Active suspension seat and vehicle operation interlocks
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for an actively-suspended seat of a motor vehicle, comprising:
- a swivel enabling the seat to be rotated about a vertical axis towards and away from an appropriate position for the seat to be used by a person when driving the vehicle;
a brake;
a controller coupled to the brake to cause the brake to prevent the seat from being rotated away from the appropriate position in response to receiving an indication that the vehicle is in motion; and
at least one controllable actuator coupled to the controller and operated by the controller to automatically move the seat up and down so as to isolate the seat from undesirable vertical motions.
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Abstract
An active suspension seat for use in a vehicle incorporates a swivel enabling the active suspension seat to be rotated about a vertical axis towards and away from a position appropriate for use in driving the vehicle, and incorporates a seat controller operating a brake to prevent such rotation away from that appropriate position in response to an indication that the vehicle is in motion, and limiting the active suspension to being enabled only when the seat is in the appropriate position for use in driving.
41 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An apparatus for an actively-suspended seat of a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a swivel enabling the seat to be rotated about a vertical axis towards and away from an appropriate position for the seat to be used by a person when driving the vehicle; a brake; a controller coupled to the brake to cause the brake to prevent the seat from being rotated away from the appropriate position in response to receiving an indication that the vehicle is in motion; and at least one controllable actuator coupled to the controller and operated by the controller to automatically move the seat up and down so as to isolate the seat from undesirable vertical motions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for an actively-suspended seat of a motor vehicle, comprising:
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awaiting an indication that a vehicle is in motion; in response to receiving the indication, automatically operating via a controller a brake of an active suspension seat to prevent the seat from rotating on a swivel of the seat away from an appropriate position for use of the seat while driving the vehicle; and automatically operating via the controller a controllable actuator that moves the seat up and down so as to isolate the seat from undesirable vertical motions. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An apparatus for an actively-suspended plant of a motor vehicle, comprising:
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a swivel enabling the plant to be rotated towards and away from an appropriate position for the plant to be positioned during travel of a vehicle; at least one controllable actuator coupled to the plant; and a controller coupled to the at least one actuator to automatically provide active suspension of the plant during travel of the vehicle to isolate the plant from a jolt along at least one axis arising from travel of the vehicle while the plant is rotated towards the appropriate position and to cease to provide active suspension while the plant is rotated away from the appropriate position. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification