Patent Application
20110169311
Various embodiments of a vehicle seat frame assembly are described herein. In particular, the embodiments described herein relate to an improved headrest assembly for a vehicle seat frame assembly.
It is known to equip vehicles, such as vans and sport utility vehicles, with second or third row seats that can be moved from a use position to a stowed position to increase storage space in the vehicle. In such seat assemblies, the fold-down seat back is pivotally mounted at its lower end to the seat base for rotation between the use position, typically an upright position, and the stowed position, which typically involves the seat back folding to a position approximately parallel to the seat base.
It is also known to provide a headrest that moves inward of the seat back when the seat back is pivoted toward the stowed position, and moves outward of the seat back when the seat back is pivoted toward the use or upright position. Such headrests are typically moved manually or with complicated and costly power mechanisms.
One example of a known headrest assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,687, wherein springs 70 are coupled to gears 84 for moving the headrest 14 between a use position and a stow position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,565 discloses a seat assembly having a retractable headrest 24. The assembly includes a headrest assembly 24 biased into the use position by springs 36 mounted on guideposts 42. A cable 52 is mounted to the bottom of the seat back 20 and a lever 46. The lever 46 is attached to the headrest assembly 24. When the seat back 20 is pivoted toward the stowed position, the cable 52 pulls the lever 46, which moves the headrest assembly 24 against the force of the springs 36 and toward the stowed position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,283 discloses a gear driven actuator for a retractable headrest. A sun gear 38 is fixed against rotation relative to the vehicle, and a planet gear 40 is attached to the seat back frame 12 and rotatably engaged with the sun gear 38. The planet gear 40 is operatively engaged with the headrest 22 to extend and retract the headrest 22 as the planet gear 40 rotates the sun gear 38.
The present application describes various embodiments of a vehicle seat frame assembly. One embodiment of the vehicle seat frame assembly includes a seat bottom frame and a seat back frame pivotally mounted relative to the seat bottom frame. A headrest assembly has a headrest and is movable between an extended position and a retracted position relative to the seat back frame. The headrest assembly is pivotally connected to the one of the seat bottom frame and a portion of the vehicle, and slidingly connected to the seat back frame.
Other advantages of the vehicle seat frame assembly will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in
The seat frame assembly 10 further includes a mounting frame assembly, a portion of which is shown at 16, which mounts the seat bottom frame 14 to the floor 18 of the vehicle in which the seat frame assembly 10 is installed. Such a mounting frame assembly may be configured to move the seat frame assembly 10 in fore and aft directions, as well as in a generally vertical direction.
As best shown in
The illustrated attachment bracket 20 has a substantially U-shaped central portion 22. Attachment portions 24 extend outwardly of the U-shaped central portion 22 (to the left and right, respectively, when viewing
In the illustrated embodiment, a bell crank 30 is attached to the side members 28 of the U-shaped central portion 22 of the attachment bracket 20. The illustrated bell crank 30 is pivotally attached to the side members 28 about a pivot axis B, for purposes that are described in detail below.
The illustrated bell crank 30 has a substantially U-shaped central portion 32. Attachment portions 34 extend outwardly of the U-shaped portion 32 (to the left and right, respectively, when viewing
The illustrated seat back frame 12 is formed having a one-piece body 40. It will be understood however, that the seat back frame 12 may alternatively be formed from a plurality of component frame members. The illustrated seat back frame 12 includes side frame members 42 and the body 40. In the illustrated embodiment, the side frame members 42 are pivotally attached to the seat bottom frame 14 at the pivot axis A.
The seat back frame 12 may further include a lumbar support member 44. The lumbar support member 44 may be attached to the seat back frame 12 by any suitable method, such as for example, by welding, rivets, and threaded fasteners. It will be understood that the lumbar support member 44 may be attached to the body 40 by any other desired method.
A headrest assembly frame 46 is operably attached between the seat bottom frame 14, the seat back frame 12, and a headrest bracket 48. The illustrated headrest assembly frame 46 is formed from a substantially cylindrical and rigid material. One example of a suitable material is steel. Alternatively, the headrest assembly frame 46 may be formed from aluminum. The illustrated headrest assembly frame 46 has a first end 50 (lower end when viewing
The illustrated first end 50 is stepped to define a U-shaped portion 56. The push rods 54 at the first end 50 of the headrest assembly frame 46 include an inwardly and forwardly extending (when viewing
A linkage 64 is pivotally attached to the first portion 36 of the bell crank 30 about a first linkage pivot axis C, and pivotally attached to the first end 50 of the headrest assembly frame 46 about a second linkage pivot axis D. The illustrated linkage 64 includes substantially flat and parallel first and second faces 66. Pivot grooves 68 are defined between the two faces 66 and are structured and configured for receiving the first portion 36 of the bell crank 30 and the first end 50 of the headrest assembly frame 46. The illustrated linkage 64 is formed from a substantially rigid material. One example of a suitable material is steel. Alternatively, the linkage 64 may be formed from aluminum.
As best shown in
The illustrated headrest bracket 48 is formed from a substantially cylindrical and rigid material. One example of a suitable material is steel, such as a steel rod. Alternatively, the headrest bracket 48 may be formed from steel tubing. It will be understood that the bracket 48 may also be formed from any other desired and substantially rigid metal, metal alloy, or non-metal. The illustrated headrest bracket 48 has a first end 69 (lower end when viewing
In the illustrated embodiment, the headrest rods 72 are fixedly connected to the headrest assembly frame 46 by an attachment member 74. In the illustrated embodiment, the attachment member 74 is an over-molded plastic member. It will be understood however, that the headrest rods 72 may be connected to the headrest assembly frame 46 by any desired method including welding, fasteners such as threaded fasteners, or other plastic and non-plastic attachment brackets. The illustrated headrest bracket 48 is shown with two headrest rods 72. It will be understood however, that the headrest bracket 48 may be constructed having one or more than two 2 headrest rods 72.
The illustrated headrest assembly frame 46 includes two substantially parallel elongated headrest push rods 54 extending between the first and second ends 50 and 52 of the frame 46. It will be understood however, that any desired number of push rods 54 may be provided, including one push rod 54, and more than two push rods 54.
In operation, the seat back frame 12 may be moved, relative to the seat bottom frame 14, between an upright position as shown in
As best shown in
When the seat back frame 14 is in the upright position as shown in
As best shown in
As best shown in
When the seat back frame 14 is in the forward folded position, the headrest assembly 47 is in a second position. In the second position, the bell crank 30 has pivoted relative to both the attachment bracket 20 and the linkage 64, such that the bell crank has pivoted in a clockwise direction about the axis A. In the second position, the linkage 64 has also moved outwardly, in the direction of the arrow 84, a maximum distance from the attachment bracket 20 (upwardly and to the left when viewing
In the illustrated embodiment the headrest bracket 48 is fixed relative to the headrest assembly frame 46. It will be understood that the headrest bracket 48 may be movably attached to the headrest assembly frame 46, such as in a known telescoping arrangement (not shown)
The principle and mode of operation of the vehicle seat frame assembly have been described in its preferred embodiment. However, it should be noted that the vehicle seat frame assembly described herein may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its scope.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US08/81906 | 10/31/2008 | WO | 00 | 3/24/2011 |
