Vehicle seat having an inclination-adjustable seat cushion

• US 6,550,863 B2
• Filed: 07/27/2001
• Issued: 04/22/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Adient Luxembourg Holding S.A R.L. (Adient plc)
• Original Assignee: Keiper GmbH & Co. (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Dill, Thomas, Mühlberger, Joachim
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): HARRIS, STEPHANIE N
• Application Number:
  US09/916,405
• Publication Number:
  US 20020043847A1
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 297/325, 297/277, 297/313, 297/340, 297/322, 297/327, 297/338
• US Class Current: 297/322
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0284 Adjustable seat-cushion length B60N2/0224 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1821 Combination of Rods and slides
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1842 pivoting about an axis located in the rear
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1867 Cycloidal or planetary mechanism

Abstract

In the case of a vehicle seat, in particular a motor vehicle seat, having a seat frame (3), a seat shell (21) which is fitted to the seat frame (3) and bears a seat cushion (23), and an inclination adjuster (11) by means of which one part (19) of the seat frame (3) and/or of the seat shell (21) can be moved in order to adjust the inclination of the seat cushion (23), the seat shell (21) is fitted at one end to the movable part (19) of the seat frame (3) and at the other end is mounted on a fixed part (7) of the seat frame (3) in a manner such that it can be moved by means of a guide (29).

Claims

1. A vehicle seat for operating advantageously with respect to a hip point of a user of the vehicle seat, the vehicle seat comprising:

a seat frame carried by a seat framework, the seat frame including a fixed part and a moveable part, wherein the moveable part is arranged at a front end of the seat frame and is pivotable relative to the fixed part;

an inclination adjuster mounted for pivoting the movable part relative to the fixed part;

a seat shell having a front end and a rear end, wherein a lower side of the front end of the seat shell is fitted onto a front transverse tube of the moveable part, and a lower side of the rear end is mounted on a rear transverse tube of the fixed part; and

a seat cushion carried by the seat shell,

wherein the inclination adjuster is for adjusting an inclination of the seat cushion by pivoting the movable part relative to the fixed part so that the seat shell and the seat cushion move relative to the fixed part during the movement of the movable part,

wherein the rear end of the seat shell moves relative to the fixed part via a guide during the moving of the seat shell, the guide is formed by a rear bearing that is mounted on the lower side of the rear end of the seat shell, and the guide is positioned on the rear transverse tube,

wherein the guide is shaped so that the hip point of the user of the vehicle seat remains substantially unchanged during the adjusting of the inclination of the seat cushion.

2. A vehicle seat according to claim 1, wherein the guide is curved slightly upwards.

3. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the guide is a partially open slotted guide link.

4. A vehicle seat according to claim 3, wherein the guide has a rearwardly orientated opening.

5. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the guide at least partially encloses the rear transverse tube of the fixed part of the seat frame.

6. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the rear bearing has a cutout positioned at a distance from the guide.

7. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the rear bearing has a lug that cooperates with the guide to provide a clip connection.

8. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the inclination adjuster moves the movable part between an upper position, in which the movable part is arranged in front of the inclination adjuster, and a lower position, in which the movable part is arranged obliquely below the inclination adjuster.

9. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the seat shell has, on its lower side, a front bearing which rests on and is connected to a front transverse tube of the movable part of the seat frame.

10. A vehicle seat according to claim 4, wherein the guide at least partially encloses the rear transverse tube of the fixed part of the seat frame.

11. A vehicle seat according to claim 6, wherein the guide at least partially encloses the rear transverse tube of the fixed part of the seat frame.

12. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the guide at least partially encloses a rear transverse tube of the seat frame, and the rear bearing has a lug that cooperates with the guide to provide a clip connection that connects the rear bearing to the rear transverse tube.

13. A vehicle seat according to claim 8, wherein the seat shell has, on its lower side, a front bearing which rests on and is connected to a front transverse tube of the movable part of the seat frame.

14. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein a front end of the seat shell is mounted to a front transverse tube of the seat frame, and the inclination adjuster moves the front transverse tube to move the seat shell and the seat cushion relative to the rear transverse tube.

15. A vehicle seat according to claim 2, wherein the guide is a partially open slotted guide link having an opened end and a closed end.

16. A vehicle seat according claim 15, wherein to the open end of the guide has a rearwardly orientated opening.