Patent ID: 7416254
Filing Date: 2008-08-26
Classification: B60N

Abstract:
1. Device to indicate when a movable backrest of a vehicle seat is in an unlocked position, comprising: a) a housing; b) an actuating knob guided axially in the housing, and the actuating knob being pushed into a locked position by a compression spring; c) a stop being provided and configured to prevent the actuating knob from extending further than a predetermined amount out of the housing; d) the actuating knob being configured to activate a locking mechanism via a transmission mechanism, thereby causing a backrest of a vehicle seat to be unlocked by pressing the actuating knob into the housing; e) the stop being displaced axially in the biasing direction of the compression spring during the unlocking process, so that the actuating knob is pressed by the compression spring against the stop into an unlocked signaling position, in which the actuating knob, and hence an unlocked condition signaling portion of the actuating knob, projects substantially further out of the housing than the unlocked condition signaling portion does in a locked position of the actuating knob; f) the transmission mechanism including a rocker, which is mounted on an axis mounted fixedly to the housing and which can be pivoted in the biasing direction of the actuating knob; g) one end of the rocker being connected via a swivel joint to a transmission lever connected to the locking mechanism, and including the stop; and h) at another end of the rocker an actuating stop disposed at a lower surface of the actuating knob being provided, so that when the actuating knob is pressed into the housing the rocker is pivoted as a result of the displacement of the stop in a direction of force of the compression spring, whereby the displacement of the stop presses the actuating knob against a thus displaced stop and into a signaling position.