Scissor lift assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11065989-B2
Application number	US-201916574932-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 18, 2019
Priority date	Sep 18, 2019
Publication date	Jul 20, 2021
Grant date	Jul 20, 2021

Abstract

A vehicle seat includes a seat base operably coupled with a seatback and having a seat pan. An upper connector is positioned on the seat pan. A lift assembly is operably coupled with the seat pan and includes a bracket defining a bracket slot. An outer link has a first end rotatably coupled with the seat pan and a second end that includes a lower connector. The lower connector is slidably received by the bracket slot. An inner link has a first end rotatably coupled with the bracket and a second end that defines a link slot. The link slot is configured to receive the upper connector. A sector gear is configured to facilitate vertical translation of the seat base.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a seat base having a seat pan and operably coupled with a seatback;
an upper connector positioned on the seat pan; and
a lift assembly operably coupled with the seat pan, wherein the lift assembly includes:
a bracket defining a bracket slot;
an outer link having a first end rotatably coupled with the seat pan and a second end including a lower connector, the lower connector slidably received by the bracket slot;
an inner link having a first end rotatably coupled with the bracket and a second end defining a link slot, wherein the link slot is configured to receive the upper connector; and
a sector gear configured to facilitate vertical translation of the seat base.

2. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein the seatback is directly coupled with the bracket at a pivot.

3. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , further comprising:
an actuator operably coupled with the sector gear and configured to engage with the sector gear to rotate the inner link to facilitate the vertical translation of the seat base.

4. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein the seat pan defines a recess configured to at least partially receive the lift assembly.

5. The vehicle seat of claim 1 , wherein a cross-member is fixedly coupled with the first end of the inner link.

6. A vehicle seat, comprising:
a seat pan including an upper connector; and
a lift assembly operably coupled with the seat pan, wherein the lift assembly includes:
a bracket defining a bracket slot;
an outer link rotatably coupled with the seat pan and slidably received by the bracket slot;
an inner link rotatably coupled with the bracket, the inner link defining a link slot configured to receive the upper connector; and
a sector gear coupled with the inner link and configured to facilitate vertical translation of the seat pan.

7. The vehicle seat of claim 6 , further comprising:
an actuator operably coupled with the sector gear, the actuator including a pinion having a plurality of pinion teeth, wherein the plurality of pinion teeth are gearingly engaged with a plurality of gear teeth of the sector gear.

8. The vehicle seat of claim 6 , further comprising:
a track assembly having first and second rail slides slidably coupled with first and second tracks; and
a plurality of fasteners operably coupling the bracket with one of the first and second rail slides.

9. The vehicle seat of claim 6 , further comprising:
a track assembly having first and second rail slides slidably coupled with first and second tracks, wherein the bracket is integrally formed with one of the first and second rail slides.

10. The vehicle seat of claim 6 , wherein the bracket slot and the link slot are generally obround.

11. The vehicle seat of claim 6 , wherein the inner link is pivotally coupled with the outer link at a central pivot point.

12. A lift assembly for a vehicle seat, comprising:
a seat pan including an upper connector;
a bracket defining a bracket slot;
an outer link rotatably coupled with the seat pan at a first end and slidably received by the bracket slot at a second end;
an inner link including a first end rotatably coupled with the bracket and a second end defining a link slot configured to receive the upper connector; and
a sector portion including a sector gear coupled with the inner link and configured to rotate to facilitate vertical translation of the seat pan.

13. The lift assembly of claim 12 , wherein the seat pan includes an upper portion extending from a lower portion, the upper portion configured to form a plurality of sidewalls configured to support an occupant.

14. The lift assembly of claim 13 , wherein the lower portion of the seat pan includes a front edge and a rear edge, the front edge and the rear edge configured to at least partially define a recess, and further wherein the recess is configured to at least partially receive the lift assembly.

15. The lift assembly of claim 12 , further comprising:
an actuator operably coupled with the sector gear and configured to rotate the sector gear to facilitate the vertical translation of the seat pan.

16. The lift assembly of claim 15 , wherein the actuator includes a pinion having a plurality of pinion teeth, wherein the plurality of pinion teeth are gearingly engaged with a plurality of gear teeth of the sector gear.

17. The lift assembly of claim 12 , further comprising:
a low-friction rim insert positioned within one of the bracket slot and the link slot.

18. The lift assembly of claim 12 , wherein the sector portion defines a guide slot, the guide slot configured to guide rotation of the sector gear.

19. The lift assembly of claim 12 , further comprising:
a track assembly having first and second rail slides slidably coupled with first and second tracks.

20. The lift assembly of claim 12 , wherein the bracket is directly coupled with a seatback of said vehicle seat.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Jaranson John Wayne
• Kondrad Marcos Silva
• Maloney Patrick
• Hosbach Christian J
• Line Johnathan Andrew

Classifications

• B60N2/508

  Scissors-like structure · CPC title

• B60N2/162 Primary

  Scissors-like structure · CPC title

• B60N2/165

  Gear wheel driven mechanism · CPC title

• A61G5/1059

  adjusting the height of the seat · CPC title

• B60N2/1817

  Scissors-like structure · CPC title