Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
l~Z~3ti
PATENT
METHOD AND APPARATUS OF A CONVENTIONAL FORE AND AFT VEHICLE SEAT
ADJUSTER CONVERTIBLE INTO AN EASY ENTRY SEAT ADJUSTER SLIDE
_
Field of the Present Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle seat adjuster
(slides). Additionally, the present invention relates to vehicle
seat adjuster (slides) having an easy entry feature wherein by a
signal the seat is automatically positioned to an extreme forward
or rearward position to facilitate entry or exit of the vehicle.
More particularly the present invention relates to easy entry
seat adjuster (slides) as hereintofore described wherein the
slide also has a memory to return the seat to its preselected
adju~ted position without further adju~tment by the qeat
occupant. Still more particularly the present invention relates
to a conventional aeat adjuster (slide) that the above noted
feature~ and adjuster slides which are ideally suited for such
applications.
Disclosure Statement
Typically automotive vehicles have a front and rear row
of seating. It is common to provide automotive vehicles with
just one door per side (two door vehicle) wherein the front and
rear seat occupants utilize the same door to enter or exit the
vehicle. To allow the rear seat occupant to enter the vehicle~
the front seat back pivots forward to provide a greater opening.
3k
936
To increase the room for entry into the vehicle further, the
tllting of the front seat back also activates a bia~ing force to
move the front seat to an extreme forward position. After the
rear seat occupant is seated, the front seat back is returned to
it8 upright position. It is then desirable for the front seat to
return to the prior preselected position by being pushed back by
the front seat occupant without requiring the front seat occupant
to readjust the seat.
Examples of easy entry vehicle seat adjuster slides may
be found in commonly assigned ~.S. patents Corbett 3,853,373,
Carella et al 4,065,178, and Kopich 4,422,690.
The present invention provide~ an ea~y entry vehicle
~eat ad~u~ter ~l~de which provides an alternative to the ad~uster
~lide~ noted above and further ~how~ a simple conversion of a
conventional ~eat ad~uster (slide~ to an ad~u~ter (slide)
including the above noted features.
It is an ob~ect of the present invention to provide a
manual easy entry vehicle ~eat ad~uster with memory for
selectively ad~usting a vehicle seat to a plurality of positions
with respect to the vehicle and for returning the seat to the
prior selected position upon utilization of the ea~y entry
feature, the ad~u~ter in combination including, a lower channel
for connection with the vehicle, the lower channel mean~ having
engagement means along a portion of the length of
293~
the lower channel, an upper channel means connected with the seat
and slidably mounted on the lower channel, a first latch means
connected with the upper channel for selectively contacting with
the lower channel engagement means for affixing the upper
channel on the lower channel and, a manually activated handle
means to operate the first }atch, an easy entry activator means
to move the first latch independently of the handle, and a quick
connect plate for mounting on the lower channel for covering and
preventing contact of the first latch means with a portion of the
engagement mean~, and the plate having a second latch means
whereby the second latch mean~ being bia~ed to connect the plate
wlth the lower channel and the second latch means being moved by
the handle and the plate having contact with the upper channel
when the handle mean~ moves the second latch means so that the
plate moves with the upper channel when the position of the seat
i~ being selectively ad~usted with re~pect to the vehicle and the
second latch retaining the plate in a fixed po~ition with respect
to the lower channel when the easy entry activator moves the
first latch thereby preventing the first latch from contacting
the lower channel engagement means except at the prior selected
position.
Other ob~ects, desires and advantages of the present
invention will become more apparent to those ~killed in the art
A
lZ~ 36
as the nature of the invention is better understood from the
accompanying drawings in a detailed description.
Brief Description of the Drawings
Figure 1 is a top plan view of the present invention;
Figure~ 2, 3 and 4 are views taken along lines 2-2, 3-3
and 4-4, respectively.
Detailed Description to the Drawing~
Referring to Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4, the easy entry
memory seat adjuster 7 and seat adjuster slide 9 of the present
invention i~ fixably connected to the vehicle via a plate or rail
commonly referred to as the floor or lower channel ~eans 10. The
lower channel 10 ha~ what is commonly referred to as a lock plate
12 ~ntegrally formed or boltably attached thereto. ~he lock
plate along a significant portion of its length has engagement
mean~ provided by a ~eries of notche~ 14.
Slidably mounted on top of the lower channel 10 is a
seat channel 20 referred to as the upper channel or upper channel
mean~. The upper channel 20 provide~ means of connection to the
vehiclé seat, the upper channel is slidably mounted to the lower
channel by a series of upper left and right and lower left and
right bearing balls 25. The lower channel on both sides has a
flange which separates the upper and lower ball~ from one
another. The upper channel has a hook portion which allows the
upper and lower channel~ to be interlocked.
;~
12~Z936
The outboard ad~uster slide i~ provided with a manually
activated handle means 30 which is connected with the upper
channel 20. Handle means 30 has a rod 32 rotatively mounted in
lock bar mounting bracket 31 which is in turn fixably connected
to upper seat channel 20. The handle means has a D shaped
section on the rod 32 onto which the lock bar actuator 34 is
keyed to having a D shaped hole. In like manner the handle means
30 has a 8COOp 36 attached on a D shaped section. A first latch
means or lock bar 40 is provided for affixing the position of the
upper channel with the lower channel.
Lock bar 40 i8 connected with upper channel 20 via a
free pivotal connection on rod 32 and ~electively contact~
aperatures 42 ~ith notches 14 to set the position of the upper
channel 20 or ~eat with re3pect to the lower channel 10 or
vehiale.
Crank 60 is freely pivotally connected on rod 32.
Crank 60 1~ also connected with cable 62. Cable 62 is in turn
connected with the seat back on easy entry latch (not shown).
Crank 60 i~ al~o connected with a cable 64 which operates the
lock bar on the inboard or slave ad~uster ~lide 15.
A ~oined two piece quick connect plate 70 with a ~lot
72 i8 slidably mounted on ~aid lock plate 12 and cover~ a portion
of notches 14. The outer piece 71 i usually made of a hardened
heat treated steel. Bia~ed by spring 78 and pivotally mounted on
A~
12~2936
the plate is a second latch means of memory marker 76. The
memory marker has a tab 75 which engages with notches 14 to
retain the plate 70 with the lower channel 10.
In operation spring 80 biases lock bar 40 to an engaged
position. Handle means 30 is biased by spring 80 via lock bar 40
and lock bar actuator 34 to its non actuated position. In
similar fashion, a spring biases a lock bar on the inboard
ad~uster slide 15 to a similar engaged position. To adjust the
seat in normal operation, the seat occupant operates handle 30.
The turn$ng of handle 30 causes the lock bar actuator 34 along
portion 37 to contact lock bar 40 and move it from the solid line
po~tion to the phantom po~ition of F~gure 3 to relea8e the
~perture~ from enagement with notche~ 14. Movement of lock bar
40 (counter clockwi~e a~ seen in Figures 3 and 4) causes the
cran~ 60 to move counterclockwise after the lock bar 40 contacts
crank 60 thereby pulling cable 64. The pull of cable 64 releases
the lock bar of the inboard slider 15 from it~ respective lock
plate. The scoop 36 moves the memory marker 76 to a position
shown in phantom in Figure 1 releasing tab 75 from notches 14.
Lock bar actuator tab 33 is also in~erted within the slot 72 and
becomes a means of contact between the upper channel 20 and the
plate 70. The upper channel 20 and plate 70 are now free to move
together to the next selected ad~usted position.
~'4.'~
lZ~2~36
To use the easy entry feature, the cable 62 is pulled
to the left (as shown in Figure 4) by a seat latch or by the
bending of a pivotal back seat (not shown~. Crank 60 will rotate
counterclockwise causing the lock bar 40 to release from
engagement and pulling on the cable 64 to release the lock bar of
the inboard slider 15.
Since the crank 60 is freely pivotal on rod 32 the
handle means 30 will not be turned. Therefore the lock bar
actuator tab 33 will not be inserted into slot 72 and memory
marker tab 75 will not be disengaged from notches 14. Therefore
plate 70 (added to Figure 4 for clarity of illustration) is now
f~xed with re~pect to lower channel 10. A ~pr$ng (not ~hown)
w~ll urge the ~eat towards the front or bend end of handle means
30. The lock bar 40 will continue to be hend out of engagement
by a blank portion 73 of plate 70. Also cable 64 will still be
tensioned and the lock bar of the inboard ad~uster 15 will still
be held out of engagement.
To return the seat to the prior selected position, the
seat is pushed back until the lock bar 40 slides off the blank
portion 73. Spring 80 will then urge the lock bar 40 back into
engagement at the prior ~elected position and cau~e the crank 60
to be pulled back clockwi~e. The above al~o cau~es cable 64 to
be pulled back to lock the lock bar of the inboard ad~u~ter 15.
~.,~,...
12~Z~3f~
The above design provides a great advantage in that to
convert a conventional seat ad~uster to an easy entry ad~uster
the only additional parts required are cable 62, 8COOp 36, plate
70 with its spring biased memory marker 76. If desired to
provide uniformity in large production, handle means 30 will be
the same for all vehicles. If a four-door model car i8 produced
plate 70, cable 62 and its memory marker 7~ will be deleted. If
production plans call for a two-door vehicle, cable 62 will be
added and the plate 70 with it memory marker 76 will be added to
convert the ad~u~ter to an easy entry seat ad~uster. ~herefore,
a custom design for the easy entry seat adjuster is no longer
required.
Due to orming requirements to achieve the ~urface
hardness desired it is u~ually preferable to make the quick
connect plate out of a two piece member allowing a harder heat
treated ~teel to be formed over the portion which slides onto the
lock plate.
While an embodiment of the present invention has been
explained, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the
art of the various modification~ which can be made to the present
invention without departing from the spirit and scope of this
application as it is encompas~ed by the followinq claims.
~'
