Easy entry seat track assembly with full memory
First Claim
1. A seat track assembly comprising, in combination:
- a lower track assembly comprising a lower track;
an upper track assembly comprising an upper track slidable in forward and rearward directions over the lower track;
a master latch mounted on the upper track assembly and movable from a latching position to an unlatching position, in the latching position releasably securing the upper track at an adjustable initial position with respect to the lower track;
a rod affixed to the lower track assembly;
a memory register comprising a wrap spring wrapped around the rod, wherein in a normal condition the wrap spring is slidably adjustable with respect to the rod, and in a memory position the wrap spring wraps tightly around the rod; and
memory actuation means for moving the memory register between the normal condition and the memory position and for moving the master latch between the latching position and the unlatching position, comprising;
a cam lever mounted on the upper track assembly and rotatable from a first position to an operating position, in the first position the wrap spring is slidably adjustable with respect to the rod, and in response to rotation of the cam lever to the operating position the master latch is moved to the unlatching position, the memory register is moved to the memory position, and the upper track is free to slide over the lower track from the initial position to a free position;
wherein the memory register stays in the memory position and the master latch is held in the unlatching position until the upper track returns from the free position to the initial position, where the memory actuation means engages the memory register to release the master latch to the latching position, the memory register to the normal condition, and the cam lever to the first position.
17 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An easy entry seat track assembly with full memory comprises a lower track assembly and an upper track assembly, releasably slidable on the lower track assembly. A master latch assembly in a latching position releasably secures the upper track assembly to the lower track assembly at an initial position. A rod is affixed to the lower track assembly, preferably on a lower track, and a memory register comprising a wrap spring is positioned around the rod. A memory actuation mechanism moves the memory register from a normal condition to a memory position and disengages the master latch, allowing the upper track assembly to slide over the lower track assembly to a free position. Return of the upper track assembly to the initial position returns the master latch to reengage the lower track assembly, and then returns the memory register to the normal condition. The memory actuation mechanism can comprise a cam lever rotatable from a first position where the memory register is in the normal condition, to an operating position where the memory register is in the memory position and the cam lever urges the master latch into the unlatching position. The memory register stays in the memory position and the master latch stays in the unlatching position until the upper track assembly returns from the free position to the initial position. A latch mechanism such as a latch plate or latch-lock lever may be used to hold the cam lever in the operating position while the upper track is in a free position.
-
Citations
51 Claims
-
1. A seat track assembly comprising, in combination:
-
a lower track assembly comprising a lower track; an upper track assembly comprising an upper track slidable in forward and rearward directions over the lower track; a master latch mounted on the upper track assembly and movable from a latching position to an unlatching position, in the latching position releasably securing the upper track at an adjustable initial position with respect to the lower track; a rod affixed to the lower track assembly; a memory register comprising a wrap spring wrapped around the rod, wherein in a normal condition the wrap spring is slidably adjustable with respect to the rod, and in a memory position the wrap spring wraps tightly around the rod; and memory actuation means for moving the memory register between the normal condition and the memory position and for moving the master latch between the latching position and the unlatching position, comprising; a cam lever mounted on the upper track assembly and rotatable from a first position to an operating position, in the first position the wrap spring is slidably adjustable with respect to the rod, and in response to rotation of the cam lever to the operating position the master latch is moved to the unlatching position, the memory register is moved to the memory position, and the upper track is free to slide over the lower track from the initial position to a free position; wherein the memory register stays in the memory position and the master latch is held in the unlatching position until the upper track returns from the free position to the initial position, where the memory actuation means engages the memory register to release the master latch to the latching position, the memory register to the normal condition, and the cam lever to the first position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
-
-
36. A seat track assembly mounted in a motor vehicle comprising, in combination:
-
a fixed lower track assembly comprising first and second elongate lower tracks aligned generally parallel with one another, each lower track having a flange provided with a series of teeth; an upper track assembly comprising a first elongate upper track and a second elongate upper track longitudinally slidingly engaging the first and second lower track, respectively, wherein a central channel is defined between each upper track and its corresponding lower track; a master latch pivotably mounted on each upper track, having a pair of latch levers with latch windows, each latch lever having a corresponding spring and a corresponding cam tab, each latch lever biased by its corresponding spring towards a latching position wherein the latch windows engage the latch teeth on a corresponding lower track, the master latch assembly substantially simultaneously releasably securing the upper tracks at an initial position with respect to the corresponding lower tracks, and movable to an unlatching position where the latch windows do not engage the latch teeth, allowing the upper tracks to slide over the lower tracks to a free position; a rod affixed to each lower track in the corresponding central channel; a pair of memory registers each slidable along a corresponding rod in a normal condition and movable with a corresponding upper track and each memory register being positioned in a corresponding central channel and comprising; a wrap spring wrapped around the rod, normally slidable over the rod, and a bracket slidable on the rod, having first and second ends and openings in each end sized to slidingly receive the rod, wherein the wrap spring is positioned between the first and second ends; a plunger engaging the wrap spring at an engaging position in which the wrap spring is slidable over the rod, and disengaging the wrap spring in a disengaging position, allowing the wrap spring to wrap tightly around the rod, preventing relative movement of the wrap spring with respect to the rod; a cam lever having a cam surface, pivotably attached to the plunger, rotatable from a first position to an operating position, wherein rotation towards the operating position moves the plunger to the disengaging position and continued rotation of the cam lever to the operating position urges the cam surface against the cam tab, moving the master latch assembly to the unlatching position; wherein each cam lever is held in the operating position when the upper tracks are in the free position; and as the upper tracks return from the free position to the initial position the cam surfaces move out of engagement with the master latch cam tabs, each master latch lever returns to the latching position and each cam lever returns to the first position urging each plunger to reengage the corresponding wrap spring. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
-
51. A seat track assembly comprising, in combination:
-
a lower track assembly comprising a lower track; an upper track assembly comprising an upper track slidable in forward and rearward directions over the lower track; a master latch mounted on the upper track assembly and movable from a latching position to an unlatching position, in the latching position releasably securing the upper track at an adjustable initial position with respect to the lower track; a rod affixed to the lower track assembly; a memory register comprising a wrap spring wrapped around the rod, wherein in a normal condition the wrap-spring is slidably adjustable with respect to the rod, and in a memory position the wrap spring wraps tightly around the rod; memory actuation means for moving the memory register between the normal condition and the memory position and for moving the master latch between the latching position and the unlatching position, comprising; a cam lever mounted on the upper track assembly and rotatable from a first position to an operating position, in the first position the wrap spring is slidably adjustable with respect to the rod, wherein in response to rotation of the cam lever to the operating position the master latch is moved to the unlatching position, the memory register is moved to the memory position, and the upper track is free to slide over the lower track from the initial position to a free position; and the memory actuation means comprises a means for returning the master latch to the latching position and for returning the cam lever to the first position, actuated by return of the upper track from the free position to the initial position.
-
Specification