Patent Publication Number: US-8979200-B2

Title: Assembly for tilting a seat

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is generally related to an assembly for tilting a seat, and more particularly to an assembly for tilting a seat that provides convenient and simplified adjustment so as to enhance the seat&#39;s utility. 
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3 , R.O.C. Taiwan Patent No. I245616 teaches an assembly for tilting a seat. 
     The assembly  1  contains a locking element  11  having a top section  111 , a bottom section  113 , and two lateral sections  112 . The locking element  11  also has a locking block  114  attached to a back end of the bottom section  113 . At least two vertically arranged notches  1141  are provided on a back side of the locking block  114 . 
     The assembly  1  also contains a frame  12  having a top piece  121  and two downward-extended lateral pieces  122 . The locking element  11  is pivotally positioned between the lateral pieces  122  by a first axle. The top piece  121  has a back section  124  and a front section  123  against which the top section  111  is elastically pressed. 
     The assembly  1  also contains a tilt adjustment member  2  joined to the locking element  11  behind the locking block  114 . The tilt adjustment member  2  contains a seat  21  fixedly attached to the top piece  121  of the frame  12 , a locking piece  22  elastically slidable back and forth on the seat  21 , a pushed block  23  on the seat  21  for elastically driving the locking piece  22 , a control shaft  24  laterally threading through the lateral pieces  122 , and a pushing block  25  engaged by the control shaft  24  to move laterally. The locking piece  22  has a back face  221 . A slant pushing surface  251  of the pushing block  25  and a slant pushed surface  231  of the pushed block  23  interface with each other. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , to fix the seat at a desired tilt angle, the locking piece  22  is engaged by the pushing and pushed blocks  25  and  23  to embed into a notch  1141  of the locking block. To release the seat from the desired angle, the locking piece  22  is retracted from the notch  1141 . 
     The above described assembly can be easily installed to a seat. With the assembly, the seat can be tilted conveniently to fit a user&#39;s requirement so as to achieve better comfort. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A novel assembly for tilting a seat is provided so that its operation can be further simplified and enhanced. The assembly contains a base and a tilt adjustment member. The base has a frame with a seat attachment piece for attaching the frame to a seat cushion of the seat. A locking element is configured in the frame and has a number of notches. In front of the locking element, the frame has a fastening section so that the tilt adjustment member can be accommodated and joined to the frame. Each of the lateral sides of the frame has a through hole for a control rod to thread through. The tilt adjustment member contains a swing block, a seat, a locking piece, and a twisting element. By configuring the locking element and the tilt adjustment member on the base, and by using the control rod to engage the locking piece of the tilt adjustment member to interact the notches of the locking element, the seat can be tilted with simple operation and limited effort, thereby enhancing the functionality of the seat. 
     The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introduction to the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects of the present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which will become apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detailed description of the invention and the claims should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specification and drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similar parts. 
     Many other advantages and features of the present invention will become manifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to the detailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which a preferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of the present invention is shown by way of illustrative example. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective break-down diagram showing the various components of the teaching of Taiwan Patent No. I245616. 
         FIGS. 2 and 3  are schematic sectional diagrams showing the operation of the teaching of Taiwan Patent No. I245616. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective break-down diagram showing the various components of an assembly for tilting a seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective diagram showing the assembly for tilting a seat of  FIG. 4  after its assembly. 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are schematic top-view and sectional diagrams showing an operation of the assembly for tilting a seat of  FIG. 4 . 
         FIGS. 8 and 9  are schematic top-view and sectional diagrams showing another operation of the assembly for tilting a seat of  FIG. 4 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention in any way. Rather, the following description provides a convenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of the invention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , an assembly for tilting a seat  3  contains a base  4  and a tilt adjustment member  5 . 
     The base  4  has a frame  41  with a C-shaped cross-section. At least a seat attachment piece  42  is extended from a top side of the frame  41  for attaching the base  4  to a seat cushion  6  of the seat  3 . A locking element  43  is configured in the frame  41  and has a number of notches  431  on a front side. In front of the locking element  43 , the frame  41  has a fastening section  44  so that the tilt adjustment member  5  can be accommodated and joined to the frame  41  by bolting through a number of bolt holes  441  in the fastening section  44 . Each of the lateral sides of the frame  41  has a through hole  45  for a control rod  46  to thread through and one of the through holes  45  has a fan notch  451 . Correspondingly, the control rod  46  has an axially limiting rib  461  on the circumference. The notch  451  provides limitation to the limiting rib  461  of the control rod  46 . The limiting rib  461  can only move through the notch  451 . 
     The tilt adjustment member  5  contains a swing block  51 , a seat  52 , a locking piece  53 , and a twisting element  54 . The swing block  51  has a through channel  511  with a groove  5111  axially along the wall of the through channel  511 . The swing block  51  has a bulge section  512  on a top side and a semicircular extension  513  extended from a bottom side. The extension  513  has an elongated hole  5131 . The bottom side of the swing block  51  has a bolt hole  514  connecting the through channel  511 . The through channel  511  is for the control rod  46  to thread through, and the groove  5111  is for limiting the limiting rib  461 . A bolt S is driven through the bolt hole  514  and fixes the swing block  51  reliably to the control rod  46 . The seat  52  has a through channel  521  running from a lateral side to the other. An indentation  522  is configured on a bottom side of the seat  52 , thereby forming two walls  52   a  along the lateral sides of the indentation  522 . Each of the walls  52   a  has a number of bolt holes  523 . A cover  524  having bolt holes  5241  can be affixed to the bottom side of the seat  52  by running bolts S through the bolt holes  5241  and  523 . The bolts S then run into the bolt holes  441  and lock the seat  52  to the fastening section  44 . A locking piece  53  is positioned in the indentation  522 . Adjacent to and along a front edge of the locking piece  53 , a notch  531  is configured. The twisting element  54  has a pivot section  541  and, extended from the pivot section  541 , a twist section  542  and a plug section  543 . The twisting element  54  is fixed to the seat  52  by running a bolt S through the pivot section  541 . The twist section  542  is embedded in the notch  531  of the locking piece  53 . The plug section  54  is embedded in the elongated hole  5131  of the extension  513 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 to 9 , the assembly for tilting a seat  3  is assembled as follows. The locking piece  53  is positioned in the indentation  522  of the seat  52 . The cover  524  is then affixed to the seat  52  by running bolts S through the bolt holes  5241  and  523 . The bolts S then run into the bolt holes  441  and lock the seat  52  to the fastening section  44 . The twisting element  54  is then pin-joined to the seat  52 . The control rod  46  is threaded a through hole  45  of the base  4 , the swing block  51 , the seat  52 , and the other through hole  45  of the base  4 . As such, the swing block  51  is positioned to a side of the seat  52 , and the bulge section  512  of the swing block  51  is against the fastening section  44  of the base  4 . Finally, the base  4 , together with the tilt adjustment member  5 , is locked to a seat cushion  6  of a seat  3 , as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 to 7 , to adjust the tile angle of the seat  3  for better comfort, a user twist the control rob  46  to turn the swing block  51 . As the swing block  51 &#39;s bulge section  512  is against the fastening section  44  of the base  4 , the swing block  51  is swung in a curved trajectory. More specifically, the bulge section  512  behaves like a cam performing a stroke on the fastening section  44  of the base  4 . The extension  513  of the swing block  51  is also swung in the curved trajectory synchronously. The extension  513  as such engages the connected twisting element  54 . The twist section  542  of the twisting element  54  in turn engages the locking piece  53  to move for a specific distance in the indentation  522  of the seat  52 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the locking piece  53  is moved out of a notch  431  of the locking element  43 , the base  4 , without the obstruction of the locking piece  53 , can be tilted for different angles. Since the base  4  is attached to the seat cushion  6 , the seat cushion  6  is synchronously tilted. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  8 , and  9 , after the seat  3  is tilted to a desired angle, the user can twist the control rod  46  again so as to engage the twisting element  54  to move the locking piece  53  in the indentation  522  of the seat  52 . The locking piece  53  is then plugged into a notch  431  of the locking element  43 . As such, the base  4  is limited at the desired angle by the confinement from the locking piece  53 . 
     In summary, by configuring the locking element  43  and the tilt adjustment member  5  on the base  4 , and by using the control rod  46  to engage the locking piece  53  of the tilt adjustment member  5  to interact the notches  431  of the locking element  43 , the seat  3  can be tilted with simple operation and limited effort, thereby enhancing the functionality of the seat  3 . 
     While certain novel features of this invention have been shown and described and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intended to be limited to the details above, since it will be understood that various omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the forms and details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be made by those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.