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US 6,616,233 B1Granted
Slide rail for vehicle seat and seat comprising such a slide rail
AssigneeBertrand Faure Equipment SA
InventorsYoann Debus, Hervé Calor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Slide rail for vehicle seat comprising two profiles, a latch and an unlocking device moveable into an active position to hold the latch in the unlocked position in order to allow the seat to slide forward, this unlocking device being then held in its active position by a pivoting hook. On this hook is mounted a pivoting actuator finger designed to retract elastically without causing the hook to pivot when it passes over a fixed stop when the seat slides forward, and to pivot in the opposite direction by releasing the hook when it meets the stop during a rearward movement of the seat.
Claims10
Slide rail for vehicle seat comprising:
- first and second profiles intended to be attached one to the vehicle and the other to the seat, the first and second profiles being mounted in sliding relation to one another in a longitudinal direction in opposite first and second sliding directions corresponding respectively to movements of the seat forwards and rearwards,
- a latch mounted on the second profile and moveable between firstly a locked position where the latch blocks the second profile in relation to the first profile, and secondly an unlocked position where said latch allows relative sliding between the first and second profiles, the latch being elastically biased towards its locked position,
- first control means for moving the latch from the locked position to the unlocked position without blocking said latch in the unlocked position in order to adjust the seat position,
- an unlocking device which is movable on the second profile between firstly a rest position where said unlocking device does not interfere with the latch and secondly an active position where said unlocking device places the latch in the unlocked position, the unlocking device being elastically biased towards the rest position and comprising retention means for holding said unlocking device in the active position when said unlocking device has been placed in said active position, and the unlocking device also comprising an actuator finger designed to co-operate with at least one stop attached to said first profile to release the unlocking device, enabling said unlocking device to return to the rest position when said unlocking device is in the active position and the first and second profiles move in relation to one another for the second sliding direction,
- and second control means for moving the unlocking device from the rest position to the active position,
- wherein the retention means of the unlocking device comprise a hook element pivotally mounted on said unlocking device about a first transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, said hook element being elastically biased in a first angular direction toward an engagement position where said hook element is able to co-operate by hooking with a complementary element fixedly attached to the second profile when the unlocking device is in the active position, for retaining then said unlocking device in said active position,
- wherein said hook element is movable in a second angular direction opposite the first angular direction from the first engagement position to a retracted position where said hook element does not co-operate with the complementary element,
- wherein the actuator finger is born by the hook element and pivotally mounted on said hook element about a second transverse axis parallel to the first transverse axis, the actuator finger being elastically biased in the second angular direction toward an active position where said actuator finger is positioned to interfere with the stop of the first profile, the hook element co-operating with the actuator finger to allow only a pivoting of the actuator finger in the first angular direction from the active position of said actuator finger,
- wherein the first and second angular directions are selected so that the stop of the first profile biases the actuator finger in the second angular direction when said actuator finger is in the active position and meets said stop of the first profile while the first and second profiles move in relation to each other in the second sliding direction, the actuator finger then driving the hook element in the first angular direction up to its retracted position,
- wherein the stop of the first profile is designed to co-operate with the actuator finger by a cam effect by moving said actuator finger in the first angular direction from the active position in relation to the hook element when the actuator finger meets the stop of the first profile, being in the active position, while the first and second profiles move in relation to each other in the first sliding direction so that said actuator finger can then pass beyond the stop of the first profile.
7 more elements
Vehicle seat comprising a seat base slidingly mounted longitudinally by first and second slide rails, the first slide rail comprising:
- first and second profiles intended to be attached one to the vehicle and the other to the seat, said first and second profiles of the first slide rail being mounted in sliding relation to one another in a longitudinal direction in opposite first and second sliding directions corresponding respectively to movements of the seat forwards and rearwards,
- a latch mounted on the second profile of the first slide rail and moveable between firstly a locked position where the latch blocks the second profile in relation to the first profile, and secondly an unlocked position where said latch allows relative sliding between the first and second profiles of the first slide rail, the latch being elastically biased towards its locked position,
- first control means for moving the latch from the locked position to the unlocked position without blocking said latch in the unlocked position in order to adjust the seat position,
- an unlocking device which is mounted mobile on the second profile of the first slide rail between firstly a rest position where said unlocking device does not interfere with the latch and secondly an active position where said unlocking device places the latch in the unlocked position, the unlocking device being elastically biased towards the rest position and comprising retention means for holding said unlocking device in the active position when said unlocking device has been placed in said active position, and the unlocking device also comprising an actuator finger designed to co-operate with at least one stop attached to said first profile to release the unlocking device, enabling said unlocking device to return to the rest position when said unlocking device is in the active position and the first and second profiles move in relation to one another for the second sliding direction,
- and second control means for moving the unlocking device from the rest position to the active position,
- wherein the retention means of the unlocking device comprise a hook element pivotally mounted on said unlocking device about a first transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, said hook element being elastically biased in a first angular direction toward an engagement position where said hook element is able to co-operate by hooking with a complementary element fixedly attached to the second profile of the first slide rail when the unlocking device is in the active position, for retaining then said unlocking device in said active position,
- wherein said hook element is movable in a second angular direction opposite the first angular direction from its first engagement position to a retracted position where said hook element does not co-operate with the complementary element,
- wherein the actuator finger is born by the hook element and pivotally mounted on said hook element about a second transverse axis parallel to the first transverse axis, the actuator finger being elastically biased in the second angular direction toward an active position where said actuator finger is positioned to interfere with the stop of the first profile, the hook element co-operating with the actuator finger to allow only a pivoting of the actuator finger in the first angular direction from the active position of said actuator finger,
- wherein the first and second angular directions are selected so that the stop of the first profile biases the actuator finger in the second angular direction when said actuator finger is in the active position and meets said stop of the first profile while the first and second profiles move in relation to each other in the second sliding direction, the actuator finger then driving the hook element in the first angular direction up to its retracted position,
- wherein the stop of the first profile is designed to co-operate with the actuator finger by a cam effect by moving said actuator finger in the first angular direction from the active position in relation to the hook element when the actuator finger meets the stop of the first profile, being in the active position, while the first and second profiles move in relation to each other in the first sliding direction so that said actuator finger can then pass beyond the stop of the first profile,
- the second slide rail also comprising first and second profiles and a latch moveable between locked and unlocked positions, the seat base being fixed to the second profiles of the slide rails, the unlocking device of the first slide rail being linked by means of a connecting rod to a transverse link bar which is pivotally mounted on the second profiles of the two slide rails and which comprises a support flange co-operating with the latch of the second slide rail to move said latch of the second slide rail into its unlocked position on actuation of the second control means.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.