Bertrand Faure Ltd.

Canadian A.s.e. Limited

Daniel Hughes

An actuating device has an arm which controls the movement of a track locking mechanism for use in conjunction with a vehicle seat assembly adapted for installation in a vehicle. The seat assembly has a first track member, fixed to the vehicle, and a second track member, secured to the vehicle seat, which track members can be locked in position with respect to one another. A cable is attached to a vehicle seatback, and when the seatback is moved from an upright position to a forwardly folded position, the cable moves the arm of the actuating device from a rest position to a cocked position. When the vehicle seat is moved forward to allow access to the rear seat area of the vehicle, the arm of the actuating device correspondingly moves a cam follower from a raised position to a lowered position. The cam follower restrainingly engages the arm in the cocked position against the biasing of a spring member. When the seat is returned to an occupancy position and the seatback to its upright position, the cam follower contacts a cam that is located at a set position. Upon such contact, the cam follower is moved from its lowered position to its raised position, thus releasing the arm to its rest position. The track locking mechanism is correspondingly allowed to return to its locking configuration, thus locking the vehicle seat in place at this set position.

Vehicle seat track assembly

A low cost, light-weight inertial latching mechanism for use in latching an automotive vehicle seatback member with respect to a cooperating seat member under collision or collision-like conditions wherein high acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle occurs, is disclosed. The latching mechanism has first and second hinged members pivotally mounted on the seat and seatback members about a common first pivot. The first hinged member has a gear rack adapted to engage a pawl means that is mounted on the second hinged member. The pawl means moves between a first latched position, a second transitional position, and a third unlatched position. A spring means is operationally interconnected between the second hinged member and the pawl means and is adapted to bias the pawl means toward said third unlatched position until forces of acceleration or deceleration above a design threshold value occur. Above that value, the inertial forces of the pawl means cause relative movement of the pawl means past the second transitional position toward the first latched position. In this first latched position, the pawl means engages the gear rack to latch the first hinged member with respect to the second hinged member.

Spring biased inertial latch for vehicle seat assemblies

An inertial backrest latching mechanism for use in a vehicle seat assembly having a backrest member pivotally tiltable over a seat member. The mechanism has a first latch fixed relative to the seat member and a second latch pivotally mounted on the backrest member for pivotal movement about an exceptionally low pivot pin between an unlatched and latched configuration, in which latched configuration tilting movement of the backrest member over the seat member is restrained. A terminal ramped camming portion of the first latch is steeply profiled to tilt the second latch into a latchable configuration when the backrest member is in the normal upright position.

Growing community of inventors

Mississauga, Canada

Daniel Hughes