Seat back mounting system

Abstract

Mounting system for the back rest of a vehicle seat permits normal reclining action as well as two modes of forward movement. In a first mode, a slight forward force applied near the top of the seat back, such as about 10 lbs. or less, will pivot the top of the seat back forwardly several inches to facilitate access to the space behind the seat. The slight rearward force produced by an occupant leaning back against the seat back as he occupies the seat will then return the back to its normal upright position. A substantially larger forward force, such as one of about 25-35 lbs., can also be applied to the top of the seat back in a second mode to cause the back to "break-over" about 90.degree. and lie flat. The various movements are achieved by means of a channel-shaped quadrant member which overlies the back rest frame on one side of a seat, pivots on the back rest support shaft, and includes a long curved slot and a short curved slot. A pair of bolts are adjustably tightened to varying degrees such that one bolt will frictionally engage and support the long slot of the quadrant member for movement relative to the seat back frame with substantially more force than the other bolt, which passes through the short slot, frictionally applies to the seat back reclining mechanism. The ability to control friction between the bolt and the short slot allows adjustments for friction changes due to wear and also permits the elimination of the first mode, if such appears desirable, by tightening the bolt in the short slot so that it takes more force to move it than it does to move the bolt in the longer slot.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.