Deployable leg rest assembly

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9821692-B2
Application number	US-201415036956-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2014
Priority date	Nov 19, 2013
Publication date	Nov 21, 2017
Grant date	Nov 21, 2017

Abstract

A deployable leg rest assembly ( 3 ) for mounting to a seat pan ( 9 ) of a vehicle seat frame ( 11 ) comprises a leg support ( 4 ), a mounting plate ( 13 ) and a deployment mechanism ( 6 ) for deploying the leg support ( 4 ). The deployment mechanism ( 6 ) connects the leg support ( 4 ) to the mounting plate ( 13 ). The mounting plate ( 13 ) is adapted to be located above the seat pan ( 9 ). The deployable leg rest assembly ( 3 ) can be mounted to different vehicle seats ( 1 ) by accessing the seat pans ( 9 ) of the corresponding vehicle seat frames ( 11 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A deployable leg rest assembly for a vehicle seat, the deployable leg rest assembly comprising:
a leg support;
a mounting plate mountable on top of a seat pan of a frame of the vehicle seat; and
a deployment mechanism that deploys the leg support, wherein the deployment mechanism connects the leg support to the mounting plate, and wherein the deployment mechanism comprises:
a four-bar linkage; and
first and second members mounted to the four-bar linkage, wherein the first and second members are pivotally coupled to each other, and wherein the first member is coupled to a first end of the leg support and the second member is coupled to a second end of the leg support.

2. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the mounting plate is profiled at least substantially to match a corresponding portion of the seat pan.

3. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting plate is configured to define a face-to-face relationship with the seat pan.

4. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting plate is configured to extend in a longitudinal direction over at least part of the seat pan.

5. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting plate is inclined so as to provide an anti-submarining feature.

6. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 5 , wherein the mounting plate has a generally S-shaped longitudinal cross section, such that a front portion of the mounting plate is disposed vertically above a rear portion of the mounting plate.

7. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein the deployment mechanism is configured to rotate and translate the leg support to a deployed configuration.

8. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an actuator that actuates the deployment mechanism.

9. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 8 , wherein the actuator comprises an electric motor drivingly coupled to a lead screw.

10. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 8 , wherein the actuator is mounted to a first end of the mounting plate for positioning at a front end of the seat pan.

11. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 8 , wherein the actuator is located beneath a front portion of the mounting plate.

12. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 11 , wherein the front portion of the mounting plate defines a cavity for receiving the actuator.

13. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting plate is mountable to the seat pan by a plurality of mechanical fasteners.

14. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 1 , wherein the mounting plate comprises one or more reinforcing elements.

15. The deployable leg rest assembly of claim 14 , wherein the one or more reinforcing elements comprise one or more reinforcing flanges extending substantially perpendicularly from the mounting plate.

16. A deployable leg rest assembly for mounting to a vehicle seat frame, the deployable leg rest assembly comprising:
a leg support;
a mounting plate mountable to a seat pan;
a deployment mechanism that deploys the leg support, wherein the deployment mechanism connects the leg support to the mounting plate, and wherein the deployment mechanism comprises:
a four-bar linkage; and
first and second members mounted to the four-bar linkage, wherein the first and second members are pivotally coupled to each other, and wherein the first member is coupled to a first end of the leg support and the second member is coupled to a second end of the leg support; and

an actuating apparatus that actuates the deployment mechanism, wherein the actuating apparatus is located beneath a front portion of the mounting plate.

17. A vehicle seat frame, comprising:
a seat pan; and
a deployable leg rest assembly, comprising:
a leg support;
a mounting plate mounted on top of the seat pan; and
a deployment mechanism that deploys the leg support, wherein the deployment mechanism connects the leg support to the mounting plate, and wherein the deployment mechanism comprises:
a four-bar linkage; and
first and second members mounted to the four-bar linkage, wherein the first and second members are pivotally coupled to each other, and wherein the first member is coupled to a first end of the leg support and the second member is coupled to a second end of the leg support.

Assignees

• Jaguar Land Rover Ltd

Inventors

• Vyskocil Henry
• Heath John

Classifications

• B60N2002/024

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/42763

  with anti-submarining systems · CPC title

• B60N2/0232

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/4495 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60N2/995 Primary

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