Patents by Inventor Wilfried Beneker

Wilfried Beneker 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: 6968598
    Abstract: A seat back hinge fitting for a motor vehicle seat having a seat carrier and a seat back. The seat back hinge fitting has a lower arm that is rigidly fixed to the seat carrier, an upper arm that is rigidly fixed to the seat back and a forward tilting hinge for swiftly tilting the seat back forward from a position of normal utilization into a forward tilted position. A bearing hole is provided for in one of the two arms. A bearing is pivotally disposed within said bearing hole. A locking device that normally locks a pivot movement of the bearing within the bearing hole is provided. A release means that disengages the locking device when actuated for the purpose of tilting the seat back forward into the forward tilted position is assigned to the locking device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 29, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2005
    Assignee: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Patent number: 6921058
    Abstract: A frame of a motor vehicle seat with a longitudinal guide (20), a seat carrier (26), a front pair of oscillating cranks disposed between the longitudinal guide (20) and the seat carrier (26), and a padding support for a seat padding. A pinion (48) is rotatably disposed on one of the oscillating cranks (22, 23), an actuator (71) being associated with the pinion. A pivot unit (54) is disposed between the two oscillating cranks (22, 23) and is rotationally linked to the two oscillating cranks (22, 23) so as to be pivotal about an axial line. The pivot unit (54) is provided with a sector gear (62) that is centered on the axial line and meshes with the pinion (48), and an adjusting arm (64) is provided which is disposed between the pivot unit (54) and the padding support (30) so that the height of a front edge of the padding support (30) is adjustable by adjusting the sector gear (62).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 21, 2003
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2005
    Assignee: C. Rob Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20050125106
    Abstract: A driver's compartment of an automotive vehicle including a steering wheel, an underbody, a seat, the seat having an underframe connected to the underbody, a seat pan carried by the underframe, a seat back and an adjusting device for adjusting the seat toward the steering wheel and away therefrom, a control circuit being associated with said adjusting device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 30, 2004
    Publication date: June 9, 2005
    Inventors: Wilfried Beneker, Stefan Ungnau
  • Patent number: 6902234
    Abstract: The motor vehicle seat of a motor vehicle comprises an underframe and a seat carrier that is height-adjustably connected to the underframe through rear oscillating cranks. A catch device is directly assigned to one of the two rear oscillating cranks. A non-rotatable tie bar joins the two rear oscillating cranks so that they are parallel when the vehicle seat is subjected to normal load. A retaining device has a sector gear firmly connected to the other one of the two rear oscillating cranks. An engaging piece which is movably disposed on the seat carrier or on the underframe, is provided with teeth devised for engagement with the sector gear and is disengaged from the sector gear as long as the vehicle seat is subjected to normal load. When the associated motor vehicle is subjected to a crash load an actuator is activated and causes the engaging piece to move into positive mesh with the sector gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 7, 2005
    Assignee: C. Rob Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20050119085
    Abstract: “A step down gear train is provided including an output shaft that rotates about an output axis, a housing that is rotatable relative to the output shaft, a toothed washer having a circumferential first toothed surface, an eccentric that is rotatably disposed on said output shaft and has an eccentric driving surface which is offset relative to the output axis by an eccentricity, the eccentric comprising a driving region, an annular gear comprising a circumferential second toothed surface, a circumferential third toothed surface and an eccentric driven surface cooperating with the driving surface, a gearwheel comprising a circumferential fourth toothed surface, said first toothed surface of the toothed washer and said second toothed surface of the annular gear meshing together in a first angular position and forming a first nutating gear having the eccentricity and the third toothed surface of the annular gear and the fourth toothed surface of the gearwheel meshing together in a second angular position that is
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 29, 2004
    Publication date: June 2, 2005
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Van-Toan Ho, Ulrich Karthaus, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20050116457
    Abstract: The headrest of an automotive vehicle seat has at least one bar (20) and one supporting member (26). Normally, the supporting member (26) is in a utilization position. When the automotive vehicle is involved in an accident, the supporting member (26) leaves the utilization position and adopts an accident position in which it is located in front of the utilization position. The at least one bar (20) comprises an oblique portion (30) that is located above an upper edge (32) of a backrest of the automotive vehicle seat. Said oblique portion has one component in the x direction and one component in the z direction. The supporting member (26) comprises a guide region (34) that conforms to the oblique portion (30) of bar (20) and that is movable relative to the oblique portion (30). An elastic means (spring 48) biases the supporting member (26) in the accident position. A releasable locking device (52) is associated with the elastic means, which it normally blocks.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2004
    Publication date: June 2, 2005
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Rolf Steinmetz, Wilfried Beneker
  • Patent number: 6896332
    Abstract: A hinge mounting for an adjusting device of a motor vehicle seat has a first hinge arm connected to a first internally toothed external gear wheel and a second hinge arm connected to a second internally toothed external gear wheel and at least two planet wheels, each meshing with both the first external gear wheel and the second external gear wheel. A driver pinion meshes with the planet wheels. A carrier is rotatably disposed about a hinge axis and carries the first planet wheel. A compensation device is disposed between the carrier and the first planet wheel and comprises an elastic member that biases the first planet wheel into engagement with the two external gear wheels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2005
    Assignee: C. Rob Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Wilfried Beneker, Burckhard Becker, Wilhelm Wingensiefen, Michael Helmer
  • Publication number: 20050043877
    Abstract: A driver's compartment (cockpit) of an automotive vehicle with a steering wheel (20), with an underbody (24), with a seat (26), said seat (26) comprising an underframe (28) connected to said underbody (24), a seat pan (30) carried by the underframe (30), a seat back (32) and an adjusting device for adjusting the seat (26) toward the steering wheel (20) and away therefrom, a control circuit (56) being associated with said adjusting device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 1, 2004
    Publication date: February 24, 2005
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Wilfried Beneker, Stefan Lingnau
  • Publication number: 20040256167
    Abstract: A belt deflector for the seat belt of a front seat in an automotive vehicle, more specifically in a cabriolet or coupé-type automotive vehicle, said belt deflector comprising a movable beam (28) that has a deflection portion (50) for the shoulder belt portion (46) of a seat belt, a base member (30) comprising a) securing means for securing it in the side region (22) of a bodywork, behind a front door and beneath a bodywork line (24) that is defined by the lower edges of the side window recesses, and forming b) a guide for the movable beam (28) so that the movable beam (28) is guided between a lower at-rest position and an upper position in which upper position the deflection portion (50) is located above the bodywork line (24), a drive (36) for the beam (28) which is movable relative to the base member (30), a control unit being associated with the drive (36) and a crash sensor that is responsive to crash acceleration of the automotive vehicle and triggers the control unit so that the drive (36) causes
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Publication date: December 23, 2004
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker, Jorg-Max Woelfel
  • Publication number: 20040251727
    Abstract: A hinge mountings for an adjusting device of a motor vehicle seat, said hinge mountings comprising a first hinge arm (20) that is connected to a first internally toothed external gear wheel (22), a second hinge arm (24) that is connected to a second internally toothed external gear wheel (26) and is adjustable about a hinge axis (28) relative to the first hinge arm (20), at least two planet wheels, each meshing with both the first external gear wheel and the second external gear wheel and being rotatably disposed about a respective planet wheel axis (40), and a driver pinion (36) that meshes with the at least two planet wheels. There is provided a carrier (38) that is rotatably disposed about the hinge axis (28). A first planet wheel of the at least two planet wheels is rotatably disposed on said carrier (38) so as to be movable relative to said carrier (38).
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 10, 2004
    Publication date: December 16, 2004
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Wilfried Beneker, Burckhard Becker, Wilhelm Wingensiefen, Michael Helmer
  • Publication number: 20040221670
    Abstract: The invention relates to a step down gear train for an adjusting device of an automotive vehicle seat, said step down gear train having an input shaft and an output shaft that is connected to a pinion. In the path between input shaft and output shaft there is at least one first cogwheel and one second cogwheel. The invention explains that there is provided a follower wheel that engages the first cogwheel and that is not located in the path between the input shaft and the output shaft. A pusher wheel is further provided, which is not located in the path between input shaft and output shaft. Said pusher wheel engages both the follower wheel and the second cogwheel and is carried so as to be longitudinally slidable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2004
    Publication date: November 11, 2004
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker, Van-Toan Ho
  • Publication number: 20040206195
    Abstract: A spindle gear for a motor vehicle seat adjusting device having a housing, a spindle nut, a spindle and a worm wheel. The spindle nut may have an external bearing surface and a bearing shell may include an internal bearing surface cooperating with the external bearing surface. The spindle nut may have a slide lacquer coat. The spindle nut may have an external bearing surface and a stop disk may be attached to the external bearing surface so as to surround it. A projection may engage a corresponding spindle nut recess. The housing may comprise at least two housing parts made of zinc diecasting. The external teeth of the spindle nut may form a globoidal gear. The external spindle nut teeth may have an outer diameter that is smallest in an axial center thereof and increases toward the axial end regions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2004
    Publication date: October 21, 2004
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Robert Landskron, Michael Lingner, Arif Karadag, Wilfried Beneker
  • Patent number: 6749169
    Abstract: The seat frame can either come with a height adjustment device of the seat frontal edge or not. Its seat carrier has at least one side part, one front arm means and one longitudinal adjustment device. The side part is provided with a first bore and a second bore. The front arm means is either realized by a parallelogram arm or a pair of arm means. The parallelogram arm has a first bearing member cooperating with the first bore. The pair of arm means is composed of an upper arm and a lower arm and a device for adjusting the angular position of the upper arm relative to the seat carrier. The upper arm is provided with a second bearing member which is spaced from the common joint and cooperates with the second bore. Both arms are pivotally joined together in a common joint.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 15, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2004
    Assignee: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burkhard Becker, Michael Leng, Axel Poley, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20040025295
    Abstract: A clearance free hinge for an automotive vehicle seat has a) a first hinge arm and a second hinge arm, each hinge arm having a bore, b) a hinge pin extending through said bores, the bore of the first hinge arm comprising a retaining zone and a compensation zone located one behind the other, the compensation zone having greater radial inner dimensions than the retaining zone and the compensation zone being defined by an inner lining and a step, which is oriented substantially radially and is contiguous to the retaining zone, and c) a shim member that rests against the inner lining, the step and the hinge pin and that, during assembly of the hinge, is loaded axially toward the step in such a manner that it deforms and fills out any space between hinge pin, step and inner lining.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2003
    Publication date: February 12, 2004
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20030230695
    Abstract: A frame of a motor vehicle seat with a longitudinal guide (20), a seat carrier (26), a front pair of oscillating cranks disposed between the longitudinal guide (20) and the seat carrier (26), and a padding support for a seat padding. A pinion (48) is rotatably disposed on one of the oscillating cranks (22, 23), an actuator (71) being associated with the pinion. A pivot unit (54) is disposed between the two oscillating cranks (22, 23) and is rotationally linked to the two oscillating cranks (22, 23) so as to be pivotal about an axial line. The pivot unit (54) is provided with a sector gear (62) that is centered on the axial line and meshes with the pinion (48), and an adjusting arm (64) is provided which is disposed between the pivot unit (54) and the padding support (30) so that the height of a front edge of the padding support (30) is adjustable by adjusting the sector gear (62).
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 21, 2003
    Publication date: December 18, 2003
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20030200627
    Abstract: A seat back hinge fitting for a motor vehicle seat having a seat carrier and a seat back. The seat back hinge fitting has a lower arm that is rigidly fixed to the seat carrier, an upper arm that is rigidly fixed to the seat back and a forward tilting hinge for swiftly tilting the seat back forward from a position of normal utilization into a forward tilted position. A bearing hole is provided for in one of the two arms. A bearing is pivotally disposed within said bearing hole. A locking device that normally locks a pivot movement of the bearing within the bearing hole is provided. A release means that disengages the locking device when actuated for the purpose of tilting the seat back forward into the forward tilted position is assigned to the locking device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 29, 2003
    Publication date: October 30, 2003
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20030160483
    Abstract: The motor vehicle seat of a motor vehicle comprises an underframe and a seat carrier that is height-adjustably connected to the underframe through rear oscillating cranks. A catch device is directly assigned to one of the two rear oscillating cranks. A non-rotatable tie bar joins the two rear oscillating cranks so that they are parallel when the vehicle seat is subjected to normal load. A retaining device has a sector gear firmly connected to the other one of the two rear oscillating cranks. An engaging piece which is movably disposed on the seat carrier or on the underframe, is provided with teeth devised for engagement with the sector gear and is disengaged from the sector gear as long as the vehicle seat is subjected to normal load. When the associated motor vehicle is subjected to a crash load an actuator is activated and causes the engaging piece to move into positive mesh with the sector gear.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2003
    Publication date: August 28, 2003
    Applicant: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Publication number: 20030047975
    Abstract: The seat frame can either come with a height adjustment device of the seat frontal edge or not. Its seat carrier has at least one side part, one front arm means and one longitudinal adjustment device. The side part is provided with a first bore and a second bore. The front arm means is either realized by a parallelogram arm or a pair of arm means. The parallelogram arm has a first bearing member cooperating with the first bore. The pair of arm means is composed of an upper arm and a lower arm and a device for adjusting the angular position of the upper arm relative to the seat carrier. The upper arm is provided with a second bearing member which is spaced from the common joint and cooperates with the second bore. Both arms are pivotally joined together in a common joint.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 15, 2002
    Publication date: March 13, 2003
    Inventors: Burkhard Becker, Michael Leng, Axel Poley, Wilfried Beneker
  • Patent number: 6502798
    Abstract: Seat frame of an adjustable seat in a vehicle with a seat carrier having two side parts and one rear tie-bar, and provided with at least one transverse shaft for the transmission of an adjusting movement from one side of the seat to the other, said transverse shaft being borne in the two seat parts and having for each seat side an adjusting arm fastened on it. At least one side part is provided with a location recess—preferably open in its bottom part—and is freely receiving the transverse shaft 26, in the side part, beside the location recess, first fastener are provided and the transverse shaft is encompassed by a bearing part—preferably between the adjusting arms fastened on the shaft—, said bearing part bearing the transverse shaft 26, bridging the location recess and constituting second fastener corresponding to the first fastener.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2003
    Assignee: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH KG
    Inventors: Ernst-Reiner Frohnhaus, Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker
  • Patent number: 6299252
    Abstract: Motor vehicle seats with safety belts wherein the free end of the lap belt is attached to an outer rocker located on the vehicle exterior side. The arrangement provides an improved distribution of forces in the event of an accident.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: C. Rob. Hammerstein GmbH & Co KG
    Inventors: Ernst-Reiner Frohnhaus, Burckhard Becker, Wilfried Beneker