Motor vehicle seat

• US 7,578,555 B2
• Filed: 06/20/2005
• Issued: 08/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Coburg
• Original Assignee: Brose Fahrzeugteile GmbH & Company KG Coburg
• Inventors: Hofmann, Jochen, Kröner, Gregor, Quast, Ingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Dunn; David
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALEX, JAMES S
• Application Number:
  US11/632,270
• Publication Number:
  US 20070236065A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,527 Days
• Field of Search: 297/344.1, 297/344.13, 297/344.15
• US Class Current: 297/341
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/085 about a transversal axis
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/43 Safety locks for back-rests B60N2/433

Abstract

A motor vehicle seat includes a seat frame, a backrest, a longitudinal rail guide, a fixing device for locking the longitudinal rail guide in a pre-set longitudinal seating position, a coupling mechanism which is able to move together with the seat frame in the longitudinal rail direction, a memory unit, an adjustment device configured to adjust the memory unit, and a locking device for the memory unit for the locking of a set memory position. The locking device for locking the memory unit includes a locking element configured to be engageable with at least one locking point of the locking rail associated with the fixing device.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle seat comprising:

a seat frame;

a backrest pivotably mounted on the seat frame and configured to be folded down in a direction of a seat surface of the seat frame;

a longitudinal rail guide configured to move the seat frame in a longitudinal rail direction for adjusting a longitudinal seating position;

a fixing device for locking the longitudinal rail guide in a pre-set longitudinal seating position with at least one movably mounted first locking element, wherein a locking rail associated with the first locking element extends along the longitudinal rail direction with a plurality of locking points which are successively arranged in the longitudinal rail direction, wherein the first locking element is configured to engage the locking points for locking the longitudinal rail guide;

a coupling mechanism configured to move together with the seat frame in the longitudinal rail direction and configured to unlock the fixing device when the backrest is folded down onto the seat surface;

a memory unit configured to automatically stop the seat frame in a predeterminable longitudinal seating position, defined as the memory position, when movement occurs in the longitudinal rail direction, the memory unit comprising;

an adjustment device configured to adjust the memory position of the memory unit in the longitudinal rail direction;

a second locking element configured to be engaged with at least one locking point of the locking rail associated with the fixing device to lock a set memory position;

wherein the second locking element has an engagement region configured to be engaged with the locking rail, and wherein the engagement region comprises two latching teeth configured to be selectively introduced into one locking point or into two adjacent locking points for locking the memory unit; and

wherein the second locking element and the latching teeth are a unitary element.

2. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the locking points are formed by locking apertures.

3. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the engagement region comprises stop faces, wherein the engagement region is configured to bear without clearance against the edge of the respectively associated locking aperture with the stop faces.

4. The motor vehicle seat of claim 3, wherein the latching teeth are of conical configuration and configured to bear without clearance with their latching edges formed by oblique faces against the edge of the respectively associated locking aperture.

5. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the second locking element is pivotable in order to be brought into and out of engagement with the locking rail.

6. The motor vehicle seat of claim 5, wherein the second locking element in the locked state has a variable angular position depending on whether the engagement region of the second locking element engages in one locking point or two locking points of the locking rail.

7. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the second locking element has a stop with which a counter stop of a structural unit configured to be displaceable together with the seat frame is configured to be brought into contact in order to stop the seat frame when reaching the memory position.

8. The motor vehicle seat of claim 7, wherein the second locking element has two stop faces spaced apart from one another, wherein one stop face is configured to come into contact with the counter stop when the engagement region is engaged in a locking point of the locking rail, and wherein the other stop face is configured to come into contact with the counter stop when the engagement region is engaged in two adjacent locking points of the locking rail.

9. The motor vehicle seat of claim 8, wherein the two stop faces are arranged above one another transversely to the longitudinal rail direction.

10. The motor vehicle seat of claim 9, wherein the two stop faces are arranged successively in the longitudinal rail direction.

11. The motor vehicle seat of claim 8, wherein the stop faces are configured such that the counter stop acts against the lifting of the second locking element out of the locking rail when it bears against one of the stop faces.

12. The motor vehicle seat of claim 11, wherein the one stop face of the second locking element cooperating with the counter stop, extends at an angle to the longitudinal rail direction, when the second locking element engages in the locking rail.

13. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, further comprising a control element configured to control the bringing of the second locking element into and out of engagement with the locking rail, depending on whether the backrest is located in a substantially upright position of use or in a position folded-down onto the seat surface.

14. The motor vehicle seat of claim 13, wherein the control element cooperates with the backrest, wherein the control element is configured to be actuated when folding the backrest down.

15. The motor vehicle seat of claim 13, wherein the control element is formed by a control lever configured to be pivotable upon actuation.

16. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the backrest is lockable in a position folded-down onto the seat surface with a locking mechanism.

17. The motor vehicle seat of claim 16, wherein the locking mechanism of the backrest is configured to be unlockable with a release element actuated when reaching the memory position and which is coupled to the locking mechanism of the backrest so that the locking mechanism is unlockable when reaching the memory position.

18. The motor vehicle seat of claim 17, wherein the release element is coupled to the locking mechanism of the backrest via a Bowden cable.

19. The motor vehicle seat of claim 17, wherein the release element is formed by a pivotably mounted release lever.

20. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, further comprising a control element configured to control the bringing of the second locking element into and out of engagement with the locking rail, depending on whether the backrest is located in a substantially upright position of use or in a position folded-down onto the seat surface;

and

wherein the control element and the release element are pivotably mounted on the same axis.

21. The motor vehicle seat of claim 20, wherein the axis is arranged on a structural unit configured to be displaceable together with the seat frame in the longitudinal rail direction.

22. The motor vehicle seat of claim 17, wherein the adjustment device comprises a ramp onto which the release element is moveable upward, when reaching the memory position, whereby the release element is actuated to unlock the locking mechanism.

23. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the adjustment device comprises a sliding element, wherein the second locking element is mounted on the sliding element displaceable in the longitudinal rail direction.

24. The motor vehicle seat of claim 13, wherein the control element is configured to be positively engageable with at least one of the second locking element and the adjustment device, in order to drive the adjustment device and the second locking element for readjusting the memory position, when the seat frame is displaced in the longitudinal rail direction.

25. The motor vehicle seat of claim 24, wherein the control element comes into positive engagement with at least one of the adjustment device and the second locking element when the control element is brought into a position in which the control element acts on the second locking element in order to lift said second locking element out of the locking rail.

26. The motor vehicle seat of claim 13, wherein, when reaching the memory position with the backrest folded upward, the control element slides over control surfaces of the adjustment device and of the second locking element for lifting the locking element out of the locking rail and thus comes into positive engagement with the adjustment device so that, during a further adjustment of the seat frame, with the backrest folded upward, the control element is configured to drive the adjustment device in at least one spatial direction parallel to the longitudinal rail direction.

27. The motor vehicle seat of claim 24, wherein on a structural unit which is displaceable together with the seat frame in the longitudinal rail direction, an additional drive element is arranged which is configured to be engageable with the second locking element when the second locking element is lifted out of the locking rail in a memory position of the seat frame.

28. The motor vehicle seat of claim 27, wherein the second locking element has a drive surface by which the second locking element is configured to engage with the drive element when it bears with its engagement region against the locking rail, without being engaged in a locking aperture, so that the second locking element is configured to be driven by the drive element during a displacement of the seat frame in the longitudinal rail direction, until it engages in at least one locking point.

29. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the adjustment device consist of plastics.

30. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the adjustment device is longitudinally displaceably guided on a slide rail consisting of plastics.

31. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1 wherein the fixing device forms a counter stop which comes into engagement with a stop of the memory unit during displacement of the seat frame into the memory position.

32. The motor vehicle seat of claim 1, wherein the locking points are provided in or on a guide rail of the longitudinal rail guide to be arranged fixed to a bodywork.

33. The motor vehicle seat of claim 3, wherein the stop faces are oblique stop faces.

34. The motor vehicle seat of claim 14, wherein the control element is operatively coupled to the backrest with a Bowden cable.

35. The motor vehicle seat of claim 24, wherein the control element is pretensioned in the direction of the engagement.