Chairs and seats – Movable bottom – Bottom and back movable as a unit
Patent
1997-05-14
1999-08-03
Nelson, Jr., Milton
Chairs and seats
Movable bottom
Bottom and back movable as a unit
2973441, 297325, 248404, 248396, A47C 102
Patent
active
059315334
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to seats and is particularly although not exclusively concerned with seats as used in vehicles, which may be land vehicles or air or water borne vehicles. The invention is concerned with the adjustment of the seat height to suit the convenience or comfort of the user. It will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention with reference to vehicle seats, but that is not the only application of the invention.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various means have been adopted to permit adjustment of the height or elevation of the seating surface of a vehicle seat. Such adjustment means is generally arranged to operate between the vehicle floor and the seat base or pan on which the seat cushion is supported, and in most cases is either mechanically or electrically actuated. It is also usual for such adjustment systems to be complex and to require substantial space for location of the various components. A particular difficulty exists with those systems which encroach into the area between tracks on which the seat is mounted to permit fore and aft adjustment of the seat location.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat height adjustment system which is relatively simple and has minimum space requirements. It is an object of the invention in a preferred form to provide such a system which is electrically actuated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A seat height adjustment system according to the invention is characterized in that the seat is resiliently biased towards a position of maximum elevation, and pull-down means is operable to move or allow movement of the seat against the influence of the biasing means towards a position corresponding to a position of minimum elevation of the seat. In a preferred arrangement, the biasing means includes a plurality of springs which act between the seat base and a support so as to normally urge the seat base away from the support towards a position of maximum separation which corresponds to the aforementioned position of maximum elevation of the seat. By way of example, one such spring may be located at or adjacent each of the four corners of the seat base.
The positions of maximum and minimum elevation referred to above and in subsequent passages of this specification assumes that there is consistent raising or lowering of the seat at all sides during adjustment of the elevation of the seat. That is, any adjustment of the seat will be a general adjustment as distinct from relative adjustment between different sides of the seat. Provision may be made to allow adjustment of the relative elevations of the front and the rear of the seat respectively, by way of example, and in that case the absolute maximum and minimum elevations of the front of the seat will correspond to the absolute minimum and maximum elevations respectively of the rear of the seat. Those absolute maximum and minimum elevations may be above and below respectively the maximum and minimum elevations of the seat in general which are achieved when there is no variation in the relative elevations of opposite sides of the seat.
It is preferred that means is provided to guide the seat during movement between the positions of maximum and minimum elevation. Such guide means may be telescopic in nature and may be associated with the biasing means. With regard to the last point the guide means and the biasing means may be combined to form a single assembly, an example of which is hereinafter referred to as a spring assembly.
The pull-down means may be mechanically or electrically actuated, but is electrically actuated in a preferred arrangement. It is further preferred that the or each actuator is operatively connectable to the seat base or to a member which influences the position of the seat base, and that connection may be through at least one flexible cable. The actuator cable need not act directly on the seat base. It could act on a member which is connected to or associated with the seat base in such a way that the position of that member relative t
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Henderson's Industries Pty. Ltd.
Jr. Milton Nelson
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