Vehicle seat apparatus

• US 5,967,604 A
• Filed: 12/16/1997
• Issued: 10/19/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yukifumi, Yoshida, Tadasu
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHITE, RODNEY BARNETT
• Application Number:
  US08/991,191
• Time in Patent Office: 672 Days
• Field of Search: 297/216.19, 297/216.1, 297/216.16, 297/216.2, 297/344.1, 296/68.1, 296/65.13, 296/65.14, 248/548, 248/900, 248/429
• US Class Current: 297/216.19
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/015 Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/06 slidable B60N2/12 , B60N2/2209 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4221 due to impact coming from the front
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/4228 due to impact coming from the rear
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42709 involving residual deformation or fracture of the structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42727 involving substantially rigid displacement
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42736 of the whole seat

Abstract

A seat apparatus for a vehicle includes a seat cushion for being secured to a vehicle floor, a seat back arranged on a rear portion of the seat cushion, a sliding unit mounted on the seat cushion to permit the vehicle seat to slide relative to the vehicle floor, a pair of front brackets adapted to be fixed to the vehicle floor and connected to the sliding unit at the front end of the seat cushion and a pair of rear brackets adapted to be fixed to the vehicle floor and connected to the sliding unit at the rear end of the seat cushion. The front brackets are adapted to be deformed during a collision to permit the seat cushion to move upward. The front brackets are configured to include a first attaching portion and a second attaching portion that are spaced apart from one another.

Claims

1. A seat apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:

a vehicle seat that includes a seat cushion and a seat back arranged on a rear portion of the seat cushion;

a pair of upper rails each secured to the seat cushion;

a pair of lower rails each slidably receiving one of the upper rails;

a pair of front brackets, each front bracket including a first attaching portion connected to a respective one of the lower rails and a second attaching portion adapted to be connected to a vehicle floor, the first and second attaching portions of each front bracket being connected to one another by a bent portion so that the first attaching portion and the second attaching portion are generally parallel to one another and spaced from one another, said first attaching portion of each front bracket including a through hole and said second attaching portion of each front bracket including a through hole;

a pair of connecting pins, each connecting pin extending through the through hole in the front attaching portion and the through hole in the second attaching portion of one of the front brackets; and

a pair of rear brackets for being fixed to the vehicle floor, each rear bracket being connected to a respective one of the lower rails.

2. A seat apparatus according to claim 1, including an elastic member mounted on each connecting pin.

3. A seat apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each connecting pin includes a large-diameter portion, a first axially extending portion extending from one end of the large-diameter portion and a second axially extending portion extending from an opposite end of the large-diameter portion.

4. A seat apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said elastic member is mounted on the second axially extending portion of each connecting pin, the second axially extending portion of each connecting pin extending through the through hole in the second attaching portion.

5. A seat apparatus according to claim 4, wherein each elastic member is received in the through hole in the second attaching portion of each front bracket.

6. A seat apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each connecting pin includes a large-diameter portion, a first axially extending portion extending from one end of the large-diameter portion and a second axially extending portion extending from an opposite end of the large-diameter portion, the first and second axially extending portions of each connecting pin having an outside diameter that is smaller than the outside diameter of the large-diameter portion of the connecting pin.