WO2011116470A1

WO2011116470A1 - Push button easy entry release mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2011116470A1
Application number: PCT/CA2011/000310
Authority: WO
Inventors: Omar D. Tame
Original assignee: Magna Seating Inc.
Priority date: 2010-03-25
Filing date: 2011-03-24
Publication date: 2011-09-29

Abstract

A seat assembly includes a seat cushion and a seat back for pivotal movement between an upright seating position and a forwardly dumped position. A recliner mechanism is coupled between the seat cushion and the seat back for actuation between a locked and unlocked condition allowing pivotal movement of the seat back. A seat track is coupled to the seat cushion for actuation between a locked and unlocked condition allowing fore and aft sliding movement of the seat assembly. A push button easy-entry release mechanism is coupled to the recliner mechanism and the seat track for actuating the recliner mechanism and seat track to the unlocked conditions and provide movement of the seat assembly to an easy-entry position defined by the seat back pivoted to the forwardly dumped position and the seat track sliding the seat assembly to a full-forward position allowing access behind the seat assembly.

Description

PUSH BUTTON EASY-ENTRY RELEASE MECHANISM

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle seat assembly. More particularly, the present invention relates to a vehicle seat assembly adapted to be mounted to a vehicle floor by a track assembly and including a seat back pivotally coupled to a seat cushion by a recliner mechanism wherein the seat assembly includes a push button easy-entry release mechanism for automatically releasing the recliner assembly and track assembly to position the seat assembly in an easy-entry position. 2. Description of Related Art

[0002] Automotive vehicles typically include one or more seat assemblies having a seat cushion and a seat back for supporting passengers above a vehicle floor. The seat assembly is commonly mounted to the vehicle floor by a seat track assembly for providing fore and aft adjustment of the seat assembly for passenger comfort. The seat back is also typically pivotally coupled to the seat cushion by a recliner mechanism for providing pivotal movement between an upright seating position, a plurality of reclined positions, and a forwardly dumped position at least partially overlying the seat cushion.

[0003] It is commonly known to provide a first release mechanism for selectively unlocking the recliner mechanism and a second release mechanism for selectively unlocking the seat track assembly. It is also known to actuate both the first and second release mechanisms to enable pivotal movement of the seat back to the forwardly dumped position and forward sliding of the seat assembly to a full-forward position to allow easy ingress and egress within the vehicle behind the seat assembly. However, the actuation of the release mechanism is typically done by one or more release levers projecting outwardly from the seat back and coupled to the recliner mechanism and seat track assembly.

[0004] It is desirable to provide a single push button release mechanism for simultaneously releasing both the recliner mechanism and the seat track assembly to position the seat assembly from a seating position to an easy-entry position wherein the seat back is in the forward dumped position and the seat assembly is in the full-forward position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] According to one aspect of the invention, a seat assembly for an automotive vehicle includes a seat cushion and a seat back operatively coupled to the seat cushion for pivotal movement between an upright seating position and a forwardly dumped position at least partially overlying the seat cushion. A recliner mechanism is operatively coupled between the seat cushion and the seat back for selective actuation between a locked and unlocked condition, thus allowing pivotal movement of seat back. A seat track assembly is coupled to the seat cushion for selective actuation between a locked and unlocked condition, thus allowing fore and aft sliding movement of the seat assembly within the vehicle. A push button easy-entry release mechanism is operatively coupled to the recliner mechanism and the seat track assembly for selectively actuating both the recliner mechanism and seat track assembly to the unlocked conditions. This provides movement of the seat assembly to an easy-entry position defined by the seat back pivoted to the forwardly dumped position and the seat track assembly sliding the seat assembly to a full- forward position, thus allowing access behind the seat assembly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

[0007] Figure 1 is a side view of a vehicle seat assembly including a seat back pivotally coupled to a seat cushion according to one embodiment of the invention; [0008] Figure 2 is a perspective view of a push button easy-entry release mechanism;

[0009] Figure 3 is a side view of the push button easy-entry release mechanism in a latched condition; [0010] Figure 4 is a side view of the push button easy-entry release mechanism in an unlatched condition;

[0011] Figure 5 is a side view of the push button easy-entry release mechanism with a recliner mechanism in an unlocked condition;

[0012] Figure 6 is a side view of the push button easy-entry release mechanism with the seat back pivoting to the forwardly dumped position; and

[0013] Figure 7 is a side view of the push button easy-entry release mechanism with a track assembly in an unlocked condition.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [0014] Referring to the Figures, wherein like numerals indicate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, a seat assembly for use in an automotive vehicle is generally shown at 10. Referring to Figure 1 , the seat assembly 10 includes a generally horizontal seat cushion 12 and a generally upright seat back 14 operatively coupled by a recliner mechanism 16 to the seat cushion 12 for providing pivotal movement between an upright seating position A, a plurality of reclined positions B, and a forwardly dumped position C at least partially overlying the seat cushion 12. The seat assembly 10 is adapted to be mounted to a vehicle floor 18 by a seat track assembly 20 for providing fore and aft adjustment of the seat assembly 10.

[0015] Referring to Figure 2, the seat assembly 10 includes a push button easy- entry release mechanism 22 for automatically releasing the recliner mechanism 16 to an unlocked condition, thus allowing pivotal movement of the seat back 14 between the seating position A and the forwardly dumped position C. The release mechanism 22 also provides for automatically releasing the seat track assembly 20 to an unlocked condition, thus allowing forward sliding movement of the seat assembly 10 to a full-forward easy- entry position D, as shown in Figure 1 , to provide easy ingress and egress within the vehicle behind the seat assembly 10. More specifically, referring to Figure 2, the seat assembly 10 includes a seat cushion mounting bracket 24 for mounting the seat cushion 12 to the seat track assembly 20 and a seat back mounting bracket 26 for pivotally mounting the seat back 14 to the seat cushion 12 about pivot pin 28 via the recliner mechanism 16. [0016] The seat back mounting bracket 26 includes a lower lever 30 extending below the pivot pin 28 adjacent the upper portion of the seat cushion mounting bracket 24 to a distal end 32 and is pivotal with the seat back 14. A post 34 projects from lever 30 adjacent the distal end 32. A first cable 36 extends from the post 34 to a locking mechanism, shown generally at 35 and commonly known to one skilled in the art, on the seat track assembly 20 to selectively actuate the track assembly 20 between a locked condition and an unlocked condition allowing fore and aft sliding movement of the seat assembly 10 as is commonly known to one skilled in the art. The release mechanism 22 includes a release lever 38 extending between a proximal end 40 pivotally mounted to the seat cushion mounting bracket 24 by pivot 42 and an opposite distal end 44 seated adjacent the lower lever 30. A release spring 46 extends between the release lever 38 and the seat cushion mounting bracket 24 for biasing the release lever 38 toward the lower lever 30. A second cable 48 extends between a first end connected to the release lever 38 and a second end connected to a recliner lever 50. The recliner lever 50 includes a first end 52 operatively coupled to the recliner mechanism 16 and a second end 54 connected to the second cable 48 for actuating the recliner mechanism 16 between a locked and unlocked condition allowing pivotal movement of the seat back 14 between the seating position and the forwardly dumped position. A return spring 56 extends between the recliner lever 50 and the seat back mounting bracket 26 for biasing the recliner lever 50 in a clockwise direction and the recliner mechanism 16 to the locked condition. It should be appreciated that the recliner mechanism 16 may be any type of recliner mechanism as is commonly known to one skilled in the art without varying the scope of the invention.

[0017] The push button easy-entry release mechanism 22 further includes a push button 60 operatively coupled to the seat cushion mounting bracket 24. A coil spring 62 extends between a recess 64 in the seat cushion mounting bracket 24 and a recess 66 in the push button for mounting the push button 60 and biasing the push button 60 spaced from the seat cushion mounting bracket 24. A pivot bracket 68 extends from the seat cushion mounting bracket 24. A latch lever 70 is pivotally mounted to the pivot bracket 68 by pivot pin 72. The latch lever 70 extends between a lever end 74 coupled to the push button 60 and an opposite hook end 76 forming a latch hook 78 for engagement with the release lever 38. The latch lever 70 is biased in the clockwise direction by the coil spring 62 and push button 60 for engagement with the release lever 38 in a latched condition as shown in Figure 2.

[0018] In operation, referring to Figures 3 and 4, with the seat assembly 10 and seat back 14 in the seating position, the recliner mechanism 16 and seat track assembly 20 are both in the locked conditions. The push button easy-entry release mechanism 22 is in the latched condition wherein the latch hook 78 is engaged with the release lever 38 to latch the release lever 38 in a home position spaced from the lower lever 30 and against the biasing force of the release spring 46. The push button 60 is biased and spaced from the seat cushion mounting bracket 24 by the coil spring 62. In order to position the seat assembly 10 from the seating position to the easy entry position, the push button 60 is depressed inwardly, against the biasing force of the coil spring 62, toward the seat cushion mounting bracket 24. Depressing the push button 60 pushes on the lever end 74 to pivot the latch lever 70 about the pivot bracket 68 and release the latch hook 78 from engagement with the release lever 38. The release lever 38 then pivots about pivot 42 in the counterclockwise direction by the biasing force of the release spring 46 until the distal end 44 of the release lever 38 engages the post 34 on the lower lever 30. Also, as the release lever 38 pivots about pivot 42, the lever 38 pulls on the second cable 48. The second cable 48 actuates the recliner mechanism 16 by pivoting the recliner lever 50 about pivot pin 28 in the counterclockwise direction to actuate the recliner mechanism 16 to the unlocked condition allowing pivotal movement of the seat back 14 relative to the seat cushion 12.

[0019] Referring to Figures 5-7, as the seat back 14 is pivoted from the seating position A to the dumped position C, the lower lever 30 pivots about the pivot pin 28 in the counterclockwise direction and pulls on the first cable 36 to actuate the seat track assembly 20 to the unlocked condition. The seat assembly 10 may now be moved along the track assembly 20 to the full-forward easy-entry position D. Simultaneously, the post 34 on the lower lever 30 remains engaged with the release lever 38 such that pivotal movement of the lower lever 30 pivots the release lever 38 about pivot 42 in the clockwise direction against the biasing force of the release spring 46 to return to the home position. The release lever 38 cams along the hook end 76 of the latch lever 70 until reaching the home position. The latch lever 70 is biased by the coil spring 62 to engage the latch hook 78 with the release lever 38 in the home position and return the release mechanism 22 to the latched condition. The lower lever 30 maintains the seat track assembly 20 in the unlocked condition while the seat back 14 is in the dumped position thereby allowing the seat assembly 10 to be returned to the rearward seating position.

[0020] Finally, as the seat back 14 is pivoted from the dumped position C back to the seating position A, the lower lever 30 pivots in the clockwise direction to release tension on the first cable 36 and return the seat track assembly 20 to the locked condition. Once the seat back 14 reaches the upright seating position, the recliner mechanism 16 also returns to the locked condition.

[0021] The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation. Many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.

Claims

What is claimed:

1. A seat assembly for an automotive vehicle comprising: a seat cushion; a seat back operatively coupled to said seat cushion for pivotal movement between an upright seating position and a forwardly dumped position at least partially overlying said seat cushion; a recliner mechanism operatively coupled between said seat cushion and said seat back for selectively actuating between a locked and unlocked condition allowing said pivotal movement of said seat back; a seat track assembly coupled to said seat cushion for selective actuation between a locked and unlocked condition allowing fore and aft sliding movement of said seat assembly within the vehicle; and a push button easy-entry release mechanism operatively coupled to said recliner mechanism and said seat track assembly for selectively actuating each of said recliner mechanism and seat track assembly to said unlocked conditions and provide movement of said seat assembly to an easy-entry position defined by said seat back pivoted to said forwardly dumped position and said seat track assembly sliding said seat assembly to a full-forward position allowing access behind said seat assembly.

2. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 1 further including a seat cushion mounting bracket for mounting said seat cushion to said seat track assembly and a seat back mounting bracket for pivotally mounting said seat back to said seat cushion about a pivot pin via said recliner mechanism.

3. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said seat back mounting bracket includes a lower lever operatively coupled to said seat track assembly for actuating said seat track assembly between said locked and unlocked condition in response to pivotal movement of said seat back between said upright seating position and said forward dumped position.

4. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 3 further including a recliner lever operatively coupled to said recliner mechanism for actuating said recliner mechanism between said locked and unlocked condition, said recliner lever extending from a first end coupled to said pivot pin and an opposite second end.

5. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 4 further including a release lever extending between a proximal end pivotally coupled to said seat cushion bracket by a pivot and an opposite second end adjacent said lower lever for pivotal movement between a first home position spaced from said lower lever and second position engaged with said lower lever.

6. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein said push button easy-entry release mechanism includes a push button operatively coupled to said seat cushion bracket, a coil spring compressed between said seat cushion bracket and said push button, and a latch lever extending between a lever end engaged with said push button and an opposite hook end engagable with said release lever for retaining said release lever in said home position.

7. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said push button easy-entry release mechanism includes a pivot bracket fixedly secured to said seat cushion bracket for pivotally supporting said latch lever and releasing said hood end from engagement with said release lever in response to depression of said push button against the biasing force of said coil spring.

8. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 7 further including a release spring coupled between said seat cushion bracket and said release lever for biasing said release lever into engagement with said lower lever.

9. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 8 including a first cable extending between said lower lever and said seat track assembly for actuation said seat track assembly from said locked to unlocked condition in response to pivotal movement of said seat back from said upright seating position to said forward dumped position.

10. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 9 including a second cable extending between said release lever and said recliner lever for actuating said recliner mechanism from said locked to unlocked condition in response to pivotal movement of said release lever from said first home position to said second position.

1 1. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 10 including a return spring coupled between said recliner lever and said seat back mounting bracket for biasing said recliner mechanism to said locked condition.

12. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 11 wherein said lower lever includes a post for engaging said release lever in said second position and returning said release lever to said first home position in response to pivotal movement of said seat back from said forward dumped position to said upright seat position for locking engagement by said hook end of said latch lever.