the bottom wall portion in the vicinity of the elongated hole to restrict a movement of the upper rail in an upper direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2012
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe
  • Patent number: 8245994
    Abstract: A seat apparatus for a vehicle includes a longitudinal sliding mechanism including a first lower rail adapted to be fixed to a vehicle floor and extending in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a first upper rail slidably supported to the first lower rail, a width-directional sliding mechanism including a second lower rail mounted on the first upper rail and extending in a width direction of the vehicle and a second upper rail slidably supported to the second lower rail and adapted to be fixed to a seat frame member, and an attachment bracket extending in parallel to the second lower rail and including an upper wall portion and first and second engagement portions extending downwardly from the upper wall portion, facing each other in the longitudinal direction, and supported by the first upper rail, wherein the second lower rail is fixed between the first and second engagement portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe
  • Publication number: 20120199719
    Abstract: A plurality of rolling members, which are retained by retainers between sidewall-portion inside operating surfaces formed on inside surfaces of sidewall portions of a lower rail and sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces formed on outside surfaces of sidewall portions of a first upper rail, roll in contact on the sidewall-portion inside operating surfaces and the sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces. Sidewall portions of a second upper rail are cut and raised at parts of only a predetermined length in a vehicle front-rear direction to be formed as rolling-element rolling portions having sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces. Rolling element circulation units each incorporating a plurality of rolling elements are fitted on the rolling-element rolling portions, so that the plurality of rolling elements roll and circulate in contact with the sidewall-portion inside operating surfaces and the sidewall-portion outside operating surfaces of rolling-element rolling portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 14, 2010
    Publication date: August 9, 2012
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Shinya Isobe
  • Publication number: 20120074288
    Abstract: A slide apparatus for a vehicle includes first and second rails and a rolling element circulation unit including first and second cases and a plurality of rolling elements accommodated within a receiving portion that includes first and second annular receiving portions accommodating the rolling elements annularly arranged in a rolling and circulating manner. The second case includes elongated bores connected to the first and second annular receiving portions in a state where the second case is mounted at the second rail. A portion of the rolling elements is exposed from the elongated bores while being inhibited from disengaging from the elongated bores. The rolling elements exposed from the elongated bores make contact with an operating surface of the first rail and inner surfaces of the first and second annular receiving portions, and roll and circulate in association with a relative movement between the first and second rails.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2011
    Publication date: March 29, 2012
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukifumi YAMADA, Shinya Isobe
  • Patent number: 8136784
    Abstract: A vehicle seat slide device is provided, wherein a manipulation handle has a grip portion, acting end portions for operating lock/unlock mechanisms, shaft support portions which are between the acting end portions and the grip portion and which are formed to a flat shape to become parallel to vertical walls, and pivot support shafts protruding from the shaft support portions in a direction of the pivot center of the manipulation handle. The vertical walls have opened holding holes which open at front parts and into which the pivot support shafts are inserted from opened portions to be supported at inner parts, and holding members holding the pivot support shafts in the opened holding holds.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe
  • Patent number: 8091851
    Abstract: A vehicle slide device is provided, which can adjustably move the second rail along the first rail without play therebetween in a front-rearward direction with a long adjustment stroke. In the vehicle slide device according to the invention, since a plurality of rolling elements annularly arranged in the attaching portion formed at the second rail are always in contact with the operating surface of the attaching portion and the operating surface of the first rail when the second rail moves relative to the first rail in a front-rearward directions, the play of the second rail relative to the first rail in up-down and right-left directions can be eliminated. Further, since the plurality of rolling elements roll and circulate at the attaching portion, the second rail can smoothly move in a front-rearward direction along the first rail.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2012
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Hiroyuki Okazaki
  • Patent number: 8002352
    Abstract: In a seat reclining device, which eliminates a gap between a plurality of pawls and a guide wall, a wedge member is provided between at least one of the plurality of pawls and the guide wall, and a cam includes a wedge pressing cam portion for relatively rotating an upper arm relative to a lower arm by pressing the wedge member outwardly in a radial direction. The wedge member is for example made by a spherical or wedge shaped plate like member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Kazuhide Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 8002353
    Abstract: A vehicle seat reclining apparatus is provided which is simple in construction and which is capable of pressing pawls by a cam at places close to meshing portions. To that end, a plurality of pawls 31 having outer gears 44, 47 which are disengageably engaged with an inner gear 23 provided on an internal surface of an upper arm 12 are constituted by a first pawl 31A having an inner cam portion 45 which is engaged with a cam surface 55 provided on an outer circumference of a cam 32, a pawl grooved cam portion 46 which is engaged with an engaging protrusion 57 provided on a side surface of the cam, and an engaging portion 43 which is brought into engagement with a protruding portion 25 provided on the internal surface of the upper arm when the upper arm is pivotally moved a predetermined angle relative to a lower arm 11 and second pawls 31B having engaging protrusions 49 engaged with release plate grooved cam portions 59 provided in a release plate 33.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2011
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Kazuhide Ishikawa
  • Patent number: 7988233
    Abstract: In a seat reclining device, a spiral spring includes an inner end portion engaged with the cam, an outer end portion engaged with the lower arm, and a wound portion formed by winding and provided between the inner end portion and the outer end portion. The outer end portion of the spiral spring includes a straight line portion extending consecutively from the wound portion and an accommodating portion includes a guide recessed portion accommodating the straight line portion therein and being in contact with the inner peripheral side surface of the straight line portion and being in contact with the outer peripheral side surface of the straight line portion at a further outer end than the contact point with the inner peripheral side surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignee: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Kazuhide Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20110115271
    Abstract: A seat reclining apparatus includes a lower arm, an upper arm, plural pawls being movable in a radial direction along guide walls of the lower arm therewithin and including external teeth being engageable with and disengageable from internal teeth of the upper arm, a cam contacting and pressing the pawls in a direction of meshing the external teeth with the internal teeth when the cam is rotated in a locking direction, a biasing member, whose first and second end portions are engaged with an accommodating portion and the cam, respectively, biasing the cam in the locking direction, a restricting protrusion portion formed on a surface of the cam facing the lower arm and slidably contacting an inner surface of the accommodating portion in order to avoid an eccentricity of the cam, and an engagement protruding portion provided on the surface at a position radially inwardly of the restricting protrusion portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 11, 2010
    Publication date: May 19, 2011
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukifumi YAMADA, Kazuhide Ishikawa, Shinya Isobe
  • Publication number: 20110089305
    Abstract: A vehicle seat slide device is provided, wherein a manipulation handle has a grip portion, acting end portions for operating lock/unlock mechanisms, shaft support portions which are between the acting end portions and the grip portion and which are formed to a flat shape to become parallel to vertical walls, and pivot support shafts protruding from the shaft support portions in a direction of the pivot center of the manipulation handle. The vertical walls have opened holding holes which open at front parts and into which the pivot support shafts are inserted from opened portions to be supported at inner parts, and holding members holding the pivot support shafts in the opened holding holds.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2009
    Publication date: April 21, 2011
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe
  • Publication number: 20110089306
    Abstract: A vehicle slide device is provided, which can adjustably move the second rail along the first rail without play therebetween in a front-rearward direction with a long adjustment stroke. In the vehicle slide device according to the invention, since a plurality of rolling elements annularly arranged in the attaching portion formed at the second rail are always in contact with the operating surface of the attaching portion and the operating surface of the first rail when the second rail moves relative to the first rail in a front-rearward directions, the play of the second rail relative to the first rail in up-down and right-left directions can be eliminated. Further, since the plurality of rolling elements roll and circulate at the attaching portion, the second rail can smoothly move in a front-rearward direction along the first rail.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 24, 2009
    Publication date: April 21, 2011
    Applicant: AISIN SEIKI KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Hiroyuki Okazaki
  • Publication number: 20110018325
    Abstract: In a vehicle seat reclining apparatus, a plurality of pawls having outer gears which are disengageably engaged with an inner gear provided on an internal surface of an upper arm are constituted by a first pawl and second pawls. The first pawl has an inner cam portion which is engaged with a cam surface provided on an outer circumference of a cam, a pawl grooved cam portion which is engaged with an engaging protrusion provided on a side surface of the cam, and an engaging portion which is brought into engagement with a protruding portion provided on the internal surface of the upper arm when the upper arm is pivotally moved a predetermined angle relative to a lower arm. The second pawls have engaging protrusions engaged with release plate grooved cam portions provided in a release plate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Publication date: January 27, 2011
    Applicant: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Kazuhide Ishikawa
  • Publication number: 20110012414
    Abstract: In a seat reclining device, which eliminates a gap between a plurality of pawls and a guide wall, a wedge member is provided between at least one of the plurality of pawls and the guide wall, and a cam includes a wedge pressing cam portion for relatively rotating an upper arm relative to a lower arm by pressing the wedge member outwardly in a radial direction. The wedge member is for example made by a spherical or wedge shaped plate like member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2009
    Publication date: January 20, 2011
    Applicant: Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yukifumi Yamada, Naoki Goto, Shinya Isobe, Kazuhide Ishikawa