Vehicle seating system
AssigneeFord Global Technologies, LLC
InventorsBenjamin Kulhawik, Antonio Del Puerto, Ryan John Craig
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle seating system includes a seatback pivotally coupled to a seat base. The seatback is operable between an upright position and a reclined position. A lift assembly is operably coupled to the seat base. The lift assembly is operable between a disengaged position and an engaged position. A position sensor is coupled to the lift assembly via a ball joint, wherein the ball joint and the position sensor adjust with movement of the lift assembly. A seat controller communicatively is coupled to the position sensor, wherein the seat controller determines if the lift assembly is in the disengaged position or has moved to the engaged position based on position data received from the position sensor.
Claims19
A vehicle seating system, comprising:
- a seatback having a top end and a bottom end, wherein the seatback is operable between an upright position and a reclined position;
- a seat base operably coupled to the seatback, wherein the seat base includes a front end and a rear end that is positioned in a vehicle-rearward direction relative to the front end and proximate to the bottom end of the seatback;
- a lift assembly operably coupled to the seat base, wherein the lift assembly is vertically operable between a disengaged position and an engaged position to vertically adjust the rear end of the seat base relative to the bottom end of the seatback, the rear end of the seat base being adjusted toward the bottom end when the lift assembly is in the engaged position;
- a position sensor coupled to the lift assembly via a ball joint, wherein the position sensor and the ball joint adjust with vertical movement of the lift assembly;
- and
- a seat controller in communication with the position sensor, wherein the seat controller determines a position of the lift assembly in response to position data received from the position sensor.
A seat system for a vehicle, comprising:
- at least one seat base including a forward edge and a rearward edge;
- at least one seatback operably coupled to the at least one seat base, wherein a lower end of the at least one seatback is positioned proximate to the rearward edge of the at least one seat base;
- at least one lift assembly vertically operable between a disengaged position and an engaged position to vertically adjust the rearward edge of the at least one seat base relative to the lower end of the at least one seatback, the engaged position being vertically above the disengaged position;
- at least one position sensor coupled to a frame of the at least one lift assembly via at least one ball joint to sense a position of the at least one lift assembly, the frame being disposed proximate the rearward edge of the at least one seat base, wherein the at least one position sensor and the at least one ball joint are adjusted with adjustment of the at least one lift assembly;
- and
- a seat controller communicatively coupled with the at least one position sensor, wherein the seat controller determines the position of the at least one lift assembly in response to position data received from the at least one position sensor and a vehicle speed, and wherein the seat controller communicates an alert signal when the vehicle speed is at or above a predetermined speed threshold and the at least one lift assembly is in the engaged position.
A method of alerting a passenger of seat positioning, comprising:
- positioning a frame of a lift assembly proximate to a rearward edge of a seat base;
- rotating a seatback to a first predetermined angle;
- vertically adjusting the lift assembly from a first position to a second position when the seatback reaches the first predetermined angle;
- vertically adjusting the lift assembly from the second position to a third position as the seatback is rotated from the first predetermined angle to a second predetermined angle, the second predetermined angle greater than the first predetermined angle;
- rotating the seat base to vertically adjust the rearward edge of the seat base with the lift assembly to adjust a gap between the rearward edge of the seat base and a bottom edge of the seatback, the rearward edge of the seat base being closer to the bottom edge compared to a front edge of the seat base;
- adjusting a position sensor vertically with movement of the frame as the lift assembly is adjusted, wherein the position sensor is coupled to the frame of the lift assembly via a ball joint;
- sensing a position of the position sensor coupled to the lift assembly;
- determining if the lift assembly is in the third position;
- determining a vehicle speed;
- and
- providing at least one of a visual alert and an audible alert when the lift assembly is in the third position and the vehicle speed is at or above a predetermined speed threshold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.