Rear seat cushion with H-point articulation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9586506-B2
Application number	US-201414505555-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 3, 2014
Priority date	Oct 3, 2014
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

A vehicle seat assembly includes a seat pan and four linkage arms individually pivotably coupled with the seat pan. The assembly further includes a mounting plate, each of the four linkage arms being pivotably coupled therewith. A gear rack is coupled with the seat pan and defines an articulation path therefor, and a pinion is operably engaged with the rack to drive articulation of the seat pan including pivoting of the four linkage arms and sliding of the mounting plate.

First claim

We claim:

1. A vehicle seat assembly, comprising:
a seat pan;
four linkage arms individually pivotably coupled with the seat pan;
a mounting plate pivotably coupled with each of the four linkage arms;
a gear rack coupled with the seat pan and defining an articulation path therefor; and
a pinion operably engaged with the rack to drive articulation of the seat pan including pivoting of the four linkage arms and sliding of the mounting plate.

2. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 :
further including a fixed base;
wherein:
the linkage arms collectively support the seat pan over the mounting plate; and
the mounting plate is slidably coupled with the base.

3. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the articulation path of the seat pan includes rotation of the seat pan about an articulation point disposed on a side thereof opposite the four linkage arms.

4. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 3 , wherein the articulation point is positioned to align with a hip joint of an occupant.

5. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein the four linkage arms are arranged in pairs of arms coupled with the mounting plate and the seat pan on respective opposite sides thereof.

6. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 5 , wherein each of the pairs of arms includes a front arm extending from the mounting plate toward a front side of the seat pan and a rear arm extending from the mounting plate toward a rear side of the seat pan, the front arm having a first length and the rear arm having a second length less than the first length.

7. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 6 , wherein the second length is less than 50% of the first length.

8. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the mounting plate is slidable along a track extending in a sliding direction;
the rack is coupled with the seat pan along a rear side thereof; and
the articulation path defined by the rack extends partially in the sliding direction and further extends in a generally vertical direction.

9. The vehicle seat assembly of claim 8 :
further including a motor coupled with the pinion and operable to drive rotation of the pinion;
wherein the rotation of the pinion, driven by the motor, causes movement of the rack along the pinion and along the path, such that movement of the rack causes sliding of the mounting plate in the sliding direction, vertical movement of the rear side of the seat pan, and pivoting of the four arms.

10. A motor vehicle seat, comprising:
a base platform;
a cushion; and
a mounting assembly including:
a linkage mechanism slidably mounted on the base platform and coupled with the cushion; and
a drive mechanism coupled between the base platform and the linkage mechanism and defining a movement path for the cushion with respect to the base platform including articulation about the linkage mechanism and sliding of the linkage mechanism with respect to the base platform, the drive mechanism including a rack coupled with the linkage mechanism and defining the movement path and a pinion coupled with the base platform and operably engaged with the rack to drive the articulation of the cushion about the linkage mechanism and the sliding of the linkage mechanism with respect to the base platform.

11. The motor vehicle seat of claim 10 , wherein the movement path for the cushion is such that the cushion rotates about a point opposite the base platform.

12. The motor vehicle seat of claim 10 , wherein:
the linkage mechanism includes a mounting plate that slidably couples the linkage mechanism with the base platform;
the articulation about the linkage mechanism includes translation of the cushion in a first direction and through a first distance relative to the mounting plate; and
the sliding of the linkage mechanism with respect to the base platform is such that the mounting plate translates in a second direction opposite the first direction and through a second distance at least equal to the first distance.

13. The motor vehicle seat of claim 10 , wherein the linkage mechanism includes:
a mounting plate that slidably couples the linkage mechanism with the base platform;
a seat pan supporting the cushion and including a front and a rear;
a first linkage arm pivotably coupled with the mounting plate and extending to pivotably couple with the seat pan adjacent the front; and
a second linkage arm pivotably coupled with the mounting plate and extending to pivotably couple with the seat pan adjacent the rear.

14. The motor vehicle seat of claim 10 , further including a seatback positioned adjacent the cushion, wherein the movement of the cushion is independent of any movement of the seatback.

15. A mounting assembly for a vehicle seat cushion comprising:
a cushion support defining a front and a back;
a mounting plate underlying the support between the front and the back, and having a plate track portion coupled thereto;
a front linkage arm having a first length and coupled between the mounting plate and the cushion support adjacent the front; and
a rear linkage arm having a second length that is less than 50% of the first length and coupled between the mounting plate and the cushion support adjacent the back.

16. The mounting assembly of claim 15 , wherein the plate track portion extends in a direction from the back toward the front of the cushion support and is coupleable with a base track portion coupled with a portion of a vehicle interior.

17. The mounting assembly of claim 15 , further comprising a drive mechanism coupled with the cushion support and defining a movement path therefor including rotation of the cushion support about an articulation point disposed on a side thereof opposite the mounting plate.

18. The mounting assembly of claim 17 , wherein the articulation point is positioned to align with a hip joint of an occupant.

Assignees

• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Line Johnathan Andrew
• Damerow Robert
• Maloney Patrick
• Fannin Sean David
• Reddy Balakrishna
• Sidhu Mandeep Singh
• Hosbach Christian J

Classifications

• B60N2/933

  rotatable · CPC title

• B60N2/1875

  Racks · CPC title

• B60N2/181

  Rods · CPC title

• B60N2/506 Primary

  Seat guided by rods · CPC title

• B60N2/68

  Seat frames · CPC title