Power seat adjuster with horizontal slot drive

A power seat adjuster for a vehicle seat having a seat bottom displaceable horizontally between a plurality of selectible positions with respect to a vehicle floor, the power seat adjuster comprising:

• a pair of track assemblies mounted in a spaced apart relationship on a vehicle floor and supporting a seat bottom of a vehicle seat thereon, each track assembly including:
• a lower track, the lower track including:
• an upper portion having opposed outwardly extending flanges;
• a leg depending from the upper portion;
• an aperture formed in and extending through the upper portion of each lower track;
• and
• means connected to the lower track for stationarily securing the lower track to a vehicle floor;
• an upper track slidably mounted on the lower track, an elongated slot formed in and extending longitudinally along and through the upper track, the upper track including:
• a pair of side walls upstanding from the central base and, in conjunction with the central base, defining an interior channel extending longitudinally along the upper track;
• a pair of webs formed in each upper track and extending below the central base of each upper track, each web having a longitudinally extending channel formed therein slidably receiving one of the outwardly extending flanges of the lower track to slidably mount each upper track on a lower track;
• horizontal drive transmission means fixedly mounted to the upper track;
• a lead screw mounted on the upper track and connected to and bi-directionally rotated by the drive transmission means;
• a drive block threadingly engaging the lead screw;
• a drive block bracket fixedly supporting the drive block, the drive block bracket having a depending leg, the depending leg of the drive block bracket extending through the slot in the upper track and the aperture in the lower track and fixedly connected to the lower track such that the drive block and the drive block bracket are stationarily fixed with respect to the upper track and rotation of the lead screw by the drive transmission means causes sliding horizontal movement of the upper track along the lower track;
• the lead screw, the horizontal drive transmission means, the drive block and the drive block bracket disposed in the channel in each upper track;
• and
• a horizontal drive motor, mounted between the pair of track assemblies and having a pair of rotatable drive shafts each connected to the drive transmission means on each upper track, for bi-directionally moving the upper tracks of each track assembly in unison.

A vehicle seat having an interconnected seat bottom and seat back displaceable horizontally between a plurality of selectible positions with respect to a vehicle floor, the vehicle seat comprising:

• a pair of track assemblies mounted in a spaced apart relationship on a vehicle floor and supporting a seat bottom of a vehicle seat thereon, each track assembly including:
• a lower track;
• means connected to the lower track for stationarily securing the lower track to a vehicle floor;
• an upper track slidably mounted on the lower track, an elongated slot formed in and extending longitudinally along and through the upper track;
• a lower track coupler having a leg extending through the slot in the upper track and fixedly connected to the lower track;
• extensible means, stationarily coupled at one portion to the lower track coupler, for exhibiting extensible movement with respect to the lower track coupler;
• and
• horizontal drive means, stationarily mounted to the upper track and having a rotatable output element engaged with the extensible means, for driving the extensible means with respect to the lower track coupler to bi-directionally move the upper track with respect to the lower track.

A vehicle seat having a seat bottom displaceable horizontally between a plurality of selectible positions with respect to a vehicle floor, the power seat adjuster comprising:

• a pair of track assemblies mounted in a spaced apart relationship on a vehicle floor and supporting a seat bottom of a vehicle seat thereon, each track assembly including:
• a lower track, the lower track including:
• an upper portion having opposed outwardly extending flanges;
• a leg depending from the upper portion;
• an aperture formed in and extending through the upper portion of each lower track;
• and
• means connected to the lower track for stationarily securing the lower track to a vehicle floor;
• an upper track slidably mounted on the lower track, an elongated slot formed in and extending longitudinally along and through the upper track, the upper track including:
• a pair of side walls upstanding from the central base and, in conjunction with the central base, defining an interior channel extending longitudinally along the upper track;
• a pair of webs formed in each upper track and extending below the central base of each upper track, each web having a longitudinally extending channel formed therein slidably receiving one of the outwardly extending flanges of the lower track to slidably mount each upper track on a lower track;
• horizontal drive transmission means fixedly mounted to the upper track;
• a lead screw mounted on the upper track and connected to and bi-directionally rotated by the drive transmission means;
• a drive block threadingly engaging the lead screw;
• a drive block bracket fixedly supporting the drive block, the drive block bracket having a depending leg, the depending leg of the drive block bracket extending through the slot in the upper track and the aperture in the lower track and fixedly connected to the lower track such that the drive block and the drive block bracket are stationarily fixed with respect to the upper track and rotation of the lead screw by the drive transmission means causes sliding horizontal movement of the upper track along the lower track;
• the lead screw, the horizontal drive transmission means, the drive block and the drive block bracket disposed in the channel in each upper track;
• and
• a horizontal drive motor, mounted between the pair of track assemblies and having a pair of rotatable drive shafts each connected to the drive transmission means on each track assembly for bi-directionally moving the upper tracks of each track assembly in unison.