Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Hans J Borlinghaus

Thomas B Blake

Michael G Orlowsky

James Peter Nini

Mladen Humer

Gary R Kurtti

Neil G Goodbred

Albert J Colautti

Paul D Roper

James H Klein

Manfred A Plechaty

Joseph T Galea

Steven J Cooper

A powered seat adjuster slide unit is providing including a top rail for mounting a vehicle seat; a bottom rail for supporting the top rail; a guide rail pivotally joined to the top and bottom rails along generally opposite ends to stabilize the top rail; a first forward jack screw unit with a powered extendable jack screw, the first jack screw unit having pivotal axes in positions fixed with respect to the top and bottom rails; and a second rearward jack screw unit with a powered extendable jack screw, the second jack screw unit having pivotal axes in positions fixed with respect to the top and bottom rails.

Chuckless power seat adjuster slide

A vehicular bench seat is supported on two spaced adjustment tracks in a vehicle for fore and aft position adjustment. A seat belt buckle moves with the seat during position adjustment. The buckle is connected to a slider-body which, in turn, is slideably carried along a track attached to the underbody of the vehicle. When a load is applied to the seat belt buckle, the slider body is pivoted into engagement with a tooth bar adjacent the track to lock the slider body and the buckle relative to the underbody. A drag link pivotally extends from the slider body and connects to the seat bottom for moving the slider body and the attached buckle in unison with the seat during fore and aft position adjustment.

Seat belt load transfer mechanism for bench seat

An adjustable vehicular seat assembly includes a fixed rail attached to the vehicle underbody and a sliding rail movably carried on the fixed rail. A six-way power seat adjustment mechanism is supported on the sliding rail and connects a seat frame thereto. A buckle for a seat belt harness is pivotally attached to the rearward end of the sliding rail and extends upwardly to a pivotal connection on the seat frame. The buckle includes a piston and hydraulic cylinder arrangement extendable and collapsible between the respective pivotal connections on the seat frame and the sliding rail for adjusting the distance between the two pivotal connections while the seat frame is articulated vertically by the power seat adjustment mechanism. The piston is carried on a piston rod integral with the buckle and includes a plurality of axially extending flow control orifices for restrictively conducting fluid flow while reciprocating within the hydraulic cylinder.

Vehicular seat with occupant restraint system

A seat adjuster has upper and lower tracks slidably inter-engaged with the seat carried by the upper track. A bar extends along side the upper track and has a rearward end pivotally mounted on the vehicle floor. A lock member which carries the seat belt is attached to the upper track and slides freely along the bar during normal fore and aft adjusting movement of the seat. The lower track is mounted on the vehicle floor by yieldable legs. Upon rapid vehicle deceleration, the forward momentum of the seat mass induces yielding of the yieldable legs and forward canting of the seat causing the lock member to be canted relative the bar and lock therewith so that the occupant restraint loads imposed on the seat belt are transmitted through the lock member and bar to the vehicle floor. In addition, when the seat is adjusted full rearwardly, the upper track is cantilevered rearwardly from the lower track so that the upper track yields and bends to further cant the lock member and contribute to the locking engagement of the lock member with the bar.

Seat belt anchor for vehicle seat

A six way power seat adjuster assembly has a lock arm that in conjunction with a lower channel provides horizontal as well as vertical restraint for an occupant of a vehicle. The lock arm is slid into engagement with the lower channel by application of a force on an occupant restraint belt system with the result that the seat adjuster assembly transfers the force from the occupant restraint belt system to the vehicle body.

Power seat adjuster with integral horizontal interlock system

A vehicle seat is mounted on the vehicle body by a seat adjuster which enables movement of the seat relative to the vehicle body to a position chosen by the occupant. A seat belt is anchored on the seat so that the seat belt moves with the seat to the adjusted position. An extensible cylinder extends from the vehicle floor to the seat belt anchor on the seat and extends and retract as necessary to accommodate the adjusting movement of the seat. The extensible cylinder includes a piston movable within a fluid filled chamber and having a flow rate responsive valve associated therewith which permits low flow rate fluid flow through the piston during adjusting movement of the seat so that the cylinder extends and retracts to follow the seat. The imposition of an occupant restraint load on the seat belt induces motion of the piston and high rate flow of fluid through the valve causing the valve to block fluid flow through the piston so that the piston is locked within the cylinder and the occupant restraint load is transmitted from the seat belt to the floor.

Hydraulic seat belt load anchor

A vehicle seat is mounted on the vehicle body by a seat adjuster which enables movement of the seat relative to the vehicle body to a position chosen by the occupant. A seat belt is anchored on the seat so that the seat belt moves with the seat to the adjusted position. An extensible cylinder extends from the vehicle floor to the seat belt anchor on the seat and extends and retracts as necessary to accommodate the adjusting movement of the seat. The extensible cylinder includes a piston movable within a chamber filled with electro-rheological fluid. During adjusting movement of the seat, electrical voltage is interrupted to the electro-rheological fluid to liquefy the fluid for flow through orifices in the piston, so that the cylinder may extend and retract to follow the seat. At all other times, voltage is applied to the electro-rheological fluid so that the fluid solidifies and is unable to flow through the orifices so that the piston is locked within the cylinder and the occupant restraint load is transmitted from the seat belt to the floor.

Electro-rheological belt load anchorage mechanism

The present invention provides an apparatus and method of utilization thereof of an anti-ratchet vehicle seat adjuster slide. A preferred embodiment provides an adjuster slide having an upper channel connected with the seat slidably mounted on a lower channel connected with the vehicle. The adjuster slide also has a latch pivotally connected with the upper channel having a range of pivotal movement independent of a lift bar which is also pivotally connected with the upper channel. To allow adjustment of the seat the lift bar is controlled by the operator and pulled upwards causing the latch to pivot upwards also and release from the lower channel. The latch also is provided with a tab having a curvilinear surface of engagement with the notches of the lower channel. The curvilinear surface of the latch tab allows the latch to have a generally constant cam angle of engagement with the notch of the lower channel regardless of the angular orientation of the latch when the tab is in engagement with one of the notches. The above action causes the tab is seek insertion into the latch and not to be pushed out of the latch due to the poor cam angle presentation.

Apparatus and method of anti-ratcheting vehicle seat adjuster slide

The present invention provides an apparatus and method of utilization thereof of a powered vehicle seat adjuster slide which can be connected with an occupant restraint belt. With use of the present invention, relative motion between the vehicle seat and vehicle is presented during periods of sudden decelerations of the vehicle.

Restraint belt load capacity fore and aft power seat adjuster apparatus

Disclosed herein is an apparatus and method of utilization thereof of a powered vehicle seat adjuster slide which can be connected with an occupant restraint belt. With use of the present apparatus, relative motion between the vehicle seat and vehicle is prevented during periods of sudden decelerations of the vehicle. The apparatus includes a connection for mounting the seat belt anchor to the slide rail, which, upon a predetermined force being applied to the seat belt, will engage a notched portion of the floor channel thereby preventing movement of the seat with respect to the floor channel.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for a low profile seat adjuster with a lift plate stabilizer interlock. The lift plate interlock provides torsional stabilization for the lift plate preventing the lift plate being urged into interference with other members of the seat adjuster therefore reducing friction in the adjuster. The reduced friction in the operation of the adjuster allows the seat adjuster to exhibit a smooth and constant movement when adjusting the seat.

Low profile seat adjuster with lift plate stabilizer

An automotive vehicle power-actuated seat adjuster assembly includes a screw type height adjustment apparatus employing a nut held axially but rotatable under applied torque within spaced antifriction bearings, one of which bearings is an element molded of low friction polymeric material formed with elastic thrust absorbing legs deflectable to provide up to a predetermined amount of axial preload in the screw and nut elements.

Preloaded screw actuator

An escutcheon and cover assembly for a lock cylinder is provided with a spring biased pivotal arrangement and stops which cooperate to provide normal opening and closing movement of the cover for access to the lock cylinder and in addition, provide for pivotal movement of the cover in an unorthodox manner to provide access to the escutcheon for attaching same about the lock cylinder.

Escutcheon and cover assembly for a lock cylinder

A closure latch includes a latch frame pivotally mounting a latch bolt and a cam member. A common torsion spring interconnects the bolt and cam member for biasing the bolt to unlatched position and biasing the cam member oppositely of the bolt. The cam member is normally located against the spring bias by engagement with the latch frame, and a cam surface of the cam member engages a leg of the bolt to maintain the bolt in latched position. When the cam member is rotated oppositely of the spring bias, the cam surface of the cam member moves past the leg of the bolt so that the spring rotates the bolt to unlatched position. The spring returns the cam member to its normal position in engagement with the latch frame and locates a shoulder of the cam member adjacent the leg of the bolt. When the bolt moves from unlatched to latched position, the leg of the bolt engages the shoulder of the cam member to rotate the cam member against the bias of the spring until the bolt leg has moved past the shoulder whereupon the spring returns the cam member to its normal position wherein it blocks movement of the bolt to unlatched position by engagement with the bolt leg.

Closure latch

A lock cylinder cover arrangement including a spring detent secured at one end thereof to the underside of a cover base or escutcheon, wherein the spring detent has a stop surface and a cam surface formed adjacent the other end thereof, the stop surface serving to hold open a cover pivotally mounted on the escutcheon, and the cam surface serving to be cammed downwardly toward the lock cylinder by an edge of the key-head to thereby release the stop surface from the cover and permit the latter to be biased closed upon withdrawal of the key from the lock cylinder.

Growing community of inventors

Mt. Clemens, MI, United States of America

Hans J Borlinghaus