GB2212208A

GB2212208A - A vehicle seat having a seat and a backrest connected by a hinge fitting

Info

Publication number: GB2212208A
Application number: GB8829573A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernd Klueting; Klaus Dieter Bertram; Fredrich Klingenhoefer
Original assignee: Keiper Recaro GmbH and Co
Current assignee: Keiper Recaro GmbH and Co
Priority date: 1987-12-22
Filing date: 1988-12-19
Publication date: 1989-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 2008-12-19
Also published as: IT1227382B; DE3743558A1; GB8829573D0; DE3743558C2; GB2212208B; IT8822693A0

Description

1 A VEFICLE SEAT HAVING A SEAT AND A BACKREST CONNECTED BY A HINGE FITTING

2212203' "I The invention relates to a vehicle seat having a seat and a backrest connected by a hinge fitting particularly, though not exclusively, to a motor vehicle seat.

The hinge fitting may comprise a hinge part connected to the backrest and connected by a pivot to a further hinge part, which further hinge part, at its front end which is remote from the pivot, is connected by a pivot spindle in rotatable fashion to the seat of the vehicle seat. A rear part of the further hinge part cooperates with an abutment fixed on zzhe seat and a catch hook is pivotally articulated on the fixed hinge pa-rt and provided with a book-shaped jaw to engage the abutment.

A hinge fir-ting of this kind is known from German Published Specification No. 25 14 819, and has the catch hook fixed at the abutment when in tne locked position by a stop cam to avoid a clearance which would cause a chattering noise. The tensioning face of the hook jaw which bears against the abutment has a rising shape, so that according to tole:-ances or later wear and tear, the catch hook will engage around the abutment to a greater or lesser degree, being clamped between the fixed ninge part and the catch hook jaw. However, in order to be able to move this prior art catch hook into the release position, it is necessary nct only to provide a pivot lever comprising the stop cam but also a f-rther drive member which is in rotationally rigid connection with t,--e stop cam. Furthermore, in the case of this prior art device, there is associated with the catch hook and scanning the abutment, an inherently movable restraint to maintain the ready-to-lock rotary position of the catch hook which is disengaged from the abutment. This restraint comprises control cams by which it is displaceably suppc.rted on the one hand on the further hinge part and on the other maintaims the catch hook in a release position until the restraint comes to a stop at the abutment. Both with regard to the number of componerts and also with regard to its manufacture as well as with regard to assembly, this prior art device is complicated and expensive.

2 According to the invention there is provided a vehicle seat, having a seat and a backrest, connected by a hinge fitting comprising a hinge part fixed to a backrest and connected by a pivot to a further hinge part, the further hinge part, at a front end which is remote from the pivot to the hinge part, being connected by a pivot spindle to the seat and at a rear part cooperating with an abutment fixed on the seat, in which the hinge fitting includes a catch hook pivotally articulated on the further hinge part and provided with a hook-shaped jaw having an abutment face to engage the abutment to hold the hinge fitting against the abutment; the abutment face is angled so as not to be self-locking; the catch co-operates with a locking device comprising, mounted for rotary movement on the further hinge part, a control lever biased by a spring to a position in which it locks the catch hook; and the spring has a spring leg which engages over and rests on the abutment with initial tension in the locking position on the control lever and in a release position of the control lever is braced on an abutment wall of the control lever to maintain the control lever in the release position.

Thus a locking device is provided for the catch hook in which the clearance in the locked condition can be guaranteed with a few simple component parts. Thus, a clearance-free support of the further hinge part on the abutment of the seat can be obtained, since the hook-shaped jaw of the catch hook engages under one side of the abutment while a substantially opposite side of the catch hook is biased by the spring member so that any possible clearances are compensated. The aforementioned construction of the hook jaw can ensure that after the control lever has been moved into the release position the catch hook can slide off the abutment as soon as the further hinge part is pivoted about its axis which is supported on the seat frame, so that the back-rest can move into a forwardly folded position which facilitates access to rear seats of the vehicle.

In this respect, both in order to apply a locking force to the control lever and also to compensate for clearance between the catch hook and the abutment on the one hand and in order to maintain open the control level which has pivoted into the release position, on the other, the spring lever performing these functions advantageously comprises a leg spring with a portion coiled around a bearing journal 5Z, 3 -v AJ of the control lever, a first leg engaging the further hinge part and a second leg biassing the control lever for rotation about the bearing journal, the first leg having an extension which constitutes said spring leg which engages the abutment wall.

Preferably the first leg engages over a further bearing journal on the further hinge part, is bent with clearance around the further bearing journal and is continued to form the extension which constitutes said spring leg which engages the abutment wall. Such a leg spring which forms a one-piece homogeneous component can meet the demands of a clearance-free fixing of the locked position of the catch hook and the establishment of the control lever in its release position. So far as this is concerned, it is sufficient for the user to move the control lever into the release position in order to be able to pivot the backrest forwards together with the further hinge part.

When the backrest is returned to the position of use, the control lever is automatically released to pivot back into its locking position in which it maintains the catch hook in its locked position. Although it is conceivable that the spring leg which is constructed as an extension comes to bear on a contour which forms the abutment wall of the control lever, it is nevertheless advantageous to increase functional reliability by providing the extension of the spring leg to include an angled portion which engages a control slot in the control lever, an edge of which slot comprises the abutment wall. Advantageously the portion of the control slot in which the angled portion is engaged in the locking position of the control lever extends in an arc around the bearing journal of the control lever and the portion of the control slot in which the angled portion is engaged in the release position of the control lever is a radially outwardly extending portion.

So that the catch hook can move automatically into its looked 30 position in which it engages under parts of the abutment when the backrest is pivoted back into the position of use, the catch hook is preferably biassed in the locking direction by a force storage means and the hook-shaped jaw has on its lower outside face an opening ramp which move the catch hook aside to pass over the abutment.

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

4 Figure 1 is a side view of a further hinge part of a hinge fitting of a vehicle seat according to the invention with a catch hook arrangement in an operative position; Figure 2 is a sectional plan view taken on line II - II in Figure 1; Figure 3 shows a catch hook arrangement in a release position, during forwards pivoting movement of the further hinge part together with a backrest in a side view similar to Figure 1; and Figure 4 is a plan view taken on line IV - IV in Figure 3 through a spring leg forming an extension of a leg spring.

Referring to the drawing, a further hinge part 11 associated with frame 10 of a seat can be connected by a pivot joint (not shown) to pivotable hinge part (also not shown) which is associated with a backrest, the pivot joint permitting angular adjustment of the pivotable hinge part with respect to the further hinge part 11 thereby to adjust the inclination of the backrest with respect to the seat. A hinge fitting formed in this way, in so far as forward pivoting of the backrest is concerned, constitutes a per je rigid unit rigid with the backrest part and, in its entirety, can be pivoted about a bearing journal 12 which is mounted on the seat frame 10. Generally there is on each longitudinal side of the seat a respective hinge fitting with the further hinge part of each hinge fitting being equipped with a catch hook device.

In the position of use shown in Figure 1, the further hinge part 11 not only has its bottom edge bearing on the bearing journal 12 but also on a bolt-like abutment 13 which is rigidly mounted on the seat frame 10. In order to secure the backrest against being pivoted forwardly unintentionally, a catch hook 14 is provided which, in a locked position, engages underneath the abutment 13 that is to say on a peripheral zone thereof diametrically opposite the zone of support of the further hinge part 11. The catch hook 14 can be pivoted about a journal 15 located on the further hinge part 11 substantially above a marginal zone thereof supported against the abutment 13 and fixed in the further hinge part 11. The catch hook 14 is constructed as a two-armed lever and has on one arm a hook-shaped jaw 16 and the other arm formed as a support arm 17. An abutment face 18 of the hook-shaped jaw 16 which contacts the abutment 13 is inclined in such a way that 1 p its pitch is too shallow to be self-locking.

The catch hook 14 is engaged by a force storage means 19 by which the catch hook 14 is constantly biased in the locking direction. However, upon pivoting back of the backrest and thus also upon pivoting back of the further hinge part 11, to allow the catch hook 14 to move aside into its release position in order to pass over the abutment 13, the hook- shaped jaw 16 has on its outside which is opposite the abutment face 18, an opening ramp 20 by which the catch hook will automatically be moved into its release position when the further hinge part 11 is pivoted in a clockwise direction and the catch hook comes to rest above and against the abutment 13.

Between the bearing journal 12 and the journal 15 there is a further bearing bolt 21 mounted on the further hinge part 11 and on which there is mounted a control lever 22. The control lever 22 is provided not only with an abutment portion 23 to maintain the catch hook 14 in the locked position but also with an abutment wall 24 to maintain the control lever 22 in the release position. On the abutment portion 23 of the control lever 22 there is a projection 25, an extension of which engages in an elongate slot 36 provided in the hinge part 11 and curved around the bearing journal 21. The inner end of the projection 25 is connected to a releasing member 37. Adjacent the pivoting range of the control lever 22 there is provided on the further hinge part 11, a further bearing journal 26. The control lever 22 is biased in a locking direction by a spring member 27 constructed in the illustrated embodiment as a leg spring in that turns of the leg spring 27 engage around the bearing journal 21, a first leg 29 of the leg spring 27 bears on the further bearing journal 26 of the further hinge part 11 and a second leg 28 of the leg spring 27 bears on the projection 25 on the control lever 22. The first leg 29 of the leg 30 spring 27 is extended by a spring leg 30 which emerges from a turn around the journal 26. The turn around the journal has clearance only towards the bearing journal 12 and it otherwise encircles the bearing journal. This prevents the control lever 22 moving into the path of movement of the hook 14 when the release position shown in Figure 3 is 35 reached. When the backrest is in the position of use, a free end of the spring leg 30 bears on the abutment 13 on the side thereof opposite the side engaged by the hook-shaped jaw and with an initial tension.

6 The free end of this spring leg 30 is in turn provided with a bent-over extension 31 the free end of which has an angled portion 32 which engages in a control slot 33 in the control lever 22. A first portion of the control slot 33 in which the -extension 31 is received in a looking position of the control lever 22, extends in an are about the centre point of the bearing journal 21 and a second portion of the control slot in which the extension 31 is received in a release position of the control lever 22 is provided as a radially outwardly extending recess 32 merged with the first portion.

In the locked position of the further hinge part 11, in which it is rigid with the seat and which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the hook-shaped jaw 16 engages the underside of the abutment 13, this locked position being effected by the abutment portion 23 which bears against the edge of the support arm 17 of the catch hook 14. This locked position of the control lever 22 is maintained by the leg spring member 27, its spring leg 30 bearing simultaneously and with pre-tension on that side of the abutment 13 which is opposite the abutment face 18 of the hook-shaped jaw 16.

In order to be able to pivot the back-rest forwards, firstly the control lever 22 is pivoted into the position shown in Figure 3, the abutment portion 23 thereby being moved into a position above the support arm 17 of the catch hook 14 so that with a simultaneous forwards pivoting of the back-rest, in other words when the further hinge part 11 is pivoted in an anti-clockwise direction, the inclined abutment face 18 of the catch hook 14 can slide from beneath the abutment 13 into the position shown in Figure 3. If during pivoting of the further hinge part 11 of which the underside comes free from the abutment 13, then also the spring leg 30 can move downwardly by reason of its initial tension so that its angled portion 32 can enter the recess 34 forming the second portion of the control slot 33 and so retain the control lever 22 abutting the abutment face 24 so that backwards pivoting of the control lever 22 is no longer possible by reason of the action of the leg spring 27, so long as the further hinge part 11 is in such a position that contact between the abutment 13 and the spring leg 30 is no longer possible. If the further hinge part 11 is pivoted forward sufficiently beyond the abutment 13 for the catch hook 14 to be altogether above the abutment 13, then the force storage 7 means 19 ensures that the catch hook 14 is retracted sufficiently for its support arm 17 to come to a standstill against a limiting journal 35 on the further hinge part 11. Upon pivoting of the further hinge part rearwardly and the backrest which is communicating therewith also pivoting backwards, firstly the opening ramp 20 on the underside of the catch hook 14 strikes the abutment 13 and by virtue of the angle of inclination of the opening ramp 20, it is so pivoted about the journal 15 in an anti-clockwise direction and against the action of the force storage means 19 that the hook-shaped jaw 16 of the catch hook 14 can slide over the journal-shaped abutment 13. At the same time, by reason of the fact that the spring leg 30 is resting on the abutment 13, the angled portion 32 of the extension 31 of the spring leg 30 pivots out of the recess 34 and enters the arcuately extending first portion of the control slot 23 so that the control lever 22 is pivoted in a clockwise direction by reason of the action of the leg spring 27 and the abutment portion 23 supports the catch hook 14 in the position shown in Figure 1. In this position, the spring leg 30 is maintained under pre- tension on the abutment 13 so that clearances and thus rattling noises are avoided.

4 8

Claims

1. A vehicle seat, having a seat and a backrest, connected by a hinge fitting comprising a hinge part fixed to a backrest and connected by a pivot to a further hinge part, the further hinge part, at a front end which is remote from the pivot to the hinge part, being connected by a pivot spindle to the seat and at a rear part cooperating with an abutment fixed on the seat, in which the hinge fitting includes a catch hook pivotally articulated on the further hinge part and provided with a hook-shaped jaw having an abutment face to engage the abutment to hold the hinge fitting against the abutment; the abutment face is angled so as not to be self-locking; the cat&, cooperates with a locking device comprising, mounted for rotary movement on the further hinge part, a control lever biased by a spring to a position in which it locks the catch hook; and the spring has a spring leg which engages over and rests on the abutment with initial tension in the locking position on the control lever and in a release position of the control lever is braced on an abutment wall of the control lever to maintain the control lever in the release position.

2. A vehicle seat according to Claim 1, in which the spring member comprises a leg spring with a portion coiled around a bearing journal of the control lever, a first leg engaging the further hinge part and a second leg biassing the control lever for rotation about the bearing journal, the first leg having an extension which constitutes said spring leg which engages the abutment wall.

3. A vehicle seat according to Claim 2, in which the first leg engages over a further bearing journal on the further hinge part, is bent with clearance around the further bearing journal and is continued to form the extension which constitutes said spring leg which engages the abutment wall.

4. A vehicle seat according to Claim 2 or 3, in which the extension of the spring leg includes an angled portion which engages a control slot in the control lever, an edge of which slot comprises the abutment wall.

T 9 A vehicle seat according to Claim 4, when appendant to Claim, 3, in which the portion of the control slot in which the angled portion is engaged in the locking position of the control lever extends in an are around the bearing journal of the control lever and the portion of the control slot in which the angled portion is engaged in the release position of the control lever is a radially outwardly extending portion.

6. A vehicle seat according to any one of the preceding Claims, in which the catch hook is biassed in the locking direction by a force storage means and the hook-shaped jaw has on its lower outside face an. opening ramp which moves the catch hook aside to pass over the abutment.

7. A vehicle seat having a seat and a backrest substantially as hereinbefore described and illustrated with reference to the accompanying. drawing.

Published 1989 at The Patent Office. SmLeHouse.66 71 High Hol'Dorr_. LondorWClR4TF Furtherc=esniav be obtaine:::rcnl"hePatent Office Sales Brancl-. St MarT Cray, Orping'Lor.. Ken-, BFZ 3RZ. Printed by M-altmlex techriques Itd. St Mary Crky. Ken. Con. 1,87