MOVEABLE BACK PANEL FOR A VEHICLE SEAT

• US 20080042483A1
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Yetukuri, Nagarjun, Locke, Gerald, Humer, Mladen
• Granted Patent: US 7,549,699 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 297/452.29
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4228 due to impact coming from the rear
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42745 of the back-rest B60N2/433 takes precedence; higher part of the back-rest moving together with the headrest B60N2/888

Abstract

A vehicle seat having a seat back including an actuatable back panel. The back panel of the seat back may be moved between a normal, or flush position, and an actuated, or spaced position, relative to the seat back assembly. The back panel may be provided with connectors that may be used to connect the back panel to the seat assembly. The back panel is actuated in the event of a rear end collision to provide added clearance for penetration of an occupant'"'"'s torso into the seat back without interference by seat accessories, such as an adjustable lumbar system, a bolster assembly, massage assembly, or a heating/cooling system. The seat accessories may be secured to the back panel as a sub-assembly to facilitate manufacture. A resilient member biases a linkage or torsion bar to automatically reset the back panel.

Claims

1. A seat back for a vehicle seat comprising:

a seat back frame;

a seat back cushion secured to the seat back frame and facing in a forward direction, the seat back cushion being supported by the seat back frame;

a back panel facing in a rearward direction; and

at least one connector attaching the back panel to the seat back frame, the connector secures the back panel flush to the seat back in the normal position, and wherein the connector secures the back panel in a spaced relationship relative to the seat back in an actuated position, wherein the back panel may be moved from the normal position to the actuated position by a force applied to the seat in a collision.

2. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the connector has a retaining feature that retains the seat back panel in the actuated position.

3. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the connector is attached to at least one bracket on the seat back frame and is moved between the normal and actuated positions.

4. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the connector is molded integrally with the back panel.

5. The seat back of claim 1 wherein a retaining feature is molded to the back panel for guiding the movement of the back panel and wherein the retaining feature has manual reset instructions that are visible when the back panel is in the actuated position.

6. The seat back of claim 1 further comprising a seat accessory that is secured to the back panel.

7. The seat back of claim 6 wherein the seat accessory is selected from the group consisting essentially of:

a bolster assembly;

a thermal conditioning system;

a lumbar support assembly; and

a massage assembly.

8. The seat back of claim 1 further comprising a pivot connection between the back panel and the seat back that permits one side of the back panel to move away from the seat back.

9. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the connector has a full insertion stop that is engaged when the back panel is in the normal position and a retaining feature that is engaged when the back panel is in the actuated position.

10. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the connector has one or more guides formed thereon that control the movement of the back panel as the back panel moves from the normal position to the actuated position.

11. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the back panel is a rigid shell.

12. The seat back of claim 1 wherein the back panel includes a flexible sheet.

13. The seat back frame of claim 1 further comprising a seat cover that includes the back panel, wherein the back panel is a flexible fabric sheet.

14. A vehicle seat having a back rest for supporting the back of a seat occupant, the backrest comprising:

a seat back support assembly;

a cushion attached to the seat back support assembly;

a back panel that is movable between a flush position in which the back panel is secured flush to the seat back support assembly and a spaced position in which the back panel is retained in a spaced relationship relative to the seat back support panel;

a linkage operatively connected between the seat back and the seat back support assembly, wherein the linkage facilitates movement of the back panel between the flush and spaced positions;

a resilient member that biases the linkage to move the back panel toward the flush position, wherein movement of the back panel from the flush position to the spaced position in a collision event is opposed by the biasing force of the resilient member, and wherein the resilient member automatically resets the linkage after the collision event by returning the seat back to the flush position.

15. The vehicle seat of claim 14 wherein a seat accessory is attached to the back panel.

16. The vehicle seat of claim 15 wherein the back panel is moved to the spaced position to displace the seat accessories with the back panel.

17. The vehicle seat of claim 14 wherein the connectors have a guiding portion that guides the movement of the back panel as the back panel moves between the flush position and the spaced position.

18. A vehicle seat having a back rest for supporting the back of a seat occupant, the backrest comprising:

a seat back support assembly;

a cushion attached to the seat back support assembly;

a back panel that is movable between a flush position in which the back panel is secured flush to the seat back support assembly and a spaced position in which the back panel is retained in a spaced relationship relative to the seat back support panel;

a torsion bar operatively connected between the back panel and the seat back support assembly, wherein forces applied by an occupant in a collision move the back panel from the flush position to the spaced position and against the force of the torsion bar, and wherein the torsion bar resets the back panel to the flush position after the collision.

19. The seat back of claim 18 wherein the torsion bar extends generally across the seat back panel and is secured to the seat back frame adjacent first and second spaced portions of the seat back frame, and wherein the torsion bar is secured to the seat back.

20. The seat back of claim 19 wherein the torsion bar extends generally vertically and the first and second portions of the seat back frame are located near the top and bottom of the seat back frame, respectively.