Chairs and seats – Combined – With electrical feature
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-28
2004-03-02
Nelson, Jr., Milton (Department: 3636)
Chairs and seats
Combined
With electrical feature
C297S391000, C297S408000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06698832
ABSTRACT:
The invention concerns a vehicle seat having a headrest detachably fastenable to a seatback, and having an integrated display screen device for which the headrest has a receiving space.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
In order to offer passengers in a motor vehicle the ability to work or to entertain or inform themselves, it is known to install a display screen device in the region of the headrest of the seatback of a vehicle seat. The display screen device can be, for example, a TV receiver, a video device, or a computer.
Known vehicle seats that fulfill this purpose are described in German Utility Model Applications DE 295 18 369 U1 and DE 296 00 783 U1l, and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,265. Utility Model DE 296 00 783 U1, for example, discloses a headrest for motor vehicles in which entertainment-sector devices can be integrated into a cavity. The vehicle seat having the headrest described is one of the type described initially.
In the case of the headrest for vehicle seats known from Utility Model DE 295 18 369 U1, there is arranged on the back side of the headrest a display screen that is integrated into a shaped element, removable from the headrest, having a space that is intended for reception of the headrest.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,265 describes a vehicle seat in which the integrated display screen device is mounted pivotably in a receiving space of the headrest, although the headrest is not fastened detachably to the seatback of the seat but rather forms a physical unit therewith.
It is the object of the invention to configure a vehicle seat having an integrated display screen device of the kind described initially, using means of simple design, so as to improve its ease of assembly while ensuring maximum comfort and a high level of safety for the vehicle's passengers.
The teachings hereinbelow extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned needs.
SUMMARY OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
This object is achieved by way of a vehicle seat of the kind cited initially in which in the assembled state, the display screen device is fastened in the receiving space positively and/or nonpositively between the headrest and the seatback.
The vehicle seat is thus, advantageously, very easy to assemble as a result of a modular construction of the headrest, display screen device, and seatback. The positive and/or nonpositive join, which in particular can be a clamped join, can be made sufficiently secure and, if necessary, can be reinforced in additionally securing fashion without thereby negatively affecting the ease of assembly.
This object is furthermore achieved by a vehicle seat of the kind described initially in which at least the display screen of the display screen device is pivotable about an axis extending in the transverse direction of the seat in the upper region of the seatback, and alternatively or additionally is rotatable about a (further) center axis extending in the transverse direction of the seat. The establishment of specific display screen positions thereby made possible allows the safety standard to be raised, and the comfort of the vehicle seat according to the present invention to be improved.
In motor vehicles, the headrest of a vehicle seat is generally guided in vertically displaceable fashion with two retaining rods in guide sleeves that are joined to the frame of the seatback of the vehicle seat. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, for detachable fastening of the display screen device an integral combination of the two guide sleeves, constituted by a bridge and serving as support part for the display screen device, can comprise a receiving opening which is configured in such a way that it can receive a commercially available plug connector for an electrical connection. The contacts of the plug connector can be allocated to supply lines necessary for operation of the display screen device. The entire cable bundle of the connector lines can thus advantageously, in a manner invisible to the passengers, be routed within the seatback and guided to the corresponding supply devices. The necessary electrical connection is then created simultaneously with placement of the display screen device onto the support part.
The display screen, which preferably can be embodied using LCD technology, can advantageously be arranged on an (in particular, flat) bottom part (console) that additionally comprises passthrough holes for passage of the retaining rods of the headrest. The result is to achieve an additional positive immobilization of the display screen device, which thus cannot be removed from its retaining apparatus without removing the headrest.
The receiving space of the headrest for the display screen device can advantageously be configured as a recess that is open on two sides (at the bottom and in the viewing direction of the viewer of the display screen device) and completely surrounds the display screen device, thus also yielding comprehensive impact protection for the passengers sitting in front of the display screen device. Sufficient passenger protection can be guaranteed even if the headrest must be adjusted vertically for purposes of adaptation.
Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are contained in the dependent claims and the following specific description.
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patent: 5147109 (1992-09-01), Jolly
patent: 5267775 (1993-12-01), Nguyen
patent: 5507556 (1996-04-01), Dixon
patent: 5713633 (1998-02-01), Lu
patent: 5906414 (1999-05-01), Rus
patent: 6215518 (2001-04-01), Watkins
patent: 6250967 (2001-06-01), Chu
patent: 6394551 (2002-05-01), Beukema
Foley & Lardner
Johnson Controls Technology Company
Jr. Milton Nelson
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