Tachi-s Co., Ltd.

Tachikawa Spring Co., Ltd.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Fuji Kiko Co., Ltd.

Mitsuba Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Fujikiko Kabushiki Kaisha

Japan Corporation

Akira Nemoto

Takao Sakamoto

Tetsuo Ikeda

Tamotsu Shirai

Norio Miyashita

Gensaku Yamakami

Shigeru Nakahara

Mitsuharu Ohba

Tomohisa Kubota

Takao Watanabe

Kenji Tsuchiya

Hideki Tokui

A seat reclining apparatus includes a folding operation lever displacing a reclining lock mechanism to a lock release position. When the folding operation lever is operated to a folding operation position, the reclining lock mechanism is displaced from a lock position to the lock release position. A seatback is displaced to a folded position by a biasing force of a folding biasing unit. A neutral position returning unit that retains a releasing lever disposed between the folding operation lever and the reclining lock mechanism when the seatback is inclined forward beyond a predetermined neutral position, and does not retain the releasing lever when the seatback is inclined rearward beyond the neutral position is further provided. A configuration for returning the seatback to the neutral position can be provided by a simple structure and only a slight design change at a lower production cost, and assembling is performed simply.

Seat reclining apparatus

A walk-in mechanism is provided to a seat, which includes an extension coil spring. One end of the extension coil spring is engaged with a first support element fixed to a floor, while another end thereof is engaged with a second support element fixed to the seat. The walk-in mechanism further includes a connecting element for operatively connecting such another end of extension coil spring with a seat back of the seat. Forward and backward movement of the seat causes movement of both of the second support element and another end of extension coil in forward and backward directions. Also, with forward inclination of the seat back, such another end of extension coil spring is moved backwardly via the connecting element. Hence, a tensile force of the extension coil spring is increased and decreased to allow a user to easily move the seat to either of walk-in position and normal use position.

Structure of seat with walk-in mechanism

A seat reclining apparatus is provided with a neutral position returning means which holds a link lever at a forward reclining operating position, and releases the holding of the link lever in the case that a seat back is shifted from a forward reclined position side to a neutral position within a reclining range. The neutral position returning means shifts a cam plate by a spring in such a manner as to hole the position of the link lever at a lever rotating position while the link lever rotates a releasing lever fixed to a center shaft of a reclining lock mechanism together therewith so as to release a lock of the reclining lock mechanism, and shifts the cam plate to an original position against the spring by a cam releasing means so as to return the link lever to an original position, in the case that the forward reclining seat backis shifted to the neutral position.

Unlocking mechanism of reclining device features an angularly movable stabilizer link mechanism of four-point articulated link structure which comprises a first link member connected with a remote lock control device, a second link member and a third link member. The second link member is pivotally connected with a shaft of the reclining device and one end of the first link member. The third link member is pivotally connected with seat back side and another end of the first link member. With inclination of seat back, the second and third link members are moved angularly relative to the reclining device shaft so as to retain the first link member at fixed horizontal position. Operation of the remote lock control device causes rotation of the first link member away from such fixed horizontal position, thereby causing rotation of the shaft to unlock the reclining device, irrespective of the inclination of seat back.

Unlocking mechanism of reclining device for seat

A ratchet-type lever mechanism including two ratchet gear wheels and a bifurcated ratchet pawl member for selective meshed engagement with one of the two ratchet gear wheels. The bifurcated ratchet pawl member is simply bent from a plate material into such an offset configuration having a first toothed pawl portion and a second toothed pawl portion bent from that first one in an offset manner so that the two pawl portions are in correspondence with the respective two ratchet gear wheels. This ratchet-type lever mechanism has a simplified connection structure allowing both of the bifurcated ratchet member and an operating lever to be securely connected on an input shaft, whereby the input shaft is made short in length, thereby making thin a whole size of the lever mechanism. A restriction element for rotation of the bifurcated ratchet pawl member may also be mounted on that input shaft for that purpose.

Ratchet-type lever mechanism

A ratchet-type lever mechanism for seat lifter, which comprises a brake unit whose shaft is connected with a mechanism of the seat lifter, two ratchet gear wheels provided about the shaft of brake unit, a shaft rotatable in a spaced-apart relation with the brake unit shaft, an operating lever connected with the shaft, and a sector ratchet gear element provided between the operating lever and two ratchet gear wheels. The sector ratchet gear element is so arranged in the lever mechanism to enable a user to rotate the operating lever in usual way without confusion about direction of rotation of the lever to cause upward and downward motions of the seat lifter. The sector ratchet gear element may be of an outwardly-toothed type having two outwardly toothed arcuate gear teeth and two sector gear portions, or may be of an inwardly-toothed type having two inwardly toothed arcuate gear teeth.

Ratchet-type lever mechanism for seat lifter

A seat lifter for height adjustment of vehicle seat, which has a lifter linkage for vertical movement of the seat and a drive mechanism therefor. The lifter linkage includes a pair of links, a bell crank portion formed in one of the two links, and a rotation transmission link element including a sector gear which is operatively connected with the bell crank portion. The drive mechanism comprises a ratchet-type lever mechanism operatively connected via a brake unit with the lifter linkage, the arrangement of which ratchet-type lever mechanism is such that only one-stroke operation of a lever causes a bifurcated ratchet pawl to rotate so as to bring a selected one of its two pawl portions to engagement with a ratchet gear wheel, thereby allowing for automatically selecting a desired operative direction without any switch-over operation and then continuously transmitting a certain amount of rotation force to the lifter linkage, so that the vehicle seat can easily be raised or lowered to a certain level.

Seat lifter with ratchet-type lever mechanism

A seat lifter for height adjustment of vehicle seat, which has a lifter linkage for vertical movement of the seat and a drive mechanism therefor. The lifter linkage includes a pair of links, a bell crank portion formed in one of the two links, and a rotation transmission link element including a sector gear which is operatively connected with the bell crank portion. The drive mechanism comprises a ratchet-type lever mechanism operatively connected via a brake unit with the lifter linkage, the arrangement of which ratchet-type lever mechanism is such that only one-stroke operation of a lever causes a ratchet pawl member to rotate so as to bring a selected one of its two toothed ratchet pawls to meshed engagement with a mating one of two ratchet gear wheels, thereby allowing for automatically selecting a desired operative direction without any switch-over operation and then continuously transmitting a certain amount of rotation force to the lifter linkage, so that the vehicle seat can easily be raised or lowered to a certain level.

A seat provided with a seat climbing/descending aid structure, which allows a driver, passenger or physically handicapped person to easily climb onto and descend from the seat. The seat is formed by a seat cushion body forming a seat cushion, and a movable side support member disposed at a side where the driver, passenger or physically handicapped person climbs onto and descends from the seat. The movable side support member are provided separately from the seat cushion body, but arranged therewith in the seat in a manner rotatable to a horizontal use position where its cushion surface is placed on a generally horizontal plane. The seat cushion body is so rotatable as to lower its forward end portion to thereby set the seating surface thereof generally on the same horizontal plane with and generally in registry with the cushion surface of movable side support member set in the horizontal use position, hence allowing the easy climbing and descending of the driver, passenger or physically handicapped person onto and from the seat.

Seat provided with a seat climbing/descending aid structure for easy

In the combination of headrest stay holder and holder bracket for use with a vehicle seat, an improved arrangement is provided, which comprises a force accessible part defined in the headrest stay holder, a releasable rotation-preventive part defined between the headrest stay holder and holder bracket, and a disengagement guide part defined between the holder and a lower end of the bracket. Normally, under a resistance of the releasable rotation-preventive part, a pair of hook-like end parts of the headrest stay holder are engaged with an engagement end portion of the holder bracket , but a great force of rotation can be accessed and applied via the force accessible part, using a wrench or the like, to that holder, sufficient to overcome the resistance, so as to disengage the two hook-like end parts from the holder bracket lower end via the disengagement guide part. In this way, the headrest stay holder can easily be removed from the holder bracket, without troublesome and dangerous processes.

Arrangement of headrest stay holder and holder bracket in vehicles seat

A long slide rail device for vehicle seat, which includes a temporary lock mechanism for temporarily locking an upper rail member fixed to the seat, at a predetermined temporary lock point, relative to a long lower rail member fixed in a floor of vehicle, so that the seat may be temporarily locked at that point, allowing its seat cushion to be folded upright to its seat back, before being displaced to a storage lock position. The temporary lock mechanism includes a female lock element (or female lock hole) provided in the lower rail member at the temporary lock point, and a male lock element so arranged at the upper rail element as to lie generally within the long lower rail member and movable for engagement with and disengagement from the female lock element. Thus, the structure of long slide rail device is simplified in structure and made small in sizes. Also, the temporary lock mechanism is provided with a connecting portion for allowing operative connection with other locking mechanism for locking the seat cushion or seat back at the temporary lock point in an interlocking relation therewith.

Long slide rail device for vehicle seat

A slide rail device for use with a jump seat that can be jumped up and rotated to a storage area in an automobile, in which a locking mechanism is provided for locking and unlocking the jump seat with respect to an lower rail member fixed in the floor of automobile. The locking mechanism includes a female engagement member fixed at the jump seat, a lock member having a male engagement portion for engagement with that female engagement member, and an actuator arm operatively connected to the lock member. When the jump seat is unlocked from the slide rail device, the female engagement member is withdrawn in the lower rail member out of engagement with the female engagement member, so that there is no projection of male engagement portion of the locking mechanism from the lower rail member, which avoids undesired contact and damage between the locking mechanism and baggage or article loaded on the floor. The actuator arm may be contacted by the female engagement member, and pushed thereby to cause rotation of the lock member to again bring the male engagement portion into engagement with the female engagement member for locking the jump seat to the lower rail member.

Slide rail device for jump seat

A seat with seat belt including a headrest and a seat back, in which both a headrest and a seat belt ingress/egress portion are adjustable in height at the same time, to accommodate an occupant on the seat. A stationary rail member is provided on a seat back frame in a manner erecting therefrom, and a movable rail member is slidably fitted in the stationary rail. Connected to the movable rail member are a headrest stay member fixed to the headrest and a guide member defining the seat belt ingress/egress portion, on which the seat belt is turned from the inside of seat back towards the outside of same. Thus, the movable rail member may be moved vertically along the stationary rail member so as to enable upward and downward motion of both headrest stay member and guide member to adjust both heights of the headrest and seat belt ingress/egress portion at one time.

Seat with seat belt

A seat moving apparatus performs adjustments of a seat portion in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle as well as height or tilting adjustments using only one electric motor to decrease the number of elements of the apparatus and to reduce the weight and size of the apparatus. A linkage for driving a seat for a vehicle is disclosed which is arranged in such a manner that first and second nut members are matably attached to operational shafts connected to the single motor. The first nut members are fixed to a floor of the vehicle. The second nut members are attached to the seat through linkages. A clutch body of each nut member can be, by a clutch operation mechanism, selectively switched between a movement state and a non-movement state. In the movement state, a clutch body of the clutch mechanism is positioned at a second shifting position and the nut members are engaged with and longitudinal moved along the threaded operation shafts. In the non-movement state, the clutch body is positioned in a first shifting position and the nut members are not moved during rotation of the operational shafts. The first nut members adjust the positions of the seat in the longitudinal direction and the second nut members adjust the height or tilt of the seat.

Apparatus for driving power seat for vehicle

A seat belt device in an automotive seat, which comprises a seat belt extending from a part of the automobile to a floor of the same for restraining a passenger to the seat, and a seat belt guide provided at one upper corner portion of the seat back of the seat. The seat belt guide includes a guide anchor through which the seat belt slidably passes, and a drive mechanism for causing such through guide anchor to be moved in a vertical direction along the longitudinal direction of the seat back. Thus, the initial point at which the seat belt begins to approach a passenger may be set at a desired level via the guide anchor, thereby adapting the seat belt to better fit, and hence better restrain the passenger's trunk to the seat, irrespective of his or her individual physical differences and/or inclination of the seat back.

Growing community of inventors

Akishima, Japan

Akira Nemoto