Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Structural detail
Reexamination Certificate
2002-09-23
2004-01-13
Pedder, Dennis H. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Structural detail
C296S068100, C296S065010, C296S065090
Reexamination Certificate
active
06676198
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a mounting system for use with a vehicle and an object to be mounted on the vehicle, such as a vehicle seat, and more particularly, to a mounting system for a vehicle seat. The invention also includes a vehicle seat assembly including the mounting system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Passenger vehicles commonly have “tumble-forward” seats. Such seats are constructed so that they can be moved to an up-ended condition, so as to facilitate ingress and egress to and from the interior space in the vehicle to the rear of the seat. For this purpose, the seat frame is pivotally attached to the vehicle floor adjacent the seat front end and is releasably attached to the vehicle floor adjacent the seat rear end. Exemplary in this regard is U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,665 (Dingel et al.), issued Apr. 24, 2001.
Tumble-forward seats are often provided with folding functionality which permits the seat back to be folded forwardly to a collapsed position, whereat the seat back rests upon the seat cushion. Seats provided with this functionality (“fold and tumble seats”) are advantageous since, when the seat back is at its collapsed position, release of the seat rear end permits the seat to be pivoted forwardly to an upfolded position, whereat the seat cushion is orientated substantially vertically, without the seat back projecting into the front portion of the vehicle interior. U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,051 (Sponsler et al.), issued Mar. 12, 1996 is exemplary in this regard.
The rear end of a typical tumble-forward seat (whether of the fold and tumble subspecies or not) is mounted to the vehicle floor by a pair of laterally-spaced latch hooks which are pivotable to respective engaged positions to engage corresponding mounting lugs presented by the vehicle floor. Exemplary in this regard is U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,051 (Sponsler et al.), issued Mar. 12, 1996. As is well-known in the art, the latch hooks forming said pair are typically connected to one another for simultaneous actuation, by a system of slave rods, slave cables or the like, to facilitate “single handle release” functionality, which among other things, improves the ergonomics of the design, with resultant consumer acceptance. In the Sponsler et al. reference, for example, a tie rod operatively couples a pair of cams, each of which act on a lobe formed on a respective latch hook to cause movement between engaged and disengaged positions thereof.
Devices which utilize only a single latch hook to mount the rear end of the seat to the vehicle are known in the prior art. This avoids the cost, weight and reliability issues associated with complicated systems of slave rods or the like, and achieves the desired single handle release functionality. However, in order to ensure that the seat does not become disengaged, particularly during frontal crash conditions, when loadings can be extreme, the construction of both the latch and the seat frame in such devices is typically more robust than that characteristic of devices incorporating paired latches (“paired-latch seat assemblies”), which can have adverse impacts upon cost, if the seat frame is made more robust by the incorporation therein of advanced materials and manufacturing techniques, or can have adverse affects upon weight if the seat frame is made more robust by the provision of larger, more robust components. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,394,525 (Siebold), issued May 28, 2002, a relatively large pivot tube is employed.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mounting system which can be used with a seat member to provide a tumble-forward seat assembly which has single-handle release functionality and which is relatively economical to manufacture, relatively lightweight and relatively reliable in operation.
This object, among others, is achieved by the present invention.
According to one aspect, the invention comprises a mounting system for use with a vehicle and an object to be mounted on the vehicle, the object having a first portion and a second portion and the vehicle having a front end, a rear end, a longitudinal axis extending between the front end and the rear end and a lateral axis arranged substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis.
The mounting system comprises a mounting means for defining a lateral first pivot axis proximate to the vehicle and for mounting the first portion of the object on the vehicle for pivotal movement of the object about the first pivot axis to a design position.
The mounting system further comprises a latch member, a latch-engaging member, a striker pin and a striker plate.
The latch member, in use, is mounted on the second portion of the object.
The latch-engaging member, in use, is mounted on said vehicle and is adapted to selectively, securely engage with the latch member when the object at its design position.
The striker pin, in use, is rigidly mounted on the second portion of the object in laterally-spaced relation to the latch member.
The striker plate presents a slot having an open end and a closed end and further presents a socket arranged to one side of the slot and contiguous therewith. The striker plate is mounted, in use, on said vehicle at an operative position whereat the socket is disposed frontwardly relative to the slot and whereat the striker pin travels into the open end of the slot and along said slot to a design position, adjacent the closed end of the slot and longitudinally rearwardly adjacent to the socket, during said pivotal movement of the object to its design position.
The socket is shaped and dimensioned so as to permit, in use, under frontal crash conditions of the vehicle and by agency of deformation of said object, frontward longitudinal movement of the striker pin thereinto to a frontward limit position whereat the striker plate contacts the striker pin to arrest further frontward longitudinal movement of the striker pin.
According to another aspect of the invention, preferably, the striker plate presents a pair of sockets arranged in substantially opposed relation on opposite sides of the slot and contiguous therewith, the pair of sockets, in use, being disposed on opposite longitudinal sides of the slot and each being shaped and dimensioned so as to permit, in use, under rear and frontal crash conditions of the vehicle and by agency of deformation of said object, longitudinal movement of the striker pin thereinto to a rearward limit position and the frontward limit position, respectively, whereat the striker plate contacts the striker pin to arrest further longitudinal movement of the striker pin.
According to other aspects of the invention, the latch member preferably comprises a first latch hook pivotally mounted on the second portion of the object for selective movement between an engaged position and a disengaged position and the latch-engaging member comprises a lug member, the lug member being adapted to be selectively, securely engaged by the first latch hook upon movement of the first latch hook from the disengaged position to the engaged position.
According to another aspect, the invention also comprises a seat assembly to be mounted on a vehicle having a front end, a rear end, a longitudinal axis extending between the front end and the rear end and a lateral axis arranged substantially transverse to the longitudinal axis.
The seat assembly comprises a seat member including a support member having a first portion and a second portion. The seat assembly further comprises the aforesaid mounting system, in use with the seat member in such manner that the first portion of the support member defines the first portion of the object, the second portion of the support member defines the second portion of the object and the design position of the seat member is an occupiable position.
As other aspects, the first latch hook is preferably adapted to move from its engaged position towards its disengaged position under frontal deformation of the seat assembly into a deformed configuration, and a second latch hook is provided, which i
Demptos Philippe
Sharnowski Donald
Faurecia Automotive Seating Canada Limited
Hofbauer Patrick J.
Morrow Jason
Pedder Dennis H.
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