Power leg rest for vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11548424-B2
Application number	US-202117144470-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 8, 2021
Priority date	Aug 12, 2020
Publication date	Jan 10, 2023
Grant date	Jan 10, 2023

Abstract

A power leg rest for a vehicle includes a pair of fixed plates; a main pipe connected to between internal surfaces of the fixed plates; a tilt motor tiltably mounted to the main pipe; a pair of main links fastened to external surfaces of the fixed plates by respective first hinge pins; a support pipe connected to between front end portions of the main links; a lead nut bracket coupled to a lead screw and movable forwards and backwards and hingedly fastened to the support pipe; a pair of leg rest links mounted on both sides of a leg rest frame; and a pair of driving links, each being hingedly fastened to corresponding ones of the leg rest links, the main links, and the fixed plates, operating in linkage with the main link, and folding or unfolding the pair of leg rest links.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A leg rest apparatus comprising:
a pair of fixed plates configured to be connected to a seat cushion frame;
a main pipe connected between internal surfaces of the pair of fixed plates;
a tilt motor tiltably mounted to the main pipe;
a pair of main links, rear end portions of which are each hingedly fastened to an external surface of a corresponding one of the pair of fixed plates by a first hinge pin;
a support pipe connected between front end portions of the pair of main links;
a lead nut bracket coupled to a lead screw and movable forwards and backwards, wherein the lead screw is an output shaft of the tilt motor, and hingedly fastened to the support pipe;
a pair of leg rest links mounted on a first side and a second side of a leg rest frame; and
a pair of driving links, each being hingedly fastened to a corresponding one of the pair of leg rest links, a corresponding one of the pair of main links, and the corresponding one of the pair of fixed plates, operating in linkage with the pair of main links, and folding or unfolding the pair of leg rest links,
wherein each of the driving links includes:
a front link hingedly fastened to each of the leg rest links and the main links; and
a rear link having a first end hingedly coupled to the leg rest links at a predetermined distance apart from the front link and a second end hingedly coupled to a support link hingedly coupled to the fixed plates, wherein the rear link is hingedly coupled to the main links between the first end and the second end.

2. The leg rest apparatus of claim 1 ,
the support link is hingedly fastened to a lower end portion of the fixed plates by a second hinge pin;
a rear link is hingedly fastened to a front end portion of the support link by a third hinge pin at a lower end portion of the rear link, hingedly fastened to a middle portion of one of the main links by a fourth hinge pin at a middle portion of the rear link, and hingedly fastened to a rear end portion of one of the leg rest links by a fifth hinge pin at an upper end portion of the rear link, and
the front link is hingedly fastened to a front end portion of the one of the main links by a sixth hinge pin at a lower end portion of the front link, and hingedly fastened to a middle portion of one of the leg rest links by a seventh hinge pin at an upper end portion of the front link.

3. The leg rest apparatus of claim 2 , wherein when the lead screw is rotated by a drive of the tilt motor, the lead nut bracket is moved forward and pushes up the support pipe forward, whereby each of the main links secured to the support pipe is rotated to an unfolded position of the leg rest apparatus and the rear link and the front link of each of the driving links are erected pushing up the pair of leg rest links forward.

4. The leg rest apparatus of claim 3 , wherein as the pair of leg rest links is pushed up forward, an angle between corresponding one of the main link and the front link and an angle between the corresponding one of the main link and the rear link are increased, so that unfolding operation of the leg rest frame is performed to a target angle.

5. The leg rest apparatus of claim 2 , wherein each of the pair of fixed plates includes:
a first fixed plate having an internal surface to which one end portion of the main pipe is fixed, and an external surface to which the rear end portion of the one of the main links is hingedly fastened by the first hinge pin; and
a second fixed plate being in contact with and attached to the external surface of the first fixed plate, and hingedly fastened to a rear end portion of the support link by the second hinge pin at a lower end portion of the second fixed plate.

6. The leg rest apparatus of claim 5 ,
wherein each of the first and second fixed plates is provided with a mounting end portion formed at an upper end portion of each of the first and second fixed plates, and
wherein the mounting end portion has a mounting hole configured for being coupled to the seat cushion frame.

7. The leg rest apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a motor mounting bracket to which the tilt motor is tiltably fastened is fixedly mounted to the main pipe.

8. The leg rest apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the motor mounting bracket is provided with a first hinge hole formed in a lower portion of the motor mounting bracket, and the tilt motor has a first hinge end portion hingedly fastened to the first hinge hole by a first tilting pin.

9. The leg rest apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the lead nut bracket includes a lead nut portion engaged to the lead screw and movable forwards and backwards of the lead screw according to a rotation of the lead screw, and a bracket portion hingedly fastened to the support pipe, wherein the lead nut portion and the bracket portion are integrally formed into a single piece.

10. The leg rest apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the bracket portion is provided with a second hinge hole formed at a front end portion of the bracket portion, and the support pipe is provided with a second hinge end portion hingedly fastened to the second hinge hole by a second tilting pin.

11. A leg rest apparatus comprising:
a pair of fixed plates configured to be connected to a seat cushion frame;
a main pipe connected between internal surfaces of the pair of fixed plates;
a tilt motor tiltably mounted to the main pipe;
a pair of main links, rear end portions of which are each hingedly fastened to an external surface of a corresponding one of the pair of fixed plates by a first hinge pin;
a support pipe connected between front end portions of the pair of main links;
a lead nut bracket coupled to a lead screw and movable forwards and backwards, wherein the lead screw is an output shaft of the tilt motor, and hingedly fastened to the support pipe;
a pair of leg rest links mounted on a first side and a second side of a leg rest frame; and
a pair of driving links, each being hingedly fastened to a corresponding one of the pair of leg rest links, a corresponding one of the pair of main links, and the corresponding one of the pair of fixed plates, operating in linkage with the pair of main links, and folding or unfolding the pair of leg rest links, wherein each of the driving links includes:
a support link hingedly fastened to a lower end portion of the fixed plates by a second hinge pin;
a rear link hingedly fastened to a front end portion of the support link by a third hinge pin at a lower end portion of the rear link, hingedly fastened to a middle portion of one of the main links by a fourth hinge pin at a middle portion of the rear link, and hingedly fastened to a rear end portion of one of the leg rest links by a fifth hinge pin at an upper end portion of the rear link; and
a front link hingedly fastened to a front end portion of the one of the main links by a sixth hinge pin at a lower end portion of the front link, and hingedly fastened to a middle portion of one of the leg rest links by a seventh hinge pin at an upper end portion of the front link.

12. The leg rest apparatus of claim 11 , wherein each of the pair of fixed plates includes:
a first fixed plate having an internal surface to which one end portion of the main pipe is fixed, and an external surface to which the rear end portion of the one of the main links is hingedly fastened by the first hinge pin; and
a second fixed plate being in contact with and attached to the external surface of the first fixed plate, and hingedly fastened to a rear end portion of the support link by the second hinge pin at a lower end portion of the second fixed plate.

13. The leg rest apparatus of claim 12 ,
wherein each of the fi

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Motors Corp
• Das Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Tae Su
• Moon Soo Hyun
• Moon Hyun Kyu
• Yoon Sang Hwi
• Jung Du Go
• Ko Hyun
• Choi Won Jin
• Kim Young Joon

Classifications

• B60N2/995 Primary

  Lower-leg-rests, e.g. calf-rests · CPC title

• A47C7/50

  Supports for the feet or the legs (reclining or easy chairs having coupled adjustable supporting parts including a leg-rest or foot-rest A47C1/034; reclining or easy chairs having coupled adjustable supporting parts including a head-rest in combination with a leg-rest or foot-rest A47C1/037) · CPC title

• B60N3/063 Primary

  with adjustment systems · CPC title

• B60N2/02253

  characterised by the transmission between the electric motor and the seat or seat parts · CPC title

• B60N2/02246

  Electric motors therefor · CPC title