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
  • B60N2/005—Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles, e.g. dismountable auxiliary seats
  • B60N2/015—Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis
  • B60N2/01508—Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis using quick release attachments
  • B60N2/01516—Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis using quick release attachments with locking mechanisms
  • B60N2/01558—Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis using quick release attachments with locking mechanisms with key and slot
  • B60N2/01575—Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis using quick release attachments with locking mechanisms with key and slot key sliding inside the vehicle floor or rail

Definitions

• the present invention refers to an arresting mechanism for releasably arresting a seat to a floor, particularly, but not exclusively to a vehicle floor.
• Devices for arresting seats or chairs to floors are earlier known in various designs.
• Such devices incorporates rails or tracks mounted on the floor and having means for fitting thereto mounting brackets, which in turn have means for arresting thereto a seat or a chair.
• EP 1 892 142 discloses such a mounting device, which is attachable to a grooved track having a regular array of apertures joined by undercut slots.
• the mounting device has positioning means and locking means for engagement in the track and a first cam for controlling engagement and disengagement of the locking means and a second cam for switching the positioning means to extend into selected parts of the grooves.
• a shaft is provided for rotating both cams.
• Such a mounting device is rather complex due to the provision of two cams with their actuation mechanism, which are arranged to engage or disengage both the positioning means and the locking means in the grooved track, and the fact that such positioning and locking means are arrested in the grooved track only by aid of forces acting in the axial direction of the positioning and locking means, makes the anchoring of the mounting device in the track less stiff than it could be desired.
• the purpose of the invention is to provide a an arresting mechanism for a mounting bracket of a vehicle seat of the type referred to, which is less complicated than the prior art as revealed, and therefore less expensive, and which also will give a stiff anchorage of the mounting bracket in the track, and this has been achieved in that the arresting mechanism which is arrestable to a track having a regular array of apertures joined by undercut slots, and which mounting bracket on its side facing the track has downwardly projecting members for engagement with the said apertures and undercut slots, at least one of said downwardly projecting members being movable to clamping contact with said undercut track, and which is characterized therein, that one of said downwardly projecting members is fixed and can be inserted axially into one of said apertures, whereas the at least one movable, downwardly projecting member, is positioned on the mounting bracket at a distance from the fixed, downwardly projecting member.
• Fig. 1 illustrates in a side view a section of a track fitted to a floor and a mounting bracket for a chair or seat arrested to said track.
• Fig. 2 is a section of the track and mounting bracket as seen along lines a - a in Fig. 1.
• Fig. 3 is an end view of the track and mounting bracket according to Fig. 1 as seen from the right hand side.
• Fig. 4 is a side view corresponding to Fig. 1 but showing the mounting bracket in a release position from the track
• Figs. 5 and 6 are views corresponding to Figs. 1 and 3, with the mounting bracket in a locked position and a release position respectively.
• Figs. 7 and 8 are views corresponding to Figs. 1 and 3, and showing a modified embodiment of an arresting mechanism in accordance with the invention in locked and release positions, respectively.
• Fig. 1 a portion of a track 1 , which is firmly fitted to a not shown floor of a vehicle, such as a bus or the like.
• the track 1 is of a type earlier known for instance from EP 0 709 247 A2 and having a regular array of apertures joined by undercut slots, which will be further described in connection to Figs. 2 and 4.
• a mounting bracket 2 provided with mounting means (not further shown) for arresting a chair or seat (not shown), is shown in a position where it is fixedly but detachably arrested to the track 1 and where it projects substantially perpendicularly upwards from the track 1.
• two such mounting brackets 2 arranged side by side and are used for attaching between them a seat or a chair.
• the mounting bracket 2 Adjacent one of its ends the mounting bracket 2 has a fixed, downwardly extending projection 3, arranged to extend in mounted position through anyone of the apertures in the track 1 , and having such a dimension compared to the apertures and the undercut slots, that it can readily be introduced in the aperture, but is prevented for movement along the undercut grooves joining the apertures.
• a bar 4 Adjacent the opposite end of the mounting bracket 2, there is provided a bar 4, which is connected to an arm 5, the opposite end of which is rotatably supported about a shaft 6, which shaft is fitted to a locking mechanism 7, having two legs 8, 9 straddling the arm 5.
• the said bar 4, at its lower side has a number of downwardly projecting rods 10 (as can be seen in Figs. 3 - 4 and 6).
• the form of both legs 8, 9 of the locking mechanism 7 is preferably identical and non-symmetrical and outer edges of the legs 8, 9 are interconnected by a not further shown horizontal flat steel bar, which is resting against the upper surface of the track 1.
• the two legs 8, 9 of the locking mechanism 7 are both connected to an actuating member 11 - in the embodiment illustrated, a handle - by which the two legs as a unit can be rotated with the shaft 6.
• the locking mechanism 7, by means of the actuating member 11 is positioned in one position, the nonsymmetrical shape of the legs 8, 9, means that the bar 4 is pulled upwards to a position in which the rods 10 are clamped against the lower side of the undercut slots in the track 1 and between the apertures in the track.
• the legs 8, 9 have each a surface portion 12 positioned thus in relation to the surface portion where the bar 4 is pulled in a direction to bring the rods 10 to clamping contact with the undercut slots, that the locking mechanism 7 is maintained in this locked position, by means of a locking member 13 acting upon the said surface portion 12.
• this locking member is a spring-loaded locking bolt, which can be manually disconnected by means of a handle 14.
• the locking member can also be other implements, such as solenoid operated locking members or any other appropriate mechanism.
• Fig. 2 is a section along line A - A in Fig. 1 , showing the track 1 with an array of circular apertures 1 a interconnected by undercut slots 1 b.
• the space between each two adjacent apertures 1 a is the same, and the length of the undercut slots 1 b are also the same.
• the bar 4 and the arm 5 in this locked position are situated so that the rods 10, (not visible in this view), which have the same spacing as the apertures 1a, are positioned under the undercut slots 1 b, i.e. not under the apertures 1 a.
• the view also illustrates how the fixed downwardly extending projection 3 is positioned in an aperture 1a.
• the dimension of the projection 3 is such that it can be easily inserted in an aperture 1 a, but is too big for allowing the projection 3 to pass into an undercut slot 1 b.
• Fig. 3 is shown a side view corresponding to Fig. 1 , but showing the mounting bracket 2 in a released position.
• the locking means 13 has been pulled to the left in the drawing, manually or by any appropriate, not shown actuating mechanism, against the action of pretension acting on the locking means 13, e.g. caused by a spring.
• the locking means 13 thereby has come out of contact with the surface portion 12 on the legs 8, 9, whereupon the actuating member 11 can be and has been rotated about a quarter of its circumference in a right hand direction, where the edge portions of the legs 8, 9 contacting the track 1 , are situated at a shorter distance from the shaft 6 than the edge portions contacting the track 1 in the locked position shown in Fig. 1.
• Fig. 5 shows an end view from the right hand side of Fig. 1 , with the mounting bracket 2 in locked position, and as can be seen in this view, the rod 10 has the shape of an inverted mushroom, with a tapering head portion, where the tapering surface, in the locked position shown, is clamped against the corresponding surface of the undercut slots, thus arresting the mounting bracket in the locked position. Due to the shape of the legs 8, 9, the bar 4 will also be subjected to a displacing force in a direction away from the fixed projection 3, which results in a further clamping effect between the engagement of the fixed projection 3 in an aperture 1a and the engagement between the rods 10 and the undercut slots 1b.
• FIG. 6 is an end view of the mounting bracket 2 in release position in accordance with the situation in Fig. 3 where the actuating member 11 has been turned almost 45°, after the locking mechanism 7 has been unlocked upon release of the locking member 13 (see Fig. 3). As can be seen from Fig.
• Figs. 7 and 8 is shown a modified embodiment of the arresting mechanism according to the invention.
• the main difference as compared to the first embodiment is the design and function of the locking mechanism.
• the locking mechanism 14 has like the locking mechanism 7 in the earlier embodiment, a cam-like shape and it is turnable about a shaft 6 associated with an arm 5 connected to a bar 4 having a number of downwardly directed rods, arranged to cooperate with the track 1 in the same manner as in the first embodiment as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 6.
• the locking mechanism 14 is operable by means of an actuating member or a handle 11 , and in the locked position, as shown in Fig. 7, the locking mechanism 14 is kept in locked position by a movable catch 16 arranged to enter in a recess 15 in the locking mechanism.
• the catch 16 in locked position is maintained by gravity only, but when the locking mechanism is turned by operation of the handle 11 , thus that a force is applied to the outer end of the handle, the catch 16 is easily displaced from the recess and the locking mechanism is allowed to turn to the position shown in Fig. 8, where the rods 10 have been pushed downwards from engagement with the track 1.
• the spring-loaded bolt 13 in the embodiment according to Figs. 1 to 6 has been replaced by a catch 16 subjected to gravity, when engaged in a recess 15.
• the fixed projection 3 is axially direct inserted in one recess in the track 1 , and the movable projecting members or rods 10 are acted upon by a single cam-like mechanism, which will give not only a clamping contact between the rods 10 and the undercut slots 1b, but also a tension in the longitudinal direction of the track 1 , whereby the mounting bracket will be retained in a steady manner in spite of the fact that it has less movable parts than the prior art device according to EP 0 709 247 A2.
• the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described with reference thereto, but modifications and variants are possible within the scope of the following claims.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Seats For Vehicles (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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ID=42739838

Family Applications (1)

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Family Cites Families (6)

• 2009
  • 2009-03-19 EP EP09841970A patent/EP2408640A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2009-03-19 WO PCT/SE2009/000143 patent/WO2010107343A1/en active Application Filing

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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