Leaf Spring Track Latch
A seat track assembly is provided for mounting a seat to a vehicle floor A fixed track is mounted to the floor and a movable track is fixedly secured to the seat and slidably coupled to the fixed track. A latch is operatively coupled to the movable track for selectively engaging the fixed track. A towel bar is operatively coupled to the latch for actuating the latch between a locked position coupled with the fixed track to prevent sliding movement between the fixed and movable tracks and an unlocked position decoupled from the fixed track to allow sliding movement between the fixed and movable tracks. A leaf spring extending between the movable track and the latch biases the latch into the locked position and permits resilient movement of the latch along a linear path between the locked and unlocked positions in response to pivotal movement of the towel bar.
The invention relates to a seat track assembly for a motor vehicle seat. More particularly, this invention relates to a seat track assembly including a leaf spring for biasing a latch to a locked position and permitting resilient movement of the latch along a linear path between the locked position and an unlocked position.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAutomotive vehicles include seats for supporting occupants within the vehicle. Seats typically include a seat track assembly interconnecting the seat to a vehicle structure, such as a floor, to allow selective locking and fore and aft adjustment of the seat along the floor among a plurality of seating positions. The seat track assembly typically includes a fixed track that is fixedly secured to the floor of the vehicle and a movable track that is fixedly secured to a bottom of the seat and slidably coupled to the fixed track.
Often, a manual seat adjuster is provided to actuate the seat track assembly to control the fore and aft adjustment of the seat. Typically, the manual seat adjuster may be a towel bar or other handle which actuates a latching mechanism. The latching mechanism selectively secures the movable track relative to the fixed track, thus preventing further fore and aft adjustment of the seat. Such latching mechanisms typically will include a latch with windows operatively coupled to one track which engage teeth on the other track, or a latch with at least one tooth operatively coupled to one track which engages an opening or notch in the other track. The towel bar typically has a handle portion which is located at a front of the seat, directly below a seat cushion. The towel bar is used to actuate the latching mechanism between a locked position and an unlocked position.
The latching mechanism is ordinarily in the locked position preventing the seat from moving fore and aft relative to the vehicle. When a seat occupant desires to adjust the seat fore or aft, the towel bar is pulled upward and the latching mechanism moves to the unlocked position, thereby permitting fore and aft adjustment of the seat. Once the seat occupant adjusts the seat to the desired position and releases the towel bar, the latching mechanism automatically returns to the locked position, thereby preventing further fore and aft adjustment of the seat.
While such latching mechanisms are common in the vehicle seating art, current designs use numerous parts, which is not conducive to low cost or rapid assembly of the seat track assemblies. It therefore remains desirable to provide a simple and robust latching mechanism having a minimum number of parts, a low cost to produce, and which can be rapidly assembled.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to one aspect of the invention, a seat track assembly is provided for mounting a seat to a vehicle floor. The seat track assembly includes a track mechanism having a fixed track that is adapted to be mounted to the vehicle floor and a movable track that is adapted to be fixedly secured to the seat and slidably coupled to the fixed track. The seat track assembly also includes a latch that is operatively coupled to the movable track for selectively engaging the fixed track to interlock the movable track relative to the fixed track. The seat track assembly further includes a towel bar that is operatively coupled to the latch for actuating the latch between a locked position coupled with the fixed track to prevent sliding movement between the fixed and movable tracks and an unlocked position decoupled from the fixed track to allow sliding movement between the fixed and movable tracks. In addition, the seat tack assembly includes a leaf spring that extends between the movable track and the latch. The leaf spring biases the latch into the locked position and permits resilient movement of the latch along a linear path between the locked and unlocked positions in response to pivotal movement of the towel bar.
Other 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:
Referring to the Figures,
Each track mechanism 12 includes a fixed track 16 and a movable track 18, defining an open space 20 therebetween. The fixed track 16 is adapted to be mounted to the vehicle floor 14. The movable track 18 is fixedly secured to the seat and slidably coupled to the fixed track 16. The fixed 16 and movable 18 tracks define a longitudinal axis 22 along which the movable track 18 is adjustable relative to the fixed track 16. It will be appreciated that while only one of the track mechanisms 12 is shown and described in detail, both are substantially the same.
The seat track assembly 10 also includes a pair of latching mechanisms, generally shown at 24, for selectively locking the seat in any one of the plurality of seating positions. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The forward end 46 of the leaf spring 26 includes a generally U-shaped segment 54. The U-shaped segment 54 is open along a bottom side 56 and a has a hole 58 in a top side 60. A rivet 62 or similar fastener extends through the hole 58 to fixedly secure the forward end 46 of the leaf spring 26 to an upper portion 64 of the movable track 18. The U-shaped segment 54 includes first 66 and second 68 slots for receiving the crimped segment 40 of the leg 32 of the towel bar 30 therethrough. A lower cross member 70 extends horizontally across the first slot 66 below the leg 32 and provides a downward pivot point for the towel bar 30. The lower cross member 70 engages a first indent or notch 72 in the leg 32 of the towel bar 30, as shown in
The forward end 46 of the leaf spring 26 also includes a flexible, arcuate arm 78 extending forwardly from the bottom side 56 of the U-shaped segment 54. The arm 78 deflects downward when the handle 38 of the towel bar 30 is exposed to downward abuse loading, by being stepped on for example.
The rearward end 48 of the leaf spring 26 includes a vertical segment 80 for resisting bending of the arcuate segment 44 of the leaf spring 26. The vertical segment 80 extends upward to a horizontal tab 82 fixedly secured to the upper portion 64 of the movable track 18.
Referring to
In operation, starting with the towel bar 30 in a use position, as shown in
When the seat occupant desires to adjust the seat fore and aft as shown by arrow S, the handle 38 of the towel bar 30 is lifted upward as shown by arrow F1 in
Once the seat is positioned, the handle 38 of the towel bar 30 is released. At the same time, the bias of the arcuate segment 44 of the leaf spring 26 urges the latch 28 upward to the locked position, shown in
In certain instances, the handle 38 of the towel bar 30 is forced downward by abuse loading as shown by arrow F2 in
The invention has been described here in an illustrative manner, and it is to be understood that the terminology used is intended to be in the nature of words of description rather than 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 enumerated within the description.
Claims
1. A seat track assembly for mounting a seat to a vehicle floor, said seat track assembly comprising:
- a track mechanism including a fixed track adapted to be mounted to the vehicle floor and a movable track adapted to be fixedly secured to the seat and slidably coupled to said fixed track;
- a latch operatively coupled to said movable track for selectively engaging said fixed track to interlock said movable track relative to said fixed track;
- a towel bar operatively coupled to said latch for actuating said latch between a locked position coupled with said fixed track to prevent sliding movement between said fixed and movable tracks and an unlocked position decoupled from said fixed track to allow sliding movement between said fixed and movable tracks; and
- a leaf spring extending between said movable track and said latch, said leaf spring biasing said latch into said locked position and permitting resilient movement of said latch along a linear path between said locked and unlocked positions in response to pivotal movement of said towel bar.
2. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein said fixed and movable tracks define a longitudinally extending open space therebetween.
3. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 2 wherein said leaf spring and said latch are disposed within said open space between said fixed and movable tracks.
4. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein said leaf spring includes an arcuate segment extending between forward and rearward ends adapted to be fixedly secured to said movable track, said arcuate segment biasing said latch into said locked position and permitting resilient movement of said latch along said linear path.
5. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 4 wherein said latch is fixedly secured to said arcuate segment of said leaf spring.
6. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein said forward end of said leaf spring includes a generally U-shaped segment having an open bottom side and a top side fixedly secured to said movable track.
7. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein said rearward end of said leaf spring includes a vertical segment fixedly secured to said movable track.
8. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 7 wherein said towel bar is pivotally coupled to said U-shaped segment of said leaf spring.
9. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein said towel bar includes at least one leg extending between first and second ends and a handle disposed at said first end, said leg pivotally coupled to said U-shaped segment of said leaf spring between said first and second ends and operatively coupled to said latch at said second end for actuating said latch between said locked and unlocked positions.
10. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 9 wherein said forward end of said leaf spring includes a flexible arm below said leg of said towel bar allowing downward deflection of said leg in response to a downward load applied to said towel bar to prevent damage to at least one of said leaf spring, latch, and towel bar.
11. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 10 wherein said flexible arm extends forwardly from said bottom side of said U-shaped segment of said leaf spring.
12. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 11 wherein said latch includes a body fixedly secured to said arcuate segment of said leaf spring, a head disposed outside said track mechanism adjacent said movable track, a neck extending through an opening in said movable track and extending between said body and said head, a latch plate extending laterally from said body for selectively engaging a plurality of teeth disposed along said fixed track, and a longitudinally extending channel for receiving said second end of said leg of said towel bar.
13. A seat assembly as set forth in claim 12 wherein said head includes an engagement surface extending beyond said opening in said movable track, said engagement surface abutting said movable track when said latch is in said unlocked position and spaced above said movable track when said latch is in said locked position.
14. A seat track assembly as set forth in claim 13 wherein said latch plate includes a plurality of apertures, said plurality of apertures engaging said plurality of teeth when said latch is in said locked position and disengaged from said plurality of teeth when said latch is in said unlocked position.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 27, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 26, 2009
Inventors: Robert J. Szybisty (Livonia, MI), Ephraim Mark DeDios Lapingcao (Everett, WA)
Application Number: 12/280,209
International Classification: A47C 7/28 (20060101);