Stowable rear seat with fore and aft adjustment

• US 8,585,147 B2
• Filed: 06/30/2011
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lear Corporation
• Inventors: Calvert, Kyle
• Primary Examiner(s): WHITE, RODNEY BARNETT
• Application Number:
  US13/173,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20130001394A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• Field of Search: 297/334, 297/344.13, 297/378.12, 297/378.14, 297/344.15
• US Class Current: 297/344.13
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/3013 the back-rest being hinged on the vehicle frame
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/3065 in a longitudinal-vertical plane
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/36 into a loading platform B60N2/065 takes precedence

Abstract

A vehicle seat is provided with a linkage that may be used to raise and lower a front portion of the seat base. A track assembly is provided in combination with the linkage that moves the seat in a fore-and-aft direction with the seat back in either an upright or fold flat position. The linkage for adjusting the position of the front of the seat base may be actuated by pivoting the seat back between the upright and fold flat position.

Claims

1. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame with a front portion that is shifted between a raised position and a lowered position;

a seatback attached to the seat base by a hinge;

a linkage is provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes a front pivot bar, a lower link affixed to the front pivot bar to pivot with the front pivot bar, an upper link is connected to the lower link by a pivot connector and is connected to the cushion frame, wherein the front pivot bar may be pivoted to move the upper and lower links from a lowered position in which the upper and lower links are arranged at an angle with the pivot connector rearward of the front pivot bar to a raised position in which the upper and lower links are arranged in an over-center orientation with the pivot connector above and forward of the front pivot bar;

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar; and

an actuator is operatively connected to the front pivot bar, lower link and upper link to move the front portion of the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position, and wherein the actuator further comprises a control cable that is operatively connected to the front pivot bar to pivot the front pivot bar.

3. The seat of claim 1 further comprising a slide track assembly that connects the cushion frame and linkage to the floor, wherein the linkage is movable fore-and-aft.

5. The seat of claim 1 wherein the seatback may be selectively pivoted to a fold flat orientation wherein the seatback is pivoted from a seating position in which the seatback is in a substantially vertical reclined position to a stowed position in which the seatback overlies the seat base, the seat further comprising a slide track assembly that connects the cushion frame and linkage to the floor, wherein the linkage is movable fore and aft with the seatback in either the seating position or the stowed position.

2. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame with a front portion that is shifted between a raised position and a lowered position;

a seatback attached to the seat base by a hinge;

a linkage is provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes a front pivot bar, a lower link affixed to the front pivot bar to pivot with the front pivot bar, an upper link is connected to the lower link by a pivot connector and is connected to the cushion frame, wherein the front pivot bar may be pivoted to move the upper and lower links from a lowered position in which the upper and lower links are arranged at an angle with the pivot connector rearward of the front pivot bar to a raised position in which the upper and lower links are arranged in an over-center orientation with the pivot connector above and forward of the front pivot bar;

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar; and

an actuator is operatively connected to the front pivot bar, lower link and upper link to move the front portion of the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position, and a cam and a bell crank that are attached to and act upon a rigid link that is operatively connected to the front pivot bar to pivot the front pivot bar.

4. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame with a front portion that is shifted between a raised position and a lowered position;

a seatback attached to the seat base by a hinge, wherein the hinge is a seatback recliner mechanism that is selectively adjusted to change the angular orientation of the seatback relative to the seat base, and wherein the seatback may be selectively pivoted to a fold flat orientation wherein the seatback is pivoted to a position in which the seatback overlies the seat base;

a linkage is provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes a front pivot bar, a lower link affixed to the front pivot bar to pivot with the front pivot bar, an upper link is connected to the lower link by a pivot connector and is connected to the cushion frame, wherein the front pivot bar may be pivoted to move the upper and lower links from a lowered position in which the upper and lower links are arranged at an angle with the pivot connector rearward of the front pivot bar to a raised position in which the upper and lower links are arranged in an over-center orientation with the pivot connector above and forward of the front pivot bar;

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar; and

an actuator is operatively connected to the front pivot bar, lower link and upper link to move the front portion of the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position, wherein as the seatback is pivoted to the fold flat position the actuator moves the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position by the recliner.

6. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame that is shifted between a raised position and a lowered position;

a seatback attached to the seat base by a hinge;

a linkage provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes articulated links that pivot the cushion frame between the raised position in which a front portion of the cushion frame is higher than a rear portion of the cushion frame and the lowered position in which the front portion of the cushion frame is lowered to substantially the same height as the rear portion of the cushion frame;

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar;

an actuator is operatively connected to the linkage to move the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position, and wherein the actuator further comprises a control cable that is operatively connected to the front pivot bar to pivot the front pivot bar; and

a slide track assembly connects the cushion frame and linkage to the floor to be movable fore-and-aft.

8. The seat of claim 6 wherein the hinge is a seatback recliner mechanism that is selectively adjusted to change the angular orientation of the seatback relative to the seat base.

9. The seat of claim 8 wherein the seatback may be selectively pivoted to a fold flat orientation with the seatback being pivoted to a position in which the seatback overlies the seat base.

10. The seat of claim 9 wherein as the seatback is pivoted to the fold flat position, the actuator moves the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position by the recliner.

11. The seat of claim 6 wherein the seatback may be selectively pivoted to a fold flat orientation wherein the seatback is pivoted from a seating position in which the seatback is in a substantially vertical reclined position to a stowed position in which the seatback overlies the seat base, the seat further comprising a slide track assembly that connects the cushion frame and linkage to the floor, wherein the linkage is movable fore and aft with the seatback in either the seating position or the stowed position.

7. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame that is shifted between a raised position and a lowered position;

a seatback attached to the seat base by a hinge;

a linkage provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes articulated links that pivot the cushion frame between the raised position in which a front portion of the cushion frame is higher than a rear portion of the cushion frame and the lowered position in which the front portion of the cushion frame is lowered to substantially the same height as the rear portion of the cushion frame;

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar;

an actuator is operatively connected to the linkage to move the cushion frame between the raised position and the lowered position, wherein the actuator further comprises a cam and a bell crank that are attached to and act upon a rigid link that is operatively connected to the front pivot bar to pivot the front pivot bar; and

a slide track assembly connects the cushion frame and linkage to the floor to be movably fore-and-aft.

12. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame that is shifted between a first position and a second position;

a seatback attached to the seat base by a hinge, wherein the seatback may be selectively pivoted to a fold flat orientation with the seatback being pivoted to a position in which the seatback overlies the seat base;

a linkage is provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes articulated links that pivot the cushion frame between the first position in which a front portion of the cushion frame is higher than a rear portion of the cushion frame and a second position in which the front portion of the cushion frame is lowered to substantially the same height as the rear portion of the cushion frame; and

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar;

an actuator is operatively connected to the linkage to move the cushion frame between the first position and the second position, wherein the actuator is operatively connected to the seatback, and wherein pivoting the seatback to the fold flat position actuates the linkage to move the cushion frame between the first position and the second position; and

a control cable that is entrained about a rear cam pulley that is operatively attached to the seatback and a front cam pulley that is provided on a front pivot bar of the linkage, wherein folding the seatback to the fold flat position pulls the control cable around the rear cam pulley to rotate the front cam pulley and the front pivot bar.

13. A vehicle seat for a vehicle having a floor, the seat comprising:

a seat base having a cushion frame that is shifted between a first position and a second position;

a seatback attached to the eat base by a hinge, wherein the seatback may be selectively pivoted to a fold flat orientation with the seatback being pivoted to a position in which the seatback overlies the seat base;

a linkage is provided between the cushion frame and the floor, the linkage includes articulated links that pivot the cushion frame between the first position in which a front portion of the cushion frame is higher than a rear portion of the cushion frame and a second position in which the front portion of the cushion frame is lowered to substantially the same height as the rear portion of the cushion frame; and

a rear portion of the cushion frame is pivotally connected to a rear pivot bar;

an actuator is operatively connected to the linkage to move the cushion frame between the first position and the second position, wherein the actuator is operatively connected to the seatback, and wherein pivoting the seatback to the fold flat position actuates the linkage to move the cushion frame between the first position and the second position; and

a bell crank pivotally attached to the seat base and having a first leg attached to the seatback and a second leg attached to a first end of a rigid link, wherein a second end the rigid link is attached to a lever provided on a front pivot bar of the linkage, and wherein folding the seatback to the fold flat position rotates the bell crank, pulls the rigid link and rotates the lever and front pivot bar.