Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Seats with body modifications
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-18
2002-03-19
Gordon, Stephen T. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Seats with body modifications
C296S065130, C296S065050, C297S344100, C248S503100, C248S429000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06357814
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to seat assemblies for vehicles, comprising a removable seat assembled on guide rails.
More particularly, the invention concerns a vehicle seat assembly, comprising:
at least one first guide rail including a fixed section which is intended to be integral with the vehicle floor and which extends in a longitudinal direction, said fixed section comprising a longitudinal edge, and a seat having at least one first foot which is assembled in a removable manner on the guide rail to enable the seat to be vertically detached from the guide rail, said first foot comprising a coupling lock which is movable between a locked position where said coupling lock engages with the guide rail to make said first foot integral with said guide rail and a withdrawn position where said first foot can separate vertically from the guide rail, said seat having control means for moving said coupling lock between said locked and withdrawn positions.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Document FR-A-2 700 735 describes an example of such a seat assembly, in which the guide rail comprises a movable section which is sliding assembled along the fixed section, this movable section being able to be immobilized by a guide rail lock which is carried by aforesaid guide rail and which is controlled by a guide rail control device assembled on the seat.
The arrangements proposed in the aforementioned document require that the guide rail control device be perfectly connected with the guide rail lock when the seat is reassembled on its guide rail after having been removed. This requirement causes significant constraints on the seat design, particularly if it is desired to assemble the seat facing towards either the front or rear of the vehicle.
Moreover, the seat assembly described in the aforementioned document as also the disadvantage that the restraining forces of the seat are passed through the movable section: this imposes a sufficient sizing of this movable section and its connections with the seat and with the fixed section, which tends to again increase the cost of the seat assembly.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has the particular object of easing these disadvantages.
To this end, a first object of the invention is a seat assembly comprising: at least one first guide rail including a fixed section which is intended to be integral with the vehicle floor and which extends in a longitudinal direction, said fixed section comprising a longitudinal edge, and a seat having at least one first foot which is assembled in a removable manner on the guide rail to enable the seat to be vertically detached from the guide rail, said first foot comprising a coupling lock which is movable between a locked position where said coupling lock engages with the guide rail and a withdrawn position where said first foot can separate vertically from the guide rail, said seat having a control device for moving said coupling lock between said locked and withdrawn positions, wherein the coupling lock includes a first jaw part which extends downward from said first foot to a coupling claw, the first jaw part being pivotally mounted about a jaw rotation axis parallel to the longitudinal direction, said coupling lock engaging under said longitudinal edge of the fixed section when the coupling lock is in its locked position, thus preventing vertical separation of said first foot and the fixed section, and said coupling claw being sufficiently separated from the fixed section when the coupling lock is in its withdrawn position so that said coupling claw does not interfere with said fixed section during vertical separation of said first foot and said fixed section, and wherein said longitudinal edge of the fixed section delimits an open space which is situated underneath said longitudinal edge, said open space being arranged to enable said coupling claw to move in said open space during longitudinal movement of the seat.
By means of these arrangements the problems of the prior art relative to the separation of the guide rail lock and its control device when the seat is removed are avoided.
Moreover, the anchoring of the seat foot is made directly on the fixed section, which reinforces the solidity of the anchoring of the seat on the vehicle floor.
Furthermore, the guide rail movable section is totally eliminated, which decreases the cost of the seat assembly. Thus, the guide rail of the seat assembly according to the invention has a size reduced to the absolute minimum and does not give any discomfort to the vehicle passengers when the seat is removed. In the preferred embodiments of the invention, recourse may possibly by had moreover to one and/or other of the following arrangements as described below. In one embodiment, the first jaw part may be adapted to cooperate with the fixed section to prevent longitudinal movement of the seat when the coupling lock is in its locked position. The control device may be adapted to raise the first jaw part to apply the coupling claw of the first jaw part under the longitudinal edge of the fixed section, with clamping, when the first jaw part is in its locked position, thereby preventing longitudinal movement of the seat. The fixed section may include notches which are arranged under the longitudinal edge of said fixed section and the coupling claw may have upwardly directed teeth which are adapted to engage in the notches when the coupling lock is in its locked position, thereby preventing longitudinal movement of the seat. The control device may be adapted to move the coupling lock between the locked position, the withdrawn position, and an intermediate position where the first jaw part is in a sliding position and where the coupling claw of said first jaw part protrudes under the longitudinal edge of the fixed section, thereby preventing vertical separation of said first foot from the fixed section, but where the first jaw part is sufficiently separated from the fixed section to enable longitudinal movement of the seat. The control device may include a transverse control shaft which is pivotally mounted relative to the seat and which is movable between first and second positions corresponding respectively to the locked and withdrawn positions of the coupling lock.
In some embodiments, the seat assembly may further comprise a first control cam which is fixed to the transverse control shaft and which is arranged radially relative to the transverse control shaft. The first control cam may be adapted to pivot the first jaw part to a withdrawn position corresponding to the withdrawn position of the coupling lock when the control shaft is in its first position. The first control cam may be arranged to not interfere with the first jaw part when the transverse control shaft is in its second position, and the coupling lock may be resiliently assisted to its locked position. The first jaw part may be further slidingly mounted within the first foot in a substantially vertical direction.
In some embodiments, the seat assembly may further comprise a second control cam which is fixed to the transverse control shaft and which is arranged radially relative to the transverse control shaft. The second control cam may engage with the first jaw part to raise the first jaw part and, thus, apply the coupling claw of the first jaw part under the longitudinal edge of the fixed section with clamping when the transverse control shaft is in its first position, and may lower the first jaw part to enable longitudinal movement of the seat when the control shaft is in an intermediate position between its first and second positions. The longitudinal edge of the fixed section may have a longitudinal groove facing downward and the coupling claw may have a nose which projects upwardly and which is adapted to engage in the longitudinal groove when the control shaft is in its first position. The fixed section may comprise a body at least partially made of aluminum and a folded steel sheet which partially covers the body and which comprises notches. The coupling claw o
Boisset Bernard
Lejeune Jean-Michel
Schwartz Laurent
Bertrand Faure Equipements SA
Gordon Stephen T.
Gutman Hilary
Marshall Gerstein & Borun
LandOfFree
Vehicle seat assembly comprising a removable seat assembled... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle seat assembly comprising a removable seat assembled..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle seat assembly comprising a removable seat assembled... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2848557