Seat frame of a vehicle seat with a seat carrier and front parallelogram arms

• US 6,749,169 B2
• Filed: 08/15/2002
• Issued: 06/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: C ROB Hammerstein GmbH & Company KG (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: C ROB Hammerstein GmbH & Company KG (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Poley, Axel, Beneker, Wilfried, Becker, Burkhard, Leng, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramirez, Ramon O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): STERLING, AMY JO
• Application Number:
  US10/222,325
• Publication Number:
  US 20030047975A1
• Time in Patent Office: 670 Days
• Field of Search: 248/157, 248/419, 248/420, 248/421, 248/422, 248/424
• US Class Current: 248/421
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1615 Parallelogram-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1685 characterised by a lock
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/169 Stepwise movement mechanisms, e.g. ratchets B60N2/167 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1803 with independent front and/or rear adjustment
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1814 Parallelogram-like structure
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1892 characterised by a lock
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/1896 Stepwise movement mechanisms, e.g. ratchets B60N2/1882 takes precedence

Abstract

The seat frame can either come with a height adjustment device of the seat frontal edge or not. Its seat carrier has at least one side part, one front arm means and one longitudinal adjustment device. The side part is provided with a first bore and a second bore. The front arm means is either realized by a parallelogram arm or a pair of arm means. The parallelogram arm has a first bearing member cooperating with the first bore. The pair of arm means is composed of an upper arm and a lower arm and a device for adjusting the angular position of the upper arm relative to the seat carrier. The upper arm is provided with a second bearing member which is spaced from the common joint and cooperates with the second bore. Both arms are pivotally joined together in a common joint. The lower arm shows a distance between the common joint and the bearing means, which is substantially of the same length as the distance realized by the parallelogram arm and measured between the first bearing member and the lower pivot joint.

Claims

1. A seat frame for a vehicle seat comprising:

a longitudinal adjustment device;

a seat carrier having at least one side part, the side part being provided with a first bore and a second bore;

a front arm means having a first bearing member cooperating with one of the first bore and the second bore, an upper pivot joint being formed between the front arm means and the side part; and

a lower pivot joint arranged between the longitudinal adjustment device and the front arm means,

wherein the front arm means is either realized by a parallelogram arm or a pair of arm means,

the parallelogram arm has a first bearing member cooperating with the first bore and further has a bearing means for being hingeable to the longitudinal adjustment device,

the pair of arm means is composed of an upper arm and a lower arm and a device for adjusting the angular position of the upper arm relative to the seat carrier, both arms being pivotally joined together in a common joint having an axis, the upper arm being provided with a second bearing member which is spaced from the common joint and cooperates with the second bore, in one position of adjustment of the device for adjusting the angular position the axis of the common joint is substantially aligned with the first bore, the lower arm has a bearing means for being hingeable to the longitudinal adjustment device and the lower arm exhibiting a distance between the common joint and bearing means, which is substantially of the same length as the distance realized by the parallelogram arm and measured between the first bearing member and the lower pivot joint.

2. The seat frame of claim 1, wherein the seat carrier comprises:

a left and a right side part;

a left and a right front parallelogram arm; and

a left and a right longitudinal adjustment device,

wherein each side part is provided with a first bore and with a second bore and, alternatively, the seat frame may be fitted with either two parallelogram arms, or with two pair of arm means, each pair of arm means comprising a lower arm and an upper arm.

3. The seat frame of claim 2, wherein the two front parallelogram arms are joined together by a tie bar.

4. The seat frame of claim 2, wherein the adjustment device comprises:

an adjustment member provided only on one side of the seat; and

a shaft that connecting the two upper arms.

5. The seat frame of claim 1, wherein the second bore is located nearer a front edge of the seat than the first bore.

6. The seat frame of claim 1, wherein the first bore and the second bore are each located at approximately the same distance from the longitudinal adjustment device.

7. The seat frame of claim 1, wherein the distance from the first bore to the second bore on the seat carrier corresponds to the distance between pivot axes of the upper arm.

8. The seat frame of claim 1, further comprising at least one rear swiveling support, said rear swiveling support pivotally connecting the seat carrier to the longitudinal adjustment device.

9. The seat frame of claim 1, wherein the mentioned one position of adjustment of the adjustment device is situated in a region that extends from a middle position of said adjustment device toward a lower setting of the front edge of the seat.

10. The seat frame of claim 1, wherein the side part has a bearing member means for a pivotal locking member of the device for adjusting the angular position.

11. The seat frame of claim 10, wherein the device for adjusting the angular position comprises a the pivotal locking member and a toothed quadrant arranged at the upper arm, which toothed cooperates with the locking member.

12. The seat frame of claim 2, wherein the two pairs of arms means are joined together by a tie bar.

13. The seat frame of claim 2, further comprising a left and a right rear swiveling support, said rear swiveling supports pivotally connecting the seat carrier to the longitudinal adjustment devices.