Chairs and seats – Movable bottom – Bottom and back movable as a unit
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-29
2001-10-30
Cuomo, Peter M. (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Movable bottom
Bottom and back movable as a unit
C297S344130, C297S344170, C248S421000, C248S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06309019
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This application relates to a shaft used to interconnect a motor and drive mechanism in a seat assembly. Specifically, the shaft includes helical end portions that are twisted with respect to mating connectors to create an interference fit.
Seat adjusters are used to adjust the position of a vehicle seat between various positions. Typically, seat adjusters use electric motors to move a certain seat member between a plurality of positions. The motors are used to power a drive mechanism that is operably connected to the seat member. Most seat adjusters use a flexible shaft or cable to transmit a torsion load from the motor to the drive mechanism. Both ends of the shaft are usually the same to allow for easy assembly of the shaft to the motor and drive mechanism, i.e., assembly of the shaft into the seat adjuster is insensitive to shaft orientation. To further ease assembly, the connectors that receive the ends of the shaft are designed to have the same shape as the ends.
It is common for both ends of the shaft to have a square cross section and for the connectors that receive the ends to have a corresponding square aperture. The shaft ends are typically referred to as male members and the connectors that receive the ends are typically referred to as female members. The square ends of the male members are inserted into the square apertures of the female members to form an interconnect interface. The apertures in the female members are slightly larger than the ends of the male members so that the male members can be easily connected to the female members. The performance of this interface can vary significantly because both the male and female members are square in shape and have respective manufacturing tolerances. Further, because the apertures in the female members are larger than the ends of the male members, there can be looseness between the mating components. This is undesirable because an audible clicking is produced when the shaft is rotating.
Coatings can be used to reduce the clicking noise, however, this adds cost and requires an additional assembly step. Thus, it is desirable to provide an improved interface between the shaft and the connectors for the motor and drive mechanism that eliminates noise during operation. The shaft should also be easily installed onto the motor and drive mechanism and allow for blind assembly.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A seat adjuster assembly includes an electric motor for powering a drive mechanism. The drive mechanism is used to move a seat member from a first position to a second position. A first connector supported by an output on the electric motor and a second connector is supported by the drive mechanism. A shaft interconnects the electric motor and drive mechanism to transmit power from the motor to the drive mechanism. The shaft includes a first end portion and a second end portion. The first connector and the first end portion are mated together to interconnect the shaft and the motor in an interference fit and the second connector and the second end portion are mated together to interconnect the shaft and the drive mechanism in an interference fit.
Preferably, the first and second connectors are female connectors and the first and second end portions are male members. The female connectors each include a rectangular opening for receiving the male members. The shaft defines a longitudinal axis and the male members include a body having a rectangular cross-section that is twisted about the longitudinal axis. The body has a first section rotated to a first position about the longitudinal axis and a second section rotated to a second position about the longitudinal axis wherein the second position is different than the first position. The twisted body of the male members creates the interference fit when inserted into the female connectors.
Using a shaft with twisted end portions for interconnecting the electric motor and drive mechanism accommodates differences in manufacturing tolerances between the shaft and the connectors. The shaft is easy to assemble into the seat adjuster assembly and is quiet in operation. These and other features can be understood from the following specification and drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4880199 (1989-11-01), Harney
patent: 5292164 (1994-03-01), Rees
patent: 5337995 (1994-08-01), Satoh et al.
patent: 5483853 (1996-01-01), Moradell et al.
patent: 5816555 (1998-10-01), Ito et al.
patent: 5823499 (1998-10-01), Ito et al.
patent: 6089665 (2000-07-01), Andrigo
Downey Hugh D.
Garrido Pascal
Olsson Nils O.
Cuomo Peter M.
Dura Global Technologies
Kiczek C. R.
White Rodney B.
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