Abstract:
A seat support system for supporting a seat in a manner that ameliorates or eliminates load applied to a driving mechanism. The system may be configured to support a seat back when the seat back in pivoted upwardly and downwardly relative to a seat bottom. The support system may create a load-bearing link between a non-driven component on the seat back and an anchor.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/202,818 filed Sep. 2, 2008, which, in turn, claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Application No. 60/995,286 filed Sep. 26, 2007, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to seat support systems, such as the type that ameliorate loading on certain seating components when a seat back is in a folded position. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In vehicle seating systems and other seating system, a seat back may be configured to fold relative to a seat bottom. The seat may include any number of components to facilitate folding the seat back. Some of the components may be mechanically powered components, such as but not limited to springs and levers, or electrically powered components, such as but not limited to electrical motors and actuators. These and other components, which may also be referred to as drive components, may be used to rotate the seat back upwardly and downwardly about a rear portion of the seat bottom. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    The present invention is pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. However, other features of the present invention will become more apparent and the present invention will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompany drawings in which: 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  illustrates a seat support system in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention; 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  illustrates an assembly view of the support system in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention; 
           [0007]      FIGS. 3-18  illustrate actuation of a load-bearing portion of the seat support system in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0008]    As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in various and alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some features may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particular components. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention. 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  illustrates a seat support system  10  in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention. The system  10  may be configured for use with any seat and is shown for exemplary purposes, and without intending to limit the scope and contemplation of the present invention, as adapted for use with a vehicle seat. The system  10  may be configured to support loads upon a seat back, such as when the seat back is in a folded position. The system  10  can be helpful in ameliorating and/or eliminating loads that would otherwise be born by drive components. 
         [0010]    The system  10  may include a seat back bracket  12 , a seat bottom bracket  14 , and a drive mechanism. Seat cushions (not shown) may be attached to the brackets  12 ,  14  to provide a seat bottom and seat back for a seat occupant (not shown). The drive mechanism  16  may be used to automatically actuate the seat back relative to the seat bottom, such as to facilitate moving the seat back from an upright to a folded position. The seat support system  10  may be mounted or otherwise adapted to the drive mechanism  16 , seat back bracket  12 , and/or seat bottom bracket  14 . 
         [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates an assembly view of the seat support system  10  as attached to the drive mechanism  16  in accordance with one non-limiting aspect of the present invention. A motor  20  may be included to actuate the drive mechanism  16  and the other components to facilitate moving the seat back between the upright and folded positions, such as in response to commands of a controller. While described with respect to a motor-driven vehicle seat, the present invention is not intended to be so limited and fully contemplates the seat support system  10  being adapted for use with a manual or other non-motor driven vehicle seat. A torque bar  22  may be used to transfer torque to an optional mirrored locking mechanism and seat support system included on the other side of the seat. 
         [0012]    The seat support system  10  may include a support bracket  26 , shutter  28 , and pawl  30 . The support bracket  26  and shutter  28  may be secured to each other and/or the seat back bracket  12  about a pivot such that both features are capable of rotating with rotation of the seat back. The shutter  28  and pawl  30  may be biased with springs or other features (not shown) such that both elements rotate in a counter-clockwise direction in the absence of force in the clockwise direction. 
         [0013]      FIG. 3  illustrates the seat support system  10  in a design position. The design position may correspond with any desired positioning of the seat back relative to the seat bottom, which typically corresponds with a position selected by the occupant. As shown, the design position corresponds with the seat back in a slightly reclined position. The illustrated angle of the seat back (seat angle) may be defined relative to a reference plane P and horizontal plane H, which for exemplary purposes is selected to be 113.46.  FIG. 3  further illustrates the shutter  28  being spring loaded against a pin  32  included on the bracket  26  and the pawl  30  being spring loaded against a bottom side of the bracket  26 . 
         [0014]      FIG. 4  illustrates rotation of the seat back forwardly from the design position to a seat angle of 90°. Relative to the design position, the seat back bracket  12  is pivoted about the pivot to cause the shutter  28  to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. The rotation of the seat back bracket  12  further causes the bottom portion of the bracket  26  to rotate against the pawl  30 .  FIG. 5  illustrates the continued forward rotation of the seat back to a seat angle of 45° where the shutter  28  continues to rotate with the seat back bracket  12  and the pawl  30  continues to bear against the bottom side of the bracket  26 .  FIG. 6  illustrates the continued forward rotation of the seat back to a seat angle of 4°. 
         [0015]    At this folded-forward position, gap between the reference plane P and the horizontal plane H, which for exemplary purposes corresponds with a 4° gap, is provided to show a planar load floor. Optionally, some clearance for a seat located in front of the vehicle seat is provided with the gap, i.e., the illustrated vehicle seat may correspond with a third row seat such that it is folded or tumbled forwardly toward a second row seat and aligns with a top side of that seat. 
         [0016]    This allows the present invention to fold the seat back to a point above the horizontal plane H that is sufficient for aligning with an elevation of the forward seat and/or for another reason, such as to provide clearance for seat belts or other features included within the vehicle. Of course, the present invention is not intended to be so limited and fully contemplates any gap between the reference plane P and horizontal plane H and/or the absence of a gap such that the reference plane P and horizontal plane H form the same plane. 
         [0017]    As, the gap decreases between reference planes P and H, the pawl  30  moves towards alignment with a recess  34  included on the support bracket  26 . The shutter  28 , however, is positioned relative to the pin  32  such that it prevents the spring loaded pawl  30  from rotating into the opening  34 . The forward end portion of the pawl  30  is within the boundaries of the recess  34  such that the pawl  30  would be free to rotate into the recess  34  if not blocked by the shutter  28 .  FIGS. 7-9  illustrate further rotation of the seat back and show the shutter  28  still blocking the pawl  30  until the forward end of the pawl  30  overtakes the forward end of the recess  34 . 
         [0018]      FIG. 10  illustrates rotation of the seat back to a seat angle of 0°, i.e., rotation to the reference plane P where the shutter  28  is now clear of the pawl  30  and the pawl is blocked from entering the recess  34  by the forward end of the recess  34 .  FIG. 11  illustrates the seat back rotating backwardly from the reference plane ( FIG. 10 ) to a seat angle of 1° where the shutter  28  drops below the top surface of a pin  35  (or tab) included on the pawl  30 . The shutter  28  may include a slightly larger radius R 2  than the portion R 1  of the bracket  26  forward of the recess  34  such that the pawl  30  rests against the bracket  26  and the pin of the pawl  30  obstructs the shutter  28  when the seat back is rotated backwardly from 0°. 
         [0019]      FIGS. 12-14  illustrate further backward rotation of the seat back to a seat angle of 4°. As the seat back rotates, the pawl  30  continues to block the shutter  28  such that a gap forms between the pin  32  and the shutter  28 . The continued rotation of the bracket  26  further causes the forward end of the recess  34  to travel along the front end of the pawl  30  until the front end of the pawl  30  is almost unobstructed by the bracket  26 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 15  illustrates rotation of the seat back to a seat angle of  5 ° where the pawl  30  is no longer obstructed by the bracket  26  or the shutter  28  such that it is free to rotate into the recess  34 . A slight gap may be formed between the front end of recess and the front end of the pawl  30  that is sufficient to allow the pawl  30  to nest within the recess  34 . In this position, weight pressing down against the seat back bracket  12  is born with the pawl  30  and not the drive mechanism  16 . This provides a load bearing function that protects the drive mechanism  16 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 16  illustrates continued backward rotation of the seat back to a seat angle of 18° where the rear side of the recess  34  contacts the pawl  30  to push the pawl  30  out of the recess  34 . At the illustrated angle, the outside edge of the pawl  30  is almost aligned with the shutter  28  such that any further backward rotation will allow the shutter  28  to rotate back and cover the pawl  30 , preventing the pawl  30  from re-entering the recess  34 , at least until the seat back is returned to the position shown in  FIG. 10 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 17  illustrates forward rotation of the seat back to the seat angle of 4° prior to the seat back being rotated past the point illustrated in  FIG. 16 . At this angle, the gap between the front end of the nested pawl  30  and the front portion of the recess  34  ( FIG. 15 ) is removed such that the pawl  30  abuts the bracket  26 . The contact of the pawl  30  to the bracket  26  forms a load-bearing linkage between the bracket  26  and pawl  30 . In this ‘locked’ position, the support system performs a load-bearing function where it can be used to support the seat back, such as with use of the gears shown in  FIG. 2   a , instead of relying on the drive mechanism  16  and/or motor to support the seat back, i.e., the motor  20  may be required to provide torque in order to hold the seat back at the reference plane P, and above the horizontal plane H, in the absence of the described linkage support system. 
         [0023]      FIG. 18  illustrates backward rotation of the seat back from one of the positions where the pawl  30  is nested at least partially within the recess  34  to a seat angle of 19° where the portion (R 3 ) of bracket  26  rearward of the recess  34  having a larger radius than the forward portion (R 1 ) forces the pawl  30  out of the way of the shutter  28  (e.g., R 1 =34 mm, R 2 =35 mm, and R 3 =35.5 mm). Once the shutter  28  is clear of the pin on the pawl  30 , the spring loaded shutter  28  rotates back to cover the pawl  30  and prevent the pawl  30  from entering the recess  34 . From this position, the seat back may be returned to the design position for receipt of an occupant. The drive mechanism  16  or other seat element may then provide a structure for supporting the seat back. 
         [0024]    While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended that these embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather, the words used in the specification are words of description rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.