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US 12,122,265 B2Granted
Track assembly
AssigneeLear Corporation
InventorsFahui Xiao, Jianliang Ma, Hui Zhang, Chao Wang, Chengyuan Liu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A track assembly includes a track and a support member connected to and configured move along the track. The support member may include an engagement portion. The engagement portion may be configured to engage the track to limit relative movement between the track and the support member in a loaded state of the track assembly. The engagement portion may be configured not to operatively engage the track or limit movement between the track and the support member in an unloaded state of the track assembly.
Claims20
A track assembly, comprising:
- a track including:
- an outer vertical track portion, an inner vertical track portion, an upper horizontal track portion, and a lower horizontal track portion that at least partially define a channel;
- and
- a plurality of apertures disposed in the upper horizontal track portion and extending over substantially an entire length of the upper horizontal track portion in a longitudinal direction of the track;
- a support member connected to and configured to move along the track;
- wherein the support member includes an engagement portion and a rolling member;
- the rolling member is configured to facilitate movement of the support member along the track;
- the rolling member is connected to an outer vertical portion of the engagement portion and is disposed at least partially in the channel and between the outer vertical portion of the engagement portion and the outer vertical track portion;
- the engagement portion includes a plurality of teeth disposed over substantially an entire length of the engagement portion along the support member in the longitudinal direction of the track, wherein a number of the plurality of teeth is less than a number of the plurality of apertures;
- the engagement portion is configured to engage the track to limit relative movement between the track and the support member in a loaded state of the track assembly;
- the engagement portion is configured not to operatively engage the track or limit movement between the track and the support member in an unloaded state of the track assembly;
- and
- in response to an occurrence of a loading event:
- the track assembly transitions from the unloaded state to the loaded state;
- and
- a force provided by the loading event is transferred to the support member and moves substantially the entire support member toward the upper horizontal track portion engaging the plurality of teeth with at least a subset of apertures of the plurality of apertures.
13 more elements
A track assembly, comprising:
- a track including a first side portion, a second side portion, and a base portion connecting the first side portion and the second side portion in a generally U-shaped configuration;
- and
- a support member connected to and movable along the track;
- wherein the first side portion and the second side portion of the track each include:
- a lower horizontal track portion connected to the base portion;
- an upper horizontal track portion;
- an outer vertical track portion connecting the upper horizontal track portion and the lower horizontal track portion;
- and
- an inner vertical track portion projecting from the upper horizontal track portion toward the lower horizontal track portion;
- the upper horizontal track portion of the first side portion of the track includes a plurality of first apertures extending over substantially an entire length of the upper horizontal track portion of the first side portion in a longitudinal direction of the track;
- the upper horizontal track portion of the second side portion of the track includes a plurality of second apertures extending over substantially an entire length of the upper horizontal track portion of the second side portion in the longitudinal direction of the track;
- the support member includes a rolling member configured to facilitate movement of the support member along the track, and a first engagement portion and a second engagement portion that are disposed at least partially between the first side portion and the second side portion of the track such that the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion are spaced apart;
- the first engagement portion and the second engagement portion each include an outer vertical portion, an inner vertical portion, and a horizontal portion disposed in a generally U-shaped configuration;
- the first engagement portion includes a plurality of first teeth projecting vertically from the outer vertical portion of the first engagement portion and disposed over substantially an entire length of the first engagement portion along the support member in the longitudinal direction of the track, wherein a number of the plurality of first teeth is less than a number of the plurality of first apertures;
- the second engagement portion includes a plurality of second teeth projecting vertically from the outer vertical portion of the second engagement portion and are disposed over substantially an entire length of the second engagement portion along the support member in the longitudinal direction of the track, wherein a number of the plurality of second teeth is less than a number of the plurality of second apertures;
- and
- in response to an occurrence of a loading event, a force provided by the loading event is transferred to the support member and moves the support member away from the base portion of the track (i) engaging the plurality of first teeth with at least a subset of the plurality of first apertures and (ii) engaging the plurality of second teeth with at least a subset of the plurality of second apertures to limit relative movement between the support member and the track.
14 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.