GB2179997A - Seat reclining mechanism - Google Patents
Seat reclining mechanism Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2179997A GB2179997A GB08518031A GB8518031A GB2179997A GB 2179997 A GB2179997 A GB 2179997A GB 08518031 A GB08518031 A GB 08518031A GB 8518031 A GB8518031 A GB 8518031A GB 2179997 A GB2179997 A GB 2179997A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- gear
- drive
- seat
- arms
- arm
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 31
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 4
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 claims description 4
- 238000010276 construction Methods 0.000 claims description 2
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/02—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable
- B60N2/0224—Non-manual adjustments, e.g. with electrical operation
- B60N2/02246—Electric motors therefor
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/02—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable
- B60N2/0224—Non-manual adjustments, e.g. with electrical operation
- B60N2/02246—Electric motors therefor
- B60N2/02258—Electric motors therefor characterised by the mounting of the electric motor for adjusting the seat
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/02—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable
- B60N2/22—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable the back-rest being adjustable
- B60N2/225—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable the back-rest being adjustable by cycloidal or planetary mechanisms
- B60N2/2251—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles the seat or part thereof being movable, e.g. adjustable the back-rest being adjustable by cycloidal or planetary mechanisms with gears having orbital motion, e.g. sun and planet gears
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
- Transportation (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Chairs For Special Purposes, Such As Reclining Chairs (AREA)
Abstract
A seat reclining mechanism comprises a first arm (1) for connection to a seat back and a second arm (2) for connection to a seat cushion, the arms being pivotally linked by a self-locking gear drive (3) having a drive shaft (4) rotation of which causes relative pivoting of the first and second arms, and an electric drive unit (5) for the gear drive, said unit comprising an electric motor (7) driving a planetary gear arrangement (10, 14, 15, 16) mounted around and in driving engagement with the drive shaft. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Seat reclining mechanism
This invention relates to a seat reclining mechanism suitable, for example, for use with a motorvehicle seat.
Typical seat reclining mechanisms are disclosed in our Patent Specifications Nos. 1528357 and 1586 869. These mechanisms have arms connectableto the seat back or squab and the seat cushion, and linked by a planetary gear drive operable by a drive shaftcarrying a hand-wheel. Whilethe operation of the mechanisms disclosed is entirelysatisfactory, some users may find that manipulation ofthe handwheel located on the pivot axis of the seat is inconvenient.
The present invention provides a mechanism having an electric drive unit which permits adjustment of the inclination of the seat back by the operation of a conveniently placed switch.
Accordingly, the invention provides a seat reclining mechanism, comprising a firstarm forconnec- tion to a seat back and a second arm forconnectionto aseatcushion,the arms being pivotallylinkedbya self-locking gear drive having a drive shaft, rotation of which causes relative pivoting of the first and second arms, and an electric drive unitforthe gear drive, said unit comprising an electric motor driving a planetary gear arrangement mounted around and in driving engagementwiththedriveshaft.
Preferably, the electric motor drives the sun gear of the planetary gear arrangement which drives planetary gears in engagement with a fixed annulusgear, drive passing to the drive shaft via the cage, which is fixed thereto. The motor suitably drives the planetary gear arrangement via a worm gear, and limit switches may be provided to stop or reverse the motor at the limits of movement of the two arms.
Reference is made to the drawings, in which:
Figure lisa partially cut-away side elevation of the mechanism according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Figure2 is an end elevation ofthe mechanism shown in Figure 1,withtheplanetarygeararrange- mentofthedriveunitsectionedon linex-x;and Figure 3 is a view similarto Figure 2 of a second embodiment according to the present invention.
The mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a first arm 1 which can be fixed to the frame of the seat back or squab and a second arm 2 which can be attached to the side frame of the seat cushion. The arms 1 and 2 are pivotally linked by a planetarygear drive 3 (Figure 2), which is not shown in detail, but which is suitably of the type disclosed in our Patent
Specification No. 1 586869. The gear drive 3 has a drive shaft 4 of square section extending therefrom, which conventionally is used to mount a handwheel.
An electric drive unit5 is mounted on the first arm 1 and around the shaft 4 by means of a mounting bracket 6. The unit 5 comprises an electric motor7 attached to the bracket 6 driving, via a flexible shaft8 carrying aworm gear9,a planetarygeararrange mentwhich engages and turnstheshaft4.
The planetary gear arrangement includes a sun gear 10which rotates freely on a tubular shaft 11 whichsurroundsthedriveshaft4and is integrally formed with the casing 12 of the arrangement. A pinion gear 13 is integ rally formed with the sun gear 10 and so also rotates aboutthe shaft 11. The pinion gear 13 is engaged with and driven by the worm gear 9. The sun gear 10 engages three planet gears 14 freely rotatably mounted on stub-axles forming part of a gear carrier 15. The gear carrier has at its centre a squareaperturewhich engages the drive shaft 4 so that rotation of the carrier 15 turns the drive shaft 4.
The planet gears 14 engage a fixed annulus gear 16 on the inside of the casing 12. The carrier 15 is thereby rotationally mounted with respect to the annulus gear 16 by the planet gears 14which enables high rotational loadingsto be applied tothe carrier without deflecting it from its axis of rotation.
Rotation of the pinion gear 13 causes rotation of theplanetgears 14which arethusdriven aroundthe annulus 16,therebyturning the cage 15 to drive the gear drive 3 via the shaft 4, and so altering the relative angular positions ofthe arms 1 and 2. The overall reduction ratio of the gear arrangement is typically 180:1.
The mounting bracket 6 may suitably carry limit switches engaged by stops on the second arm 2 to cause the motor to stop or reverse at the limits of movement of the arms. The mounting bracket 6 aiso readily permits the electric drive unit to be installed on an existing seat with suitably, previously manually operated, reclining mechanism.
The above construction enables high speed low torque electric motors to be used which are generally of a compact size. Typically such motors operate at about 450 r.p.m.
A second embodiment is illustrated in Figure 3 wherein parts corresponding to those in the embodiment of Figure 1 have been designated by the same reference numerals.
In the second embodiment a facility is provided whereby the motor 7 may be controlled to move the arms 1,2 to predetermined positions.
Accordingly, an annular gear30 is provided which includes teeth 31 which mesh with an additional ring of teeth 32 formed on the planet gears 14.Thean- nular gear30 is provided with a carbon strip (notvisible) which co-operates with electrical contacts 34to thereby define a variable resistance.
The variable resistance in use forms part of an electrical control circuit (not shown) for the motor 7 and is used to operate the motor until a desired resist ance value is achieved. It will be appreciated thatthe contacts may be provided on the gear 30 and the carbon strip on the housing.
The gearing ratio between the planet gears 14 and gear 30 is chosen to move the gear30through a desired arc (typically 270 ) for a 90 sweep of the arms 1, 2.
1. A seat reclining mechanism, comprising a first arm for connection to a seat back and a second arm for connection to a seat cushion, the arms being
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.
Claims (6)
1. A seat reclining mechanism, comprising a first arm for connection to a seat back and a second arm for connection to a seat cushion, the arms being pivotally linked by a self-locking gear drive having a drive shaft rotation of which causes relative pivoting ofthefirstand second arms, and an electric drive unit for the gear drive, said unit comprising an electric motor driving a planetary gear arrangement mounted around and in driving engagement with the drive shaft.
2. Aseat reclining mechanism according to Claim 1, wherein the electric motor drives the sun gear of the planetary gear arrangement which drives planetart gears in engagement with a fixed annulusgear, drive passing to the drive shaft via the cage, which is fixed thereto.
3. A seat reclining mechanism according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the electric motor drives the planetary gear arrangement via a worm gear.
4. A seat reclining mechanism according to Claim 1,2 or 3, comprising electrical limit switches oper able atthe limits of movement ofthe armsto stop or reverse the electric motor.
5. A seat reclining mechanism according to any preceding claim, comprising a mounting bracket sec urable to the first or second arm,the bracket carrying the electric motor and the planetary gear arrangement.
6. A seat reclining mechanism, substantially as described with reference to, or as shown in,the drawings.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB08518031A GB2179997B (en) | 1985-07-17 | 1985-07-17 | Seat reclining mechanism |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB08518031A GB2179997B (en) | 1985-07-17 | 1985-07-17 | Seat reclining mechanism |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB8518031D0 GB8518031D0 (en) | 1985-08-21 |
GB2179997A true GB2179997A (en) | 1987-03-18 |
GB2179997B GB2179997B (en) | 1988-11-23 |
Family
ID=10582415
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB08518031A Expired GB2179997B (en) | 1985-07-17 | 1985-07-17 | Seat reclining mechanism |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
GB (1) | GB2179997B (en) |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE3900219A1 (en) * | 1988-01-05 | 1989-07-13 | Imasen Denki Seisakusho Inuyam | Vehicle seat |
US4880274A (en) * | 1987-07-31 | 1989-11-14 | Ikeda Bussan Co., Ltd. | Power reclining device of seat |
US5435624A (en) * | 1993-10-12 | 1995-07-25 | Ford Motor Company | Powered vehicle seat |
DE19527483A1 (en) * | 1994-07-29 | 1996-02-01 | Aisin Seiki | Electric drive arrangement for rake adjustment of motor vehicle seat |
US6296306B1 (en) * | 1999-07-08 | 2001-10-02 | Breed Automotive Technology, Inc. | Vehicle seat |
US20200278009A1 (en) * | 2019-02-28 | 2020-09-03 | Lear Corporation | Gear assembly |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1528357A (en) * | 1975-02-07 | 1978-10-11 | Ihw Eng Ltd | Seat reclining mechanism |
GB2048367A (en) * | 1979-03-06 | 1980-12-10 | Nissan Motor | Seat reclining device |
-
1985
- 1985-07-17 GB GB08518031A patent/GB2179997B/en not_active Expired
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1528357A (en) * | 1975-02-07 | 1978-10-11 | Ihw Eng Ltd | Seat reclining mechanism |
GB1586869A (en) * | 1975-02-07 | 1981-03-25 | Ihw Eng Ltd | Seat reclining mechanisms |
GB2048367A (en) * | 1979-03-06 | 1980-12-10 | Nissan Motor | Seat reclining device |
Cited By (9)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4880274A (en) * | 1987-07-31 | 1989-11-14 | Ikeda Bussan Co., Ltd. | Power reclining device of seat |
DE3900219A1 (en) * | 1988-01-05 | 1989-07-13 | Imasen Denki Seisakusho Inuyam | Vehicle seat |
DE3900219C2 (en) * | 1988-01-05 | 1999-07-29 | Imasen Denki Seisakusho Inuyam | Vehicle seat with motorized adjustment of the backrest and the seat rail |
US5435624A (en) * | 1993-10-12 | 1995-07-25 | Ford Motor Company | Powered vehicle seat |
DE19527483A1 (en) * | 1994-07-29 | 1996-02-01 | Aisin Seiki | Electric drive arrangement for rake adjustment of motor vehicle seat |
DE19527483B4 (en) * | 1994-07-29 | 2006-07-06 | Aisin Seiki K.K., Kariya | Motorized recliner of a vehicle seat |
US6296306B1 (en) * | 1999-07-08 | 2001-10-02 | Breed Automotive Technology, Inc. | Vehicle seat |
US20200278009A1 (en) * | 2019-02-28 | 2020-09-03 | Lear Corporation | Gear assembly |
US10830310B2 (en) * | 2019-02-28 | 2020-11-10 | Lear Corporation | Gear assembly |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB2179997B (en) | 1988-11-23 |
GB8518031D0 (en) | 1985-08-21 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 19980717 |