Vehicle seat or vehicle cabin having a suspension apparatus and utility vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a vehicle seat or to a vehicle cabin having a suspension apparatus comprising a top end part and a bottom end part, which can be deflected relative to the top end part, which are connected to each other in a spring-loaded manner by means of a suspension element, and having a dampening apparatus for dampening vibrations having effect on at least one of the two end parts wherein the dampening apparatus and a distance leveling apparatus for adjusting a distance between the top end part and the bottom end part have an actuator fluid element controlled by common pressure stages.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat or vehicle cab comprising: a suspension device including an upper end part and a lower end part that is deflectable relative to the upper end part, which parts are resiliently interconnected by means of a suspension element, and having a damping device for damping vibrations acting on at least one of the two end parts, wherein the damping device and a distance-adjusting device for adjusting a distance between the upper end part and the lower end part comprise a common actuator fluid element controlled by pressure stages, and wherein an open-loop and/or closed-loop control device is provided for adjusting a fluid-conveying device and/or a flow-control valve element depending on a load acting on the upper end part.

2. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 1, wherein the open-loop and/or closed-loop control device comprises an acceleration-measuring sensor which is arranged on the face of the lower end part and is intended for detecting accelerations acting on the lower end part.

3. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 1, wherein the open-loop and/or closed-loop control device comprises a travel-measuring sensor for detecting a distance and/or a distance variation between the upper and the lower end part.

4. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 1, wherein the actuator fluid element is operatively connected to the fluid-conveying device, which is in fluid connection with a pressure-stage chamber of the actuator fluid element such that various height adjustments of the upper end part can be carried out by controlling the power of the controllable fluid-conveying device.

5. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 1, wherein the actuator fluid element is operatively connected to the fluid-conveying device, which is in fluid connection with a pressure-stage chamber of the actuator fluid element such that the fluid can be conveyed out of a tension-stage chamber of the actuator fluid element and/or another fluid reservoir of the fluid-conveying system into the pressure-stage chamber.

6. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 1, wherein the actuator fluid element is operatively connected to a flow-control valve element, which is in fluid connection with the actuator fluid element and the fluid-conveying device such that the power of the pressure stage can be additionally modulated by means of this flow-control valve element.

7. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 6, wherein the flow-control valve element is in fluid connection with the actuator fluid element and the controllable fluid-conveying device such that vibrations of one of the end parts can be isolated by means of the flow-control valve element.

8. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 6, wherein the flow-control valve element is in fluid connection with the actuator fluid element and the controllable fluid-conveying device such that the power of the pressure stage can be additionally modulated by means of this flow-control valve element while not affecting the power of the fluid-conveying device.

9. The vehicle seat or vehicle cab according to claim 4, wherein a low-pressure connection of the fluid-conveying device is in fluid connection with a tension-stage chamber by means of a low-pressure line and a high-pressure connection of the fluid-conveying device is in fluid connection with the tension-stage chamber by means of a high-pressure line, the low-pressure line and the high-pressure line being fluidically interconnected by means of an electrically operable proportional flow control valve.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of vehicle seat substructure comprising a common actuator fluid element, controlled by pressure stages, of a damping device and of a distance-adjusting device, the actuator fluid element being arranged between two end parts of a suspension device such that it acts on one of the two end parts in the vertical direction of the vehicle in both a vibration-isolating manner and a height-adjusting manner,

(2) FIG. 2 schematically shows a fluid circuit diagram of a fluid-conveying system of the actuator fluid element from FIG. 1, and

(3) FIG. 3 schematically shows a graph having different spring characteristic curves of the suspension device from FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(4) The vehicle seat substructure 1, shown in FIG. 1, of a vehicle seat (not shown in greater detail) comprises a suspension device 2, which is characterized by an upper end part 3 and a lower end part 4 which, in this embodiment, are both coupled to one another by a scissors type frame 5 in a height-adjustable manner.

(5) The scissors type frame 5 substantially consists of two pairs of scissor arms 6 and 7, which in turn each comprise a first scissor arm 8 and 9 respectively and a second scissor arm 10 and 11 respectively.

(6) The first scissor arms 8 and 9 respectively are on the one hand rotationally mounted on the lower end part 4 by means of a common lower fixed-bearing device 12. On the other hand, they are mounted on the upper end part 3 in a linearly movable manner by means of a common upper movable-bearing device 13.

(7) The second scissor arms 10 and 11 behave similarly, and are rotationally mounted on the upper end part 3 by means of a common upper fixed-bearing device 14 and are mounted on the lower end part 4 in a linearly movable manner by means of a common lower movable-bearing device 15.

(8) The first and second scissor arms 8, 10 and 9, 11 respectively of the respective pairs of scissor arms 6 and 7 respectively are rotationally interconnected by means of pivotal points 16 (only explicitly provided with a reference numeral at this point).

(9) Furthermore, the suspension device 2 also comprises a suspension element 19, by means of which the two end parts 3 and 4 are resiliently interconnected. In this embodiment, the suspension element 19 is provided by an air suspension element.

(10) When installed, the upper end part 3 is integrated in the vehicle seat on the seat-part side and the lower end part 4 is integrated in the vehicle seat on the vehicle-body side such that the upper end part 3 can rebound and deflect respectively relative to the lower end part 4 in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle when a corresponding external stimulus acts on the vehicle seat or on the vehicle respectively.

(11) In order for it to be possible to at least partially isolate the vibrations of the upper end part 3, the vehicle seat substructure 1 further comprises a damping device 25 comprising a hydraulic shock absorber element 26.

(12) The hydraulic shock absorber element 26 is attached by its cylinder part 27 to a cross bar 28 of the common lower movable-bearing device 15 and by a piston part 29 (see FIG. 2) to the first scissor arm 9 of the second pair of scissor arms 7.

(13) In this embodiment, the hydraulic shock absorber element 26 forms the basis for the claimed actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30, by means of which element active vibration isolation can also be achieved, and furthermore height adjustment of the upper end part 3 relative to the lower end part 4 can also be achieved.

(14) For this purpose, the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30 is arranged between the two end parts 3, 4 such that it can act on the upper end part 3 in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle in an actively vibration-isolating manner and furthermore in a height-adjusting manner.

(15) In this respect, the vehicle seat substructure 1 not only comprises a simple damping device 25 but also a distance-adjusting device (not specifically provided with a reference numeral here) for adjusting the distance 32 between the upper end part 3 and the lower end part 4, the damping device 25 and the distance-adjusting device together comprising the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30. This means that the vehicle seat substructure 1 is extremely compact, despite its functionality being considerably enhanced.

(16) Furthermore, on the one hand, a controllable fluid-conveying device 33 for conveying a fluid, this being a hydraulic fluid as in the present embodiment, and on the other hand a flow-control valve element 34 are also provided in the vehicle seat substructure 1.

(17) The fluid-conveying device 33 consists of a hydraulic pump 35, which is continuously driven by an electric motor 36.

(18) In this case, the flow-control valve element 34 is designed as an electrically operable throttle valve in the form of a proportional flow control valve 37.

(19) The controllable fluid-conveying device 33, the flow-control valve element 34 and the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30 are fluidically interconnected by means of a corresponding fluid pipeline system 38 (only provided with a reference numeral in FIG. 1 by way of example), as is described in greater detail in accordance with the diagram according to FIG. 2, which shows a flow diagram 40 of the fluid-conveying system 40A that is configured within the meaning of the invention.

(20) In the arrangement according to the flow diagram 40, the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30 is arranged on the left. To the right thereof, there is the flow-control valve element 34, and the controllable fluid-conveying device 33 is arranged further to the right.

(21) The actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30 has an external housing 42 which forms a hydraulic-fluid tank 41 and defines the actual working cylinder 43 in which the piston part 29 consisting of the piston head 44 and the piston rod 45 moves.

(22) Some of the hydraulic fluid 46 is stored in the hydraulic-fluid tank 41. Furthermore, the hydraulic-fluid tank 41 also provides a gas-volume compensation space 47.

(23) The working cylinder 43 comprises a pressure-stage chamber 48, by means of which the pressure stage 30 of the actuator fluid element 31 is implemented. The corresponding tension stage 30A is produced inter alia by means of a pressure-stage chamber 49 of the working cylinder 43.

(24) Furthermore, the actuator fluid element 31 also comprises a rising pipe 50 comprising a pressure-compensation valve 51 for pressure compensation within the tension-stage chamber 49, in particular when the pressure stage 30 is activated, it then being possible for hydraulic fluid 46 to flow out of the hydraulic-fluid tank 41 into the tension-stage chamber 49 through this rising pipe 50.

(25) For pressure compensation in the pressure-stage chamber 48 when the tension stage 30A is activated, a foot valve 52 is provided through which hydraulic fluid 46 can flow out of the hydraulic-fluid tank 41 into the pressure-stage chamber 48, but not in the other direction.

(26) Additionally, a pressure-stage/tension-stage valve 53 of the actuator fluid element 31 is also integrated in the piston head 44, by means of which valve a basic tension stage/pressure stage is inherent in the actuator fluid element 31 as a passively acting hydraulic shock absorber element.

(27) In addition, as already mentioned above, the actuator fluid element 31 is connected, by its cylinder part 27, to the cross bar 28 and thus also to the lower end part 4 by means of a lower connecting point 53, while said element is connected, by its piston part 29, to the first scissor arm 9 of the second pair of scissor arms 7 and thus also to the upper end part 3 by means of an upper connecting point 54.

(28) The actuator fluid element 31 comprises, at its tension-stage chamber 49, a tension-stage chamber connection 56, with which a low-pressure line 57 is in fluid connection. This low-pressure line 57 represents a fluid connection between the tension-stage chamber 49 and a low-pressure connection 58 of the hydraulic pump 35, and therefore the hydraulic fluid 46 can be conveyed out of the tension-stage chamber 49 by means of the controllable fluid-conveying device 33 in the conveying direction 59 of the hydraulic pump 35.

(29) A high-pressure line 61 leads from a corresponding high-pressure connection 60 of the hydraulic pump 35 to a pressure-stage chamber connection 62, and therefore the hydraulic fluid 46 conveyed out of the tension-stage chamber 49 can be further conveyed into the pressure-stage chamber 48, as a result of which the piston part 29 is accordingly pushed out of the cylinder part 27. As a result, the upper end part 3 is raised in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle and is thus situated at a greater distance with regard to the lower end part 4.

(30) A connecting line 63 is further connected between the high-pressure line 61 and the low-pressure line 57, by means of which connecting line the flow-control valve element 34 is in fluid connection between the actuator fluid element 31 and the controllable fluid-conveying device 33. More precisely, the flow-control valve element 34 is connected in parallel with the controllable fluid-conveying device 33 with respect to the actuator fluid element 31. Therefore, the flow resistance at the actuator fluid element 31 can be changed by means of the flow-control valve element 34, as a result of which an influence on the vibration-isolating capacity of the actuator fluid element 31 can be achieved.

(31) An overflow fluid line 64 is further provided between the hydraulic pump 35 and the hydraulic-fluid tank 41.

(32) A feed line 65 comprising a non-return valve 66 is arranged between the low-pressure line 57 and the hydraulic-fluid tank 41. As a result, if necessary, hydraulic fluid 46 can be directly conveyed out of the hydraulic-fluid tank 41 into the pressure-stage chamber 48 by means of the hydraulic pump 35.

(33) The arrangement shown in the flow diagram 40 represents a first advantageous damping and height-adjusting unit 90 of the invention. In this respect, this hydraulically acting damping and height-adjusting unit 90 can not only be considered to be an additional functional assembly of the damping device 25, but at the same time is also the height-adjusting and distance-adjusting device respectively (not explicitly provided with a reference numeral here) for adjusting the distance 32 with respect to the upper end part 3 and the lower end part 4 in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle.

(34) It is also advantageous for a linearly rising force characteristic curve 75 to be provided over the entirety of the available suspension travel s, as is also shown by the graph 70 shown in FIG. 3.

(35) In the graph 70, the existing suspension travel s is plotted in millimeters on the abscissa 71, a desired average vertical height level 72 being at 90 mm, so that the upper end part 3 can ideally cover both vertically downwardly available negative suspension travel and vertically upwardly available positive suspension travel of 90 mm in each case.

(36) The force F counteracting a load on the upper end part 3 is plotted on the ordinate 73 of the graph 70 in Newtons.

(37) The lower spring characteristic curve 74 plotted on this graph 70 is that of the suspension element 19 which progresses logarithmically at the start of the suspension travel s and exponentially at the end of the suspension travel s; in between, the lower spring characteristic curve 74 of the suspension element 19 rises linearly.

(38) The force characteristic curve 75 extending directly above the lower spring characteristic curve 74 contains the effect of activating the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30, this force characteristic curve 75 extending both through the point of intersection 76 of the line 77 produced by the load of 1000 N and the line 78 produced by the vertical height level 72, and also extending completely linearly over the entirety of the suspension travel s.

(39) The force characteristic curve 75 shows the target values for the forces generated by the damping and height-adjusting unit 90 in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle.

(40) The upper force characteristic curve 79 describes the forces generated by the damping and height-adjusting unit 90 in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle which are above the target values.

(41) It can be clearly seen from the graph 70 that in particular the suspension element 19 serves as a basis for receiving a basic load which acts on the suspension as a mass. In the present case, the suspension device 2 is pre-loaded with a load minus half the maximum possible spring force. The maximum possible spring force is in particular specified by the dimension of the damping and height-adjusting unit 90, which is 200 N in the vertical direction 21 of the vehicle in the graph 70 shown. Therefore, when a load of for example 1000 N is received, the suspension is supported by a pre-load force of 900 N by means of the suspension element 19. The desired seat height, which is shown on the graph 70 as the desired average vertical height level 72 of 90 mm, is not reached in full yet by means of the suspension element 19. However, the damping and height-adjusting unit 90 or in particular the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30 respectively takes on this difference in distance from the desired average vertical height level 72 of 90 mm. The suspension is therefore brought to this target height by means of the force generated by the damping and height-adjusting unit 90 or in particular by the actuator fluid element 31 controlled by pressure stages 30 respectively. In the event of temporary level variations which may occur for example by the driver's weight shifting when driving uphill, downhill or at an angle, depending on the direction and intensity of the variation, the forces generated by the damping and height-adjusting unit 90 can be increased or decreased. In the present damping and height-adjusting unit 90, the supporting forces generated thereby are utilised to influence external introductions of force that are fed into the suspension system. The damping and height-adjusting unit 90 may work with the introduction of force, i.e. a supporting force for carrying the mass is reduced However, it may also work against the introduction of force, the supporting force being accordingly increased.

(42) The type and intensity of the control is taken as a basis in a control algorithm of a correspondingly designed open-loop and/or closed-loop control device (not explicitly shown here).

(43) By means of the open-loop and/or closed-loop control device, the damping and height-adjusting unit 90 may be accordingly adjusted depending on a load acting on the upper end part 3.

(44) For this purpose, the open-loop and/or closed loop control device on the one hand comprises an acceleration-measuring sensor 96 which is arranged on the face 95 of the lower end part 4 and is intended for detecting accelerations acting on the lower end part 4 and on the other hand comprises a travel-measuring sensor 97 for detecting the current distance 32 and/or a corresponding distance variation between the upper and the lower end part 3, 4.

(45) It will be understood that the embodiment described above is only a first configuration of the invention. In this respect, the configuration of the invention is not limited to this embodiment.

(46) At this point, reference is explicitly therefore once again made to the fact that the above-described vehicle seat substructure 1 may alternatively also be used as a vehicle cab substructure, provided that it is dimensioned accordingly.

(47) All of the features disclosed in the application documents are claimed as being essential to the invention provided that they are novel over the prior art either individually or in combination.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(48) 1 vehicle seat substructure 2 suspension device 3 upper end part 4 lower end part 5 scissors type frame 6 first pair of scissor arms 7 second pair of scissor arms 8 first scissor arm of the first pair of scissor arms 9 first scissor arm of the second pair of scissor arms 10 second scissor arm of the first pair of scissor arms 11 second scissor arm of the second pair of scissor arms 12 common lower fixed-bearing device 13 common upper movable-bearing device 14 common upper fixed-bearing device 15 common lower movable-bearing device 16 pivotal points 19 suspension element 21 vertical direction of the vehicle 25 damping device 26 hydraulic shock absorber element 27 cylinder part 28 cross bar 29 piston part 30 pressure stage 30A tension stage 31 actuator fluid element 32 distance 33 fluid-conveying device 34 flow-control valve element 35 hydraulic pump 36 electric motor 37 proportional flow control valve 38 fluid pipeline system 40 flow diagram 40A fluid-conveying system 41 hydraulic-fluid tank 42 external housing 43 working cylinder 44 piston head 45 piston rod 46 hydraulic fluid 47 gas-volume compensation space 48 pressure-stage chamber 49 tension-stage chamber 50 rising pipe 51 pressure-compensation valve 52 foot valve 53 pressure-stage/tension-stage valve 54 lower connecting point 55 upper connecting point 56 tension-stage chamber connection 57 low-pressure line 58 low-pressure connection 59 conveying direction 60 high-pressure connection 61 high-pressure line 62 pressure-stage chamber connection 63 connecting line 64 overflow fluid line 65 feed line 66 non-return valve 70 graph 71 abscissa 72 height level 73 ordinate 74 lower spring characteristic curve 75 force characteristic curve 76 point of intersection 77 line produced 78 further line produced 79 upper force characteristic curve 90 damping and height-adjusting unit 95 face 96 acceleration-measuring sensor 97 travel-measuring sensor