Motor-driven adjustable seat, particularly a motor vehicle seat

• US 4,278,290 A
• Filed: 07/12/1979
• Issued: 07/14/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1978
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Keiper Automobiltechnik GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Keiper Automobiltechnik GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Werner, Paul, Strowik, Willibald
• Primary Examiner(s): LYDDANE, WILLIAM
• Application Number:
  US06/057,011
• Time in Patent Office: 733 Days
• Field of Search: 297/361, 297/362, 297/330, 297/346, 297/348, 248/419, 248/429, 248/394
• US Class Current: 297/362
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor

Abstract

The potentiometer and reduction gear unit for use in connection with a seat adjuster driven by a servomotor and controlled by a microprocessor which recallably stores the value measured by the potentiometer, comprises a common housing assembled of two parts arranged about the driving shaft of the motor; one housing part accommodates the reduction gears and the other part supports a ringshaped resistor and a contact ring; the slider of the potentiometer bridges the contact ring and resistor ring and is frictionally coupled to the output member of the reduction gears, formed preferably as a wobble gear mechanism.

Claims

1. In a power driven adjustable seat, particularly a motor vehicle seat having a position adjuster including a servomotor with a driving shaft, a potentiometer coupled to the driving shaft via reduction gears, and an electronic data processing and storing device electrically connected between the potentiometer and the servomotor to store and process the measured value delivered by the potentiometer and to control the position of the seat via the servomotor, a combination comprising

a housing common both to said potentiometer and said reduction gears, the said reduction gears having an input member coupled to said driving shaft and also having an output member;

and

said potentiometer having a rotary slider coupled to said output member.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said common housing includes a gear housing part associated with said reduction gears and a cover part associated with said potentiometer.

3. The combination as defined in claim 2 wherein said potentiometer includes a contact ring and a ring-shaped resistor concentrically arranged on said housing cover, and said rotary slider being mechanically coupled to said reduction gear output member to bridge said contact ring and said ring-shaped resistor.

4. The combination as defined in claim 3 wherein said reduction gears include a slip-on sleeve attached for joint rotation to said shaft of the motor, said sleeve defining a concentric portion and an eccentric portion forming said input member;

a spur gear supported for rotation on said eccentric portion;

an internal gear ring formed on the inner wall of said gear housing part and having its internal teeth in mesh with the external teeth of said spur gear;

said output member being in the form of a driving disk supported for rotation on said concentric portion of said sleeve and being provided with axially directed bores; and

carrier pins projecting laterally from said spur gear into said axial bores to transfer the rotary movement of said spur gear to said driving disk.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4 further comprising resilient rings arranged in said bores around said carrier pins.

6. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein the diameter of the crown circle of the spur gear is smaller at least about the height of a tooth than the diameter of the root circle of the internal gear ring;

the number of teeth of the spur gear and of the internal gear ring differing at least about one tooth; and

the eccentricity of the eccentric portion of the sleeve corresponding approximately to the difference between the radius of the root circle of the internal gear ring and the radius of the crown circle of the spur gear.

7. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein said potentiometer includes a slider supporting disk slidably coupled to said driving disk.

8. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said driving disk includes a peripheral groove;

and said slider supporting disk being provided on its periphery with resilient tongues adapted for slidably engaging said groove to form a frictional coupling therewith.

9. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein said slider supporting disk includes a radially projecting stop finger and said housing cover is provided with an inwardly projecting stop lug cooperating with said stop finger to limit the rotation of said slider supporting disk.

10. The combination as defined in claim 9 wherein said stop lug supports end portions of conduits connected to said ring resistor and to said contact ring.

11. The combination as defined in claim 9 wherein said stop lug supports means for connecting said processing and storing device.

12. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said common housing has two opposite faces, each of said faces being formed with an axially projecting retaining pin each being about an equal distance from the central axis of the sleeve and being engageable into a recess in the wall of said motor.

13. A power drive unit for a position adjuster of an adjustable seat, particularly a motor vehicle seat, comprising a servomotor with a driving shaft connectable to the adjuster;

a potentiometer coupled to the driving shaft via reduction gears;

an electronic data processing and storing device electrically connected between the potentiometer and the servomotor to store and process the measured value delivered by the potentiometer and to control the position of the seat via said servomotor;

a housing common both to said potentiometer and said reduction gears;

said reduction gears having an input member coupled to said driving shaft and also having an output member; and

said potentiometer having a rotary slider coupled to said output member.

14. A drive unit as defined in claim 13 wherein said common housing includes a gear housing part associated with said reduction gears and a cover part associated with said potentiometer.

15. A drive unit as defined in claim 14 wherein said reduction gears are woble gears.

16. A drive unit as defined in claim 14 wherein said potentiometer includes a contact ring and a ring-shaped resistor concentrically arranged on said housing cover, and said rotary slides being mechanically coupled to said reduction gear output member to bridge said contact ring and said ring-shaped resistor.

17. A drive unit as defined in claim 16 wherein said rotary slider is coupled to said output member via a frictional coupling.

18. A drive unit as defined in claim 17 wherein said reduction gears include a slip-on sleeve attached for joint rotation to said shaft of the motor, said sleeve defining a concentric portion and an eccentric portion forming said input member;

a spur gear supported for rotation on said eccentric portion;

an internal gear ring formed on the inner wall of said gear housing part and having its internal teeth in mesh with the external teeth of said spur gear;

said output member being in the form of a driving disk supported for rotation on said concentric portion of said sleeve and being provided with means for transferring the rotary movement of said spur gear to said driving disk, said driving disk and said rotary slider being mounted on a supporting disk formed with resilient tongues, said tongues slidably engaging said groove to form a frictional coupling therewith.

19. A drive unit as defined in claim 18, wherein said common housing has two opposite faces, each of said faces being formed with an axially projecting retaining pin each being about an equal distance from the central axis of the sleeve and being engageable into a recess in the wall of said motor.

20. A drive unit as defined in claim 18, wherein said slider supporting disk includes a radially projecting stop finger and said housing cover is provided with an inwardly projecting stop lug cooperating with said stop finger to limit the rotation of said slider supporting disk.