US 7,866,696 B2Granted

Vehicle seat assembly

AssigneeGM Global Technology Operations LLC

InventorsJenne-Tai Wang, Bing Deng, Margaret M. Andreen, Janet S. Goings, Dorel M. Sala, Daniel Shakespear, Mark A. Kramarczyk, Gary L. Jones

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A seat assembly for a vehicle includes a lower seat portion and a seatback portion. The seatback portion is selectively movable to vary the reclination angle of the seatback portion. The seat assembly is configured so that a first part of the lower seat portion rises relative to a second part of the lower seat portion so that the lower seat portion acts as an occupant restraint when a predetermined condition exists. Exemplary predetermined conditions include the reclination angle changing, the reclination angle exceeding a predetermined amount, and conditions indicative of an elevated risk of vehicle impact.

Claims9

Dependent claims

A vehicle restraint system comprising:

a vehicle seat assembly including a lower seat portion and a seatback portion;
said seatback portion being characterized by a reclination angle;
said seatback portion being selectively movable to vary the reclination angle;
said lower seat portion being characterized by a tilt angle;
said lower seat portion including a cushion and a member extending inside the cushion and being selectively movable with respect to the cushion;
wherein said seat assembly is configured such that
the tilt angle is independent of the reclination angle and
the member automatically moves relative to the cushion
in response to a change in the reclination angle of the seatback portion.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 11/293,860Filed 2 Dec 2005 · us provisional application
Priority: 10 Dec 2004
Published: US 2006/0138797 A129 Jun 2006
Granted: 11 Jan 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification19 codes

B60N 2/42736
Involving substantially rigid displacement: of the whole seat
B60N 2/0276
With logic circuits: reaction to emergency situations, e.g. crash
B60N 2/206
The back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access: to a position in which it can be used as a support for objects, e.g. as a tray
B60N 2/4263
The shape of the seat being specially adapted for a particular purpose or for particular vehicles: with anti-submarining systems