The present disclosure generally relates to tracks and rolling members that may be used in connection with track systems, including track systems and rolling members that may, for example, be utilized with vehicles and/or vehicle seats.
This background description is set forth below for the purpose of providing context only. Therefore, any aspect of this background description, to the extent that it does not otherwise qualify as prior art, is neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the instant disclosure.
Some track systems are complex, difficult to use, difficult to assemble, are not efficient, and/or do not provide sufficient functionality.
There is a desire for solutions/options that minimize or eliminate one or more challenges or shortcomings of track systems and/or rolling members. The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate examples of the present field and is not a disavowal of scope.
In embodiments, a support member may be configured for selective connection with and removal from track assemblies. A support member may include a body and a rolling member rotatably connected to the body to facilitate movement of the support member along a track. The rolling member may include a grooved configuration to limit movement of the support member relative to said track in a Y-direction. The rolling member may include a groove configured to engage a protrusion or ridge of said track. The rolling member may include a first portion and a second portion separated in an axial direction by the groove.
The foregoing and other potential aspects, features, details, utilities, and/or advantages of examples/embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent from reading the following description, and from reviewing the accompanying drawings.
While the claims are not limited to a specific illustration, an appreciation of various aspects may be gained through a discussion of various examples. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and certain features may be exaggerated or hidden to better illustrate and explain an innovative aspect of an example. Further, the exemplary illustrations described herein are not exhaustive or otherwise limiting, and are not restricted to the precise form and configuration shown in the drawings or disclosed in the following detailed description. Exemplary illustrations are described in detail by referring to the drawings as follows:
Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure will be described in conjunction with embodiments and/or examples, it will be understood that they do not limit the present disclosure to these embodiments and/or examples. On the contrary, the present disclosure covers alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, a support assembly 24 may be configured to move along a track assembly 22, as least in part, via one or more rolling members 50. A rolling member 50 may be rotatably connected to a body 52 of the support member 26. For example and without limitation, a first rolling member 50 may be rotatably connected at or about a first end 54 of the support member 26, and/or a second rolling member 50′ may be rotatably connected at or about a second end 56 of the support member 26 (see, e.g.,
In embodiments, a rolling member 50 may be configured to support at least a portion of the support assembly 24. A rolling member 50 may rotate, such as about an axis that may be substantially parallel with a Y-direction, as the support assembly 24 moves along the track assembly 22. In some embodiments, rolling members 50 may be connected to the same lateral side of a support member 26 (e.g., the right side in
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, a rolling member 50 may include one or more of a variety of shapes, sizes, configurations, and/or materials. With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, such as generally the first portion 110 may include and/or taper at a first portion angle θ3, and/or the second portion 112 may include and/or taper at a second portion angle θ4. The first portion angle θ3, for example, may correspond to the angle θ1 of a first side 90A of a ridge 90 of a top surface 40A, 40B of a first track 30, and/or the second portion angle θ4, for example, may correspond to the angle θ2 of a second side 90B of the ridge 90. For example and without limitation, the ridge angles θ1, θ2, the first portion angle θ3, and the second portion angle θ4 may be configured to facilitate symmetrical contact of the rolling member 50 with the ridge 90. With embodiments, outer portions 120, 122 of the first portion 110 and/or the second portion 112 (e.g., proximate maximum outer diameters 110M, 112M) may, for example, be rounded.
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
While two rolling members (e.g., rolling members 50, 50′) are described with some embodiments of support members 26, such embodiments and other embodiments may include other numbers of rolling members 50 (e.g., fewer, additional, etc.) and rolling members 50 may be connected in one or more of a variety of other configurations (e.g., on both sides of a support member 26).
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, rolling members 50, 50′ 50″ of the first support member 26 and the second support member 26′, some or all of which may include a grooved and/or conical configuration, may cooperate to limit movement of the support assembly 24, such as in a Y-direction and/or a Z-direction.
In some embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
While one or two track assemblies (e.g., track assemblies 22, 22′) are described with some embodiments, such embodiments and other embodiments may include one or more additional track assemblies.
With embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
In embodiments, such as generally illustrated in
With embodiments, a support member 26 may include one or more sensors 152. A sensor 152 may be configured to sense one or more features 150 of a track (e.g., the second track 32) of a track assembly 22. For example and without limitation, with features 150 that include apertures, the one or more sensors 152 may be configured to sense the lack of track material where the apertures are present and/or sense the presence of the second track 32 where the apertures are not present (e.g., may include/be configured as a Hall effect sensor). In embodiments, the one or more sensors 152 may be utilized in determining a position/location of a support assembly 24 relative to a track assembly 22. The one or more sensors 152 may, for example and without limitation, be connected to and/or incorporated with the electrical connector 130 such that the one or more sensors 152 may rotate with the electrical connector 130. The one or more sensors 152 may be disposed opposite the one or more contacts 142.
Various examples/embodiments are described herein for various apparatuses, systems, and/or methods. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the overall structure, function, manufacture, and use of the examples/embodiments as described in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art, however, that the examples/embodiments may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known operations, components, and elements have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the examples/embodiments described in the specification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the examples/embodiments described and illustrated herein are non-limiting examples, and thus it can be appreciated that the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein may be representative and do not necessarily limit the scope of the embodiments.
Reference throughout the specification to “examples, “in examples,” “with examples,” “various embodiments,” “with embodiments,” “in embodiments,” or “an embodiment,” or the like, means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example/embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “examples, “in examples,” “with examples,” “in various embodiments,” “with embodiments,” “in embodiments,” or “an embodiment,” or the like, in places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more examples/embodiments. Thus, the particular features, structures, or characteristics illustrated or described in connection with one embodiment/example may be combined, in whole or in part, with the features, structures, functions, and/or characteristics of one or more other embodiments/examples without limitation given that such combination is not illogical or non-functional. Moreover, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scope thereof.
It should be understood that references to a single element are not necessarily so limited and may include one or more of such element. Any directional references (e.g., plus, minus, upper, lower, upward, downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below, vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used for identification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the present disclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to the position, orientation, or use of examples/embodiments.
Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and the like) are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members between a connection of elements and relative movement between elements. As such, joinder references do not necessarily imply that two elements are directly connected/coupled and in fixed relation to each other. The use of “e.g.” in the specification is to be construed broadly and is used to provide non-limiting examples of embodiments of the disclosure, and the disclosure is not limited to such examples. Uses of “and” and “or” are to be construed broadly (e.g., to be treated as “and/or”). For example and without limitation, uses of “and” do not necessarily require all elements or features listed, and uses of “or” are inclusive unless such a construction would be illogical.
While processes, systems, and methods may be described herein in connection with one or more steps in a particular sequence, it should be understood that such methods may be practiced with the steps in a different order, with certain steps performed simultaneously, with additional steps, and/or with certain described steps omitted.
All matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be made without departing from the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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1853891 | May 2018 | FR | national |
1853892 | May 2018 | FR | national |
1853893 | May 2018 | FR | national |
1853894 | May 2018 | FR | national |
This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/296,379, filed on Mar. 8, 2019. This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/399,116, filed Apr. 30, 2019, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/399,164, filed Apr. 30, 2019, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/399,179, filed Apr. 30, 2019, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/399,209, filed Apr. 30, 2019, all of which are continuation-in-part applications of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/131,360, filed Sep. 14, 2018, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/131,415, filed Sep. 14, 2018, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/131,404, filed Sep. 14, 2018, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/131,614, filed Sep. 14, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/131,384, filed Sep. 14, 2018. This application claims the benefit of French Patent Application Serial No. 1853891, filed on May 4, 2018; French Patent Application Serial No. 1853892, filed on May 4, 2018; French Patent Application Serial No. 1853893, filed on May 4, 2018; and French Patent Application Serial No. 1853894, filed on May 4, 2018. This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/979,812, filed on Feb. 21, 2020. The disclosures of all of the above applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties as though fully set forth herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62979812 | Feb 2020 | US |
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Parent | 16131384 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131614 | US |
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Parent | 16399116 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 16812762 | US | |
Parent | 16131360 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16399116 | US | |
Parent | 16131415 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131360 | US | |
Parent | 16131404 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131415 | US | |
Parent | 16131614 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131404 | US | |
Parent | 16399179 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 16131384 | US | |
Parent | 16131360 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16399179 | US | |
Parent | 16131415 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131360 | US | |
Parent | 16131404 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131415 | US | |
Parent | 16131614 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131404 | US | |
Parent | 16399209 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 16131614 | US | |
Parent | 16131360 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16399209 | US | |
Parent | 16131415 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131360 | US | |
Parent | 16131404 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131415 | US | |
Parent | 16131614 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131404 | US | |
Parent | 16399164 | Apr 2019 | US |
Child | 16131614 | US | |
Parent | 16131360 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16399164 | US | |
Parent | 16131415 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131360 | US | |
Parent | 16131404 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131415 | US | |
Parent | 16131614 | Sep 2018 | US |
Child | 16131404 | US | |
Parent | 16296379 | Mar 2019 | US |
Child | 16131614 | US |