Linear recliner with easy entry memory feature

A linear recliner assembly for use in a seat assembly having a seatback supported for pivotal movement relative to a seat bottom, comprising:

• a housing secured to the seat bottom;
• a recliner rod having a first end attached to the seatback and a second end supported in said housing, said second end of said recliner rod having teeth formed thereon;
• a locking pawl supported from said housing for movement between a locked position inhibiting movement of said recliner rod relative to said housing and a released position permitting movement of said recliner rod, whereby movement of said recliner rod in a first direction corresponds to forward pivotal movement of the seatback toward a forward dumped position and movement of said recliner rod in a second direction corresponds to rearward pivotal movement of the seatback toward a fully-reclined position;
• a cam plate supported from said housing for pivotal movement about a first rotary axis between a first position and a second position, said cam plate operably connected to said locking pawl such that movement of said cam plate between its first and second positions causes concurrent movement of said locking pawl between its locked and released positions;
• a recliner actuator mechanism for moving said cam plate from its first position to its second position to permit adjustment of the reclined position of the seatback;
• a cam gear supported from said housing for rotation about a second rotary axis, said cam gear having a gear segment with gear teeth formed thereon and a cam segment having a cam surface with a locking detent formed therein;
• a release plate supported from said housing for pivotal movement about said first rotary axis between a lock-out position whereat a locking segment thereof is retained in said locking detent for preventing rotation of said cam gear and a cammed position whereat said locking segment is released from said locking detent for permitting rotation of said cam gear;
• an index gear having gear teeth and which is supported for movement with said release plate such that when said release plate is in its lock-out position said index gar is in a disengaged position whereat said gear teeth on said index gear are displaced from said teeth on said recliner rod and said gear teeth on said gear segment of said cam gear, and when said release plate is in its cammed position said index gear is in an engaged position whereat said gear teeth on said index gear are meshed with said teeth on said recliner rod and said gear teeth on said gear segment of said cam gear;
• a link coupling said cam plate to said release plate and which is operable in a first position for locating said release plate in its lock-out position while permitting movement of said cam plate between its first and second positions, said link is further operable in a second position for locating said release plate in its cammed position and said cam plate in its second position;
• and
• a dump actuator mechanism for moving said link from its first position to its second position when it is desired to dump the seatback from its reclined position to its forward dumped position, such movement of said link to its second position causes said index gear to be located in its engaged position so as to meshingly engage said teeth on said recliner rod at a position corresponding to the reclined position of the seatback, whereby subsequent forward pivotal movement of the seatback to its forward dumped position causes said recliner rod to move in said first direction which causes said index gear to rotate said cam gear in a first direction, such rotation of said cam gear in said first direction causes said locking segment of said release plate to engage said cam surface of said cam gear and thereby hold said release plate in its cammed position and said link in its second position, and wherein subsequent rearward pivotal movement of the seatback from its forward dumped position causes said recliner rod to move in said second direction which causes said index gear to rotate said cam gear in a second direction until said recliner rod is located in said position corresponding to the previous reclined position of the seatback whereat said locking segment of said release plate disengages said cam surface and engages said locking detent thereof for moving said release plate to its lock-out position and said link to its first position, thereby latching the seatback in its previous reclined position.

A linear recliner assembly for use with a seat assembly having a seatback supported for pivotal movement relative to a seat bottom, comprising:

• a housing secured to the seat bottom;
• a recliner rod having a first end attached to the seatback and a second end supported for sliding movement relative to said housing and having teeth formed thereon;
• a latching mechanism operable in a latched mode for securing said recliner rod in a fixed position relative to said housing for retaining the seatback in a reclined position, said latching mechanism is further operable in an unlatched mode for releasing said recliner rod for sliding movement relative to said housing, said latching mechanism including a latch member supported from said housing for movement between a first position when said latching mechanism is in its latched mode and a second position when said latching mechanism is in its unlatched mode;
• a recline actuator mechanism for selectively moving said latch member from its first position to its second position for shifting said latching mechanism from its latched mode into its unlatched mode to permit adjustment of the reclined position of the seatback;
• a memory mechanism that is operable in a non-actuated mode for permitting independent actuation of said latching mechanism, said memory mechanism is further operable in an actuated mode for automatically shifting said latching mechanism from its latched mode into its unlatched mode to permit movement of the seatback from its reclined position to a forward dumped position, said memory mechanism including a release member supported from said housing for movement between a lock-out position when said memory mechanism is in its non-actuated mode and a cammed position when said memory mechanism is in its actuated mode, said release member is operably coupled to said latch member such that movement of said release member from its lock-out position to its cammed position causes movement of said latch member from its first position to its second position, said memory mechanism further includes an index gear supported on said release member such that said index gear is disengaged from said teeth of said recliner rod when said release member is in its lock-out position and said index gear is in meshed engagement with said teeth on said recliner rod when said release member is in its cammed position;
• and
• a dump actuator mechanism for selectively moving said release member from its lock-out position to its cammed position for shifting said memory mechanism from its non-actuated mode into its actuated mode to permit the seatback to be moved from its reclined position to its forward dumped position, such movement of said release member to its cammed position causes said index gear to engage said teeth on said recliner rod at a position corresponding to the reclined position of the seatback, whereby said index gear is thereafter rotatably indexed in a first direction through a certain amount of angular motion in response to movement of said recliner rod upon movement of the seatback from its reclined position to its forward dumped position while said release member is held in its cammed position, and wherein said index gear is rotatably indexed in a second direction through said certain amount of angular motion in response to movement of said recliner rod due to subsequent movement of the seatback from its forward dumped position to its reclined position for causing said release plate to move from its cammed position into its lock-out position and said latch member from its second position into its first position for shifting said memory mechanism into its non-actuated mode and relatching the seatback in its reclined position.

A linear recliner assembly for use in a seat assembly having a seatback supported for pivotal movement relative to a seat bottom, comprising:

• a housing secured to the seat bottom;
• a recliner rod having a first end attached to the seatback and a second end supported in said housing, said second end of said recliner rod having teeth formed thereon;
• a locking pawl supported from said housing for movement between a locked position inhibiting movement of said recliner rod relative to said housing and a released position permitting movement of said recliner rod, whereby movement of said recliner rod in a first direction corresponds to forward pivotal movement of the seatback toward a forward dumped position and movement of said recliner rod in a second direction corresponds to rearward pivotal movement of the seatback toward a fully-reclined position;
• a cam plate supported from said housing for movement between a first position and a second position, said cam plate operably connected to said locking pawl such that movement of said cam plate between its first and second positions causes concurrent movement of said locking pawl between its locked and released positions, and said cam plate having a guide slot formed therein;
• a recliner actuator mechanism for moving said cam plate from its first position to its second position to permit adjustment of the reclined position of the seatback;
• a cam gear rotatably supported from said housing and having a gear segment with gear teeth formed thereon and a cam segment having a cam surface with a locking detent formed therein;
• a release plate supported from said housing for movement between a lock-out position whereat a locking segment thereof is retained in said locking detent for preventing rotation of said cam gear and a cammed position whereat said locking segment is released from said locking detent for permitting rotation of said cam gear, said release plate having a drive pin extending therefrom and which is retained within said guide slot in said cam plate, said guide slot having a first surface which permits movement of said cam plate between its first and second positions when said release plate is in its lock-out position, and said cam slot has a second surface which said drive pin engages upon movement of said release plate from its lock-out position to its cammed position for causing concurrent movement of said latch member from its first position to its second position;
• an index gear having gear teeth and which is supported for movement with said release plate such that when said release plate is in its lock-out position said gear teeth on said index gear are displaced from said teeth on said recliner rod and said gear teeth on said gear segment of said cam gear, and when said release plate is in its cammed position said gear teeth on said index gear are meshed with said teeth on said recliner rod and said gear teeth on said cam segment of said cam gear;
• and
• a dump actuator mechanism for moving said release plate from its lock-out position to its cammed position when it is desired to dump the seatback from its reclined position to its forward dumped position, such movement of said release plate to its cammed position causes said index gear to engage said teeth on said recliner rod at a position corresponding to the reclined position of the seatback, whereby subsequent forward pivotal movement of the seatback to its forward dumped position causes said recliner rod to move in said first direction which causes said index gear to rotate said cam gear in a first direction, such rotation of said cam gear in said first direction causes said locking segment of said release plate to engage said cam surface of said cam gear and hold said release plate in its cammed position, and wherein subsequent rearward pivotal movement of the seatback from its forward dumped position causes said recliner rod to move in said second direction which causes said index gear to rotate said cam gear in a second direction until said recliner rod is located in said position corresponding to the previous reclined position of the seatback whereat said locking segment of said release plate disengages said cam surface and engages said locking detent thereof, whereby said release plate moves to its lock-out position thereby latching the seatback in its previous reclined position.