Patent application number | Description | Published |
20100026069 | SEAT RECLINER/DUMP MECHANISM SUCH AS INCORPORATED INTO A SEATBACK SLAVED TO A FLOOR LATCH RELEASE - A recliner mechanism for use with a vehicle seat having a floor striker engaging bottom and a pivotally associated seatback. A seatback is pivotally secured to a fixed support and includes an arcuate lower surface upon which are defined teeth. A pawl is pivotally secured to the support and includes an upper surface with additional inter-engaging teeth when the seatback is in an upright position. A release cam secures to the support proximate a recessed underside location of the pawl and maintains the pawl in locking engagement with the seatback sector in a first position. The release cam rotates to cause the pawl to pivot out of engagement with the seatback, allowing it to pivot to a dump position opposing the seat bottom and concurrent with the seat bottom releasing from the floor striker and tumbling to a forward rotated position. A floor latch release lever is also pivotally secured to the support and, upon being contacted by the release cam, in turn pivots so that an end feature displaces to prevent the locking pawl from pivoting in a reverse direction against the seatback. The release lever reverse pivots in response to the seat bottom reengaging the floor striker, causing the pawl to reverse pivot its teeth into reengagement with the seatback upon the latter rotating back to the upright position. | 02-04-2010 |
20100026073 | POWER SEAT ASSEMBLY WITH MOTOR ACTUATED SPRING RELEASE AND REWIND OF A SEATBACK SECTOR AND WITH THE MOTOR REMOVED FROM AN INERTIAL LOAD PATH SUCH AS DURING AN IMPACT EVENT - A power seat assembly with motor actuated release and rewind of a seatback sector. First and second support plates sandwich a forwardly biased seatback sector and a cam engaged with the seatback sector in an upright position. A first pin extends from said cam offset its pivotal connection and passes through a slot defined in the second support plate to define a range of pivotal motion of the cam. A toothed gear sector rotatably mounted to an exterior of the second support plates and exhibits a polygonal shaped portion as well as an end shoulder offset and inwardly recessed from exteriorly defined teeth and the polygonal shaped portion. An electric motor includes an output gear in toothed engagement with the gear sector and for rotating the gear sector in a first direction so that the polygonal shaped portion contacts and deflects the pin and cam out of contact with the seatback, causing it to rotate to a forward dump position. A second pin extends from the seatback sector and contacts the end shoulder at the dump position, the motor rotating the gear sector in a second direction and forcibly rewinding the seatback sector, against its bias, to the upright design position coinciding with the cam re-engaging the seatback sector. | 02-04-2010 |
20100117432 | PIVOTING HEADREST ASSEMBLY WITH CAM RELEASE - A pivoting headrest assembly including a bracket supported upon a seatback frame. A headrest support secures a bun and is pivotally secured to the bracket in a forward biased direction. A rotating sector is supported upon the bracket and is pivotally slaved to the headrest support. A cam is pivotally supported upon the bracket and biased in a first direction to abut the sector in an upright design position established by the headrest support. A contact portion extends from a location of the cam offset from its pivotal connection to the bracket. A lever is independently rotated and coaxially supported relative to the rotating sector in a first biased direction. The lever is actuated against the bias to engage the contact portion, with continued actuation causing the cam to pivotally disengage from the rotating sector, whereupon the headrest support and bun pivotally actuates to a forward dump position. | 05-13-2010 |
20100133889 | PIVOTING HEADREST WITH CABLE OPERATED RELEASE CATCH - A pivoting headrest assembly including a bracket supported upon a seatback frame. A headrest support secures a bun and is pivotally secured to the bracket in a forward biased direction. A sector is pivotally secured to the bracket and to which is attached the headrest support. A release catch is pivotally supported at a further location of the bracket and is biased in a first upward direction so that the catch abuts a projecting pin associated with the sector in an upright design position established by the headrest support. A cable is secured to a support fixed to a side of the bracket and engages the catch at a location offset from its pivot axis relative to the bracket. Upon displacement of the cable, the catch is actuated out of engagement with the sector, resulting in the headrest support pivoting relative to the seatback. | 06-03-2010 |
20100148558 | LINEAR RECLINER ASSEMBLY WITH THREADED LINEAR DRIVE ROD AND ROTATABLY ENGAGED GEAR STOP - A linear recliner assembly in use with a seat having a seat back pivotally engaged relative to a seat bottom. A housing exhibits a communicating interior between a first and second ends. A drive rod is supported in linearly displaceable fashion from the first end and is secured to the seat bottom. The second end pivotally engages the seatback spaced from its pivot point. A rotatable gear located at a fixed lineal position within the housing receives the drive rod in threadably inter-engaged fashion. A trigger mechanism pivotally secured to the housing exhibits a downwardly biased detent communicating through an opening in the housing to seat between succeeding teeth of the gear. A spring supported within the housing contacts the drive rod. Upon release of the detent, a reclining force applied to the seatback results in displacement of the housing against the drive rod to bias the spring. The spring influencing the drive rod in a reverse direction such that, upon release of said detent when the seatback is in the reclined position, the spring influences the seatback to reverse pivot to a returned upright position. | 06-17-2010 |
20110084533 | SEAT RECLINER/DUMP MECHANISM SUCH AS INCORPORATED INTO A SEATBACK SLAVED TO A FLOOR LATCH RELEASE - A recliner mechanism for use with a vehicle seat having a floor striker engaging bottom and a pivotally associated seatback. A seatback is pivotally secured to a fixed support and includes an arcuate lower surface upon which are defined teeth. A pawl is pivotally secured to the support and includes an upper surface with additional inter-engaging teeth when the seatback is in an upright position. A release cam secures to the support proximate a recessed underside location of the pawl and maintains the pawl in locking engagement with the seatback sector in a first position. The release cam rotates to cause the pawl to pivot out of engagement with the seatback, allowing it to pivot to a dump position opposing the seat bottom and concurrent with the seat bottom releasing from the floor striker and tumbling to a forward rotated position. A floor latch release lever is also pivotally secured to the support and, upon being contacted by the release cam, in turn pivots so that an end feature displaces to prevent the locking pawl from pivoting in a reverse direction against the seatback. The release lever reverse pivots in response to the seat bottom reengaging the floor striker, causing the pawl to reverse pivot its teeth into reengagement with the seatback upon the latter rotating back to the upright position. | 04-14-2011 |
20110101762 | COMBINATION PIVOTAL AND DISPLACEABLE HEADREST ASSEMBLY INCORPORATED INTO A VEHICLE SEAT - A pivoting headrest assembly having a pivotally supported and cable actuated hook secured to fixed bracket. The hook engages a pin associated with a widthwise extending and upwardly biased support secured within a pair of side channels associated with the fixed bracket. Upon triggering the release of the hook, the support is upwardly displaced within the side channels. A pair of end supported pivotal linkages are secured in coaxial fashion with the ends of the displaceable support. Upper ends of the linkages pivotally engage a base plate of an upper pivotally driven headrest bun support offset from a pivotal engagement established between the base plate and upper end of the headrest bracket. The linkages are configured so that upward displacement exerted by the support is converted to the forward dump rotation of the headrest bun support. | 05-05-2011 |
20110148166 | COMBINATION PIVOT ARMREST AND SEATBACK ASSEMBLY - A combination pivoting armrest and seatback assembly incorporated into a vehicle including a base secured to the vehicle and exhibiting an extending edge profile. A sector is pivotally secured to the base, with a first cam pivotally secured to the sector and contacting a first edge location of the base when the sector is in an upright position. A second cam is also pivotally secured to the sector in inter-engaging fashion with the first cam such that, upon the first cam being rotated out of contact with the base and the sector rotating to a forward dump position, the second cam subsequently contacts a second edge location of the base. | 06-23-2011 |
20110148170 | PIVOTING HEADREST FOR USE IN A REAR ROW SEAT AND INCORPORATING TRIGGER RELEASE WITH CABLE SLACK PICKUP DURING SEATBACK ROTATION TO A FORWARD DUMP POSITION - A pivoting headrest assembly incorporated into a rear row vehicle seat including a base and a pivotally supported seatback. A first bracket is fixedly supported atop the seatback and exhibits a striker. A second bracket is pivotally supported to the first bracket in a biased direction away from the striker and includes a headrest bun support. A hook is supported upon the second bracket in a first biased direction engaging the striker. A release element associated with the second bracket is biased direction and which, upon being actuated in a second counter-biased direction, engages a projecting portion associated with the hook. A cable is secured at a first end to a fixed location associated with the seat and extends through a redirection location an offset distance from a pivot location of the seatback, the cable securing at a second end to the release element. Upon the seatback being pivoted relative to the fixed location, translation of the cable around the redirection location results in actuation of the release element to separate the hook from the striker and the second bracket to pivot away from the first bracket. A return bias of the release element results in take-up of slack in the cable, concurrent with return pivoting of the second bracket into engagement with the striker. | 06-23-2011 |