Patent ID: 6857612

Claim:
An automotive seat assembly comprising: a seat frame having a main portion fixedly mounted to the bottom of a vehicle seat and a riser portion fixedly mounted to the floor pan of a vehicle, said riser portion including a first pair of tracks and said main portion including a cooperative second pair of tracks such that said main portion is moveably supported with respect to said riser portion along said first and second pair of tracks; a seat drive mechanism including at least one drive motor and a lead screw operatively connected in driven relationship with respect to said drive motor, said lead screw having external threads defined thereon; a drive nut having a through-bore with internal threads that cooperate with said threads of said lead screw, said drive nut adapted to cause said seat assembly to move in at least two opposed directions relative to the vehicle floor pan in response to said drive motor; said drive nut also including a second bore formed adjacent to said through-bore and extending in the general direction of said through-bore such that said internal threads of said through-bore are interrupted by said second bore, said interrupted threads of said through-bore acting to clear said threads of said lead screw and cause foreign matter that collects on said lead screw to be captured by said second bore and prevented from entering the threaded interface between said drive nut and said lead screw.