Manual drive operating in both directions to produce a rotary movement, more particularly for vehicle seats

Manual drive operating for producing a rotary movement in both clockwise and counter-clockwise directions comprising:

• a drive axle;
• a drive lever mounted on the drive axle which has a neutral position and can swivel within a restricted angle into a first and a second rotary direction and then return to the neutral position;
• a drive wheel comprising teething elements arranged on a circumference thereof;
• first and second swivel detent elements, each connected to the drive lever at a first end and each having a second free end provided with teething elements for engagement with the teething elements on the circumference of the drive wheel to engage the drive wheel, wherein the first swivel detent element is loaded and engages the drive wheel when the drive lever is swivelled in the first rotary direction and the second swivel detent element is loaded and engages the drive wheel when the drive lever is swivelled in the second rotary direction;
• a slide guide, having two sides, on which the first and second swivel detent elements are slidably mounted, the slide guide being configured to lift the first swivel detent element away from engagement with the drive wheel when the drive lever is swivelled in the second rotary direction and to lift the second swivel detent element away from the teething of the drive wheel when the drive lever is swivelled in the first rotary direction;
• a first spring area on one said side and outside of the slide guide and a second spring area on the other said side and outside of the slide guide;
• a first spring element in the first spring area which exerts a force against the engagement direction of the teething on the first swivel detent element away from the teething elements on the circumference of the drive wheel, wherein the force is insufficient to disengage the teething elements of the first swivel detent element from the teething elements of the drive wheel when the first swivel detent element is loaded, but sufficient to lift the first swivel detent element out of engagement when the first swivel detent element is unloaded and the drive lever is not in the neutral position;
• and
• a second spring element in the second spring area which exerts a force against the engagement direction of the teething on the second swivel detent element away from the teething elements on the circumference of the drive wheel, wherein the force is insufficient to disengage the teething elements of the second swivel detent element from the teething elements of the drive wheel when the second swivel detent element is loaded, but is sufficient to lift the second swivel detent element out of engagement when the second swivel detent element is unloaded and the drive lever is not in the neutral position.