Drive nut with structural extrusion drive area for vehicle seat adjuster

• US 7,278,331 B2
• Filed: 08/27/2003
• Issued: 10/09/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/27/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Goodbred, Neil G., Wagner, Alan M
• Primary Examiner(s): Ridley; Richard
• Assistant Examiner(s): Johnson; Matthew A.
• Application Number:
  US10/604,934
• Publication Number:
  US 20050044974A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,504 Days
• Field of Search: 744/25, 74/893.7, 74/892.3, 744/247.1, 296/65.08, 296/65.15, 296/65.18
• US Class Current: 74/89.23
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/02246 Electric motors therefor
• CPC Class Codes: F16H 25/24 Elements essential to such mechanisms, e.g. screws, nuts F16H25/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 74/18576 including screw and nut

Abstract

A drive nut device having a drive nut and a drive nut mounting member formed of a single piece of material eliminating the need to align and fixedly attach a separate drive nut and drive nut mounting member together. The drive nut includes a bore that is threaded during the manufacture of a vertical drive apparatus such that the complete apparatus may be formed by machine.

Claims

1. A drive nut device for use in allowing positional movement of a vehicle seat comprising:

a one-piece sheet steel drive nut body having a generally L-shape and further having a first end and a second end;

said first end having a bore for mounting to a seat movement member;

and said second end having a cantilevered extruded drive nut formed as part of the one-piece drive nut body, said cantilevered drive nut further characterized as having a wall thickness of about 50 percent to about 85 percent greater than the nominal thickness of said one-piece drive nut body, said cantilevered drive nut having a threaded bore passing through a longitudinal axis of said cantilevered drive nut and further having a longitudinal length predetermined to prevent undesired non-longitudinal axis movement of said drive nut device.

2. The drive nut device as claimed in claim 1 wherein, said sheet steel is from about 0.5 mm to about 4.0 mm thick.

3. A vertical drive nut for use in allowing vertical positioning of a vehicle seat device comprising:

a one-piece sheet steel drive nut body having a generally L-shape and further having a first end and a second end;

said first end having a bore for mounting to a seat vertical movement member;

and said second end having a cantilevered extruded drive nut formed as part of the one-piece drive nut body, said cantilevered drive nut further characterized as having a wall thickness of about 50 percent to about 85 percent greater than the nominal thickness of said one-piece drive nut body, said cantilevered drive nut having a threaded bore passing through a longitudinal axis of said cantilevered drive nut at substantially a right angle to said bore for mounting to the seat vertical movement member, said cantilevered drive nut further having a longitudinal length predetermined to prevent undesired non-longitudinal axis movement of said drive nut device.

4. The vertical drive nut device as claimed in claim 3 wherein, said sheet steel is from about 0.5 mm to about 4.0 mm thick.