Bae Industries, Inc.

Bae Industies, Inc.

David M Grable

Stephen C Bruck

Keith Brantley

Tavis Lutzka

David L Quittschreiber

Stanley D Pacolt

Jason Hamilton

Paul Dennis Lesperance

Eric Trombley

Joel Hudson

Willaim N A Pruehs

Reed Lawless

William Champ

A striker locking latch assembly having a mounting bracket and a cover plate secured together by first and second bushings to define a package interior. The first bushing rotatably supports a structural cam and a cinching cam, with the second bushing rotatably supporting a hook adapted to engage the striker when seated within an underside cavity defined between the bracket and plate. A torsional spring biases the cinching cam in a first direction for maintaining a first biasing contact with the hook engaging with the striker. A coil spring extends between the structural cam and a rotationally offset location of the hook such that, and upon the structural cam being pivoted into engagement with the cinching cam and against the first biasing component, continued pivotal actuation of the structural cam and cinching cam causes the second biasing component to pivot the hook out of contact with the striker in a second release position, at which the cinching cam establishes a second biasing contact with the hook.

Striker locking latch assembly incorporating a cinching cam and hook for compressing the striker against outer support plates

A striker engaging latch including a mounting bracket and a pivotally supported hook. A cinching cam has a cam locking surface profile which extends along an arc radially offset from a center point of rotation of the cam and contacting the hook. A biasing component influences the cinching cam against the hook and into engagement with the striker. A structural cam overlaps the cinching cam. Releasing of the hook from the striker being preceded by the structural cam pivoted into engagement with the cinching cam, with continued collective pivotal actuation of the structural cam and cinching cam allowing the hook to pivot out of contact with the striker.

An assembly embedded into a headrest bun for permitting rotation of the bun between upright design and forward dump positions. The assembly includes a pair of tubes extending upwardly from a seatback frame and a fixed pivot rod extending between the tubes. A housing defines a package containing interior and including a pair of front and rear covers assembleable around the fixed pivot rod. A block shaped cam wedge is displaceably supported within the interior and biased in a first direction in seating fashion against an abutting location of the fixed rod. An actuating mechanism elevates the cam wedge to unseat from the pivot rod, the housing subsequently rotating from the design position to the forward dump position.

Headrest dump assembly with both cable and push button actuation

A multi-position and manually adjustable headrest having a support bracket affixed atop a seat back and exhibiting a plurality of ratchet defined portions. An intermediate and three dimensional shaped component is pivotally secured in a biased fashion to the ratchet defined bracket, the intermediate component exhibiting a pivotally supported and biased locking pawl which, depending upon a pivotal location of the intermediate component, engages a selected ratchet portion of said support bracket. A pair of headrest bun supporting plates are pivotally secured at upper ends to spaced apart sides of the intermediate pivotal component, the supporting plates further exhibiting lower arcuate extending channels through which seats pin supports projecting laterally from opposite sides of the ratchet support bracket and travel along the channels during forward displacement of the bun supporting plates, such as resulting from a manual readjustment force applied to a headrest bun. Concurrent rotation of the intermediate component in a controlled fashion occurring relative to its upper pivotal connection to the support plates and lower pivotal connection to the ratchet support bracket such that the pivotally supported locking pawl engages a selected ratchet portion of the support bracket between an initial position and at least one succeeding forward adjustment position.

Forward incrementally adjustable ratchet headrest

A pivoting headrest assembly incorporated into a rear row vehicle seat including a base and a pivotally supported seatback. A first bracket is fixedly supported atop the seatback and exhibits a striker. A second bracket is pivotally supported to the first bracket in a biased direction away from the striker and includes a headrest bun support. A hook is supported upon the second bracket in a first biased direction engaging the striker. A release element associated with the second bracket is biased direction and which, upon being actuated in a second counter-biased direction, engages a projecting portion associated with the hook. A cable is secured at a first end to a fixed location associated with the seat and extends through a redirection location an offset distance from a pivot location of the seatback, the cable securing at a second end to the release element.

Pivoting headrest for use in a rear row seat and incorporating trigger release with cable slack pickup during seatback rotation to a forward dump position

A recliner mechanism for use with a vehicle seat having a floor striker engaging bottom and a pivotally associated seatback. A seatback is pivotally secured to a fixed support and includes an arcuate lower surface upon which are defined teeth. A pawl is pivotally secured to the support and includes an upper surface with additional inter-engaging teeth when the seatback is in an upright position. A release cam secures to the support proximate a recessed underside location of the pawl and maintains the pawl in locking engagement with the seatback sector in a first position. The release cam rotates to cause the pawl to pivot out of engagement with the seatback, allowing it to pivot to a dump position opposing the seat bottom and concurrent with the seat bottom releasing from the floor striker and tumbling to a forward rotated position. A floor latch release lever is also pivotally secured to the support and, upon being contacted by the release cam, in turn pivots so that an end feature displaces to prevent the locking pawl from pivoting in a reverse direction against the seatback. The release lever reverse pivots in response to the seat bottom reengaging the floor striker, causing the pawl to reverse pivot its teeth into reengagement with the seatback upon the latter rotating back to the upright position.

Seat recliner/dump mechanism such as incorporated into a seatback slaved to a floor latch release

An improved seat assembly in which the first and second pairs of seatback and floor mounted latches associated with first and second sides of prior dump and tumble assemblies are substituted by an improved design incorporating a single reinforced lock and release seatback latch and either a single or pair of floor latches arranged on opposite sides of the seat. Additional supports include a free pivoting and secondary seatback latch, as well as an optional floor supported riser assembly in lieu of the second floor latch and which are positioned at alternating inboard/outboard seatback and floor locations of the seat assembly. In cooperation with the redesigned fully functional latches, the free pivot seatback and optional floor riser latches provide a cost advantageous design exhibiting reduced part count.

Dual latch second row dump and tumble seat with offsetting free pivot seatback and floor latches

An inertial latch assembly including a planar shaped sector pivotally mounted between a pair of spaced apart support plates. The sector exhibits a bottom including a central projecting shoulder separating first and second bottom surfaces. An arcuate interior channel in the sector is offset from its pivotal mounting location, a pin extending through a second channel defined in a selected support plate and seating within the arcuate channel so that the pin exerts a bias against the sector during travel along the arcuate interior channel. A pendulum is secured in sandwiching fashion between the support plates and proximate the bottom extending surface of the planar shaped sector, an arcuate edge thereof seating against a selected bottom extending surfaces of the rotatable sector, depending upon a pivoted position established between the sector and the support plates. The pendulum responds to an inertial impact condition by engaging against the underside shoulder of the sector and to prevent rotation of the sector relative to the support plates.

Inertial latch assembly such as incorporated into a rear row pivoting seat bottom including a slotted inertial lock plate with resistive support in both design and upright positions

A seat recliner assembly established at a hinge location between a seat bottom and a pivotally associated seat back including a base plate and an inwardly teethed and package supporting sector secured to the seat back and seat bottom, respectively and sandwiched together in selectively rotatable fashion relative to define a component receiving space therebetween. A shaft projects through an aperture of a rotatably slaved cam situated within the space. A pair of locking pawls with exteriorly toothed surfaces are displaceable to engage with inwardly teethed locations of the package supporting sector. A pair of anti-chuck pawls are selectively engagable both by the cam and with the locking pawls. The cam is biased in a first rotational locking condition to influence the anti-chuck pawls outwardly against the locking pawls. The cam is rotated in an opposite and counter-biasing direction, thereby directly contacting the locking pawls and pivoting the same such that their exteriorly toothed surfaces are inwardly disengaged from the teethed sector, permitting rotational between the base plate and package sector.

Disc recliner assembly incorporated into a seatback/seat base pivot associated with a vehicle seat

A seat assembly incorporating a combination of seat latches including seatback, front floor and rear floor latch subassemblies. A release handle actuates the seatback latch to facilitate seatback dump against a seat bottom. Pluralities of cables are associated with the seatback latch subassembly, as well as a separate seat release module secured to an accessible location of the seat operate and, in cooperation with the front and rear latch assemblies, operate according to first and second operational protocols to accomplish forward seat tumble or, alternatively, rearward seat removal from the vehicle within which the seat is mounted.

Removable vehicle seat

A vehicle latch assembly including a stanchion support and a pivotally secured seat supporting bracket. A batwing shape sector is slaved to rotate with the bracket between the bracket and stanchion support. A sector bottom surface is interrupted by a shoulder projection and an arcuate interior channel is offset from a slaved rotating connection of the sector to the bracket. A pin extends through another channel defined in the stanchion and seats within the sector channel to bias the sector during travel along the interior channel. A pendulum is secured in sandwiching fashion between the bracket and stanchion and includes an upper edge configuration proximate a selected location of the bottom surface of the rotatable sector, depending upon a rotatable position established between the first seat component and a second seat component. The pendulum responds to an inertial impact condition by engaging the shoulder projection to prevent rotation of the first seat component.

Seat latch assembly for a rear row standing seat including a slotted inertial lock plate with resistive support in both design and upright positions

A seatback assembly including a frame exhibiting a side-disposed and arcuate edge. An arm is pivotally secured to the frame. A pawl is in turn pivotally secured to the arm and is biased in engaging fashion relative to the arcuate extending edge via alternating and mating teeth and recess configurations established between the pawl and along at least one of first and second spaced apart locations defined along the arcuate edge. A cam is mounted to a further location of the seatback arm and biases the pawl against the frame. The cam is actuated to cause the pawl to disengage from the first configured sector location, the seatback arm pivoting towards the seat frame, whereupon the pawl matingly engages the second location along the arcuate seat sector edge to lock the seatback in a forwardly rotated and stowed position relative to the seat frame.

Seat assembly including a toothed pawl interengageable with a seatback

A recliner mechanism for use with a vehicle seat having bottom and a pivotally secured back. A release mechanism is operably engaged to the back and includes an actuating handle extending from the bottom. A plate is secured to the back at a first location and pivotable along with the back about an axis defined at a second location, an arcuate exterior surface defined by the plate exhibiting a recessed detent. A floor release lever is secured to the bottom proximate the plate and is pivotally associated with the release mechanism by a cable extending to a floor latch mechanism associated with the vehicle. A male detent is pivotally secured to the seat bottom in inter-disposed fashion between the floor release lever and the plate. Upon the release mechanism rotating the floor release lever, and the cable causing the seat bottom to disengage from the floor latch mechanism, the male detent is influenced by the release lever in a first direction to seat against the recessed detent location of the plate and to prevent a forwardly pivoted seat back from being rotated in a reverse direction. Upon the seat bottom further being rotated back into engagement with the floor latch mechanism, the male detent is influenced by the release lever in a second direction to permit the seat back to be pivoted in the reverse direction.

Seat recliner mechanism incorporating rotatable seatback slaved to a floor latch release

A seatback recliner mechanism incorporated into a vehicle, the seat including a seat bottom and a pivotally engaged seatback. The recliner mechanism includes a pair of lower supports forming a part of the seat bottom and secured to at least one of first and second sides of the seat bottom. A first gear is fixed between the lower support and at a generally upper end and a pair of upper supports are pivotally secured to the lower supports and include a second rotatable gear meshingly engaged with the first gear. The seatback includes an upper arm pivotally secured to the upper support in coaxial fashion relative to a third rotatable gear meshingly engaged with the second gear. A first lever is operative to pivot the upper support relative the lower support over a specified range of forward incline and rearward recline. A second lever is operative to pivot the upper arm, relative to the upper support, to a substantially forward and horizontal position. A third lever unseats and rotates an intermediate plate, disposed between the upper and lower support plates and operatively engaged to the upper support plates in the released position, to a predetermined and forwardly inclined position.

Growing community of inventors

Clinton Township, MI, United States of America

David M Grable