GB2333226A

GB2333226A - A vehicle seat assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2333226A
Application number: GB9800621A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brendan Spain; Neil Donald Prideaux
Original assignee: MG Rover Group Ltd
Current assignee: MG Rover Group Ltd
Priority date: 1998-01-14
Filing date: 1998-01-14
Publication date: 1999-07-21
Also published as: GB9800621D0

Abstract

A vehicle seat assembly 10 including an adjustment system a having at least two directions of adjustment in each of which one or more parts of the seat 10 can be adjusted is disclosed, the adjustment system comprising a rotary selector knob 16 which selects between a plurality of directions A, B, C indicative of the selected direction of adjustment of a part of the seat and a power switch 20 which co-rotates with the selector knob 16 to align itself with said direction A, B, C and supplies forward and reverse power to an adjustment motor which is common to the adjustable seat parts.

Description

A Vehicle Seat Assembly This invention relates to vehicle seat assemblies, and in particular to a vehicle seat assembly having at least two independently adjustable seat parts.

It is known to provide a vehicle seat assembly having a plurality of independently adjustable seat parts and to use a single adjustment motor to adjust the position of those parts. One such system is disclosed in US5483853, in which a control box is provided housing a selector switch and an adjustment control knob. The selector switch connects the seat part intended to be adjusted to the adjustment motor and the control knob is then used to apply power to the motor to drive it one way or the other.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved vehicle seat assembly.

According to the invention there is provided a vehicle seat assembly including an adjustment system having at least two directions of adjustment in each of which one or more parts of the seat can be adjusted, the adjustment system comprising a switching mechanism for controlling means arranged to selectively adjust the position of said one or more seat parts in said directions, wherein the switching mechanism comprises a selector moveable substantially into alignment with the directions of adjustment to select a direction and arranged to connect the adjustment means to move substantially in the selected direction one or more of said parts.

The selector may comprise a manually rotatable member and the switching mechanism may further comprise a power switch arranged to selectively connect the adjustment means to a power source.

The power switch may be integrated with the selector or may be formed separately from the selector and arranged to move in unison with the selector into alignment with the selected direction of adjustment.

The switching mechanism is preferably mounted on one of said seat parts. In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the switching mechanism is mounted on an external surface to one side of a seat base of the seat assembly, so that connection to the adjustment means is simpler than it would be with remote mounting and so that the user can operate the switching mechanism from the most natural seated position, thus reducing the likelihood of needing further adjustments.

The adjustment means may comprise an adjustment mechanism common to said seat parts and arranged to be selectable by the switching mechanism to adjust each of said seat parts independently.

The switching mechanism may further comprise a tilt position in which the adjustment means is arranged to selectively tilt a part of the seat rearwardly or forwardly in turn. The seat part tilted may comprise the whole seat assembly or may comprise, for example, only a back member of the seat.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a vehicle front seat assembly according to the invention; and Figure 2 is a functional diagram of part of the adjustment system of the vehicle seat assembly of Figure 1.

Referring to the figures, a vehicle seat assembly 10 comprises a seat base 12 and a seat back 14.

The seat 10 houses an integral adjustment system comprising a common adjustment electric motor (not shown separately) which is used to adjust the position of the seat base 12 and the seat back 14 independently.

The reader is referred to US5483853 for an example of one known system for performing the adjustment of more than one seat part using a common adjustment motor.

The adjustment system is manually controlled using a rotary selector knob 16 and a rotary power switch assembly 18, both mounted on the side of the seat base 12. The selector knob 16 is connected to a control mechanism for the motor which switches the motor output to match a selection made using the selector knob 16.

The selector knob 16 is switchable between three positions shown on an indicating disc 16A surrounding the selector knob 16 and which each have a graphic A, B, C representing the intended adjustment direction at the appropriate selector knob position. The selector knob adjustment directions are: seat base vertical movement A; seat back tilt B; and seat base horizontal movement C.

The power switch assembly 18 has a bi-directional switch 20 which is connectable to the motor and arranged to supply it with power in response to operation of a forward button "+" or a reverse button "-", the buttons "+", "-" being mutually exclusive in operation.

The power switch assembly 18 is mounted close to the selector knob 16 and is drivingly inter-connected to it by an intermediate gear 22. Only the selector knob 16, the indicating disc 16A and the switch 20 are mounted on the outside of the seat base 12, the rest of the seat adjustment system being contained in the seat 10 and hidden from view.

The power switch assembly 18 is pre-aligned with the selector knob 16 so that the switch 20 follows the movement of the selector knob 16 into alignment with the relevant intended adjustment direction A, B, C.

In use, when the selector knob 16 is placed in the vertical movement direction A, the intermediate gear 22 turns the power switch assembly 18 to follow the selector knob 16. External to the seat base 12, the switch 20 rotates with the selector knob 16 and aligns itself with the knob 16 into a vertical orientation, the forward button "+" being uppermost on the switch 20.

In the vertical movement direction A, depression of the forward button "+" will raise the seat base 12 upwards "a" and depression of the reverse button "-" will lower the seat base 12 downwards "ai".

In a similar fashion, when the selector knob 16 is moved into the seat back tilt direction B, the switch 20 rotates with the knob 16 into an angled orientation with the forward button "+" inclined towards the seat back tilt direction B. In this direction B, the motor is arranged to move the seat back 14 forwardly and upwardly so as to tilt the seat back 14 forwards "b" on depression of the forward button "+" and to move the seat back 14 rearwardly and downwardly so as to tilt the seat back 14 rearwards "bl" on depression of the reverse button "-".

In similar fashion, when the selector knob 16 is turned to the seat base horizontal movement direction C, the switch 20 follows the selector knob 16 around and is aligned horizontally with the forward button "+" pointing forwards. In this direction C, the motor is arranged to move the seat base 12 forwards "c"' on depression of the forward button "+" and rearwards "cl" on depression of the reverse button "-".

It will be appreciated that in a first modification of this invention, the switch 20 can be mounted integrally with the selector knob 16 and this eliminates the need for a separate switch assembly 18 and intermediate gear 22.

In a further modification to this invention, a head rest is included in the seat 10 and is separately adjustable using the same or a similar adjustment motor controlled by the provision of additional positions on the indicating disc 16A.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A vehicle seat assembly including an adjustment system having at least two directions of adjustment in each of which one or more parts of the seat can be adjusted, the adjustment system comprising a switching mechanism for controlling means arranged to selectively adjust the position of said one or more seat parts in said directions, wherein the switching mechanism comprises a selector move able substantially into alignment with the directions to select a direction of adjustment and arranged to connect the adjustment means to move substantially in the selected direction one or more of said parts.
2. A vehicle seat assembly according to Claim 1, wherein the selector comprises a manually rotatable member.
3. A vehicle seat assembly according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, the switching mechanism further comprising a power switch arranged to selectively connect the adjustment means to a power source.
4. A vehicle seat assembly according to Claim 3, wherein the power switch is integrated with the selector.
5. A vehicle seat assembly according to Claim 3, wherein the power switch is formed separately from the selector and is arranged to move in unison with the selector into alignment with the selected direction of adjustment.
6. A vehicle seat assembly according to any preceeding claim, wherein the switching mechanism is mounted on one of said seat parts.
7. A vehicle seat assembly according to any preceeding claim, the adjustment means comprising an adjustment mechanism common to said seat parts and arranged to be selectable by the switching mechanism to adjust each of said seat parts independently.
8. A vehicle seat assembly according to any preceeding claim, the switching mechanism further comprising a tilt position in which the adjustment means is arranged to selectively tilt a part of the seat rearwardly or forwardly in turn.
9. A vehicle seat assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.