Adjustable vehicle seat suspension
First Claim
1. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
- (a) a base;
(b) a platform
1) that is spaced from said base,
2) that overlies said base, and
3) that carries a seat;
(c) a scissors linkage in operable communication with said base and said platform for enabling said platform to move relative to said base, said scissors linkage having one scissors arm pivotally connected to another scissors arm;
(d) a spring
1) that is disposed between said platform and said base,
2) that opposes movement of one of said platform and said base toward the other of said platform and said base,
3) that is movable relative to one of said base and said platform, and
4) that carries a guide;
(e) a slide carried by one of said platform and said base and having a channel;
(f) a link operatively connected to one of said scissors arms and said spring; and
(g) wherein said guide of said spring is received in said channel of said slide such that said guide is movable within said channel relative to said slide such that said slide substantially linearly guides movement of said spring.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle seat suspension having a scissors arm linkage disposed between a platform and base with a link pivotally connected at one end to a scissor arm of the linkage at a point spaced from a pivot interconnecting scissor arms of the linkage and operably connected at its other end to a slide carried by the platform for communicating scissor linkage motion to a spring carrier also connected to the link. The carrier includes at least one coil spring held captive preferably in compression between two spaced apart brackets, one of which is pivotally connected to the end of the link adjacent the slide. The point of pivotal attachment of the link to the scissor arm is spaced from the linkage pivot to create a moment about the pivot tending to resist collapse of the linkage when force from the spring is communicated to the linkage. To adjust suspension weight resistance, the brackets are in communication with a rod attached to a knob that is rotated to change the distance between the brackets thereby changing the amount by which the spring is compressed. To change seat height, another knob is rotated to move the rod, springs, and brackets in substantially unison toward or away from the front of the suspension causing the linkage to controllably expand or collapse. By this suspension construction, weight adjustment is advantageously substantially independent of height adjustment.
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Citations
67 Claims
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1. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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(a) a base; (b) a platform
1) that is spaced from said base,
2) that overlies said base, and
3) that carries a seat;(c) a scissors linkage in operable communication with said base and said platform for enabling said platform to move relative to said base, said scissors linkage having one scissors arm pivotally connected to another scissors arm; (d) a spring
1) that is disposed between said platform and said base,
2) that opposes movement of one of said platform and said base toward the other of said platform and said base,
3) that is movable relative to one of said base and said platform, and
4) that carries a guide;(e) a slide carried by one of said platform and said base and having a channel; (f) a link operatively connected to one of said scissors arms and said spring; and (g) wherein said guide of said spring is received in said channel of said slide such that said guide is movable within said channel relative to said slide such that said slide substantially linearly guides movement of said spring. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A seat suspension comprising:
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(a) a base; (b) a platform
1) spaced from said base,
2) having a front end and a rear end,
3) generally overlying said base, and
4) carrying a seat;(c) a scissors linkage assembly in operable communication with said base and said platform for enabling said platform to move relative to said base, said scissors linkage assembly having a pair of spaced apart scissor linkages, each said scissor linkage having one scissor arm pivotally connected to another scissor arm with one end of each said scissor arm in pivotal cooperation with said platform and the other end of each said scissor arm in pivotal cooperation with said base; (d) a pair of coil springs disposed between said platform and said base; (e) a pair of spaced apart brackets keeping captive said springs in compression with one of said brackets disposed at or adjacent one end of said springs and the other of said brackets disposed at or adjacent the other end of said springs; (f) a slide fixed to said platform; (g) a guide operatively connecting said slide to one of said brackets such that movement of said bracket and said springs is guided frontwardly or rearwardly relative to said platform; (h) a link pivotally connecting one of said scissor arms of each said scissor linkage to one of said brackets; and (i) a rod operatively connected to said brackets with said rod having a threaded portion that cooperates with one of said brackets wherein rotation of said rod changes the distance between said brackets changing the amount by which each said spring is compressed thereby changing the resistance of the suspension to a load. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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a base; a platform generally overlying said base and carrying a seat; a linkage assembly disposed between said base and said platform in cooperation with said base and said platform wherein said linkage assembly is constructed and arranged to be
1) capable of expanding such that said platform moves farther away from said base, increasing a spacing between said platform and said base, and
2) capable of collapsing such that said platform moves closer to said base, decreasing said spacing between said platform and said base;a spring assembly comprising
1) a spring i) that is disposed between said platform and said base and ii) that opposes collapse of said linkage assembly, and
2) a pair of brackets carried by said spring that are spaced apart by a distance;a slide operatively connecting said spring assembly to one of said platform and said base and which guides movement of at least one of said brackets relative to said platform and said base; a substantially rigid connecting link operatively connecting said linkage assembly to said spring assembly; a weight adjustment rod in operable cooperation with both of said brackets wherein rotation of said weight adjustment rod changes said distance between said brackets which changes the tension of said spring thereby changing the resistance of the vehicle seat suspension to the weight of a seat occupant; and a height adjuster that cooperates with said spring assembly such that movement of said height adjuster moves said brackets and said spring substantially in unison and movement of said brackets and said spring substantially in unison causes said distance between said platform and said base to change by causing said linkage assembly to expand or collapse. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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a base; a platform generally overlying said base and carrying a seat; a scissors linkage assembly disposed between said base and said platform in cooperation with said base and said platform wherein said scissors linkage assembly
1) has a first scissors arm pivotally connected to a second scissors arm,
2) is capable of expanding such that said platform moves farther away from said base, and
3) is capable of collapsing such that said platform moves closer to said base;a spring assembly operatively connected to said scissors linkage assembly and which comprises
1) a coil spring i) that is disposed between said platform and said base and ii) that opposes collapse of said linkage assembly, and
2) a pair of brackets that are spaced apart by a distance, wherein said spring assembly is movable relative to at least one of said base and said platform; anda slide assembly operatively connecting said spring assembly to one of said platform and said base wherein said slide assembly substantially linearly guides movement of said spring assembly relative to at least one of said platform and said base. - View Dependent Claims (49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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a base; a platform having a front end, a rear end, and a longitudinal axis extending from said rear end toward said front end, wherein said platform generally overlies said base and carries a seat; a scissors linkage assembly in operable communication with said base and said platform for enabling said platform to move relative to said base, said scissors linkage assembly having a pair of spaced apart scissors linkages, each said scissors linkage having one scissors arm pivotally connected to another scissors arm; a coil spring disposed between said platform and said base for opposing movement of said platform toward said base wherein said coil spring is oriented such that a longitudinal axis of said coil spring is generally parallel to said longitudinal axis of said platform; and a slide operatively connecting said coil spring to one of said platform and said base wherein said slide constrains movement of said coil spring relative to said platform substantially linearly along a direction generally parallel to said longitudinal axis of said platform. - View Dependent Claims (62)
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63. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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a base; a platform having a front end, a rear end, and a longitudinal axis extending from said rear end toward said front end, wherein said platform generally overlies said base and carries a seat; a scissors linkage assembly in operable communication with said base and said platform for enabling said platform to move relative to said base, said scissors linkage assembly having a pair of spaced apart scissors linkages, each said scissors linkage having one scissors arm pivotally connected to another scissors arm; a coil spring disposed between said platform and said base for opposing movement of said platform toward said base wherein said coil spring is oriented such that a longitudinal axis of said coil spring is generally parallel to said longitudinal axis of said platform; a pair of brackets carried by said coil spring and which are spaced apart by a distance; a slide operatively connecting said coil spring to one of said platform and said base wherein said slide constrains movement of said coil spring relative to said platform generally rearwardly or forwardly relative to said platform; a first substantially rigid connecting link operatively connecting one of said brackets to one of said scissors arms of one of said scissors linkages; a second substantially rigid connecting link operatively connecting said one of said brackets to one of said scissors arms of the other of said scissors linkages; a weight adjustment rod operatively connected to both of said brackets wherein rotation of said weight adjustment rod changes said distance between said brackets thereby changing the tension of said coil spring for changing the resistance of said spring to collapse of said scissors linkage assembly. - View Dependent Claims (64, 65)
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66. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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a base; a platform having a front and a rear with said platform spaced from said base and carrying a seat; a linkage assembly disposed between said base and said platform and permitting a variation in the spacing between said base and said platform; a spring carriage assembly operatively connected to one of said base and said platform by a slide assembly that guides movement of said spring carriage assembly frontwardly or rearwardly relative to said one of said base and said platform, said spring carriage assembly including a coil spring that
1) has a pair of ends spaced apart by a distance,
2) has a preload, and
3) which opposes collapse of said linkage assembly;a link operatively connecting said spring carriage assembly to said linkage assembly; a weight adjustment assembly constructed and arranged to change said distance between said ends of said coil spring to thereby change said preload; and a height adjustment assembly constructed and arranged to move said coil spring relative to one of said platform and said base to change said spacing between said platform and said base.
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67. A vehicle seat suspension comprising:
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a base; a platform having a front and a rear with said platform spaced from said base and carrying a seat; a scissors linkage assembly disposed between said base and said platform and permitting said spacing between said base and said platform to be varied; a spring carriage assembly operatively connected to one of said base and said platform by a slide assembly that guides movement of said spring carriage assembly frontwardly or rearwardly relative to said one of said base and said platform, said spring carriage assembly including a coil spring that
1) has a pair of ends spaced apart by a distance,
2) has a preload, and
3) which opposes collapse of said scissors linkage assembly thereby opposing movement of said platform toward said base;a link operatively connecting said spring carriage assembly to said scissors linkage assembly; a weight adjustment assembly constructed and arranged to change said distance between said ends of said coil spring to thereby change said preload without changing said spacing between said platform and said base; and a height adjustment assembly constructed and arranged to move said coil spring relative to one of said platform and said base to change said spacing between said platform and said base without changing said distance between said ends of said coil spring.
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Specification