Vehicle seat, especially aircraft passenger seat

• US 7,393,055 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2005
• Issued: 07/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH & Company KG (Martin Putsch,)
• Original Assignee: Recaro Aircraft Seating GmbH & Company KG (Martin Putsch,)
• Inventors: Abt, Hans Dieter
• Primary Examiner(s): EDELL, JOSEPH F
• Application Number:
  US11/105,577
• Publication Number:
  US 20050269844A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,174 Days
• Field of Search: 297/344.14, 297/344.16, 297/344.17, 297/344.1, 297/344.11, 297/DIG.10
• US Class Current: 297/344.14
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/045 Longitudinal adjustment by means of articulated rods supporting the seat, e.g. parallelogram mechanisms B60N2/38 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/064 Adjustable inclination or position of seats
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 11/0648 Lower frame constructions

Abstract

A vehicle seat, especially an aircraft passenger seat, has at least one seat component which can be adjusted in its position, such as a seat part. The seat part can be mounted with its seat frame structure (3) by swivelable support legs (7, 11) above a floor structure (1). The support legs (7, 11) act on the seat frame structure (3) in pairs in the area of the front edge (9) and rear edge (5) of the seat of the seat part. An actuating mechanism is connected by action to a pair of support legs (7, 11) for producing a swiveling motion of the support legs (7, 11) causing a change in the position of the seat part. The actuating mechanism is coupled to the assigned pair of support legs (7, 11) by a differential mechanism (13) which converts the swiveling motion of the support legs (11) into a change of the effective length of the assigned pair of support legs (11). The length determines the vertical distance between the seat frame structure (3) and the floor structure (1).

Claims

1. A vehicle seat, comprising:

a seat part mounted on a seat frame, said seat frame having front and rear edges and being movable between an initial rear position and an end forward position relative to a vehicle travel direction;

a floor structure;

front and rear pairs of support legs pivotally coupled to said seat frame adjacent said front and rear edges, respectively, and to said floor structure; and

an actuating mechanism connected to one pair of said front and rear pairs of said support legs by a differential mechanism converting pivoting of said one pair into a change of effective lengths of said support legs of said one pair determining vertical distances between said seat frame and said floor structure, said differential mechanism matching said effective lengths of said support legs of said one pair to effective lengths of the other pair of said support legs, said effective lengths of said other pair of said support legs being changeable upon movement of said seat frame, said differential mechanism having a mechanical bell crank lever for each of said support legs of said one pair, each said bell crank lever having a first arm articulated to an end of the respective support leg adjacent said floor structure and a second arm articulated to said floor structure;

whereby, all adjustment motion of said seat frame between said rear position and said forward position occurs without tilting of said seat frame relative to said floor structure.

2. A vehicle seat according to claim 1 wherein

said first and second arms of each said bell crank lever are angularly separated by an obtuse angle and are fixedly connected to each other at distances from coupling points thereof to the respective support leg and to said floor structure by a shaft extending between said support legs of said one pair to impart common motion to said bell crank levers.

3. A vehicle seat according to claim 2 wherein

said actuating mechanism comprises a controllable power drive coupled to and acting on said shaft, and thereby coupled to and acting on said bell crank levers, to produce torque for pivoting said bell crank levers about said coupling points thereof to said floor structure.

4. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 wherein

said power drive is a linear drive having a driving element articulated at a distance from a rotational axis of said shaft to a projection extending radially away from said shaft.

5. A vehicle seat according to claim 3 wherein

said linear drive applies an actuating force to said bell crank levers to displace said seat frame part forwardly from said rear position by movement of said support legs of said one pair.

6. A vehicle seat according to claim 2 wherein

a reset power drive is coupled to and acts on said shaft biasing said bell crank levers and thereby said support legs of said one pair and thereby said seat frame structure towards said rear position.

7. A vehicle seat according to claim 6 wherein

said reset power drive includes an energy accumulator.

8. A vehicle seat according to claim 7 wherein

said energy accumulator is a pressurized spring.