Vehicle seating assembly having extendable headrest panel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10427562-B2
Application number	US-201715678293-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 16, 2017
Priority date	Aug 16, 2017
Publication date	Oct 1, 2019
Grant date	Oct 1, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle is provided herein. The vehicle includes a first seating assembly and a second seating assembly. The first seating assembly is positioned vehicle rearward of the second seating assembly and is comprised of a seatback pivotally coupled to a seat-base, a headrest coupled to the seatback via a connecting feature, and a panel assembly coupled to the connecting feature. The seatback is operable between a folded position and an unfolded position. The panel assembly is configured to protrude vehicle forward of the headrest when the seatback is in the folded position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seating assembly comprising:
a seat-base;
a seatback pivotally coupled to the seat-base and operable to a forwardly-folded position that arranges the seatback over the seat-base;
a headrest coupled to the seatback by a connecting feature; and
a panel assembly directly coupled to the connecting feature, wherein the panel assembly slidably extends to a position forward of the headrest when the seatback is in the forwardly-folded position, and wherein the panel assembly is offset from the seatback such that the seatback and the panel assembly are free of overlap in a vertical plane when the seatback is in the forwardly-folded position.

2. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein a horizontal centerline of the panel assembly is substantially coplanar with a rearward surface of the seatback.

3. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein the panel assembly comprises:
a first panel, and
a second panel configured to extend from the first panel.

4. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 3 , further comprising:
a locking feature coupled to the panel assembly that resists at least one of an extension and a contraction of the second panel relative to the first panel.

5. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 3 , wherein the second panel is configured to extend telescopically relative to the first panel.

6. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 1 , wherein the connecting feature that couples the headrest to the seatback comprises:
at least one post.

7. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 6 , further comprising:
a snap-fit feature coupling the panel assembly to the at least one post.

8. The vehicle seating assembly of claim 6 , further comprising:
a clip-on feature coupling the panel assembly to the at least one post.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Gibbons Robert
• Vo Jeffrey Tien
• Loew Pattrick

Classifications

• B60N2002/363

  characterised by provisions for enhancing the cargo floor surface, e.g. elements closing gaps or enlarging the back-rest surface · CPC title

• B60N2/809

  vertically slidable · CPC title

• B60N2/879

  with additional features not related to head-rest positioning, e.g. heating or cooling devices or loudspeakers · CPC title

• B60N2002/905

  the head-rest or seat used as an anchorage point, for an object not covered by groups in B60N, e.g. for a canvas · CPC title

• B60N2/36 Primary

  into a loading platform {(B60N2/065 takes precedence)} · CPC title