Automobile seat

• US 6,631,952 B1
• Filed: 09/17/2001
• Issued: 10/14/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Coburg
• Original Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Coburg
• Inventors: Baetz, Harald, Liebetrau, Matthias
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuomo, Peter M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): D ADAMO, STEPHEN D
• Application Number:
  US09/936,884
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 297/341, 297/378.12, 297/378.1, 248/429, 248/430
• US Class Current: 297/341
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0806 with pin alignment systems, e.g. with at least one of a plurality of locking pins always aligned w.r.t. at least one of a plurality of pin-receiving elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0825 outside the rail
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/085 about a transversal axis
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/123 and provided with memory locks

Abstract

An automobile seat includes a seat frame; a backrest swivel mounted on the seat frame which can be folded forwards towards the seat surface; a longitudinal guide with which the seat frame can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the seat in order to regulate the longitudinal position of the seat; a fixing device for locking the seat frame in a previously regulated seat longitudinal position; an operating element for unlocking the fixing device; a coupling mechanism which unlocks the fixing device when the back rest is folded forwards towards the seat surface; a memory device by means of which the seat frame can automatically be stopped in a predeterminable seat longitudinal position (memory position); a regulating device of the memory device with which the memory position can be regulated in the longitudinal direction of the seat; a locking device of the memory device for locking a regulated memory position; and a switching device with which the locking device can be unlocked in order to be able to adjust the memory position. The coupling mechanism only acts on the operating element to unlock the fixing device for as long as the backrest is folded forwards, and the seat frame can be locked by the fixing device when the backrest is not folded forwards.

Claims

1. An automobile seat comprising:

a seat frame having a stop;

a backrest swivel mounted on the seat frame, wherein the backrest can be folded forwards towards a seat surface of the seat frame;

a longitudinal guide by which the seat frame can be moved in a longitudinal direction of the seat in order to regulate a longitudinal position of the seat;

a fixing device for locking the seat frame in a previously regulated seat longitudinal position;

an operating element for unlocking the fixing device so that the seat frame can be moved in the longitudinal direction of the seat;

a coupling mechanism which acts on the operating element to unlock the fixing device when the back rest is folded forwards towards the seat surface;

a memory device by means of which the seat frame can, during movement in the longitudinal direction of the seat, be automatically stopped in a predeterminable seat longitudinal position defined as a memory position when the stop associated with the seat frame and movable in the longitudinal direction of the seat engages with a counter stop of the memory device, the memory device further including a regulating means to regulate the memory position in the longitudinal direction of the seat, the memory device further including a locking device for locking a regulated memory position; and

a switching means to unlock the locking device in order to adjust the memory position;

wherein the coupling mechanism only acts on the operating element to unlock the fixing device for as long as the backrest is folded forwards;

wherein the seat frame is lockable by the fixing device when the backrest is not folded forwards;

wherein the locking device of the memory device is elastically pretensioned towards a locked position.

2. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein locking means are coupled to the backrest and when the backrest is folded forwards the locking means are in active connection with the switching means in order to prevent unlocking of the locking device.

3. The automobile seat according to claim 2 wherein the locking means are coupled to the backrest through one of a pull means and a push means.

4. The automobile seat according to claim 2 or 3 wherein the locking means are coupled to the backrest through the coupling mechanism which acts on the operating element.

5. The automobile seat according to claim 2 wherein the locking means includes at least one locking element which is displaced when the backrest is folded forwards so that the at least one locking element comes into active connection with the switching means and blocks unlocking of the locking device.

6. The automobile seat according to claim 5 wherein the at least one locking element is moved in the longitudinal direction of the seat when the backrest is folded forwards.

7. The automobile seat according to claim 5 wherein the locking element is swivelled when the backrest is folded forwards.

8. The automobile seat according to one of claims 5 to 7 wherein the locking element has at least one stop which when the backrest is folded forwards comes into active connection with the switching means and thereby blocks unlocking of the locking device.

9. The automobile seat according to one of claims 5 to 7 wherein the locking element is connected to the switching means and when the backrest is folded forwards the locking element acts on the switching means so that unlocking of the locking device is blocked.

10. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means have a switching lever which can be swivelled in order to unlock the locking device.

11. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means have a switching spring which can be deformed in order to unlock the locking device.

12. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means are mounted on the seat frame.

13. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means are arranged such that they can only act on the locking device for unlocking when the seat frame is in the memory position.

14. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means are pretensioned towards a first switching position and that the switching means can be switched into a second switching position wherein in one of the first and second switching positions the locking device is locked and in the other of the first and second switching positions the locking device is unlocked.

15. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means are coupled with the fixing device when the seat frame is located in the memory position.

16. The automobile seat according to claim 15 wherein the switching means can be switched during operation of the fixing device when the seat frame is located in the memory position.

17. The automobile seat according to claim 16 wherein the switching means during unlocking of the fixing device are switched so that the locking device is unlocked.

18. The automobile seat according to claim 16 wherein the switching means during locking of the fixing device are switched so that the locking device is unlocked.

19. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein in the memory position of the seat frame when the backrest is not folded forwards and when the locking device is unlocked the switching means are supported so that during unlocking of the fixing device the switching means are not switched.

20. The automobile seat according to claim 19 wherein the switching means are supported on a face associated with the locking device.

21. The automobile seat according to claim 19 wherein the switching means are supported by an elastic element.

22. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the switching means on approaching the memory position with the backrest not folded forwards are at first deactivated and unlocking of the locking device is thereby prevented.

23. The automobile seat according to claim 15 or 22 wherein the switching means during subsequent unlocking of the fixing device are actuated so that they can again act on the locking device for the purpose of unlocking.

24. The automobile seat according to claim 23 wherein the locking device can be unlocked by unlocking the fixing device.

25. The automobile seat according to claim 22 wherein the switching means are associated with a guide face of the memory device and that the guide face is formed so that the switching means when approaching the memory position with the backrest not folded forwards are guided along the guide face in order to prevent unlocking of the locking device through the switching means.

26. The automobile seat according to claim 23 wherein the switching means during locking of the fixing device are actuated so that the switching means are lifted from the guide face.

27. The automobile seat according to claim 22 wherein the switching means are associated with a stop face of the memory device and that the stop face is arranged so that the stop face on approaching the memory position with the backrest not folded forwards acts on the switching means in order to prevent unlocking of the locking device through the switching means.

28. The automobile seat according to claim 23 wherein the switching means during locking of the fixing device are actuated so that they are lifted from the stop face.

29. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the locking device of the memory device is elastically pretensioned towards a locked position.

30. The automobile seat according to claim 29 wherein the switching means in the memory position with the backrest not folded forwards act on the locking device so that the locking device is unlocked against an elastic pretension force.

31. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the locking device has a locking unit which can be displaced together with the counter stop of the memory device in the longitudinal direction of the seat.

32. The automobile seat according to claim 31 wherein the locking unit is associated with a detent device which has detent sites arranged in succession in the longitudinal direction of the seat and on which the locking unit can be locked relative to the detent device.

33. The automobile seat according to claim 32 wherein the locking unit comprises a swivel mounted locking pawl which has a detent element which can engage at the detent sites in the detent device and which has an operating section on which the switching means can act in order that the detent element can engage in the detent mechanism.

34. The automobile seat according to one of claims 31 to 33 wherein the memory device has a follower which can be brought into engagement with the seat frame in order that the counter stop and the locking unit of the memory device can be displaced together with the seat frame in the longitudinal direction of the seat.

35. The automobile seat according to claim 34 wherein the follower is associated with an engagement area of the seat frame and that the follower can be brought into engagement with the engagement area by swivelling the follower and the engagement area relative to each other.

36. The automobile seat according to claim 34 wherein the follower and the engagement area can only be brought into engagement with each other if the seat frame is located in the memory position.

37. The automobile seat according to claim 34 wherein the follower is connected with the locking device of the memory device so that it can only be brought into engagement with the engagement area of the seat frame when the locking device of the memory device is unlocked.

38. The automobile seat according to claim 33 wherein the follower is mounted on the locking pawl.

39. The automobile seat according to claim 31 wherein the memory device has a glide which is mounted movable in the longitudinal direction of the seat and on which the locking unit and the counter stop are mounted.

40. The automobile seat according to claim 33 or claim 39 wherein the locking pawl is mounted for swivel movement on the glide.

41. The automobile seat according to claim 31 wherein at least one elastically pretensioned slider is mounted movable on one of the memory device and the seat frame and in the memory position the at least one elastically pretensioned slider is on a stop part of one of the seat frame and the memory device and during displacement of the seat frame the at least one elastically pretensioned slider can be moved out of the memory position as a result of the pretension into such a position that it prevents unlocking of the locking unit.

42. The automobile seat according to claim 41 wherein the locking unit has an elastically pretensioned movably mounted slider which is supported in the memory position against the pretension on a stop element of the seat frame and which during displacement of the seat frame is moved out of the memory position as a result of the pretension into a position so that it prevents unlocking of the locking unit.

43. The automobile seat according to claim 33 or 42 wherein the slider is moved during displacement of the seat frame out of the memory position as a result of the pretension into such a position that it engages on the locking pawl and thereby prevents unlocking of the locking pawl.

44. The automobile seat according to claim 41 wherein the seat frame has an elastically pretensioned movably mounted slider which in the memory position is supported against pretension on a stop of the memory device and which is moved during displacement of the seat frame out of the memory position with the backrest folded forwards as a result of the pretension into such a position that it blocks the action of the switching means on the locking device which leads to unlocking of the locking device and that when the backrest is raised up out from the forward folded position, the position of the slider is not affected.

45. The automobile seat according to claim 44 wherein the slider has a support section on which the switching means are supported so that action of the switching means on the locking device, which leads to unlocking of the locking device, is blocked.

46. The automobile seat according to claim 41 wherein the at least one slider is moved through the action of the stop element against pretension when the seat frame reaches the memory position, and that through the slider unlocking of the locking device is no longer blocked.

47. The automobile seat according to claim 46 wherein the switching means are pretensioned elastically towards a switching position in which they cause unlocking of the locking device.

48. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the operating element for unlocking the fixing device can also be operated independently of a position of the backrest.

49. The automobile seat according to claim 1 wherein the operating element is resiliently pretensioned against the position which is occupied to unlock the fixing device.

50. The automobile seat according to claim 48 wherein the operating element for unlocking the fixing device is operated by an operating lever.