Seat suspension system
First Claim
1. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
- a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support including a seat supporting member to which the seat is mounted, the seat supporting member comprising a front portion and a rear portion, the seat supporting member being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
the seat suspension system comprising only one air spring, said only one air spring comprising an elevation adjustment air spring, the seat elevation adjustment air spring being positioned below the seat supporting member and coupled to the seat supporting member, the seat elevation adjustment air spring being adapted to raise and lower the front and rear portions of the seat supporting member together and thereby the seat between various elevations relative to the floor and to a selected elevation, the seat elevation adjustment air spring being adapted to permit movement of the seat supporting member and thereby the seat from the selected elevation in response to vibrations;
a vibration damper having an upper end portion coupled to the seat supporting member, and a lower end portion coupled to the seat support, the vibration damper including a dampening cylinder, a dampening piston which is adapted to provide a dampening force to the seat elevation adjustment air spring to dampen seat vibrations, the dampening piston being biased toward a first position, the vibration dampener being adapted to dampen movements of the dampening piston away from the first position to thereby dampen vibrations of the seat, the dampening cylinder being supported for selective movement relative to the floor of the vehicle such that the elevation of the first position is adjustable to correspond to adjustments in the selected elevation of the seat; and
wherein the seat elevation adjustment air spring and vibration dampener cooperate to adjust the elevation of the first position with each change in the selected elevation by the seat elevation adjustment air spring.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seat suspension system includes a vibration dampener adapted to operate over less than the full range over which a seat may be raised and lowered by a seat height adjuster, such as an air spring. The dampener may apply dampening forces which vary non-linearly, depending upon the extent a seat moves as a result of seat vibration. In several specific forms, the dampening mechanism is unlatched to permit relative movement of the seat and seat support mechanism relative to the dampener during seat height adjustment, with the dampener being relatched to again apply a dampening force. A mechanically simply seat leveling system may be employed to return the seat to a desired elevation in the event loading on the seat is varied, for example if a seat occupant gets up off a seat.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support including a seat supporting member to which the seat is mounted, the seat supporting member comprising a front portion and a rear portion, the seat supporting member being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
the seat suspension system comprising only one air spring, said only one air spring comprising an elevation adjustment air spring, the seat elevation adjustment air spring being positioned below the seat supporting member and coupled to the seat supporting member, the seat elevation adjustment air spring being adapted to raise and lower the front and rear portions of the seat supporting member together and thereby the seat between various elevations relative to the floor and to a selected elevation, the seat elevation adjustment air spring being adapted to permit movement of the seat supporting member and thereby the seat from the selected elevation in response to vibrations;
a vibration damper having an upper end portion coupled to the seat supporting member, and a lower end portion coupled to the seat support, the vibration damper including a dampening cylinder, a dampening piston which is adapted to provide a dampening force to the seat elevation adjustment air spring to dampen seat vibrations, the dampening piston being biased toward a first position, the vibration dampener being adapted to dampen movements of the dampening piston away from the first position to thereby dampen vibrations of the seat, the dampening cylinder being supported for selective movement relative to the floor of the vehicle such that the elevation of the first position is adjustable to correspond to adjustments in the selected elevation of the seat; and
wherein the seat elevation adjustment air spring and vibration dampener cooperate to adjust the elevation of the first position with each change in the selected elevation by the seat elevation adjustment air spring.- View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support including a seat supporting member to which the seat is mounted, the seat supporting member being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
a seat height adjuster positioned below the seat supporting member and coupled to the seat supporting member, the seat height adjuster being adapted to raise and lower the seat supporting member and thereby the seat between various elevations relative to the floor and to a selected elevation, the seat height adjuster and seat support being adapted to permit movement of the seat supporting member and thereby the seat from the selected elevation in response to vibrations;
a vibration damper having an upper end portion coupled to the seat supporting member, and a lower end portion coupled to the seat support, the vibration damper including a dampening cylinder, a dampening piston which is adapted to provide a dampening force to the seat support to dampen seat vibrations, the dampening piston being biased toward a first position, the vibration dampener being adapted to dampen movements of the dampening piston away from the first position to thereby dampen vibrations of the seat, the dampening cylinder being supported for selective movement relative to the floor of the vehicle such that the elevation of the first position is adjustable to correspond to adjustments in the selected elevation of the seat; and
wherein the seat height adjuster and vibration dampener cooperate to adjust the elevation of the first position with each change in the selected elevation by the seat height adjuster; and
in which the seat height adjuster and vibration damper are adapted to adjust the elevation of the first position the same amount as the selected seat elevation is adjusted. - View Dependent Claims (4)
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5. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support including a seat supporting member to which the seat is mounted, the seat supporting member being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
a seat height adjuster positioned below the seat supporting member and coupled to the seat supporting member, the seat height adjuster being adapted to raise and lower the seat supporting member and thereby the seat between various elevations relative to the floor and to a selected elevation, the seat height adjuster and seat support being adapted to permit movement of the seat supporting member and thereby the seat from the selected elevation in response to vibrations;
a vibration damper having an upper end portion coupled to the seat supporting member, and a lower end portion coupled to the seat support, the vibration damper including a dampening cylinder, a dampening piston which is adapted to provide a dampening force to the seat support to dampen seat vibrations, the dampening piston being biased toward a first position, the vibration dampener being adapted to dampen movements of the dampening piston away from the first position to thereby dampen vibrations of the seat, the dampening cylinder being supported for selective movement relative to the floor of the vehicle such that the elevation of the first position is adjustable to correspond to adjustments in the selected elevation of the seat; and
wherein the seat height adjuster and vibration dampener cooperate to adjust the elevation of the first position with each change in the selected elevation by the seat height adjuster; and
in which the vibration damper is adapted to apply a dampening force which is greater when the dampening piston is at a first distance from the first position than when the dampening piston is at a second distance from the first position, the second distance being shorter than the first distance.
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6. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
a seat height adjuster coupled to the seat support and adapted to raise and lower the seat support and thereby the seat between various elevations relative to the floor and to a selected elevation, the seat height adjuster and seat support being adapted to permit movement of the seat from the selected elevation in response to vibrations;
a vibration damper coupled to the seat support and adapted to provide a dampening force to the seat support to dampen seat vibrations, the vibration damper being adapted to selectively relieve the application of the dampening force during raising and lowering of the seat by the seat height adjuster and to provide substantially the same dampening force immediately after a height adjustment as the dampening force provided immediately before the height adjustment. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
a latch coupled to the seat support and adapted to latch the seat at a desired elevation when the latch is in a first position and to unlatch the seat when the latch is in a second position;
a seat height adjuster coupled to the seat support and adapted to raise and lower the seat support and thereby the seat between first and second elevations relative to the floor when the latch is unlatched, the seat height adjuster and seat support being adapted to permit movement of the seat in response to vibrations when the seat is latched at the desired elevation; and
a vibration damper coupled to the seat support and adapted to provide a dampening force to dampen seat vibrations, the vibration damper being adapted to relieve the application of the dampening force to the seat support during at least certain changes in the elevation of the seat by the seat height adjuster. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a seat support adapted to support the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support being raisable and lowerable to support the seat at various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
a latch coupled to the seat support and adapted to latch the seat at a desired elevation when the latch is in a first position and to unlatch the seat when the latch is in a second position;
a seat height adjuster coupled to the seat support and adapted to raise and lower the seat support and thereby the seat between first and second elevations relative to the floor when the latch is unlatched, the seat height adjuster and seat support being adapted to permit movement of the seat in response to vibrations when the seat is latched at the desired elevation; and
a vibration damper coupled to the seat support and adapted to provide a dampening force to dampen seat vibrations, the vibration damper being adapted to relieve the application of the dampening force to the seat support during at least certain changes in the elevation of the seat by the seat height adjuster; and
in which the vibration damper includes a vibration dampening cylinder having a housing with an exterior, a dampening piston within the housing, and a rod carrying the piston and extending outwardly from the housing, the rod being coupled to the seat support, the latch being adapted for coupling to the housing at the exterior of the housing when the latch is in the first position and for decoupling from the housing when the latch is in the second position, whereby the vibration damper does not apply a dampening force to the seat when the latch is decoupled from the housing. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25)
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26. A seat suspension system for supporting a seat above the floor of a vehicle comprising:
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a base for mounting to the vehicle;
a seat supporting member adapted to carry the seat;
first and second link members coupling the seat supporting member to the base, the first link member having a first end portion pivoted to the base for pivoting about a first pivot axis and a second end portion pivoted to the seat supporting member for pivoting about a second pivot axis, the second link member having a first end portion pivoted to the base for pivoting about a third pivot axis and a second end portion pivoted to the seat supporting member for pivoting about a fourth pivot axis;
an air spring coupled to the seat support and adapted to pivot the first and second link members in a first direction to raise the seat supporting member and thereby the seat upon inflation of the air spring, the air spring being adapted to pivot the first and second link members in a second direction opposite to said first direction upon deflation of the air spring to thereby lower the elevation of the seat, the air spring permitting movement of the seat in response to vibrations;
a latch coupling the seat supporting member to the base in a fixed position relative to the base when the latch is in a first or latched position, the latch permitting pivoting of the first and second link members by the air spring and relative to the base when the latch is in a second or unlatched position, whereby upon unlatching the latch and varying the inflation of the air spring, the elevation of the seat is adjusted; and
a vibration damper coupled to the seat and adapted to dampen movement of the seat in response to vibrations permitted by the air spring, the vibration damper being adapted to apply a dampening force to the seat when the latch is in the first position and to not apply a dampening force to the seat when the latch is in the second position, whereby the vibration damper does not apply a dampening force to the seat when the latch is unlatched and the elevation of the seat is being changed by varying the inflation of the air spring. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
the vibration damper comprising a vibration dampening cylinder coupled between the base and latch support.
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29. A vehicle suspension system according to claim 28 in which the vibration dampening cylinder is biased toward a central or home position, the cylinder including a spring of a first spring force to resist downward vibrations of the seat and a spring of a second spring force higher than the first spring force to limit extension of the cylinder in response to upward vibrations on the seat.
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30. A seat suspension system according to claim 29 including a shaft coupled to the floor of the vehicle, wherein the vibration dampening cylinder slidably receives the shaft when the latch is in the second position, the latch including a plurality of gripping arms which engage the shaft to prevent relative motion of the vibration dampening cylinder and shaft when the latch is in the first position.
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31. A seat suspension system according to claim 26 in which the second link member is positioned below the first link member and wherein the second link member carries the air spring, the air spring being coupled from the second link member to the seat supporting member.
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32. In combination a seat and seat suspension system for supporting the seat above the floor of a vehicle, the seat suspension system comprising:
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seat support means for supporting the seat above the floor of the vehicle, the seat support means comprising means for raising and lowering the seat to various elevations relative to the floor of the vehicle;
latch means coupled to the seat support means for latching the seat at a desired elevation when the latch is in a first position and for unlatching the seat to permit changes in elevation of the seat when the latch is in a second position;
seat height adjuster means coupled to the seat for raising and lowering the seat between first and second elevations when the latch is unlatched, the seat height adjuster means comprising means for permitting movement of the seat in response to vibrations when the seat is latched at the desired elevation; and
vibration damper means coupled to the seat for providing a dampening force to dampen seat vibrations when the seat is latched, and means for disengaging the vibration damper means to prevent the application of a dampening force to the seat when the latch means is unlatched. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35)
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Specification