Vehicle rear seat position changing device

Details Vehicle rear seat position changing device Vehicle rear seat position changing device

2003-03-28

2004-11-23

Patel, Kiran (Department: 3612)

Land vehicles: bodies and tops

Bodies

Seats with body modifications

C296S065090, C701S049000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06820911

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle rear seat position changing device which allows multiple rows of rear seats arranged behind front seats to return to their desired positions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Some vehicles have first rear seats and second rear seats behind front seats for receiving six to seven passengers. This kind of vehicles can, for example, form a large space within the passenger compartment to put baggage therein by folding the first rear seats and the second rear seats, or improve the access to the second rear seats by folding the first rear seats.
However, the first and second rear seats themselves are relatively heavy loads, and require great operating force to manually fold the first and/or second rear seats to change the positions. It is additionally required in changing the positions of the first and/or second rear seats to manually change them while releasing the respective locks of the rear seats. This results in relatively long time to change the positions of the rear seats appropriately for the use of the vehicle, leaving room for improvement in that respect.
As means for solving the problem, there has been proposed a “Vehicle Rear Seat System” disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. SHO-63-284043, for example. This rear seat system is shown in FIG.
16
.
The rear seat system shown in
FIG. 16
has a first rear seat
101
and a second rear seat
102
arranged behind a front seat
100
. The first rear seat
101
has an actuator
103
for sliding a seat cushion
101
a
longitudinally of the vehicle and an actuator
104
for swingingly moving the seat cushion
101
a
in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The first rear seat
101
further has an actuator
105
for swingingly moving its seatback
101
b
in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The second rear seat
102
has an actuator
106
for swingingly moving a seatback
102
b
in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
A controller
108
for controlling these actuators
103
to
106
is provided at an instrument panel
109
of the vehicle. The controller
108
is a mode selection switch for changing the position mode of the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
. The operation of the mode selection switch
108
brings the actuators
103
to
106
provided at the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
into operation, changing the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
into a desired position mode.
However, since the mode selection switch
108
is provided at the instrument panel
109
, an operator
110
performs the operation of changing the first and/or second rear seats
101
,
102
into desired positions, seeing the mode selection switch
108
. It is thus required to check the motions of the first and/or second rear seats
101
,
102
while seeing the mode selection switch
108
, leaving room for improvement in terms of usability.
The “Vehicle Rear Seat System” of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. SHO-63-284043 also presents an example of providing first and second switch boards not shown in
FIG. 16
at the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
, respectively.
The first switch board has, for example, a slide drive mechanism control switch for sliding the first rear seat
101
in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and a reclining drive mechanism control switch for reclining the first rear seat.
The second switch board has, for example, a reclining drive mechanism control switch for reclining the second rear seat
102
.
By manually operating the slide drive mechanism control switch and the reclining drive mechanism control switch of the first switch board, the first rear seat
101
is changed into a desired position. By manually operating the reclining drive mechanism control switch of the second switch board, the second rear seat
102
is changed into a desired position.
The provision of the first switch board at the first rear seat
101
and the provision of the second switch board at the second rear seat
102
allow the operator
110
to check the motions of the first and/or second rear seats
101
,
102
while operating the respective control switches.
In the normal use of the vehicle, the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
are generally used in a position mode shown in
FIG. 16
(hereinafter referred to as a “normal mode”). At the end of use of the vehicle for temporary use other than the normal use with the position mode of the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
appropriately changed for the temporary use, the position mode of the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
is often returned to the normal mode.
It is also required to manually operate the first and second switch boards to return the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
into the normal mode. At that time, the first and second switch boards are operated while the motions of the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
are visually checked. When the rear seats
101
and
102
are returned to the normal mode, the operation of the first and second switch boards is released.
As just described, in order to return the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
into the normal mode using the first and/or second switch boards, it is required to simultaneously perform both the work of operating the first and second switch boards and the work of visually checking the motions of the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
. The returning operation of the first and second rear seats
101
and
102
thus takes time, leaving room for improvement in this respect.
It is thus desired to allow returning multiple rows of rear seats to their desired positions while checking the motions of the rear seats.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rear seat position changing device for a vehicle with multiple rows of rear seats as a first rear seat and a second rear seat arranged behind front seats, having actuators for changing the position of each row of rear seats, having a plurality of sensors for detecting the position of each row of rear seats, and having a control unit for controlling the actuators based on information from the sensors, which vehicle rear seat position changing device comprises: a memory switch provided in the vicinity of the first or second rear seat; wherein, when the first and second rear seats are arranged in a desired position mode, the memory switch is operated to store information of the desired position mode detected by the plurality of sensors in the control unit as reproduction position mode information; to change the first and second rear seats from a current position mode to the desired position mode, the memory switch is operated to detect the current position mode with the plurality of sensors for storage in the control unit as current position mode information; and the actuators are driven with the control unit in accordance with the reproduction position mode information stored in the control unit to change the positions of the first and second rear seats from the current position mode to the desired position mode.
To return the first and second rear seats from the desired position mode to the current position mode, the memory switch is operated to read the current position mode information stored in the control unit and drive the actuators with the control unit according to the current position mode information, thereby to return the positions of the first and second rear seats from the desired position mode to the current position mode.
The memory switch is preferably provided at the inside of a rear side door of the vehicle. The memory switch comprises a reproduction switch for changing the plurality of rear seats from the current position mode to the desired position mode and a return switch for returning from the desired position mode to the current position mode.
Thus in the present invention, when the first and second rear seats are in a desired position mode, information of the desired position mode is previously stored as reprodu

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