Latchable headrest

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9114744-B2
Application number	US-201414268402-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2014
Priority date	May 6, 2013
Publication date	Aug 25, 2015
Grant date	Aug 25, 2015

Abstract

A vehicle headrest has at least one generally vertical support rod formed with a vertical row of horizontally open notches, a body vertically slidable along the rod, and a latch element shiftable in the body between a first position engaged in one of the notches and impeding sliding of the body along the rod, a second position offset in one direction from the rod, and a third position offset in another direction from the rod. The latch element travels in a first straight line from the first position to the second position and in a second straight line nonparallel to the first straight line from the first position to the third position.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A motor-vehicle headrest with a body, at least one support rod mounted on a vehicle seat back and secured in at least one mount fixed in the seat back or in the body, and at least one latch assembly that can releasably fix the support rod in the mount, the latch assembly having at least one notch formed in the support rod and at least one latch bar in the mount, the latch bar being forcibly movable when actuated between a first position and a second position, wherein the latch bar is movable between the first and a third position and being out of engagement with the notch in the second and third positions.

2. A motor-vehicle seat with a headrest according to claim 1 .

3. The headrest according to claim 1 , wherein the notch has at least one blocking flank that extends generally perpendicular to a center axis of the support rod.

4. The headrest according to claim 3 , wherein the notch has at least one control flank that forms an angle between 30° and 70° with the center axis.

5. The headrest according to claim 1 , wherein the latch bar moves along a first travel path between the first and second position and along a second travel path between the first and third positions in which the latch bar is disengaged from the notch even when the actuator is not active.

6. The headrest according to claim 5 , wherein the latch bar moves along a first axis when moving along the first travel path and along a second axis when moving along the second travel path.

7. The headrest according to claim 6 , wherein the first axis is perpendicular to the second axis.

8. The headrest according to claim 1 , wherein the latch bar is juxtaposed with a slide that can move between a rest position and a freeing position and that the slide moves with the latch bar between the first and second positions.

9. The headrest according to claim 8 , wherein the slide is mounted in a housing.

10. The headrest according to claim 9 , wherein the housing is movable between a rest position and a freeing position and that the latch bar is movable by the housing between the first and the third positions.

11. The headrest according to claim 9 , wherein the housing has at least one contact surface that is engageable with a contact surface of the body in order to define the first and/or third position of the latch bar.

12. A vehicle headrest comprising:
at least one generally vertical support rod formed with a vertical row of horizontally open notches;
a body vertically slidable along the rod;
a latch element shiftable in the body between a first position engaged in one of the notches and impeding sliding of the body along the rod, a second position offset in one direction from the rod and a third position offset in another direction from the rod.

13. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 12 , wherein the latch element travels in a first straight line from the first position to the second position and in a second straight line nonparallel to the first straight line from the first position to the third position.

14. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 13 , wherein the first and second lines are generally perpendicular.

15. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 14 , wherein the second line extends radially of the support rod.

16. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 15 , wherein the first line extends tangentially of an outer cylindrical surface of the support rod and lies in a plane perpendicular to an axis of the support rod.

17. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 14 , wherein the latch element is a slide and includes an elongated housing extending and movable parallel to the first line in the body and the slide is movable transversely of the housing along the second line in the housing.

18. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 17 , further comprising:
at least one spring braced between the slide and the housing and urging the slide parallel to the second line out of the housing.

19. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 18 , wherein the slide and the housing are both generally parallepipedal and the slide is only moveable parallel to the second line relative to the housing and the housing is only movable parallel to the first line relative to the body.

20. The vehicle headrest defined in claim 19 , wherein the housing forms an abutment on which the slide bears directly parallel to the second line in the third position.

Assignees

• Groenninger Reinhold
• Wallinger Thomas
• Grammer Ag

Inventors

• Groenninger Reinhold
• Wallinger Thomas

Classifications

• B60N2/4805

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/4811 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2002/4888

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/4817

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/4814

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic