ADJUSTABLE SEAT ASSEMBLY

• US 3,692,271 A
• Filed: 02/24/1971
• Issued: 09/19/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Lear Siegler Jennings Corp (Danaher Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raymond C. Posh, Robert I. Homier
• Inventors: Homier, Robert I., Posh, Raymond C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Parsons, Jr., Marion
• Application Number:
  US05/118,512
• Time in Patent Office: 573 Days
• Field of Search: 248/394,396,421,423,422,420,419,398,397,395,393
• US Class Current: 248/394
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1803 with independent front and/or rear adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1885 with weight compensating means
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1892 characterised by a lock
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1896 Stepwise movement mechanisms, e.g. ratchets B60N2/1882 takes precedence

Abstract

An adjustable seat assembly including a base, a seat support, and means for independently adjusting the vertical elevation of the front and rear portions of the seat support relative to the base including on each side of the assembly a pair of lever arms each being pivotally connected to the base and independently pivotally connected to the seat support. The pivotal connection of each of the levers to the seat support is disposed inwardly and between the pivotal connections of the levers to the base. The inward end of each of the levers has formed thereon a plurality of notches. Latch plates pivotally mounted on the seat support include tapered teeth engageable with any of the notches in the associated lever arms to latch the lever arms in desired angular dispositions corresponding to desired elevations. A pivotal control link is operable by way of an actuator arm to selectively disengage the latch plates from the associated lever arms. The lever arms and control links on opposite sides of the seat assembly are interconnected for synchronous operation. The base is longitudinally slidable to provide fore-and-aft adjustment.

Claims

1. An adjustable seat assembly comprising:

a base, a seat support, first and second sector-shaped lever arms each being pivotally connected at one end to the base for rotation about an axis transverse of the base, the other ends of the lever arms extending inwardly toward one another, transverse rod means pivotally connecting each of the first and second lever arms at points mediate the ends thereof to the seat support at longitudinally spaced points along the seat support for independently adjusting the elevation between said spaced points and the base by rotation of the lever arms, first and second latch plates pivotally connected to the seat support for rotation about respective transverse axes and selectively engageable with the other ends of the first and second lever arms respectively to prevent rotation thereof when engaged, a single control link pivotally connected to the seat support and having lost motion connections to the first and second latch plates, and an actuator for pivoting the control link to selectively disengage both of the latch plates from the lever arms, the other ends of the lever arms each having formed therein and a plurality of notches and the latch plates each having formed thereon a tooth which is selectively engageable with any of the plurality of notches in the associated lever arm whereby each of the first and second lever arms may be latched in a plurality of angular dispositions, the notches and the tooth of each lever arm and latch plate combination being correspondingly tapered.

2. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 1 including spring means biasing the latch plates into engagement with the lever arms.

3. An adjustable seat assembly comprising:

a base, a seat support, first and second sector-shaped lever arms each being pivotally connected at one end to the base for rotation about an axis transverse of the base, the other ends of the lever arms extending inwardly toward one another, transverse rod means pivotally connecting each of the first and second lever arms at points mediate the ends thereof to the seat support at longitudinally spaced points along the seat support for independently adjusting the elevation between said spaced points and the base by rotation of the lever arms, first and second latch plates pivotally connected to the seat support for rotation about reSpective transverse axes and selectively engageable with the other ends of the first and second lever arms respectively to prevent rotation thereof when engaged, a single control link pivotally connected to the seat support and having lost motion connections to the first and second latch plates, and an actuator for pivoting the control link to selectively disengage both of the latch plates from the lever arms, the other ends of the lever arms each having formed therein a plurality of notches and the latch plates each having formed therein tooth means selectively engageable with any of the plurality of notches in the associated lever arm whereby each of the first and second lever arms may be latched in a plurality of angular dispositions, the control link being a flat plate having two elongated slots, and the lost motion connections including pins connected to the latch plates and riding in the slots whereby limited pivotal motion of the control link disengages only one of the latch plates from the associated lever arm.

4. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 3 including an arcuate spring having terminal ends engaging the pins and being inwardly flexed to bias the latch plates outwardly into engagement with the lever arms.

5. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 3 including energy storing means operatively connected to one of the lever arms to bias the lever arm toward an angular disposition wherein the elevation between one of the spaced points of the seat support and the base is maximum but yieldable to permit other angular dispositions.

6. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein the lever arms are disposed adjacent one side of the base, the assembly further including third and fourth lever arms disposed adjacent the other side of the base in laterally corresponding relationship to the first and second lever arms each of the third and fourth lever arms being pivotally connected at one end to the base for rotation about the transverse axes the other ends of the lever arms extending inwardly toward one another, means pivotally connecting each of the third and fourth lever arms to the seat support at longitudinally spaced points along the seat support for independently adjusting the elevation between said spaced points and the base by rotation of the lever arms, and torque members connecting the first and second lever arms to the third and fourth lever arms respectively for synchronizing rotation thereof.

7. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 6 including third and fourth latch plates pivotally connected to the seat support for rotation about respective transverse axes and selectively engageable with the other ends of the third and fourth lever arms, respectively, to prevent rotation thereof when engaged, a second control link pivotally connected to the seat support and having lost motion connections to the third and fourth latch plates, and a torque member connecting the control links to synchronize pivotal motion thereof.

8. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 7 including wound spring means operatively connected to each of the third and fourth lever arms and biasing said third and fourth lever arms to an angular position wherein the elevation between the spaced points associated with said third and fourth lever arms and the base is a maximum.

9. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 3 wherein the base includes track means for adjusting the longitudinal position of the seat support relative thereto.

10. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 6 wherein the base includes track means for adjusting the longitudinal position of the seat support relative thereto.

11. An adjustable seat assembly comprising:

a base, a seat support, first means pivotally connecting the front of the seat support to the base, second means adjustably pivotally connecting the rear of the seat support to the base and including a pair of sector-shaped lever arms connected in parallel relationship and spaced lAterally from one another beneath the rear of the seat support and having forward and rearward ends, the rearward end of each lever arm being pivotally connected to the base and an intermediate point of each arm being connected to the seat support whereby pivoting the lever arms adjusts the seat support vertically relative to the base, the forward ends of the lever arms being of relatively large vertical dimension and having vertically spaced notches therein, latch dogs pivotally disposed on laterally opposite sides of the seat support and each having a single tooth which by pivotal displacement of the latch dogs about an axis transverse of the seat is engageable with any of the several lever arm notches, control links on the seat support for selectively pivoting the latch dogs under manual control, means for synchronizing the displacement of the control links, means for synchronizing the pivotal displacement of the lever arms, and means for resiliently biasing the seat support to a position of maximum vertical displacement relative to the base.

12. An adjustable seat assembly as defined in claim 11 wherein the latch dog teeth and lever arm notches are correspondingly tapered.