Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Motor vehicle seat with adjustable seat depth

Motor vehicle seat with adjustable seat depth description/claims

This application claims priority to German Applications DE 10 2007 003 758.0, filed on Jan. 19, 2007 and DE 10 2007 049 863.4, filed on Oct. 18, 2007, both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties as part of the present disclosure.

The invention relates to a seat pan of a motor vehicle seat. In some prior art motor vehicle seats, for example as shown in DE 196 28 381 A1, the supporting plate also forms the left front corner and the right front corner of the seat pan. The supporting plate is approximately T-shaped. If the supporting plate is moved forward, the legs of the T move away from the seat part and a gap forms, which increases as the supporting plate is pushed further forward in the longitudinal direction. This gap is a nuisance both visually and in practical use, it is difficult to conceal, a padding of the seat pan beneath this gap does not abut, it creates a noticeable hollow space. This is disadvantageous.

In the motor vehicle seats as shown in DE 698 27 303 T2, a front seat part is adjusted relative to a rear seat part. The motor vehicle seat as shown in DE 199 13 503 A1 includes a seat pan that also has a front transverse piece and a rear transverse piece that may be spaced different distances apart by means of an adjusting de-vice for adjustment of the seat depth. The invention disclosed herewith does not relate to either of these types of motor vehicle seats.

In the motor vehicle seat as shown in DE 20 2004 020 657 U1, the entire seat part is displaced in the longitudinal direction relative to a seat back and the underframe of the seat. The effective length of the seat pan in the longitudinal direction remains the same. The invention is not concerned with such type of motor vehicle seats either.

In view of the motor vehicle seat of the type mentioned herein above, the object of the invention is to improve the prior art motor vehicle seat in such a manner that a gap between the seat pan and the seat part does not appear as far as practicable, or at least that it is supported as far as possible in order for it not to present a disadvantage and that the thighs will not rest on a side edge of the supporting part.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to overcome one or more of the above-described drawbacks and disadvantages of the prior art.

The invention is directed to a motor vehicle seat with a seat pan comprising a seat part and a supporting plate, said supporting plate being connected to the seat part via a guide for displacement in a longitudinal direction and comprising a front region forming the front edge of the seat pan. The supporting plate comprises a left and a right supporting wing. The left supporting wing forms the left front corner of the seat pan and the right supporting wing forms the right front corner of the seat pan.

In practical operation, the thighs of a passenger rest on the supporting plate. Depending on the thigh length of an individual passenger, the supporting plate is pushed more or less forward in the longitudinal direction. As a result, a passenger is given the opportunity to adjust the seat to his or her own size, thus achieving the result that the thighs rest on the seat pan up to near the knee, and that they do not undesirably protrude freely too far forward without being supported by the seat front edge. Generally, the supporting plate does not laterally support the thighs, lateral hold being normally provided by the seat part.

The seat pan has a padding that also covers the supporting plate and also an external covering. Padding and covering have a certain elasticity, which however is by far not sufficient to cover all the relative positions between seat part and supporting plate without covering and padding making relative movements.

The padding is supported in the region of the left front corner and of the right front corner of the seat by the two supporting wings. Usually, the padding is configured to be a foam body. The padding retains its contours and does not collapse.

When an adjustment is being made, there is a relative movement between the supporting wings and the seat part. In order to facilitate this movement, and in particular also to avoid any noise, gliding means are preferably provided between the free end of each supporting wing and the seat part.

At their free end, the supporting wings can rest laterally on the seat part, they may however also engage into openings provided on the seat part.

The supporting plate is adjustable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the seat part by means of suited adjustment devices which may be configured to be motor- or hand-driven.

The supporting wings may be connected directly to the supporting plate, they may however also be hinged thereto. In case they are hinged thereto, the joint axis extends substantially perpendicular to the seat surface. The supporting wings always abut the seat part at their free end.

In the longitudinal direction, the supporting plate has a size that is shorter than half the corresponding length dimension of the seat part. It is approximately 30 to 45%. Behind the supporting plate a quite long area is kept free, said area being usually tensioned by springs and serving to receive a passenger's buttocks.

The supporting plate is approximately 25 to 40 cm wide. In one embodiment, the supporting plate is 30 cm wide.

In an advantageous development, the invention suggests fixing the padding to the seat part but not to the supporting plate. The padding assumes different positions with respect to the supporting plate, depending on the length adjustment of the supporting plate. The covering moves together with the padding. As usual, the covering ends underneath the seat pan, its borders are concealed when viewed from a normal angle. Depending on the adjustment of the supporting plate relative to the seat part, the position of the covering border changes. In the region of the supporting plate, the covering is elastically connected to the sup-porting plate or elastically retained. In the first case, springs are provided for ex-ample, said springs being interposed between the supporting plate (or supporting part) and the border of the covering. In the second case, a rubber band or a similar elastic means is sewn into the edge of the covering for example. Advantageously, the padding has a slide coating on its underside in order to facilitate the relative movement between the padding and the supporting plate. Depending on the adjustment of the supporting plate, the front upper seat edge of the seat pan is formed by a different portion of the covering. This edge, which is particularly subjected to wear, changes its position on the covering so that different portions of the covering are subjected to wear and strain.

Other advantages of the present invention and/or of the currently preferred embodiments thereof will become more readily apparent in view of the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiments and accompanying drawings.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws