Vehicle seat easy-entry system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10675996-B2
Application number	US-201715801670-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2017
Priority date	Jan 17, 2017
Publication date	Jun 9, 2020
Grant date	Jun 9, 2020

Abstract

An easy-entry release system is utilized to actuate an easy-entry recliner of a vehicle seat assembly configured to fold a seat back relative to a seat bottom. The easy-entry release system includes a support member connectable to a seat back, a lever pivotally attached to the support member, and a sled in contact with the support member and moveable relative to the support member between a first position and a second position along a linear path. The sled is connected to the lever such that the lever rotates relative to the support member in response to the sled moving between the first and second positions. A strap is connected to the sled such that actuation of the strap moves the sled between the first and second positions.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat assembly comprising:
a seat bottom;
a seat back pivotally attached to the seat bottom;
an easy-entry recliner configured to permit the seat back to pivot relative to the seat bottom when released; and
a release system configured to release the easy-entry recliner, the release system including:
a support member supported on the seat back,
a lever pivotally attached to the support member,
a release member at least a portion of which is disposed outside of the seat back,
a sled disposed within the seat back and in contact with the support member and moveable relative to the support member between a first position and a second position upon actuation of the release member, wherein the sled is connected to the lever such that the lever rotates in response to the sled moving between the first and second positions, and
a tension member having a first end connected to the lever and a second end connected to the easy-entry recliner, wherein the easy-entry recliner is disengaged in response to pivoting of the lever, and wherein the support member is a housing defining a lever chamber and a sled chamber, and the lever is pivotally disposed in the lever chamber and the sled is slidably disposed within the sled chamber.

2. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the lever is connected to the support member at a first location and is connected to the sled at a second location that is spaced apart from the first location, wherein the first end of the tension member is connected to the lever between the first and second locations.

3. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the release member includes a strap having an end portion connected to the sled and disposed within the seat back and a looped portion extending out of the seat back.

4. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the sled defines a slot and a portion of the lever is disposed within the slot such that the lever slides within the slot when the lever is pivoted.

5. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 4 , wherein the sled defines a pair of arms that cooperate to define the slot and are spaced apart to define a gap, wherein a portion of the lever extends through the gap.

6. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a bottom wall defining an opening, and the tension member extends through the opening to connect to the lever.

7. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 6 , wherein the sled is located adjacent the bottom wall when in the first position and is vertically spaced from the bottom wall when in the second position, wherein the sled is biased to the first position.

8. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 7 , wherein the release system further includes a resilient member connected between the housing and the lever and urging the lever to pivot towards the bottom wall to urge the sled to the first position.

9. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 further comprising a discontinuous recliner configured to adjust a tilt of the seat back relative to the seat bottom, wherein a portion of the easy-entry recliner is fixed to a portion of the discontinuous recliner.

10. A vehicle seat assembly comprising:
a seat bottom;
a seat back pivotally attached to the seat bottom; an easy-entry recliner configured to permit the seat back to pivot relative to the seat bottom when released; and
an easy-entry release system configured to release the seat back from the seat bottom allowing the seat back to be pivoted to an easy-entry position, the release system including:
a support member located on the seat back,
a lever pivotally attached to the support member and operably connected to the easy-entry recliner,
a strap connected to the lever such that actuation of the strap pivots the lever relative to the support member to disengage the easy-entry recliner allowing the seat to be moved to the easy-entry position, and
a sled in contact with the support member and moveable relative to the support member between a first position and a second position, wherein the sled is connected to the strap and connected to the lever such that the lever rotates in response to the sled moving between the first and second positions, and
wherein the support member is a housing defining a lever chamber and a sled chamber, and the lever is pivotally disposed in the lever chamber and the sled is slidably disposed within the sled chamber.

11. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 10 , wherein the sled defines a slot and a portion of the lever is disposed within the slot, wherein the lever and the sled are arranged such that the lever slides within the slot when the lever is pivoted.

12. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 10 , wherein the release system further includes a tension member having a first end connected to the easy-entry recliner and a second end connected to the lever.

13. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 12 , wherein the lever is connected to the support member at a first location, operably connected to the strap at a second location, and connected to the second end of the tension member at a third location that is located between the first and second locations.

14. An easy-entry release system for actuating an easy-entry recliner of a vehicle seat assembly that is configured to fold a seat back relative to a seat bottom, the easy-entry release system comprising:
a support member connectable to a seat back;
a lever pivotally attached to the support member;
a sled in contact with the support member and moveable relative to the support member between a first position and a second position along a linear path, the sled defining a slot and a gap intersecting the slot, and wherein the sled is connected to the lever such that one portion of the lever is movably disposed within the slot and another portion of the lever is movably disposed within the gap, and the lever rotates relative to the support member in response to the sled moving between the first and second positions; and
a release member connected to the sled such that actuation of the release member moves the sled between the first and second positions.

15. The easy-entry release system of claim 14 , wherein the lever is pivotable about an axis that is spaced apart from the linear path.

16. The easy-entry release system of claim 14 , wherein the support member is a housing defining a lever chamber and a sled chamber, and the lever is pivotally disposed in the lever chamber and the sled is slidably disposed within the sled chamber.

17. The easy-entry release system of claim 16 , wherein the housing defines guide surfaces in contact with the sled, the guide surfaces being disposed between the lever chamber and the sled chamber and extending substantially parallel to the linear path.

Assignees

• Lear Corp

Inventors

• Hoyer Uwe
• Matzka Thomas
• Yarto Elorza Mikel Inge

Classifications

• B60N2/12

  slidable and tiltable · CPC title

• B60N2/20 Primary

  the back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access (B60N2/04, B60N2/22 {, B60N2/3002} take precedence) · CPC title