The innovation relates to vehicle seats and more particularly to vehicle seating assemblies that enable adjustment of either, or both, the lower (e.g., cushion) and upper (e.g., back) portion of seat assembly.
Conventional seats within long haul trucks and other similar vehicles include many safety and comfort features that enhance an operator's driving experience. For example, “fore-aft” vibration isolation is often incorporated into an operator's seating apparatus to “isolate” or dampen vibrations from being transferred into the operator's body. In addition to comfort, safety is an additional motivation for some seating features. For instance, “fore-aft” vibration has been known to cause premature fatigue when an operator is exposed for prolonged periods of time.
In the United States, many aspects of seat assemblies must comply with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). These standards have been developed to help minimize the possibility of the failure of seat and restraint designs by the forces acting on them as a result of a sudden deceleration or vehicle impact. For example, FMVSS 571.207 and 571.210 (37 C.F.R. §§ 571.207 & 571.210 (2008)) currently require a seat and seat belt assembly for many vehicles to withstand forces in excess of 3,000 pounds applied to the shoulder belt and lap belt portions of the seat belt.
Other countries impose their own regulations. More specifically, European countries also have safety requirements for seat and restraint designs in the event of a crash or sudden deceleration. For example, certain regulations permit only a limited amount of deformation of the D-ring of a seat belt assembly under load testing.
Other features commonly incorporated into seating apparatuses include vertical compression dampening, cushions, seat assembly forward slide adjustments, seat back tilt adjustments and the like. Unfortunately, these conventional seat assembly features are limited and do not enhance comfort for or conform to drivers of all shapes and sizes. There is a need in the art for a seat assembly adjustment system that complies with regulations (e.g., FMVSS) and provides comfort and adjustability to accommodate a wider range of driver's size and shape than that of conventional systems.
The following presents a simplified summary of the innovation in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the innovation. This summary is not an extensive overview of the innovation. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the innovation or to delineate the scope of the innovation. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the innovation in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
The innovation disclosed and claimed herein, in one aspect thereof comprises a seat adjustment system for a seat assembly in a vehicle that includes a seat locking device attached to a forward suspension rod of the seat assembly, a first seat adjustment mechanism cooperating with the seat locking device to facilitate a sliding motion of a seat assembly, and a second seat adjustment mechanism cooperating with the seat locking device to facilitate a pivoting motion of the seat assembly.
In accordance with another aspect of the innovation, a vehicle seat system is provided that includes a seat assembly having a seat base and a seat frame assembly, a seat locking device, a seat slide mechanism cooperating with the seat locking device to adjust a fore-aft position of the seat assembly, and a seat tilt mechanism cooperating with the seat locking device to adjust a tilt angle of the seat frame assembly with respect to the seat base.
To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the innovation are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of the innovation can be employed and the subject innovation is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features of the innovation will become apparent from the following detailed description of the innovation when considered in conjunction with the drawings.
The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the subject innovation. It may be evident, however, that the innovation can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form in order to facilitate describing the innovation.
While specific characteristics are described herein (e.g., thickness), it is to be understood that the features, functions and benefits of the innovation can employ characteristics that vary from those described herein. These alternatives are to be included within the scope of the innovation and claims appended hereto.
While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the one or more methodologies shown herein, e.g., in the form of a flow chart, are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to be understood and appreciated that the subject innovation is not limited by the order of acts, as some acts may, in accordance with the innovation, occur in a different order and/or concurrently with other acts from that shown and described herein. For example, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that a methodology could alternatively be represented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement a methodology in accordance with the innovation.
Referring now to the figures, the innovation provides a seating apparatus that includes a system that, in one aspect, allows a seat frame assembly of a seat assembly to tilt in a backward direction or in a forward direction, known as negative tilt, with or without the seat being occupied. For example, the innovation may allow the seat frame assembly of the seat assembly to tilt in the backward direction by approximately 10 degrees and in the forward direction by approximately negative 5 degrees, which covers the 5th percentile female through 98th percentile male. It is to the understood that the tilt range can be modified based on original equipment manufacturer (OEM) requirements. In another example, the innovation provides a pivoting stop assembly to prohibit tilting beyond or outside the tilt range.
In another aspect, the innovation enables a seat cushion assembly positioned on a lower frame portion to slide fore-aft with or without occupant seated. For example, the seat cushion can slide in an approximate range of 0-60 mm. It is to be understood that the range can be changed based on requirement or preference. A release button can be integrated within the seat cushion assembly for ease of removal of cushion for servicing. It is to be understood that the release button can be used on a seat cushion that does not have the fore-aft slide feature. Thus, any combination of features, functions and benefits described herein can exist without departing from the spirit and/or scope of the innovation. Furthermore, the innovation can be retrofitted into most any seating frame. In other words, this feature can utilize existing brackets that were designed for seat tilt mechanism. This can reduce parts, components and complexity of a seat apparatus thereby also requiring less effort to operate.
Referring now to
The seat base assembly 102 includes a bottom mounting portion 114 and an upper support portion 116. The seat assembly 100 is secured to an interior floor of a vehicle at the bottom mounting portion 114. As shown in
The seat frame assembly 104 provides support for an occupant and includes an upper backrest frame portion 126 and a lower seat frame portion 128. As shown in
Still referring to
As mentioned above, the seat adjustment system is comprised of a seat locking device 106, a seat slide mechanism 108, and a seat tilt mechanism 110 that all work in combination to adjust the seat assembly 100 to a desired fore-aft and tilt angle position to thereby provide optimum safety and comfort for an occupant. As shown in the close-up view of the seat locking device 106 in
The latching device 204 is used by the occupant to move the cushion pan 202 to the desired fore-aft position relative to the lower seat frame 128. The latching device 204 includes a plurality of slots 212 defined therein, whereby the plurality of projections 138 engage a subset of the plurality of slots 212 to lock the cushion pan 202 in a desired fore-aft position. The latching device 204 is connected by an actuating arm 214 to a first actuating device (cushion handle) 216. The cushion handle 216 is actuated, either by pushing downward lifting upward, by the occupant to raise or pivot the latching device 204 in an upward direction to disengage the latching device 204 from the plurality of projections 138 located on the seat locking device 106. This action allows the occupant to move the cushion pan 202 in a fore-aft direction to a different desired fore-aft position. The occupant then releases the cushion handle 216 to lower the latching device 204 to allow a different subset of the plurality of slots 212 to interlockably re-engage the plurality of projections 138 on the seat locking device 106 corresponding to the newly-selected fore-aft position. Upon release, the cushion handle 216 is biased back into position by a first biasing means (spring) 218.
As best seen in
The seat tilt mechanism 110 includes a seat adjustment device 602 that cooperates with the seat locking device 106 to facilitate a tilt angle adjustment of the seat assembly 100. The seat adjustment device 602 attaches to a top surface of the platform 120, by any conventional fastening means, such as but not limited to bolting, rivets, welds, etc. The seat adjustment device 602 includes a laterally protruding projection 604 that interlockably engages one of the plurality of tilt locking slots 142 in the seat locking device 106. The seat frame assembly 104 may be adjusted to various tilt positions relative to the seat base assembly 102 by vertical movement of the projection 604 into and out of a desired corresponding tilt locking slot 142. The seat adjustment device 602 further includes a second actuating device (cable assembly) 606 that facilitates movement of the projection 604 into and out of the plurality of tilt locking slots 142. In the embodiment illustrated in the figures, a cable assembly serves as the second actuating device 606. It is to be appreciated, however, that other types of actuating devices to operate the seat adjustment device 602 can be incorporated into the innovation. A third biasing means (spring) 608, see
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
It is to be understood that the pivoting stop assembly 112 works in conjunction with the seat locking device 106 to prevent tilting of the seat frame assembly 104 with respect to the seat base assembly 102 beyond the predetermined tilt range described above.
What has been described above includes examples of the innovation. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes of describing the subject innovation, but one of ordinary skill in the art may recognize that many further combinations and permutations of the innovation are possible. Accordingly, the innovation is intended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent application Ser. No. 61/478,456 entitled SEATING APPARATUS ADJUSTMENT SYSTEM filed on Apr. 22, 2011. The entireties of the above-noted applications are incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61478456 | Apr 2011 | US |