Chrysler Corporation

Chrysler Motors Corporation

Wilbur E Schwartz, Jr

James P Lezotte

Dennis M Viscome

A composite pivot bushing and cover device for a vehicle seat center hinge bracket disposed between side-by-side fold down seat backs. The composite cover is a molded one-piece plastic housing having a top wall, forward and aft end wall extensions, and a side wall oppositely disposed from a matching side closure, defining a chamber with an open-ended bottom adapted to enclose the hinge bracket. The side closure is integrally joined to the aft end wall along its axis of rotation defined by a living hinge. A pivot bushing perpendicularly projects from the inner surface of the side closure and, upon the closure being rotated to its closed position and locked in a snap-action manner, the bushing is captured in a hinge bracket bore aligning it on the seat back pivot axis.

Composite pivot bushing and cover for vehicle seat hinge bracket

An improved locking device for a latching and locking mechanism wherein upon a motor vehicle rear seatback being unlocked it adapted to be unlatched for swinging to a fold-down position by pivoting a handle portion of an operating lever providing pass through access between the vehicle passenger compartment and rear storage trunk. The locking device provides a key locking cylinder which in its locked mode has a lock bar biased in one direction such that its one end contacts a cam segment on the cylinder. The lock bar is formed with a pair of notches spaced on centers equal to the spacing between support webs of a pivoting operating lever. The notches are positioned to block the pivoting of the lever in the cylinder locked mode by being misaligned with the support webs. Upon the lock bar being shifted by the cam segment, as a result of the cylinder being rotated by the key, the notches are aligned with the support webs allowing latch tripping movement of the operating lever probe to free the striker allowing the backrest to be swung to its fold-down unlatched position.

Growing community of inventors

Dearborn Heights, MI, United States of America

Wilbur E Schwartz, Jr