Patent ID: 8727442

Claim:
A vehicle seat assembly comprising: a seat cushion; a seat back operatively coupled to said seat cushion for pivotal movement about a pivot axis between an upright seating position, a folded position disposed forwardly of said upright seating position, and a spring engagement/disengagement position between said upright seating position and said folded position; and a recliner return mechanism, wherein said recliner return mechanism is operatively coupled to said seat back during pivotal movement of said seat back between said upright seating position and said spring engagement/disengagement position such that said recliner return mechanism biases said seat back forwardly toward said spring engagement/disengagement position, and wherein said recliner return mechanism is operatively decoupled from said seat back during pivotal movement of said seat back between said spring engagement/disengagement position and said folded position such that said seat back pivots freely between said spring engagement/disengagement position and said folded position; wherein a biasing force of said recliner return mechanism acts on said seat back between said upright seating position and said spring engagement/disengagement position, and wherein said biasing force increases linearly as said seat back pivots from said spring engagement/disengagement position to said upright seating position; and said recliner return mechanism includes an extension spring and a cable, wherein said extension spring extends between a first end fixedly secured to said seat cushion and a second end, and wherein said cable extends between a first end fixedly coupled to said second end of said extension spring and a second end coupled to said seat back.