Abstract: The seat back of a vehicle seat includes a lateral airbag in a casing which is integrated into the seat back and which has a front face with an exit opening for the airbag. The cover of the seat back includes a slot in corresponding relationship to the exit opening and the edges of the slot are fixed to the casing on respective opposite sides of the exit opening.

Abstract: A vehicle seat has a back including a lateral air bag disposed in a box integrated in said back. The cover of the seat back includes a cutout located in register with the outer face of the box, and said box is received in a housing in the form of a depression that is laterally open to the outside. The margin of the cover running along the outer face of the box is clamped between said housing and said box.

Abstract: A method of making a vehicle seat in which the strength member of the back has a first upright connected to the strength member of the seat proper by a hinge mechanism, a second upright that is not as strong as the first and that is hinged to the strength member of the seat proper, and two horizontal cross-members, the two cross-members and the top portion of the second upright being constituted by a tube folded into a general U-shape and of section that varies along its length. The method includes a step which consists in imparting the final shape to the tube by hydroforming, starting from an initial tube of substantially constant section.

Abstract: This concerns a hinge mechanism comprising a fixed end plate, a movable end plate lockable by two wedges controlled by a sliding pushrod, itself activated by pivoting of a control plate in a first or second direction in order to free the movable end plate. A circular guide comprises radial breaks receiving the wedges, and holding the wedges in a withdrawn position when they disengage from the radial breaks under the pivoting effect of the control plate in the second direction, which fixes in addition the circular guide to the movable end plate. The movable end plate can thus turn freely before relocking in its initial angular position when the radial breaks of the circular guide return opposite the wedges.

Abstract: A vehicle seat slideway has a male channel member whose two flanges are outwardly extended by flaps extending at an angle outwards and towards the web of the male channel member to a vertical end portion, and a female channel member having flanges extended by reentrant troughs penetrating between the flanges and the flaps of the male channel member. Same-diameter balls are disposed firstly between each flap and the corresponding reentrant trough, bearing against at least the vertical end portion of the flap and against a sloping flat portion which extends an initial horizontal portion of the reentrant trough, and secondly against the flap and a corner zone situated at the junction between the web and the corresponding flange of the female channel member.

Abstract: This concerns a vehicle seat the back of which comprises a side-positioned safety airbag placed in a casing integrated into the seat back. The upholstery sleeve of the seat back comprises a cut out section placed to correspond with the casing front face, and the edge of the sleeve which borders the casing front face is engaged in a groove which surrounds this front face and which is integral with the casing.

Abstract: A vehicle seat has a seat proper fitted with an integrated armrest which is movable between a retracted position where the armrest forms an integral portion of the seat proper and a raised position where the armrest is moved upwards and rearwards by a strut mechanism, with the armrest then resting on a rear portion of the seat proper.

Abstract: This is a command device for a vehicle seat, including electric motors connected to a common power supply, position sensors associated with these motors, an electronic central unit and a motor command keypad which includes power-on/power-off switches connected to the common power supply via a single relay. When the central unit receives the order to look for a seat position stored in memory, it monitors the actuation of the power-on/power-off switches and opens the relay when it detects such an actuation which would tend to move the seat away from said memorized position.

Abstract: A slide for a vehicle seat, the slide comprising a fixed rail, a moving rail which can be secured to the fixed rail by a latch resiliently urged toward its locked position, and a cam mounted on the moving rail and suitable for being placed in an active position in which it holds the latch in its unlocked position. The cam is secured to an actuating finger which, when said cam is in its active position, co-operates with a resilient blade mounted on the fixed rail and suitable for retracting out of the way of the actuating finger while the moving rail is being displaced forwards, but stopping the actuating finger while the moving rail is being displaced backwards.

Abstract: Within a housing 4, the hinge includes a fixed cheek plate 1 and a moving cheek plate 2, one secured to the seat proper and the other secured to the seat back. Slugs 5 are mounted to move radially in grooves 7 of the stationary cheek plate and can hold the hinge in position by their outwardly directed sets of teeth 6 engaging in an inwardly directed set of teeth 3 of the moving cheek plate. The user can move the slugs by means of a lever and a central cam 8. The moving cheek plate 2 includes a set of notches 20 concentric with the set of teeth 3 and having a notch pitch that is equal to a multiple of the locking pitch of the set of teeth 3; at least one of the slugs 5 has a tooth 12 suitable for engaging in the set of notches 20 so as to enable the outwardly directed set of teeth 6 of the slug 5 to mesh in the inwardly directed set of teeth 3 of the second cheek plate 2, thereby obtaining a notch pitch that is considerably greater than the locking pitch.

Abstract: An articulation for a vehicle seat backrest, comprising a closed box formed of a seat part cheek and of a backrest cheek with internal toothing, the box containing followers which are toothed externally and can be shifted radially under the control of a rotary cam. Each follower comprises a first peg capable of interacting with a track of the backrest cheek in order to hold the follower in the unlocked position and a second peg capable of interacting with an opening of a plate connected to the cam in order positively to control the unlocking of the follower.

Abstract: A hinge mechanism for a vehicle seat comprises first and second cheek plates connected to each other via a hypocycloid gear driven by a first control shaft, and further comprising a third cheek plate which guides toothed slugs that are normally maintained in engagement with a set of teeth of the second cheek plate by a resiliently biased cam. In this way, the second and third cheek plates are normally secured to each other; however, by actuating a second control shaft secured to the cam, the slugs can be released, thereby enabling the third cheek plate to rotate freely relative to the second cheek plate, thereby enabling the seat to be adjusted quickly.

Abstract: A vehicle seat includes a backrest and a seat part which is formed by a cushion secured to a first rigid armature itself supported by a second rigid armature on which the backrest is mounted, it being possible for the first armature to be moved back and forth with respect to the second armature and the second armature being supported by a raising mechanism. This raising mechanism includes at least one raising connecting piece having a driving portion which, with respect to the second armature, undergoes a backward relative movement when the seat part is moved up and a forward relative movement when the seat part is moved down, this driving portion being mechanically linked with the first armature.

Abstract: A slide for a vehicle seat comprises a first bar having a narrow channel section with vertical flanges that are extended outwardly by rims, and a second bar having a wide upside-down channel section enveloping the first bar with the ends of the vertical flanges being extended inwardly by reentrant troughs, the two bars being shaped to form four ball tracks between them. Each outer vertical flange has an outwardly directed ridge, and each rim has an extension suitable for hooking against the inside face of a ridge when a vertical force is exerted tending to pull the two bars apart.

Abstract: In order to drive a shaft selectively in two opposite directions of rotation by means of a pivoting handle, use is made of a mechanism including an internally toothed ring which drives the shaft, a guide arranged diametrically inside the ring and mounted so that it can rotate, with friction, about the axis of pivoting of the handle, and a follower arranged with play inside the ring and driven by the handle with radial play and angular play. The follower exhibits two sets of toothing close to the ends of the guide for meshing with the internal toothing of the ring when the handle moves away from a neutral position, these sets of toothing being prevented from meshing with the internal toothing through interaction between reliefs of the follower and a slideway when the handle returns towards its neutral position.

Abstract: The slide enables the longitudinal position of a vehicle seat to be adjusted while also making it possible for the seat to be moved back-and-forth through a large amplitude in a forwards direction from its rear position and to return to said adjusted position because of a position-memorizing assembly comprising a notched bar 7, a shoe 8, and a catch 9 having a hook 9a. A rocker 10 is provided that pivots on the moving rail 2 making it possible either to connect the shoe to the moving rail, thereby making it possible to control the latch 5, or else to keep the latch disengaged with the shoe being locked by the catch, the rocker being controlled by a cable 12 that is pulled by folding down the back, and the tail 8a of the shoe is shaped so that it can lock the seat in position whenever the back is raised, even if the seat happens to be in a position other than its memorized position.

Abstract: An articulation for a vehicle seat, including a fixed flange, a movable flange provided with an internal circular toothing, at least one lock gear capable of cooperating with the toothing of the movable flange, this lock gear being displaceable radially by a cam, the lock gear having two opposite abutment faces which extend parallel to the direction of sliding of the lock gear from the vicinity of the toothing of this lock gear as far as a shoulder oriented in the opposite direction from this toothing. Two counter-abutment faces integral with the fixed flange are arranged facing the abutment faces and their shoulders, and one of the abutment faces penetrates into its counter-abutment face when the movable flange is subjected to a predetermined pivoting torque while the lock gear cooperates with the toothing of the fixed flange.

Abstract: The vehicle seat back includes two deformable elements both extending across the back (2) between two lateral uprights (3) defining the sides of the back, the elements comprising a first element (7) suitable for dissipating energy by deforming plastically in progressive manner, and a second element (8) suitable for stopping deformation of the first, the second element being disposed in such a manner that when a strong longitudinal thrust is applied to its middle portion, it begins by lengthening while offering practically no resistance until it reaches a given length, after which it becomes inextensible.

Abstract: A vehicle seat in which the backrest is controlled in terms of rotation about an axis of pivoting by an adjustment mechanism which includes an input shaft, a fixed flange integral with the framework of the seat cushion, and a mobile flange which can rotate about an axis parallel to the axis of pivoting of the backrest but offset therefrom. The mobile flange is integral with a pin which penetrates an oblong slot in the framework of the backrest so as to be able to rotate inside this slot and so as to be able to slide radially with respect to the axis of pivoting of the backrest. This pin is further from the axis of pivoting of the backrest than from the axis of rotation of the mobile flange, so that the adjustment mechanism can withstand low torques.

Abstract: The invention relates to a seatback frame for a vehicle seat, comprising a lower structure provided with two side uprights, and an upper structure provided with a horizontal torsion bar surmounted by an arch. The first end of the torsion bar is prevented from rotating relative to one of the two uprights of the lower structure and is secured to one end of the arch. The second end of the torsion bar is mounted to pivot freely relative to the other side upright of the lower structure, while being secured to the other end of the arch. A seat belt is mechanically connected to the arch of the upper structure, with said upper structure being dimensioned so as to deform plastically when the seat belt is subjected to a traction force.