Pneumatically actuated seat bolster

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10434918-B2
Application number	US-201715484559-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 11, 2017
Priority date	Apr 11, 2017
Publication date	Oct 8, 2019
Grant date	Oct 8, 2019

Abstract

A vehicle seat includes a cushion and a seatback coupled with the cushion and rotatable between collapsed and open positions. The seatback includes a first inflatable bladder within an interior of the seatback, a pneumatic actuator fluidically coupled with the bladder and configurable between a compressed condition and a withdrawn condition, and a control cable coupled between the actuator and the cushion for linking the configuration of the actuator with the position of the seatback.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a cushion;
a seatback coupled with the cushion and rotatable between collapsed and open positions, the seatback including:
a first inflatable bladder within an interior of the seatback;
a support frame within the interior of the seatback;
a pneumatic actuator fixedly coupled to the support frame and fluidically coupled with the bladder, and moveable between a compressed condition and a withdrawn condition; and
a flexible control cable coupled between the actuator and a coupling point on the cushion, wherein the coupling point is fixed relative to rotation of the seatback, and wherein the flexible control cable moves the actuator with rotation of the seatback.

2. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic actuator includes an elongate chamber having an outlet and a piston sealingly engaged with an inner perimeter of the chamber and slideable toward and away from the outlet, the compressed condition corresponding to the piston being in a proximal-most position with respect to the outlet and the withdrawn condition corresponding to the piston being in a distal-most position with respect to the outlet.

3. The vehicle seat of claim 2 , wherein the flexible control cable is coupled with the piston of the pneumatic actuator and moving the piston between the proximal-most positon and the distal-most position.

4. The vehicle seat of claim 2 , wherein the pneumatic actuator is coupled with the first inflatable bladder at the outlet of the elongate chamber.

5. The vehicle seat of claim 2 , wherein the pneumatic actuator further includes a spring biasing the piston toward the proximal-most position, the control cable acting against the spring under tension to pull the piston into the distal-most position when the seatback is moved into the collapsed position.

6. The vehicle seat of claim 2 , wherein the flexible control cable defines a rigid portion coupled with the piston and applies a force thereon to urge the piston toward the proximal-most position with respect to the outlet.

7. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein the pneumatic actuator is fluidically coupled with the inflatable bladder such that movement of the actuator from the withdrawn condition to the compressed condition causes a fluid pressure within the bladder to increase.

8. The vehicle seat of claim 7 , wherein:
the increase in the fluid pressure urges the bladder into an expanded condition; and
movement of the actuator from the compressed condition to the withdrawn condition causes the fluid pressure within the bladder to decrease, urging the bladder into a contracted position.

9. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein:
the pneumatic actuator is fluidically coupled with the inflatable bladder to cause inflation and deflation of the bladder with configuration of the actuator in the compressed condition and the withdrawn condition, respectively; and
the inflation and deflation of the inflatable bladder causes a thickness of a portion of the seatback corresponding with the bladder to increase and decrease, respectively.

10. The vehicle seat of claim 9 , wherein the first inflatable bladder is positioned beneath a seatback coverstock in a bolster area of the seatback.

11. The vehicle seat of claim 9 , wherein the movement of the actuator by rotation of the seatback by the flexible control cable is such that the thickness of the portion of the seatback is at a maximum when the seatback is in the open position and is at a minimum when the seatback is in the collapsed position.

12. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein the flexible control cable is internal within the seatback and exits the seatback in a location that is disposed toward a rear of the seatback when the seatback is in the open position.

13. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , further including a second inflatable bladder within the interior of the seatback, the pneumatic actuator being further fluidically coupled with the second inflatable bladder.

14. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a cushion;
a seatback coupled with the cushion and rotatable between collapsed and open positions, the seatback including:
an inflatable bladder within an interior of the seatback;
an elongate chamber disposed within the interior of the seatback and fluidically coupled with the inflatable bladder and a piston sealingly engaged with an inner perimeter of the chamber; and
a control cable including a filament portion and coupled between the piston and a fixed point relative to rotation of the seatback on the cushion for sliding the piston within the chamber by rotation of the seatback.

15. The vehicle seat of claim 14 , wherein:
the elongate chamber has an outlet disposed at a first end thereof; and
the piston is slideable within the chamber toward and away from the outlet between a compressed condition corresponding to the piston being in a proximal-most position with respect to the outlet and a withdrawn position corresponding to the piston being in a distal-most position with respect to the outlet.

16. The vehicle seat of claim 15 , wherein the pneumatic actuator further includes a spring biasing the piston toward the proximal-most position, the control cable acting against the spring under tension to pull the piston into the distal-most position when the seatback is moved into the collapsed position.

17. The vehicle seat of claim 15 , wherein the control cable defines a rigid portion coupled with the piston and applies a force thereon to urge the piston toward the compressed condition.

18. The vehicle seat of claim 14 , wherein:
the elongate chamber is fluidically coupled with the inflatable bladder to cause inflation and deflation of the bladder with movement of the piston; and
the inflation and deflation of the inflatable bladder causes a thickness of a portion of the seatback corresponding with the bladder to increase and decrease, respectively.

19. The vehicle seat of claim 18 , wherein the inflatable bladder is positioned beneath a seatback coverstock in a bolster area of the seatback.

20. A vehicle, comprising:
a seatback coupled within an interior of the vehicle and rotatable between collapsed and open positions;
an inflatable bladder within an interior of the seatback;
a pneumatic actuator fluidically coupled with the bladder and configurable between a compressed condition and a withdrawn condition; and
a control cable extending along a path within the interior of the seatback and coupled with the actuator and fixed with the interior of the vehicle, wherein the path is longer when the seatback is in the collapsed position for moving the actuator with rotation of the seatback, and wherein the control cable is under tension when the seatback is in the collapsed position and configured to flex with movement of the seatback between the collapsed and open positions.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Raines Travis Justin

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

• B60N2/206

  to a position in which it can be used as a support for objects, e.g. as a tray · CPC title

• B60N2/64

  Back-rests {or cushions (B60N2/2222 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B60N2/914

  Hydro-pneumatic adjustments of the shape · CPC title

• B60N2/62

  Thigh-rests {(B60N2/914 takes precedence)} · CPC title