IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO VEHICLE SEAT MOUNTINGS

Abstract: This invention relates to a vehicle seat slide support system and is particularly concerned with a seat slide arrangement which enables a variety of adjustments to be made to the position of a seat and its configuration within a vehicle. A feature of the invention lies in the provision of an arrangement in which common parts may be used in the manually adjusted and the motorised form of the seat support. In one aspect the present invention provides a slide assembly for a vehicle seat comprising a first slide member (26) arranged to support or form part of the seat squab structure, co-operating with a further slide member (25) arranged to be mounted on the floor of the vehicle. In an adaptation the further slide member is provided at the front and/or rear ends with mounting means (28) by which it may be mounted on the vehicle floor and adjusted in height relative to the vehicle floor. In a further adaptation the first slide member is provided with pivotal mounting means (60) at the rear end arranged to carry a seat back portion in such a fashion that the angle of the back of the seat squab may be adjusted. Preferably an electric motor drive comprises a single electric motor (100) and can be selectively coupled to the various adjustment drive functions by way of electromagnetic clutches (108, 115, 109, 117). Preferably the control of the motor drive and the driven functions is by means of a microprocessor. Preferably the microprocessor is provided with means to store details of adjusted positions of the seat, and to move the seat to conform to those stored details in response to a user command.

Description: IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO VEHICLE SEAT MOUNTINGS This invention relates to a vehicle seat slide 5. support system and is particularly concerned with a seat slide arrangement which enables a variety of adjustments to be made to the position of a seat and its configuration within a vehicle. One object of the invention .is to provide a seat 10. slide unit which may be of lightweight construction and which may be used in pairs, one to each side of a vehicle seat. The seat slide arrangement may provide for adjustment of the height of the seat, its fore and aft position, the angle which the seat squab makes with 15. the floor of the vehicle, and for the adjustment of the rake angle of the seat back portion to the seat squab. It is an object of the invention to provide in such a seat slide mechanism means for the manual adjustment of one or more of such factors and/or means for 20. motorised adjustment of such factors. It is an object of the invention to provide means whereby the motorised adjustment of such factors may be controlled through the medium of an electronic processor such as a micro-processor in accordance with programmed 25. instructions for the processor in response to control requests from a user. It is a further object to provide means for pre-storing data relating to a particular seat position and configuration so that the microprocessor may move the seat to such position and configuration on 30. demand by the user. OMPI Λ A feature of the invention lies in the provision an arrangement in which common parts may be used in th manually adjusted and the motorised form of the seat. Accordingly in one aspect the present invention 5. provides a slide assembly for a vehicle seat comprisin a first slide member arranged to support or form part the seat squab structure, co-operating with a further slide member arranged to be mounted on the floor of th vehicle. 10. The arrangement is such that the first slide memb may slide or move over the second slide- member to achieve fore and aft adjustment of the vehicle seat. In an adaptation the further slide member is provided at the front and/or rear ends with mounting 15. means by which it may be mounted on the vehicle floor and adjusted in height relative to the vehicle floor. In a further adaptation the first slide member is provided with pivotal mounting means at the rear end arranged to carry a seat back portion in such a fashio 20. that the angle of the back of the seat squab may be adjusted. In such an arrangement the slide assembly is therefore adapted for manual adjustment of the fore an aft direction, to height of the seat at either or both 25. ends of the slide assembly and of the angle of the bac portion. In a further arrangement the same basic component are arranged for an electric motor drive to make those adjustments. Preferably such electric motor drive 30. comprises a single electric motor and can be selective _ ... OMP coupled to the various adjustment drive functions by way of an electromagnetic clutch. Preferably the control of the motor ddrive and the driven functions is by means of a microprocessor. Preferably the microprocessor is 5. provided with means to store details of adjusted positions of the seat, and to move the seat to conform to those stored details in response to a user command. Preferably the slide assembly is arranged so that identical assemblies can be utilised on either side of a 10. vehicle seat, in a pair, with suitable spacing members between the two to form a cohesive structure. By this means it. is possible to provide in effect a series of basic components from which various degrees of sophistication can be built into a vehicle seat support 15. slide arrangement; starting from providing only a fore and after adjustment, progressively adding capabilities such as adjustment of the height of the front and rear end singularly or together; adjustment of the seat back angle, motorised adjustment of such features, and then 20. finally the motorised adjustment of such features under the control of a microprocessor. In a preferred embodiment the invention provides a slide mechanism for a vehicle seat comprising an outer slide member of generally "U" shaped cross-section, an 25. inner slide member of generally "U" shaped cross-section nesting in the outer slide member, both arms of both cross-sections being formed with grooves in opposing relationship so as to form tracks for bearing balls interposed between the slide members so that the outer 30. slide member may be rolled over the inner slide member. O PI Preferably the arms of the cross-section of the outer slide member are folded inwards around the outer ends of the arms of the cross-section of the inner sii member to prevent transverse separation of the slide 5. members in the event of the bearing balls being overloaded. Preferably the slide member cross-sections are so dimensioned that the bearing balls, are resiliently preloaded when the slide mechanism is assembled.. 10. Preferably the cross-sections of the inner and outer slide ' members are such that in their unloaded state there is no contact between then except through the intermediary of the bearing balls. Preferably at least one of the slide members is 15. provided with a series ' of longitudinally spaced slots notches which may be selectively engaged by a retractable locking dog associated with the other slid member so as to lock the slide members into a chosen o of a number of relative longitudinal positions. 20. Preferably the cross-section of the inner slide member includes a part circular portion arranged so th it may encompass a lead screw or drive shaft arranged co-operate with the outer slide member to move it over the inner slide member. 25. Preferably the inner slide member is provided at one or both ends with means for mounting it on a vehic floor structure. Preferably said mounting means is arranged to adjust the height of the respective end of the slide 30. mechanism relative to the floor. Preferably each said mounting means comprises a bracket member extending downwardly from the respective end of the inner slide member, a link pivotally mounted on the bracket member at one end and arranged to be 5. pivotally mounted on the vehicle floor at the other end, and means for adjusting the angular position of the link relative to the bracket member. Preferably said angular adjusting means comprises a screw threaded bolt mounted at one end in said.bracket 10. member and passing through a trunnion member pivotally carried in said link, said trunnion member being provided with releaseable means arranged to engage the screw threads of said bolt to prevent movement of said trunnion member over said bolt thus retaining a given 15. adjusted height of the slide member. Preferably said releaseable means comprises a plunger slideably mounted in said trunnion member and having a screw threaded end portion arranged to engage the threads of said bolt, and means for resiliently 20. biasing said plunger into said engagement. Preferaably said releaseable means comprises tv/o such plungers arranged to engage adjacent portions of the circumference of said bolt. Preferably said plungers engage over slightly more 25. than half the circumference of said bolt. Preferably trigger means is provided connected to said plunger or plungers by means of a Bowden cable, to selectively retract said plungers to allow adjustment of the height of the slide mechanism. Preferably identical height adjustment mechanism provided at each end of the inner slide member. Preferably the pivotal links of said identical height adjustment means extend outwardly from the slid 5. member at each end. Preferably said pivotal links are interconnected spring means arranged to bias the seat slide member upwards away from the floor. Preferably said outer slide member is provided at 10. one end with a support bracket for the pivotal mountin of a seat back support quadrant. Preferably a worm gear mounted is provided rotati in said bracket in engagement with teeth formed on sai quadrant, so that rotation of the worm gear may cause 15. adjustment of the seat back angle. Preferably said worm gear is an enveloping worm gear. Preferably said outer slide member is provided wi means for anchoring a seat belt. 20. Preferably a slot is formed between said support bracket and said outer slide member, through which suc seat belt may pass from the anchoring means over an occupant of a seat supported by the slide mechanism. Preferably mechanism as claimed in any one of sai 25. screw threaded bolt is rotatably mounted at said one e in said bracket member so that rotation of the bolt adjusts the height of the slide member. Preferably a worm wheel is drivably attached to said screw threaded bolt and arranged in mesh with a 30. worm gear mounted for rotation in said bracket about a axis transverse to the slide members. Preferably said screw threaded bolt is mounted in a ball bearing thrust race at its upper end, with its lower end passing through said trunnion member. Preferably a trigger mechanism is provided 5. connecting to said locking dog by means of a bowden cable arrangement, said trigger means being mounted on said outer slide member. Preferably a further trigger -means is provided connected to each said plunger by means of a bowden 10. cable arrangement, said further trigger means being mounted on said outer slide member. Preferably lead screw is rotatably mounted within the cross section of said inner slide member and axially located relative thereto, and a lead screw nut attached 15. to said outer slide member in screw threaded engagement with the lead screw so that rotation " of the lead screw drives the outer member along the inner member. An embodiment of the invention also provides an assembly comprising a pair of such slide mechanisms 20. arranged one on each side of a vehicle seat. Preferably the worm gears of the two front height adjustment mechanisms are coupled by a common cross- shaft which may be drivably connected to an electric motor. 25. Preferably the worm gears of the rear height adjustment mechanism of each slide are coupled by means of a belt respective drive to a cross-shaft which may be drivably connectd to an electric motor. Preferably the lead screws of the slide mechanisms 30. are drivably connected by means of skew gears to a common cross-shaft which may be drivably connected to electric motor. Preferably the quadrant worm gears of the slide • mechanisms are connected to a common cross-shaft by 5. means of universal joints of respective cardan shafts, and the common cross-shaft may be drivably connected t a handle and/or an electric motor. Preferably said cross-shafts are drivably connect to a single electric motor, each through the 10. intermediary of a respective electro-magnetic clutch device. Preferably each electro-magnetic clutch device is arranged to give an electrical pulse signal representative of the movement of the adjustment 15. controlled by that clutch device. Preferably said electric motor or electric motors and/or said electro-magnetic clutch devices are controlled by means of a micro-processor. Preferably said micro-processor is provided with 20. means for storing signals representative of an adjustment position of the various movements of the assembly, and means to provide signals to the electric motors and/or clutches to drive the assembly to that p stored adjustment position. 25. In order to promote a fuller understanding of the above and other aspects of the invention so-e embodiments will now be described by way of example on with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is an exploded view of a manually operated 30. embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of an electrically operated embodiment of the invention; Figure 3 is a side elevation of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 3A is a cross-section on the line IIIA-IIIA of Figure 3; 5. Figure 3B is a cross-section on the line IIIB-IIIB of Figure 3; Figure 3C is a cross-section on the line IIIC-IIIC in Figure 3; • Figure 4 is a plan view of the embodiment, of Figure 10. 1; Figure 5 is a front view of the embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 6 is a side view of the embodiment of Figure 2; 15. Figure 6A is a cross-section on the line VIA-VIA of Figure 6; Figure 6B is a cross-section on the line VIB-VIB of Figure 6; Figure 7 is a front view of the embodiment of 20. Figure 2; Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a drive clutch of Figure 2; Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of a further drive clutch of Figure 2; and 25. Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the seat slide members of Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1 shows an exploded view of a vehicle seat slide support arrangement. The outline frame of a vehicle seat is shown at 20 and it is supported by the 30. slide support arrangement from pivot points 21 at the front of the seat and pivot points 22 at the rear of t seat, the pivot points being provided on pillars formi part of or being attached to the floor structure of th vehicle. 5. The seat slide arrangement comprises two seat sli assemblies arranged one on either side of the vehicle seat indicated at 23 and 24. The slide assemblies 23 and 24 each comprise co-operating slide members one of which indicated at 25 is supported in a manner to be 10. described from the pivot points 21.and 22 and the othe of which indicated at 26 supports the seat frame 20. The arrangement is such that the slide members 26 move in a fore and aft direction on the slide members 25 to allow fore and aft adjustment of the seat in the 15. vehicle. On the underside of the slide members 25 identica front and rear support brackets.27 are provided; and these support brackets are connected to the pivot poin 21 and 22 respectively by pivotal links 28, so that th 20. front or rear of the seat can be raised or lowered by pivotting of the links 28 either independently or in synchronism, thus achieving adjustment of the height o the seat or of the rake angle of the seat. In order to assist raising of the seat a tension 25. spring 29 is provided acting between arms 30 provided the links 28 which both extend outwardly from the brackets, and arranged to bias the seat in an upward direction. • The arrangement of bracks 27, links 28 and bias 30. springs 29 is the same on each side of the seat. In order to synchronise the two sides of the seat, the link 28 may be coupled by a tordion member such as that shown at 30. The pivotal links 28 are each in the form of a pair 5. of link plates 28' extending one on either side of the respective bracket 27. A trunnion member 31 is pivotted in the link plates 28' and is positioned inside the bracket 27 which is of downward facing 'U 1 shaped cross section, there being slots 27 1 for the pivots of the 10. trunnion 31. A screw threaded bolt 32, which in the embodiment of Figure 1 is rigidly attached at its upper end to the bracket 27, passes through a bore in the trunnion 31. The trunnion 31 is provided with two slideable plungers 33 the ends of which are formed with 15. screw threaded portions 34, arranged to engage the threads of the bolt 32. The arrangement is such that the screw threaded portions 34 engage over approximately a quarter of the circumference of the bolt 32, the portion of engagement extending slightly "over centre" 20. around more than half the circumference, so that the plungers 33 are retained in engagement with the bolt 32. When the plungers are so engaged, the bolt 32 is axially located in the trunnion 31 so that movement of the link 28 relative to the bracket 27 is prevented, and 25. thus the height of the appropriate corner of the seat is supported against any load on it. The plungers 33 are resiliently biased into the bolt 32 by means of a spring 44 which acts between the pin 45 which passes through the plungers 33 and a wire bracket 46 rigidly attached 30. to the trunnion 31. In order to allow adjustment the :___ pawls 33 are retracted clear of the bolt 32, the forc of retraction being sufficient to overcome "the over centre engagement" and springs 44 thus allowing the b 32 to pass freely through the trunnion 31 so that the 5. respective corner of the seat may be adjusted in height. The pawls are connected to pull wires 35 which i turn are connected at 36 to a mechanism 37 attached t the underside of the slide member 25. It will be 10. appreciated that this arrangement is provided on each side of the seats, and in order to operate the mechan 37 a Bowden cable arrangment is provided to connect t mechanisms to operating triggers. A' Bowden cable 39 associated at one end with the front right hand pull 15. 35. The core of the Bowden cable 39 is attached at t other end to a bracket indicated generally at .40 carr on the seat structure. The sleeve of the cable 39 is attached to a trigger 41 which is pivotally mounted o the bracket 40 so that pivoting of the trigger 41 20. operates the two front pull rods 35 to release the vertical adjustment at the front of the seat. Simila a trigger 42 is arranged to operate the rear pull rod 35 by means of a Bowden cable 43. Thus the trigger 4 can release the rear of the seat for vertical 25. adjustment. Action of the triggers 41 and 42 overcom the force of the respective springs 44 and retraction plungers 33. In order to assist a user in overcoming this spring force the bracket 40 includes a pressure 47 so that the user may squeeze a trigger against the 30. pressure pad 47. The fore and aft movement of the slide member 26 over the respective slide member 25 is controlled by means of a ratchet dog member 48 which is pivotally mounted on the slide member 25 to pass through a slot or 5. aperture formed in the slide member 25 to engage a selected one of a series of notches formed in the slide member 26, in known manner per se. The ratchet members 48 on the two sides are operated by means of a Bowden cable 49 and a trigger 50 in a similar manner to that 10. described for the operation of the height adjustment. The frame 20 referred to above provides support for the squab portion of the vehicle seat. The seat back portion is attached to mounting quadrants 60 which are pivotally mounted on support brackets 61 which are in 15. turn attached to the rear part of respective slide members 26. The seat back is preferably releaseably attached to the quadrants 60 in a manner described and claimed in our British Patent Specification No. 1,547,561. 20. The quadrants 60 each include an arcuate portion 62 which is engaged by a hyperboloidal enveloping worm gear 63 carried on a shaft 64 which is rotatably mounted in the respective bracket 61. The brackets 61 are folded from sheet material to have a generally "U" shaped cross- 25. section with the quadrant member 60 pivotally mounted about a pin 65 between the arms of the cross-section. The shaft 64 is carried towards the front of the bracket 61 by means of a bearing bush 66 located at the bottom of the fold between the arms of the bracket 61 by means 30. of recesses indicated at 67 formed in the material of *- u the bracket. The shaft 64 is supported at the rear en of the bracket 61 against separating loads on the worm gear 63, by means of a "U" shaped bearing member 68 which rests in the bottom of the fold between the arms 5. of the bracket 61. Thus it can be seen that rotation of the shaft 64 to drive the worm gear 63, "will bring about angular movement of the quadrant member 60 to adjust the angle of the seat back to the seat squab- portion. The shaft 10. 64 are coupled by means of universal joints 69.and cardan shafts 70 to a cross shaft 71. The cross shaft 71 passes through a gear box 72 in which it is coupled by means of a pair of spur gears, to a drive shaft 73 extending to the side of the seat where it is connecte 15. to a handle 74. Thus rotation of handle 74 by the use of the seat can adjust the angle of the seat back. The arrangement of the seat slide members 26—and is shown in more detail in Figure 10 which shows a cro sectional view of the members. The slide member 25 is 20. of generally "U" shaped cross-section having a part circular upper part indicated at 80 with downward extending arms 81. The arms 81 'curve in concave fashi as indicated at 82 to form tracks for ball bearings 83 The slide member 26 is also of generally "U" shaped 25. cross section having an upper part 85 with downwardly extending arms 86 which are also formed with concave parts 87 to form tracks for the ball bearings 83. A series of ball bearings 83 are interposed between the slide members 25 and 26 so that the slide member 26 ma 30. roll fore and aft on the ball bearings over the slide £ ■ member 25. The arms of the slide members are manufactured to such dimensions that the ball bearings, are pre-loaded. This pre-loading provides for compensation in manufacturing tolerances and wear of the 5. tracks in use while preventing free movement between the slide members in a transverse direction when the seat is unoccupied, thus preventing " the seat from rattling in such condition. The trigger .48 is preferably arranged inside the 10. slide member 25 and provided with dogs 48' which pass through slots 52 in the slide member 25 to engage in a selected pair of slots 53 extending in a series along the slide member 26. The trigger is preferably pivotally mounted on a bracket carried by the slide 15. member 25. The lov/er part of the arms 81 of the slide member 25 terminate in downward extending portions 88, whereas the lower parts of the arms 86 of the slide member 26 are curved inwards and upwards to overlie the portions 20. 88, as indicated at 89. By this means the separation of slide member 26 from the slide member 25 in a transverse direction is resisted in the event of the load capacity of the ball bearing arrangement being exceeded, for instance by the shock loading of the slide in the event 25. of an accident. Such resistance to shock loading is sufficient to provide a safe anchorage for a seat belt for the occupant on the slide member 26. A typical arrangement of such seat belt anchorage is shown in Figures 1 and 2 where an inertia brake seat 30. belt reel 100 is shown mounted by means of a bracket 101 on the slide member 26 through the intermediary of bracket 61. A slot 102 is provided between the respective bracket 61 and seat slide member 26, for th seat belt 103 to pass freely through and over the 5. occupant of the seat from either side. An inertia ree assembly may be provided on either side of the seat, o if desired on one side of the seat a simple seat belt anchorage may be provided. The slide member 25 is supported on and attached 10. the brackets 27 by means of members 105 which extend from the top of the brackets 27 to engage in the interior profile of the slide arm 25. The seat frame is in this embodiment mounted on the rear part of the bracket 61 and supported towards the front by means of 15. brackets 106 on the upper part of the slide member 26. The torsion member 30 between the front links 28 serve to space the slide members 25 at the front, while a spacer tube 107 may be provided between the brackets 6 to space the slide members 26 at the rear providing a 20. cohesive structure. Thus it can be seen that the assembly described provides a support arrangement for a vehicle seat, mounted on the vehicle floor; which provides for fore and aft adjustment of the seat on operation of the 25. trigger 50, provides for adjustment of the height of t front of the seat on operation of trigger 41; provides for adjustment of the height of the rear of the seat independently or simultaneously with the front of the seat, on operation of the trigger 42, without or with 30. the trigger 41; and provides for adjustment of the ang of the seat back on rotation of the handle 74. The operation of the springs 29 is such that to raise the seat, the occupant lifts his weight from the seat so that on operation of the appropriate trigger the 5. occupant can raise and/or alter the rake angle of the seat beneath him. To lower the seat the occupant uses part of his weight on operation of the appropriate trigger to move the appropriate part of the seat down against the action of the springs 29. 10. Figure 2 shows an exploded view of a seat -support arrangement similar to that of Figure 1 in the arrangement for electric motor operation of the various seat position adjustments. Most of the components in the arrangement of Figure 2 are identical as those shown 15. in Figure 1 and no further description will therefore be given of those components and the same reference numbers are used for them. In the arrangement of Figure 2, the height adjusting bolts 32 are rotatably mounted in the brackets 20. 27 by means of a ball bearing thrust arrangment 80 (Figure 6A) . The upper part of the bolt 32 is provided with a worm wheel 81 which may be driven by means of a worm gear 83 (Figure 6B) carried on a shaft 84 and rotatably mounted in the bracket 27. The trunnion 31 in 25. this arrangement may be screw threaded to take the bolt 32, or the plunger arrangement of the embodiment of Figure 1 may be retained, so that in either event rotation of the shaft 84 achieves vertical adjustment of the appropriate corner of the seat. If the plunger 30. arrangement is retained manual adjustment of the height of the seat in the manner described above is also - retained. Fore and aft adjustment of each slide member 26 over the associated slide member 25, is achieved by 5. means of a lead screw 85 which is rotatably mounted i the part circular portion of the cross-section of the slide member 25. A nut member 86 engaging around the lead screw extends downwards between the arms of the cross-section of the slide member 25, and is rigidly 10. attached to the arms of the cross-section of the slid member 26 so that rotation of the lead screw 85 will produce fore and aft adjustment to the slide member 26 over the slide member 26. It will be appreciated tha if the lead screw 85 is held even lightly against 15. rotation, a particular fore and aft adjustment positi will be maintained against any loads encountered by t seat in use. At the front end of the lead screw 85 a skew gea 87 is provided in mesh with a skew gear 88 carried on 20. cross-shaft 89 rotatably mounted on the front of the slide member 25. Thus it can be seen rotation of the shaft 89 will cause fore and aft adjustment. In the arrangement of Figure 2, the drive shaft 7 which is shown broken in Figure 2, is provided with a 25. handle (not shown) for manual operation if required, is extended through the gear box 72 on the opposite s to the handle, with an extension shaft coupled to a g box 90. The gear box 90 is epi-cyclic reduction gear box with an input drive to it by means of a flexible 30. core and sleeve cable drive indicated at 91. Thus -J L ~ '- rotation of the flexible drive 91 will drive the cardan shafts 70 to adjust the angle of the seat back portion as discussed above. In the alternative, rotation of the shaft 73 by means of the handle (not shown) can make the 5. same adjustment manually. An electric motor 100 is mounted on a first transmission housing 102 carried on the front end of the left hand slide member 25. The motor 100 is provided on its output shaft with a toothed drive wheel 103 within 10. the housing 102 (Figure 6C) , which by means of .a continuous toothed belt 104 is arranged to drive three • toothed wheels 105, 106 and 107 also within the transmission housing 102. The wheel 105 is coupled through the intermediary of an electromagnetic clutch 15. 108 to the cross-shaft 89 to drive the skew gear 88 of the left hand slide member, and as the shaft 89 extends as a drive shaft across the arrangement, to drive the skew gear 88 of the right hand slide member. thus if the motor 100 is energized and the clutch 108 engaged 20. the front of the seat will be raised or lowered according to the direction of energization of the motor 100. The toothed wheel 106 is coupled by way of an electromagnetic clutch 109 to a cross shaft 110 which on 25. either side of the arrangement is coupled to a toothed wheel 111 (Figure 6C) in respective second transmission housings 112 carried on the respective slide members 25. The toothed wheels 111 are coupled by means of continuous toothed belts 113 to respective toothed 30. wheels 114 at the back of the slide members 25. The toothed wheels 114 are arranged to drive the shafts 84 of the rear height adjustment mechanisms of the slide members. Thus operation of the clutch 109 when the motor 100 is energized will raise or .lower the rear of 5. the seat in accordance with the direction which the motor 100 is energized. It should be noted that the toothed belts 113 in this embodiment are interchangeab with the toothed belt 104. The toothed wheel 107 in the transmission housing 10. 102 is coupled by way of an electromagnetic clutch 115 to a cross shaft 116 which is coupled to or forms part of the drive shafts 84 of the front height adjustment devices. Thus engagement of the clutch 115 with energizing of the motor 100 will adjust the height of 15. the front of the seat in accordance with the direction of energization of motor 100. The Bowden cable drive 91 is connected by way of electromagnetic clutch 117 to the back of the drive shaft of the motor 100. Thus on operation of the clut 20. 117 and energization of the motor 100 the angle of the seat back can be adjusted in accordance with the direction of energization of the motor 100. Figure 8 shows a schematic cross-section of the clutch 117 of Figure 2, in some detail. The motor 100 25. is provided with an output shaft 130 the free end of which is formed with opposed flats 131. A clutch housing 132 is mounted on the rear of the motor 100 being centered about the shaft 130 by a spigot 133 formed on the motor housing. The housing 132 contains 30. an electromagnetic solenoid 134 which is arranged with an armature sleeve 135 to be axially movable in the solenoid. The output shaft 136 is rotatably mounted in the housing 132 at the end remote from the motor 100, and arranged to be coupled to the core 137 of the 5. flexible drive 91, the sleeve of which is attached to the housing by means of a screw threaded nut 138. The flexible drive 91 may for instance be of the type used for speedometer drives in motor vehicles . The inner end of the drive shaft 135 is formed with dogs arranged to 10. engage with corresponding dogs on a drive member 139 which is slidably mounted on the motor shaft 130 and driveably coupled thereto by means of the flats 131. The armature 135 is arranged to abut the drive member 139 so that on energising of the solenoid 134 it moves 15. the drive member 139 into engagement with the output shaft to couple the drive from the motor to the flexible drive 91. A coil spring 140 is provided to be operative towards the output shaft 135 and the drive member 139 to separate the two positively, when the solenoid is de- 20. energised. The output shaft 135 is provided with a disc member 141 which is in the form of a sheet metal disc faced, except over a small portion of its periphery with an insulating sheet such as nylon sheet. A pair of spring 25. loaded electrical contacts in the form of ball bearings 142 are provided in the housing 132, and arranged to bear on the insulated face of the disc 141 at such a position that, once every revolution of the output shaft, the contacts are bridged by the uncovered portion 30. of the periphery of the disc 141 thereby to give an CMΓ-T ~ electrical signal pulse for every revolution of the output shaft 135. This electrical output signal is utilised in the control of the clutch and the electric motor in a manner to be discussed below. 5. Figure 9 shows a cross-sectional view of one of t electromagnetic clutches, the 108, 109 and 115 of Figu 2 all of which are the same. These clutches each comprise housing 150, mounted and located in a bush formed in the transmission housing 102, and having a 10. clutch shaft 151 rotatably mounted therein. The tooth wheels 105, 106 and 107 as the case may be are rotatab carried on one end of the shaft 151 within the housing 102. The face of the toothed wheel adjacent the clutc is provided with drive dogs arranged to engage dogs on 15. drive member 152 which is slidably carried on the shaf 151 but driveably connected thereto. An electromagnet solenoid 153 is provided in the housing 150 to be operative on a sleeve armature 154, so that when the solenoid is " energised, the armature 154 moves the driv 20. member 152 to engage the respective toothed wheel and thus driveably couple it to the shaft 151. A spring 1 is interposed between a flange of the toothed wheel an drive member 152 to separate the drive member from the toothed wheel positively when the solenoid is 25. disengaged. A nylon thrust sleeve 156 is interposed between the drive member 152 and the armature 154 to accommodate rotation between these two elements. The drive shaft 151 is preferably formed as a tubular member being cylindrical over most of its leng 30. to form bearing surfaces in the toothed wheel and driv member 152 at one end, and to rotate in the housing at the other end. The shaft 151 is flattened over a centered portion which lies inside the armature 152 so that internal flats are provided to driveably engage the 5. square section of the cross shafts 89, 110 and 116; and so that external flats are provided to driveably engage in slots formed in one end -of a sleeve, portion of the drive membe 152. The toothed wheel is rotatably carried in the housing 102 by means of a -bearing bush 157 to 10. complete the bearing support of the shaft 151. . The shaft 151 i*s provided with a contact disc 158 arranged to provide an electrical pulse signal by means of spring loaded ball bearing contacts 159 carried in the housing 150, in the manner exactly similar as that 15. described with reference to the clutch of Figure 8 and for a similar purpose. The respective electric clutches 108, 109, 115 and 117 for the drive to the various adjustments, and the electric motor 100, are preferably operated under the 20. control of an electronic computer such as a micro¬ processor. In such an arrangement the microprocessor is programmed to supply the necessary electric current to the clutches in the motor through the intermediary of suitable power amplifiers. By this means the processor 25. may adjust the various portions of the seat to various attitudes governed by input signals to the microprocessor in accordance with a programme held in the microprocessor. The microprocessor is provided with suitable storage means for the programme to achieve such 30. adjustments, and the control input to the microprocessor may be by means of a multiposition control switch -such as that indicated in Figure 2 at 130. It .should be mentioned that the microprocessor is not shown in detail in Figure 2, but may be embodied i 5. the housing of the switch 130. The switch 130 shown i Figure 2 comprises a joystick type switch which is movable in eight generally"radial directions about a pivot, as indicated schematically in Figure 2A, to achieve various movements of the-seat supported on the 10. slide. The switch is provided with suitable contacts give appropriate control signals of the microprocessor so that the processor can operate in accordance with i programme to control the electric motor and the clutches. Rotation of the switch in either direction 15. can provide a further control option. In a preferred arrangement, movement of the switch 130 in a fore and aft direction will result in drive to the lead screws move the seat fore and aft only. Movement of the swit in a vertical direction up or down will provide drive 20. all four of the height adjusting devices to raise or lower the seat while maintaining a given rake angle. Moving the switch in an oblique direction up or down with combined fore or aft movement would raise or lowe the front or rear of the seat to adjust the rake angle 25. Lastly rotation of the switch in either direction woul produce appropriate adjustment of the seat back. . The control switch housings are also provided wit three push buttons as indicated at A, B and C which in accordance with the programme of the microprocessor ma 30. cause the processor to energise the clutches and the electric motor to move the seat to a pre-stored configuration. For this purpose the microprocessor is also provided with storage means for storing data relating to those chosen positions, which data would be 5. accessed on pressing the appropriate button A, B or C to drive the seat to the chosen position. The microprocessor is provided -with data signals representative of the actual position of the various seat slide elements and adjustments so that the 10. processor can compare the actual position of the seat with a demanded position of the seat to produce the appropriate control signals. The provision of these representative data signals is achieved by the electric pulse signals provided by the clutch devices discussed 15. • above . The processor is programmed to count the pulses from each drive to evaluate the actual position of the respective adjustment. In an alternative arrangement to that discussed 20. with the provision of electromagnetic clutches, it will be appreciated that a separate electric motor may be provided for each drive function, in which case the separate electric motor would be provided with control signals by the microprocessor in a similar fashion. 25. It will further be appreciated that the electric motor 100 and the various electromagnetic clutches may be supplied with current by a simple switching arrangement, as opposed to through the intermediary of a microprocessor, by a switch operating in an exactly 30. similar fashion to that described with reference to the switch 130 above. O Px ~ Thus it can be seen that utilizing virtually -all the components of the arrangement of Figure 1, a motorised version of the seat support may be provided. It will be appreciated that many variations are 5. possible. For instance in the case of a passenger onl seat as opposed to a driver seat, some of the adjustments such as height -adjustment may be omitted since this is often not so important in a passenger seat. Again where the vehicle seat is used as the fro 10. seat in a two-door vehicle,- where access to rear seats is required, the seat back can be swung forward by the electric drive on operation of the switch for this purpose. Again an anchorage for seatbelts may be provided in an exactly'similar fashion. 15. Where the seat is arranged to tilt forward to provide access in a two-door vehicle, the forward tilting movement can be arranged by operating a suitab switch or transducer to cause the microprocessor to mo the seat ' forward on its slides after a certain angle o 20. forward movement of the seat back has been completed.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A slide mechanism for a vehicle seat comprising an outer slide member of generally "U" shape cross-section, an inner slide member of generally "U" shaped cross-section nesting in the outer slide member, both arms of both cross-sections being formed with grooves in opposing relationship so as to form tracks for bearing balls interposed between the slide members so that the outer slide member may be rolled over the inner slide member. 2. A slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 1, in which the arms of the cross-section of the outer slide member are folded inwards around the outer ends of the arms of the cross-section of the inner slide member to prevent transverse separation of the slide members in the event of the bearing balls being overloaded. 3. A slide mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, including a lead screw rotatably mounted within the cross-section of said inner slide member and axially located relative thereto, and a lead screw nut attached to said outer slide member in screw threaded engagement with the lead screw so that rotation of the lead screw drives the outer member along the inner member. 4. A slide mechanism as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the inner slide member is provided at c.'.; one or both ends with means for mounting it on a vehicle floor structure, and said mounting means is arranged to adjust the height of the respective end of the slide mechanism relative to the floor. 5. A slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 6 or 7, in which each said mounting means comprises a bracket member extending downwardly from the respective end of the inner slide member, a link pivotally mounted on the bracket member at one end and arranged to be pivotally mounted on the vehicle floor at the other end, and means for adjusting the angular position of the link relative to the bracket member and. comprising a screw threaded bolt mounted at one end in said bracket member and passing through a trunnion member pivotally carried in said link, said trunnion member being provided with releaseable means arranged to engage the screw threads of said bolt to prevent movement of said trunnion member over said bolt thus retaining a given adjusted height of the slide membr. 6. A slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 4 or 5 in which said screw threaded bolt is rotatably mounted at said one end in said bracket member so that rotation of the bolt adjusts the height of the slide member, and a worm wheel is drivably attached to said screw threaded bolt and arranged in mesh with a worm gear mounted for rotation in said bracket about an axis transverse to the slide members. 7. A slide mechanism as claimed in any preceding claims in which said outer slide member is provided at one end with a support bracket for the pivotal mounting of a seat back support quadrant, and a worm gear mounted for rotation in said support bracket in engagement with teeth formed on said quadrant, so that rotation of the worm gear may cause adjustment of the seat back angle. 8. A slide mechanism as claimed in Claim 7, in which a slot is formed between said support bracke and said outer slide member, through which such seat belt may pass from the anchoring means over an occupant of a seat supported by the slide mechanism. 9. An assembly comprising a pair of slide mechanisms as claimed in any ' preceding claim arranged one on each side of a vehicle seat. 10. An assembly as claimed in Claim 9, in which the worm gears of the two front height adjustment mechanisms are coupled by a common cross-shaft which may be drivably connected to an electric motor. 11. An assembly as claimed in Claim 9 or 10, in which the worm gears of the rear height adjustment mechanism of each slide are coupled by means of a belt respective drive to a cross-shaft which may be drivably connected to an eletric motor. -$\J: *£4£- .VI 12. An assembly as claimed \ _ n any one of Claim 9 to 11 in which the lead screws of the slide mechanisms are drivably connected by means of skew ge to a common cross-shaft which may be drivably connect to an electric motor. 13. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 12 in which the quadrant worm gears of the slide mechanisms are connected to a common cross-shaft, and the common cross-shaft may be drivably connected to a handle and/or an electric motor 14. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims to 13 in which said cross-shafts are drivably connect to a single electric motor, each through the intermediary of a respective electro-magnetic clutch device. 15. An assembly as claimed in Claim 14 in whic each electro-magnetic clutch device is arranged to gi an electrical pulse signal representative of the movement of the adjustment controlled by that clutch device. 16. An assembly as claimed in any one of Claims to 15 in which said electric motor or electric motors and/or said electro-magnetic clutch devices are controlled by means of a micro-processor. _ O 17. An assembly as claimed in Claim 16, in which said micro-processor is provided with means for storing signals representative of an adjustment position of the various movements of the assembly, and means to provide signals to the electric motors and/or clutches to drive the assembly to that pre-stored adjustment position. 18. A slide mechanism as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8 arranged so that it may be assembled in an assembly as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 17 for motorised adjustment of a vehicle seat or in the alternative, may be assembled in an assembly as claimed in Claim 9 for the manual adjustment of a vehicle seat.

Inventors: BABBS F
Applicants: BABBS F, COX LTD T I
Application year: 1981
Main classification: B60N1
IPC codes: A47C1, B60N2