Adjustable Seat Track Having Track Engagement Structure

A seat adjustment apparatus comprising:

• a first rail having a plurality of openings extending along the longitudinal axis, the openings being defined by generally parallel spaced-apart surfaces;
• a second rail having a plurality of alternating complementary openings and teeth having tapered spaced-apart surfaces that define the complementary openings;
• and
• a locking mechanism having a first locking portion including first and second latch plates that each include a plurality of teeth and a second locking portion including third and fourth latch plates that each include a plurality of teeth, the first and second locking portions being selectively rotatable between a released position, wherein the first and second rails can move freely relative to one another along the longitudinal axis, and a locked position, wherein the first rail is maintained in a selected position relative to the second rail by the plurality of teeth of at least one of the first and second locking portions extending into selected openings and complementary openings of the first and second rails, the first locking portion being configured to engage the first plurality of openings and the second locking portion being configured to engage the second plurality of openings, the first, second, third and fourth latch plates being supported for rotational movement on a hinge pin and supported for relative axial movement along the hinge pin as the locking mechanism is moved from the released position to the locked position such that at least one of the teeth of the first and second locking portions are engageable with at least one of the generally parallel spaced-apart side surfaces of the first rail teeth and at least one of the tapered spaced-apart surfaces of the second rail to attenuate longitudinal freeplay between the first and second rails.

A vehicle seat assembly comprising:

• a seat having a seat bottom;
• a seat adjustment apparatus having a stationary rail configured to engage a portion of a vehicle, the stationary rail having a plurality of tapered teeth, and a moveable rail connected to the seat bottom, the moveable rail having a plurality of openings defined by spaced-apart locking surfaces, the stationary and moveable rails being engaged for selective relative axial movement along a longitudinal axis;
• and
• a locking mechanism having first and second master latch plates that each includes a driving element that contacts first and second slave latch plates, respectively, the master and slave latch plates having a plurality of teeth configured to engage one of the tapered teeth and the spaced-apart locking surfaces, the master and slave latch plates being selectively moveable between a released position where the stationary and moveable rails can move freely relative to one another along the longitudinal axis, and a locked position where the moveable rail is maintained in a selected position relative to the stationary rail by at least one of the master latch plates and the corresponding slave latch plate configured to contact the master plate driving element, the master and slave latch plates being further configured for relative axial movement along the longitudinal axis as the locking mechanism is moved from the released position to the locked position by a resilient element to attenuate longitudinal freeplay between the moveable and stationary rails.