Patents by Inventor Alain Letournoux

Alain Letournoux has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 6663180
    Abstract: A vehicle seat having a back that can be folded down, which back has a top portion that is normally locked in a raised position by a pivoting cam which is urged resiliently towards a locking position in which said cam co-operates with a peg by coming into abutment therewith to prevent the back from moving. The cam can be moved by a control member towards a retracted position so as to allow the top portion of the back to be folded down into a horizontal position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2003
    Assignee: Faurecia Sieges d'automobile S.A.
    Inventor: Alain LeTournoux
  • Publication number: 20020125757
    Abstract: A vehicle seat having a back that can be folded down, which back has a top portion that is normally locked in a raised position by a pivoting cam which is urged resiliently towards a locking position in which said cam co-operates with a peg by coming into abutment therewith to prevent the back from moving. The cam can be moved by a control member towards a retracted position so as to allow the top portion of the back to be folded down into a horizontal position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 7, 2002
    Publication date: September 12, 2002
    Inventor: Alain LeTournoux
  • Patent number: 4743066
    Abstract: A tiltable and height- adjustable seat for a vehicle with three doors, said seat comprising two front racks, two rear racks, two front pinions cooperating with the front racks, two rear pinions cooperating with the rear racks, two cross-rods respectively fastening the two front pinions and the two rear pinions and supporting the sitting portion and an actuating knob connected angularly to one at least of the pairs of pinions. The tilting axle of the seat is rigidly connected to the base and to the backrest, the front racks are mounted pivotably around an axle joined rigidly to the base, the rear axles are fast to the backrest and the axle of the two front pinions is joined to the axle of the two rear pinions by a rigid cross-piece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 10, 1988
    Assignee: Societe Industrielle Bertrand Faure
    Inventors: Bernard Boisset, Alain Letournoux
  • Patent number: 4523786
    Abstract: The invention provides a seat-back hinge for a vehicle seat comprising an inwardly toothed sector integral with the sitting portion flange (1), an inwardly toothed sector integral with the seat-back flange (3), a toothed bolt (5) adapted to coact directly with these two sectors and a rotary cam (6) connected to a control hand-lever (22) and adapted to coact with the bolt. This bolt and this cam are mounted transversely floating and the cam comprises a semi-cylindrical land (11) adapted to coact directly with two complementary lands comprised by the two flanges.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1983
    Date of Patent: June 18, 1985
    Assignee: Societe Industrielle Bertrand Faure
    Inventors: Alain Letournoux, Bernard Courtois
  • Patent number: 4384698
    Abstract: For adjusting the height and inclination of the sitting portion of a seat with respect to the base of this seat, two mechanisms are provided placed respectively between these two sub-assemblies, at the front and at the rear of the seat.Each mechanism comprises, on each side of the seat, two horizontal bearing surfaces integral with the base, a horizontal shaft connected vertically to the sitting portion and pivotably mounted thereon, two flat Archimedes-spiral cams in opposite directions integral with the shaft and placed jointingly between the bearing surfaces, and electric means for causing said shaft to rotate, these means allowing the shaft of the front mechanism, that of the rear mechanism or both at the same time to be rotated at will.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1980
    Date of Patent: May 24, 1983
    Assignee: Societe Industrielle Bertrand Faure
    Inventors: Bernard Courtois, Alain Letournoux
  • Patent number: 4348050
    Abstract: The invention relates to a seat back hinge comprising a control handle, an inner toothed ring integral with the side-plate of the sitting portion, an inner toothed ring integral with the side-plate of the seat back and toothed bolts adapted to coact with these rings, these bolts being able to be moved radially under the action of a rotary cam integral with the handle and being mounted transversely floating as well as said cam.The side-plates and the cam are mutually centered by cooperation on the one hand of a cylindrical projection of the cam with a bore of one of the side-plates and, on the other hand, of a cylindrical bore of the cam with a projection of the other side-plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1980
    Date of Patent: September 7, 1982
    Assignee: Societe Industrielle Bertrand Faure
    Inventors: Alain Letournoux, Christian Raye
  • Patent number: 4190226
    Abstract: A slide for adjusting the longitudinal position of a vehicle seat, comprising an upper shaped-section adapted to slide along a fixed lower shaped-section and carrying a bolt adapted to coact with a fixed rack. The bolt is controlled by a longitudinal rod housed in two transverse lugs, the front one being integral with the upper shaped section and forming a transverse pivoting axis X whereas the rear one is integral with the bolt, which is mounted so as to pivot about a longitudinal axis Y. A torsion spring ensures that the resilient return and the positioning of the parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1978
    Date of Patent: February 26, 1980
    Assignee: Societe Industrielle Bertrand Faure
    Inventors: Alain Letournoux, Rene Droual
  • Patent number: 4175301
    Abstract: A seat hinge comprising a first flange 1, integral with the sitting portion, carrying a toothed sector 2, and a second flange 3, integral with the seat-back, carrying a toothed sector 5 able to vertically engage in the sector 2, further comprises a cam 16 rotatively mounted on flange 3 and coacting with the edges of an aperture 15 formed in flange 1 so as to successively obtain rocking movements of said cam around a point of said edge and jamming effects between spiral sections of said cam and said edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 1978
    Date of Patent: November 27, 1979
    Assignee: Societe Industrielle Bertrand Faure
    Inventors: Alain Letournoux, Charles Canals